J4wd
PeerIdeas.comEstablished Member
- Impact
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In 2013, Rob Fitzpatrick released a book called The Mom Test, with a simple premise: that you shouldn't ask your mom if your business idea is any good, because she'll never tell you the truth.
The same applies to domain name purchases. How do you know if your domain name is any good?
On the one hand, it may not matter. I've purchased many domains that I consider have no value beyond the fact that I like the sound of them. I consider myself a collector as well as an investor, and enjoy the idea of owning a unique name on the internet.
On the other hand, I want to generate an income from my domain names, and so I need to be able to make an informed decision about the domains in my portfolio.
The simplest way to do this is through outbound sales. Reach out to prospective customers and ask them for their feedback. In The Mom Test, Fitzpatrick advocates for direct customer feedback as the best way to push a business idea forward.
But in the absence of customer feedback, what other sources might you reach out to?
In my opinion, the best alternative source is other domainers.
Now, the astute reader will immediately cotton on to the fact that there's a good time and a bad time to talk to other domainers. You can't talk to other domainers before you buy a great domain, because if it's so great, they'll buy it themselves. No hard feelings, this is a business after all.
But once you own the domain, what's the risk? In fact, many people already do this via the Appraisals section on Namepros.
In the week since the launch of PeerIdeas, I've spoken to dozens of domainers about this idea. While many love the idea (and have been active participants), some are naturally apprehensive, and some are sceptical.
The most common feedback I hear from the latter are two-fold:
1. Asking for appraisals publicly risks undermining a future sale if discovered. Fair enough, so I've introduced the option to hide polls from search engines.
2. It's subjective and offers no value, because other domainers don't put much thought into it. This is also a fair point, however as with every community effort, if you don't put an effort in for others, they won't put an effort in for you.
And yes, it's subjective. For me that's the whole point. For many buyers, it is a subjective choice. They buy because they like the name, not because they've researched the competition and sales history and feel it's a sound investment.
Subjective feedback is good.
When I first started listing domains on curated brand marketplaces, I was taken aback after the first rejection. I was convinced my domain names were perfect - how could anyone reject them?
In hindsight, they did me a favour. By giving me subjective feedback, I gained valuable insights about my choices and it helped me become a better investor.
In The Mom Test, Fitzpatrick says that everyone will lie to you at least a little. And that's a fair point. But I'd still prefer to have the feedback I can choose to act on, than not having any at all.
The same applies to domain name purchases. How do you know if your domain name is any good?
On the one hand, it may not matter. I've purchased many domains that I consider have no value beyond the fact that I like the sound of them. I consider myself a collector as well as an investor, and enjoy the idea of owning a unique name on the internet.
On the other hand, I want to generate an income from my domain names, and so I need to be able to make an informed decision about the domains in my portfolio.
The simplest way to do this is through outbound sales. Reach out to prospective customers and ask them for their feedback. In The Mom Test, Fitzpatrick advocates for direct customer feedback as the best way to push a business idea forward.
But in the absence of customer feedback, what other sources might you reach out to?
In my opinion, the best alternative source is other domainers.
Now, the astute reader will immediately cotton on to the fact that there's a good time and a bad time to talk to other domainers. You can't talk to other domainers before you buy a great domain, because if it's so great, they'll buy it themselves. No hard feelings, this is a business after all.
But once you own the domain, what's the risk? In fact, many people already do this via the Appraisals section on Namepros.
In the week since the launch of PeerIdeas, I've spoken to dozens of domainers about this idea. While many love the idea (and have been active participants), some are naturally apprehensive, and some are sceptical.
The most common feedback I hear from the latter are two-fold:
1. Asking for appraisals publicly risks undermining a future sale if discovered. Fair enough, so I've introduced the option to hide polls from search engines.
2. It's subjective and offers no value, because other domainers don't put much thought into it. This is also a fair point, however as with every community effort, if you don't put an effort in for others, they won't put an effort in for you.
And yes, it's subjective. For me that's the whole point. For many buyers, it is a subjective choice. They buy because they like the name, not because they've researched the competition and sales history and feel it's a sound investment.
Subjective feedback is good.
When I first started listing domains on curated brand marketplaces, I was taken aback after the first rejection. I was convinced my domain names were perfect - how could anyone reject them?
In hindsight, they did me a favour. By giving me subjective feedback, I gained valuable insights about my choices and it helped me become a better investor.
In The Mom Test, Fitzpatrick says that everyone will lie to you at least a little. And that's a fair point. But I'd still prefer to have the feedback I can choose to act on, than not having any at all.
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