Selling domain names is not easy, and unfortunately, receiving unsolicited quality offers does not happen every day. Below is a list of 5 tips to help make selling your domain names a little easier.
- Post a link on your website or parking page letting everyone know the domain name is for sale. Most parking companies have this option available. I would also make sure to keep your whois information accurate. If buyers can’t find you, they can’t make offers.
- List your domain name with multiple auction companies like Sedo.com, AfternicDLS.com and BuyDomains.com.
- Search the terms used to describe what your domain name would be best used for. An example would be UsedCarParts.com, I would search for “Used Car Parts”. Then send an email to the first few pages of results asking them if they would be interested in purchasing my domain name. Either your domain name is better than theirs or they may want to reduce any possible competition.
- Contact alternate extension owners. With the example used above, UsedCarParts.com, I would reach out to the owners of UsedCarParts.net, .de, .co.uk, and so forth.
- List your domains for sale on domainer forums like NamePros.com, DomainState.com and DNForum.com. Selling to end users will, in most cases bring in the highest offers, but selling to domain investors may mean quicker, easier sales allowing you to sell higher quantities of domain names. Plus, some domain investors are end buyers!
One last piece of advice, from the outside in we are looked at as domain squatters. So when receiving and sending offers always play the roll of a developer. Act as if you had plans to develop and either those plans have changed or you can be persuaded to change them.
Now go out and sell some domain names, be proactive!
Great tips!
I particularly like your last piece of advice. It’s a better and neutral way of approaching someone.
Thanks!
If anyone is looking for some, I have about 150 that I was “planning on developing” if you want, I’d probably maybe be willing to let them go to a good home
I too like the planning on developing strategy, although that is true. Deep down I know I never will but on the surface I’m going to make the world’s most popular domain in that category.
Don’t forget those companies advertising for the keyword phrase with Google Adwords.
Earlier this year I had a rather lengthy sales letter which turned out to be ineffective so lately I’ve gone with a much shorter letter which basically says I believe this domain would be useful for branding purposes for your business and it can be acquired at… I check out the target website first and don’t send them a letter if it becomes apparent they aren’t really the ideal acquirer for my domain. I also believe it is worthwhile to spend a few minutes and see if you can find an email address other than the info@ email. Ideally you want to target someone in marketing or sales.
I’d take it one step farther and target an owner. Sometimes even marketers and sales don’t get it either. Get past the blockers!
Thanks,
very informative post, I follow your blog on a regular basis.
You answered one very specific question which I was going to research some, and that is if it’s ok to list a domain with various brokers simultaneously, I did not know if that was frowned upon?
One suggestion which I thought of but have not actually implemented yet myself and that is to join various forums related to the main topic of the domain. For instance say golfblog.com would it not benefit to join a golf forum or two and let the readers know you have certain topic domains available? Most forums have a “for sale” section. On the other hand some readers might object to it? Don’t know, would like to get some feedback on that.
Thanks again for the valuable information,
Dean
That is a very good idea. Join a forum in the same category as your domain name and reach out to those potential buyers. I have done that with one domain before, it was effective.
Very useful tips, just the other day I got an offer on a domain that was a parked page with a simple This Domain is For Sale Contact us link.
Also one of my first domain sales was to an owner of a lesser extension I owned the .com and they owned the .info. I still remember how happy I was.
Brian
I hired a few jobless sales people working on commission and using a mix of the points above and a few of their own techniques we’re going after businesses and selling domains as a business asset and SEO tool. So far so good.
Keep it up Chef.
Thanks. Great idea finding some out of work sales people!
By the way, DNWired is looking very nice.
Thanks for your feedback. Getting read to launch pretty soon and to shake things up a bit. I’ll keep you posted for a chef review.
Regarding points 3 and 4 : is it safe and legal to do so or is there a risk that this is considered as Spam ?
This would not be considered spam. The email may go in their spam folder because of the unknown email address. If after a week you are not getting the email responses you would have liked then pick up the phone and call.
Thanks for the info and thanks for you post. It’s the best summary on how to sell domain names I have seen.
Nice tips Chef. I starting my own domain sales case study today, trying to sell a couple of my generic domains, registered at the beginning of my (so far) short career as a hobby domainer. Hopefully a few aren’t crap at least.