Domaining is fun. There is a thrill in seeking out new names, taking risks, and ultimately making money. While having fun is all well and good, it won’t pay the bills. So you really need to keep a strong focus on that last one, making money. I’ve been spending a great deal of time trying to come up with more effective ways to sell domains. Posting on domain auctions and reaching out directly to potential end users are the staples, but there are other ways. Here’s one of the thoughts I had and jotted down to share.
The Thought
Create a mutually beneficial relationship with a web designer. Just as you are looking to increase your income, so are web designers. Contact your local, small, independent web designers as well as large firms. Contact many of them. There’s no rule that says you need to be exclusive. You have an ever changing portfolio of domain names and your design contact likely has an established pool of clients and is taking on additional clients all the time. You can help each other. Offer the designer 10% (or whatever amount you choose) of every domain sale where they refer the buyer to you. You benefit by making a sale and your designer benefits by making a commission.
A web designer is a logical choice, many people or business that are looking for a new site have not landed on a final name. They may have registered a couple but are unsure if they are good choices. This is your opportunity to consult or for the designer to do it on your behalf. You’ll be adding value to the designers existing services by providing quality domain names to their new clients.
You could also leverage their existing client base. Work with the designer to run through their list of contacts in industries that match the names in your portfolio, you now have a trusted representative to present your domain name for you. At a minimum, the designer could introduce you to the client. Since the client already has a relationship with the designer, you have removed a large barrier from the sales process.
Aside from paying the 10% commission to the designer, you can also assist them by adding them to you network and referring work to them when the opportunity arises. Mutually beneficial relationships are those that help each other excel.
Take it Even Further
You could also take this one step further and encourage the designer to list some of your premium domains on the main page of their site for additional exposure. Even better, see if the will dedicate one page to your service entirely where you can explain the importance of a premium name. Another way would be to utilize their existing mailing list newsletter to include some information about your domains and other services you provide.
This is a no-cost marketing option not to be overlooked. The only cost to you is time. Think about some of the other marking you spend your time on. Will it get you this level of quality exposure and a continual flow of people and businesses to offer your names to?
