An example would be TVeBiz.com etc. etc. We have not aggressively marketed the concept other than our website. Thank you all for sharing your ideas they sound great. We all deserve to be successful. Sometimes you have to give to recieve and to give is ultimately recieving. Good luck to all of us, for we really all are one in this crazy thing called life.

I also want to thank you Stephen for being brave enough to speak the truth in a somewhat clubby community such as ours. When the ole boys club becomes everyones club, that will mark the beginning of positive change for all of us not just a few.

XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the good input, and kind words. Yes, the domain industry is somewhat “clubby,” and if that lasts too long, the “club” will become a “club foot” for our ability to grow. It’s getting better though, so hang tight! The “ole boys club” has members who are beginning to kick back and cruise on the great profits they’ve made on their smart business moves with domains, but many still are working hard and I believe most of the “club” are dedicated to seeing the domain industry blow open marketing techniques on the internet. Thanks for your support.

You know, it’s not surprising.

There’s the other side of this coin to, which is when one of these clueless companies gets the idea that they actually want a generic domain, and then think that by default they have some sort of inherent right to it.

I just got contacted by a company whose name happens to be “[GenericWord] Software”

Now, this generic word is as generic as they get.

The thing is, they contact me saying that they want me to help them “recover” [GenericWord].com from a “squatter”.

So I ask, did you own this name before? What do you mean “recover”? And this is a generic word, why is this person a “squatter”?

Then they told me that they made a low $x,xxx offer (this name is worth at least mid $xx,xxx) and were geniunely PISSED OFF that they didn’t get a response.

They feel they have some sort of inalienable right to an english word that is probably a part of the name of thousands of businesses.

And it’s no joke! They SERIOUSLY believe it.

The worst part is, it’s a software company that *should* have some knowledge of the way things work on the Internet.

I don’t know man, this is an uphill battle.

On another note…

The reason why all the big companies are obsessed with PPC is because the agencies push it down their throat. They can sell it at a HUGE profit, it requires no work on their part (they outsource the PPC management to a bunch of rookies and interns), and frankly, everyone’s so used to getting ripped off so hard on mainstream media advertising, that the domain channel isn’t even on their radar.

XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:

Yeah, there’s always the crybabies who can’t BELIEVE that they aren’t able to get a domain that matches their company name, which they stupidly went for without securing the domain name first. What’s hilarious is that most of the pricing for domains they could buy to secure their “brand” is basically petty cash for them. Most mid-ranged business making over $500k a year gross spend at least $50k – $100k in advertising and marketing. If they don’t, they’re gone.

The ad agencies know about domain name values, and they also know that domain names STEAL potential revenue from their accounts. Instead of charging their client thousands of dollars paid hourly and from placing ads (15% agency fee kickback from most publications, including internet), they know a domain name can easily bring in the same amount of traffic and eyeballs continuously for less money than an ad campaign. Why would they want their client to own a keyword generic domain that could do that?

At some point though, the biggest ad agencies are going to try to figure out how to capture and control this typein traffic from generic domains. It’s going to be interesting to see what path they take to do this.

I am not sure that we will be able to find a non- profit willing to do this. I do think that a domainer like Rob Sequin who already has alot of this info. already available on his site could be the “link”.
Check out http://searchdomainsforsale.com/domain-name-resources.htm
This kind of information, along with some other links to adword traffic estimator, google insights, google trends, etc… would be really helpful. Plus if Rob kept the content fresh… he would benefit by any other clicks people made on his site…
If we need a fresh domain – that part is easy….

XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:

Hi Kelly, you’re right in the groove. I agree totally and this is what I’ve been pushing for since 2005. You have to talk to your parking service rep or exec to want to participate. Even though there’s nothing in it for them usually, it is a great service for promoting the value of domains through education, which can lead to more users using browser searching to find a prodserv. First, we have to find a non-profit website that will agree to set up comprehensive webpages detailing all of the areas of value that a domain possesses. In this educational effort, we have to direct our focus on marketing companies and the marketing departments of large companies to assess the value of a domain for their dollar return (ROI). I don’t see why this can’t happen, and we should all immediately put this on our plate to agree to participate. “PUT THIS ON OUR PLATE AND AGREE TO PARTICIPATE” (man, I sound like an attorney at the first OJ Simpson murder trial).

XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your comment! I think I have a short-start solution that shouldn’t cost too much and we can get it done in the preliminary stages if most domainers participate by investing $10 (no, it’s not something I will profit from, and nobody should profit but the collective domain industry).

I’m going to check it out and if confirmed, report on it in another blog post by next week. Stay tuned everyone!

XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:

WOW! This is a killer idea. (but MadisonAve.com sold for $17,000 today). Maybe we can form a “domain purchase collective” through a trusted domain company and all pick up a domain similar to the Ad and Marketing world or someone could donate a domain. Use it for a source of domain marketing value information, and even investment value, and then encourage this link to be promoted by all domain industry company pages, and domainer’s own buildout websites. But a “marketing or advertising” style domain name could help “bring the point home”. Thanks Steve!

Call and tell the decision maker you are sending a FEDEX/or manila envelope with some breakthrough info for their business and that their competitors will receive it as well. But first ask this “are you open to new ideas?”, If they say no, thank them and call someone else. It becomes easy when there is no convincing or arguing. Those that say “yes” Put info in the FEDEX/manila about companies getting more business and cutting their online advertising substantially (to that effect). Call back a few days later to make sure they got it. Wait. In another week send more articles and stuff about domain names and about businesses that “got it”. Also say somewhere in the literatures that businesses will soon wake up and “smell the coffee” which will cause domain cost to skyrocket…

and so forth – you’ll slowly build relationships with the ADword advertisers…

John
http://unplain.com