I started Domain Advertising Agency recently as a platform of contextual domain sales advertising to create awareness throughout the internet at large, motivated due to the lack of end user buying at LDA’s and online auctions in general. DAA is still a baby today, but that is how I see the long term emerging just like google adsense.

I’m looking into an online LDA solution that will run at least 3 times a week along a business model similar to Sotheby’s and Christies without going into too much detail.My personal resources are extremely limited, but I’m very optimistic for our future growth. It is so encouraging to read your blog stephen, I just found out about it today….simply stunning!

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Hi Robert,

Geez… if you say it any nicer, people will think I paid you to say it!

Hey, checked out your website at http://www.domainadvertisingagency.com. Nice idea, good direction. There are a lot of different players in the Domain Industry getting started with this end result as their main goal — driving up the value of domains by educating the business sector on their value for online marketing of their prodservs. Seeing your effort, and the nice job you’re doing with it so far, is very encouraging. Keep up the good work!

“LDA promoters can achieve a much higher sell-through ratio of their domain list if they invested in contacting END USER SOURCES. … by selecting specific category domains for their auction, and then contacting each of those industries’ association groups and publications … could reap huge profits for both the domain seller and the LDA promoters.”

So true… domain owners selling to domainers is never going to match domain owners selling to end-users.

“True value of a domain can only be determined by a domain-educated enduser, usually a marketing director or savvy business owner.”

I like the idea of (web-based) industry specific domain auctions. And like you said in your response to Eric Rice:

[LDA's should be] “set up to promote only several categories or niches of domains and then focus on marketing campaigns to those industries relevant to the domains.”

So Stephen what do you think about TLD specific live (web based) domain auctions? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

P.S. – Considering that you only post occasionally, I look forward to your long posts.

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Hi Jamie, sorry for the late response. Big things happening right now, broey! Good things for all of us! I’ll report on it with 30 days.

Your suggestion of TLD specific domain auctions, whether web-based or LDA’s, is a great idea… I didn’t even think of that option. Kudos to YOU for coming up with it!

I get some great domain lists for sale from my associates, and one nameless colleague of mine has been shopping around a short list of some killer .net’s… I know that .net’s are losing right now (as I predicted 2 years ago) to the .orgs, BUT, .net domains are perfect for internet NS domains, Web services, and communication-based products and services.

If the LDA’s or web-based auction services FOCUSED their auctions on a certain type of domain (like the Geo Domain Conference going on right now), I think they could easily “reach out” to the end-users for those domains with a small investment in a PR firm. The PR firm knows how to reach the demographic and get them interested. They aren’t cheap, but they’re cheaper than considering a constant expectation of incestuous sales between domainers.

Thanks for your nice comments, and yes, I believe that auctions, whether live or web-based, can successfully be held for specific TLD’s like you suggested. It’s a good marketing move, and it helps define the value of the extensions on domains we own.

Thanks for writing Jamie. And yes, I do ramble on in these long posts. Eric always yells at me for it. (He’s a cruel bastard. lol) It’s fun to see him yell in print, but he always gives me a “honeypie phone call” afterwards to make sure I’m not sharpening my War Axe. But I love him like a brother, I cry with him when he complains he’s only making $1000 a day, and when he makes that “smoochie kiss” sound over the phone before we hang up, I know we’re cool. By the way, if you haven’t signed up for his http://www.dncartoons.com, DO IT NOW! His new website provides humor and excellent contacts for selling and buying some of the best domains available. I recommend all domain owners bookmark DNcartoons.com and subscribe to the DNcartoons.com newsletter. That’s an unpaid endorsement.

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That’s a logical assumption, Eric. But if you read down in my article further, you’ll see my solution for that (i know you have tried in the past, sensibly, to stop me from being so verbose, but sometimes there is a method to my long-winded madness)

What I state is that an LDA should be set up to promote only several categories or niches of domains and then focus on marketing campaigns to those industries relevant to the domains. Even a $50,000 account with a good PR firm would probably pay back 300% in significant domain sales increases from that business sector. Moniker already knows “selling domains by relevant theme” works, which is why they attend outside business conferences to hold auctions featuring domains relevant with the conference’s market (adult, geo, etc). Now if we could stretch that out to electronics, machinery, food, and the whole spectrum of business categories, it would open up the domain industry sales juggernaut and a better understanding of domain values for these companies.

Thanks for posting, E

I’ve got a beer at Widmer waiting for you next week, let me know when you’re free!

- Scott fish

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Yo Fishter… thanks for the thoughts!
I’m never “free”, there’s too many people yelling at me. NOTE TO READERS: Email me for Happy Hour requests!

http://www.conceptualist.com/2008/07/03/bido-were-learning/

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I’m a big fan, Dan! And like I stated in the article, we all can learn by just coming to Bido.com everyday and reading up on your experts opinions’, with the true intended value of being able to get fair deals on domains in the Bido daily sale. (“Fair deal” means, “seller happy, buyer happy”).