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Domain Junky
Confessions of a Domain Name Junky
Author: Kathy Burns-Millyard
by Kathy Burns-Millyard
For some reason, I love domain names. I think it's tied tightly to the
creative side of me... I sometimes seem to come up with ideas like
there's no tomorrow. And where there's an idea, there's a great domain
name to go with it. Sometimes a really great domain is what inspires
the idea itself.
Some of the things I've come up with over the years included:
PalmPilotFiles.com - A Palm Pilot software site of course
EBookCritique.com - This was going to be an ebook review site
HomeOfficeFiles.com - Home office software and resources
I actually had a whole "files" theme going at one point: pocketfiles,
pdafiles, softwarefiles... heck I don't even remember all of them now.
There's only so much time in a day though, and over the years I've
forced myself to bypass hundreds of fantastic domains because I didn't
have the time for them. You see, each time I'd give in to an impulse
and register a great one, I'd then make myself justify that purchase.
And justifying it meant I had to develop it, and make it earn its keep
in my overall business strategy.
There've been times I've juggled 10+ developed domains all at once. As
you might have guessed... this can cause a huge bottleneck. Dividing
your time and attention between too many things causes all of them to
be mediocre at best.
Recently though, I discovered a way to indulge my domain name
passion... exercise my creativity without having to update multiple
sites every single day... and make money from them too - all while
barely lifting a finger.
I joined a service called Expired Domains. This service keeps you up
to date on all of the domains that expire every single day. Using
their tools, you can research these domains, and find some real gems.
Not just creative ones either - but domains that have hundreds
(sometimes thousands) of links to them from other sites across the
web. Since the links are already in place, I don't have to spend time
promoting the new domain and bringing traffic to it. That solves one
of the biggest problems you run into when registering a new domain.
The second problem was continuous updates. If I followed my previous
pattern, I'd be trying to develop all these new domains and completely
defeat my purpose quickly because I wouldn't have time for them. So
instead, I simply put up a search engine. Actually I don't even do
that - I point the new domain to my existing search engine. This isn't
what you'd consider a standard search engine though... because I earn
money every time a visitor clicks a search listing.
Now I do have to admit that sometimes I'm sorely tempted. I'll find a
really cool domain that immediately triggers a wonderful website idea
and I have to force myself to not act on that. Much as I enjoy making
great websites though, my goal this time around is to build up a solid
hands free income stream. So, no matter how good the domain is, or how
much traffic it's getting... I don't allow myself to develop them. The
closest I'll come is pointing an occasional domain to one of my
developed sites. Only if the domain has enough links, and/or it
matches my target market somehow. Otherwise, it gets pointed to the
search engine like all the rest.
Using this system I can now indulge my domain name passion without
guilt, and build my long term income too.
Resources mentioned in this article:
Expired Traffic: http://www.expiredtraffic.com/?GuruGazette
PPC Income:
http://www.searchfeed.com/rd/AffiliateInfo.jsp?p=11188&trackID=B6074113365
© 2004, Kathy Burns-Millyard. All Rights Reserved.
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