Is this biz difficult to get by in? - GoFuckYourself.com

PornMD · 01-27-2007, 12:44 AM

I originally came to this message board to see if there'd be interest in some of my adult names, but I've been on the cusp of running adult sites twice, both times not really pulling the trigger and diving into it. In fact, I don't really have any websites going yet, though I have one in development coming on WhatsMyName.com that will hopefully be finished soon and should kick some ass. As it is, I have a day job that bores the shit out of me, and I make a nice amount from buying/selling domains, with a portfolio worth at least low 6-figures with about 8-10 $xxx+ sales a month and $750+/month in parking...not really enough to warrant comfortably leaving my day job.

The reason why I've thought seriously about being an adult webmaster is that I have some killer adult domains (see sig) and seem to always be able to get more and more, only for them to sit with a parking page on them. So...while I have about a million questions I could ask, I'll just ask a couple:

How difficult is it to "make it" in this biz, as in make enough to support a living?

Is it feasible to attempt to be successful at it while trying to reduce as much as possible the time spent managing your website(s), or should you expect to spend X hours a day nearly every day to make it work?

What are some enjoyable aspects of what you do, and what are some things about it that annoy the crap out of you?

I'll answer all those for buying/selling domain names:

How difficult is it to "make it" in the domain biz, as in make enough to support a living? -- It all depends on what you can put into it, as in time, effort, and money. A lot of people don't do enough research initially, thinking they've seen enough domains already that they know what sells and what doesn't, then find themselves a few thou or more in the hole with a bunch of worthless names making dick per day in parking. After close to 3 years, considering I started at a time when I JUST moved from 5 years working part time to working full time for the first time in my life, making $25k+ per year in parking rev and sales is not half bad, and I do have a somewhat impressive port to show for my hard work and dedication even if I'm not fully supporting myself with it. With the millions of names listed on the usual marketplaces and message boards, it's not easy to just sit and let things happen...average, decent, and even most good names simply get lost in the sea of domain names for sale on the aftermarket. It also sucks having to compete with registrars like GoDaddy and their Super Bowl commercials featuring a pretty hot chick. I have no hot chicks to offer!

Is it feasible to attempt to be successful at domain buying/selling while trying to reduce as much as possible the time spent managing your domains, or should you expect to spend X hours a day nearly every day to make it work? -- The good thing about domains is that I can sometimes completely ignore it for days at a time. I get regular enough sales such that I couldn't COMPLETELY ignore it for much more than a few days, but I don't always have to focus on selling domains. Starting out though, given that the only real ways to get success are through finding the best expired domains and registering them, buying on the secondary market, or seeking out hot topics/products/trends and getting the appropriate names, it is definitely time consuming at first. You create your own luck through time spent really, plus initially you are also building the wisdom and experience necessary to better evaluate domains.

What are some enjoyable aspects of what you do, and what are some things about it that annoy the crap out of you? -- I honestly LOVE finding great domains, whether it's an awesome expired domain or a great deal on an elite domain on the aftermarket. It's like treasure-hunting, even in the sense that you might be holding a piece of pyrite thinking it's gold. The fact that the beauty of each name is really in the eye of the beholder makes it a much more interesting market to follow than other investment markets, and surprising sales happen all the time.

The subjectiveness of the market can be the most annoying thing at times. You'll be holding a name that is in your opinion an undeniable gem, and sometimes you feel like you're the only one that knows it. Getting good clickthrough/revenue on the higher traffic names is annoying too sometimes, especially if the name isn't descriptive of what website was on it or what the incoming links describe. Probably the most annoying part however, especially as I've moved into higher valued domains, is the tug of war between profit and liquidity. Like houses, domains will have high/low values depending on how long you'd like to sit with the name, and even with 3 years experience under my belt, I have been at times and continue to sometimes be wrong, and sometimes being wrong means looking at a $x,xxx investment sit there staring you in the face for months if not years, and you simply don't know what you could get by liquidating it, nor would you risk doing so. It sucks when you don't have a LOT of money and you're wrong on something that cost a LOT of money. Hell, it sucks when you don't have a lot of money and deals pass you by because of it. I'd love to be the proud owner of Slots.net right now, but I couldn't afford the killer deal at the time. :/

DateDoc · 01-27-2007, 01:28 AM

If you love what you do you will be succesful. Buying and selling domains is a tough business these days. If you want to develop a site I'd suggest promoting some sites that have a similar feel to what you want to develop 1st before sinking the dollars into your own project. you'll learn a lot of the ins and outs and while things may not materialize as quickly as you want the experience you gain will be invaluable.

Fizzgig · 01-27-2007, 03:08 AM

There is no EASY money in porn.

CyberHustler · 01-27-2007, 03:09 AM

damn.... I was gonna read the thread but I have a headache...

ayne468 · 01-27-2007, 03:24 AM

Thanks PornMD for starting this thread...As a newbie, I think I will learn a lot from what gets posted here, as you have asked some great direct questions!
It was also interesting to hear your experiences with domaining....me eyes are now peeled...

PornMD · 01-27-2007, 03:21 PM

LOL, sorry about the long thread, and thanks for the comments so far everyone.

polish_aristocrat · 01-27-2007, 03:29 PM

I also deal a little with domains but I have no idea what .md stands for?

avalanche · 01-27-2007, 03:32 PM

.MD is a country code assigned to the Republic of Moldova.

polish_aristocrat · 01-27-2007, 03:33 PM

so do you consider porn.md and xxx.md prime domains?

i cant imagine they make much money being parked

PornMD · 01-27-2007, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polish_aristocrat

so do you consider porn.md and xxx.md prime domains?

i cant imagine they make much money being parked

They don't. But Porn and XXX are not available in ANYTHING. It's getting something where people will only have to remember 2 letters as opposed to 2-3 words, plus if I'm not mistaken, the names get SEO benefits for searches of Porn and XXX from being exact matches. MD is moldovia, but .md names have been branded to mean "doctor", anything medical related, or even as broad as "help".

PornMD · 01-27-2007, 05:28 PM

Blah, missed the 3 minute mark for editing. IMO, Porn.md could be branded as "porn doctor", and XXX.md would IMO be perfectly brandable for ED and "male enhancement" pills. They do in fact get some traffic...Porn.md has 43 uniques in the last 32 days, and XXX.md has 174 uniques in the last 30 days (different parking sites, different "main" lengths of data :/).

Of course I could be wrong about their value, but I've gotten offers as high as $2,500 for Porn.md and $4,000 on XXX.md, so I think I'm right or at least close to it. I personally like AdultPortal.com better than both of those, and it's gotten 276 uniques in the last 30 days. It's a name that's probably ironically stayed or gone DOWN in value, as portal is more of an older word on the internet...not quite as often used as it used to be.

01-27-2007, 12:44 AM	#1
PornMD Mainstream Businessman Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 9,291	Is this biz difficult to get by in? I originally came to this message board to see if there'd be interest in some of my adult names, but I've been on the cusp of running adult sites twice, both times not really pulling the trigger and diving into it. In fact, I don't really have any websites going yet, though I have one in development coming on WhatsMyName.com that will hopefully be finished soon and should kick some ass. As it is, I have a day job that bores the shit out of me, and I make a nice amount from buying/selling domains, with a portfolio worth at least low 6-figures with about 8-10 $xxx+ sales a month and $750+/month in parking...not really enough to warrant comfortably leaving my day job. The reason why I've thought seriously about being an adult webmaster is that I have some killer adult domains (see sig) and seem to always be able to get more and more, only for them to sit with a parking page on them. So...while I have about a million questions I could ask, I'll just ask a couple: How difficult is it to "make it" in this biz, as in make enough to support a living? Is it feasible to attempt to be successful at it while trying to reduce as much as possible the time spent managing your website(s), or should you expect to spend X hours a day nearly every day to make it work? What are some enjoyable aspects of what you do, and what are some things about it that annoy the crap out of you? I'll answer all those for buying/selling domain names: How difficult is it to "make it" in the domain biz, as in make enough to support a living? -- It all depends on what you can put into it, as in time, effort, and money. A lot of people don't do enough research initially, thinking they've seen enough domains already that they know what sells and what doesn't, then find themselves a few thou or more in the hole with a bunch of worthless names making dick per day in parking. After close to 3 years, considering I started at a time when I JUST moved from 5 years working part time to working full time for the first time in my life, making $25k+ per year in parking rev and sales is not half bad, and I do have a somewhat impressive port to show for my hard work and dedication even if I'm not fully supporting myself with it. With the millions of names listed on the usual marketplaces and message boards, it's not easy to just sit and let things happen...average, decent, and even most good names simply get lost in the sea of domain names for sale on the aftermarket. It also sucks having to compete with registrars like GoDaddy and their Super Bowl commercials featuring a pretty hot chick. I have no hot chicks to offer! Is it feasible to attempt to be successful at domain buying/selling while trying to reduce as much as possible the time spent managing your domains, or should you expect to spend X hours a day nearly every day to make it work? -- The good thing about domains is that I can sometimes completely ignore it for days at a time. I get regular enough sales such that I couldn't COMPLETELY ignore it for much more than a few days, but I don't always have to focus on selling domains. Starting out though, given that the only real ways to get success are through finding the best expired domains and registering them, buying on the secondary market, or seeking out hot topics/products/trends and getting the appropriate names, it is definitely time consuming at first. You create your own luck through time spent really, plus initially you are also building the wisdom and experience necessary to better evaluate domains. What are some enjoyable aspects of what you do, and what are some things about it that annoy the crap out of you? -- I honestly LOVE finding great domains, whether it's an awesome expired domain or a great deal on an elite domain on the aftermarket. It's like treasure-hunting, even in the sense that you might be holding a piece of pyrite thinking it's gold. The fact that the beauty of each name is really in the eye of the beholder makes it a much more interesting market to follow than other investment markets, and surprising sales happen all the time. The subjectiveness of the market can be the most annoying thing at times. You'll be holding a name that is in your opinion an undeniable gem, and sometimes you feel like you're the only one that knows it. Getting good clickthrough/revenue on the higher traffic names is annoying too sometimes, especially if the name isn't descriptive of what website was on it or what the incoming links describe. Probably the most annoying part however, especially as I've moved into higher valued domains, is the tug of war between profit and liquidity. Like houses, domains will have high/low values depending on how long you'd like to sit with the name, and even with 3 years experience under my belt, I have been at times and continue to sometimes be wrong, and sometimes being wrong means looking at a $x,xxx investment sit there staring you in the face for months if not years, and you simply don't know what you could get by liquidating it, nor would you risk doing so. It sucks when you don't have a LOT of money and you're wrong on something that cost a LOT of money. Hell, it sucks when you don't have a lot of money and deals pass you by because of it. I'd love to be the proud owner of Slots.net right now, but I couldn't afford the killer deal at the time. :/ __________________ Want to crush it in mainstream with Facebook ads? Hit me up.

01-27-2007, 01:28 AM	#2
DateDoc Outside looking in. Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: To Hell You Ride Posts: 14,243	If you love what you do you will be succesful. Buying and selling domains is a tough business these days. If you want to develop a site I'd suggest promoting some sites that have a similar feel to what you want to develop 1st before sinking the dollars into your own project. you'll learn a lot of the ins and outs and while things may not materialize as quickly as you want the experience you gain will be invaluable. __________________

01-27-2007, 03:08 AM	#3
Fizzgig Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: In Your Dreams Posts: 9,649	There is no EASY money in porn. __________________ ---'-,-{@ Sassy Grrrl @}-'-,---

01-27-2007, 03:24 AM	#5
ayne468 Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,738	Thanks PornMD for starting this thread...As a newbie, I think I will learn a lot from what gets posted here, as you have asked some great direct questions! It was also interesting to hear your experiences with domaining....me eyes are now peeled... __________________

01-27-2007, 03:21 PM	#6
PornMD Mainstream Businessman Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 9,291	LOL, sorry about the long thread, and thanks for the comments so far everyone. __________________ Want to crush it in mainstream with Facebook ads? Hit me up.

01-27-2007, 03:09 AM	#4
CyberHustler Masterbaiter Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 26,750	damn.... I was gonna read the thread but I have a headache...

01-27-2007, 03:29 PM	#7
polish_aristocrat Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 40,377	I also deal a little with domains but I have no idea what .md stands for? __________________ I don't use ICQ anymore.

01-27-2007, 03:32 PM	#8
avalanche Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,922	.MD is a country code assigned to the Republic of Moldova. __________________ Avalanche CherryPimps - Daily Pornstars, LIVE and more!

01-27-2007, 03:33 PM	#9
polish_aristocrat Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 40,377	so do you consider porn.md and xxx.md prime domains? i cant imagine they make much money being parked __________________ I don't use ICQ anymore.

01-27-2007, 05:28 PM	#11
PornMD Mainstream Businessman Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 9,291	Blah, missed the 3 minute mark for editing. IMO, Porn.md could be branded as "porn doctor", and XXX.md would IMO be perfectly brandable for ED and "male enhancement" pills. They do in fact get some traffic...Porn.md has 43 uniques in the last 32 days, and XXX.md has 174 uniques in the last 30 days (different parking sites, different "main" lengths of data :/). Of course I could be wrong about their value, but I've gotten offers as high as $2,500 for Porn.md and $4,000 on XXX.md, so I think I'm right or at least close to it. I personally like AdultPortal.com better than both of those, and it's gotten 276 uniques in the last 30 days. It's a name that's probably ironically stayed or gone DOWN in value, as portal is more of an older word on the internet...not quite as often used as it used to be. __________________ Want to crush it in mainstream with Facebook ads? Hit me up.