Starting out in Domaining 101
There was a time that the concept of domaining and people called domainers was so new that no one knew it would be it’s own specialty. Today, it’s still a growing industry (despite the slowdown in the overall economy right now), and finally, professional people in the more mainstream, online and offline, are seeing the value of a good domain name.
If you are new or considering jumping in, where do you start? The first question is what is your ultimate goal with domaining? Do you want to start with a few good domains, and develop them? Do you want to spend a lot of money on one domain? Do you intend to buy a group of (probably) lesser domains and flip them? Each of these plans has a pro and a con, and in a group of domainers, you’ll find someone who tried one of these plans.
If you really don’t know the answer, then a good place to start is to read how some of the most successful domainers today got started. In the early days, domainers were secluded and worked alone with no communication with other domainers. There was no way to know what they did, what worked and what didn’t. Even until a few years ago, the top people in the industry didn’t speak publicly on what they were doing, or how they got started. This has changed. People like Frank Schilling, Rick Schwartz, and a few others started speaking more openly online. Michael Gilmour has an interesting story on how he started in domaining not that many years ago.
I recommend that you do some reading – not unlike reading the biographies of leaders in other industries, or reading about the underdog who made it from no-where. I really recommend reading Frank Schilling’s now retired blog “Seven Mile.” Frank generously shared his experiences, his thoughts on many, many domaining topics, graciously answered questions, and gave us all hope that we can be the underdog. He stopped blogging in early 2008, but the information there is invaluable.
It caused quite a stir when Frank and a few other well-known domainers starting openly sharing their thoughts. Take advantage of it! Sometimes all you need is one kernel of an idea to get you on the right track that works.
