Billy Corgan wants to get domain names before announcing new projects.
What can major corporations such as Dell learn from Smashing Pumpkins rocker Billy Corgan? Secure your domain names before announcing new products.
In a recent blog post, Corgan wrote that he’s working on a couple new bands and a solo project, but that he’s not spilling the beans until he secures the requisite domain names:
I have notions to start 2 other bands and also release some more solo work. I would love to get into more details on those projects but I would like to secure the domain names first because I don’t want to have to fight to get them back later.
Huh, imagine that. By buying the domain names before people know what he’s up to, Corgan can expect to pay a lot less for them. If only Fortune 500 product launch teams could figure that out.
Adam says
pumpkin squatters
elimam says
I keep reading the statement “If only Fortune 500 product launch teams could figure that out.” again and again in various domain related venues, but there is another angle to the argument. maybe it makes more economical sense for Apple to buy iphone.com for 1m dollars after the launch than running the risk of spoiling the launch of the iphone for example.
with thousands of individuals/competitors watching every move of Apple, a 1m dollar for a domain isn’t that expensive after all.
david says
i always wonder why australian companies just register the .com.au version and then launch the site, start marketing and then look at the .com version once it is too late.
Simple advice, spend the $20 and get the .com version please!
Stephen Douglas says
I have been screaming out this exact New Media marketing angle for over three years. Prodservs are important to companies all across the board, and whether they purchase prodservs domains OOTB or in the aftermarket, owning them is the key for companies to eliminating their online competition from a specific market of internet users who use typein or “name direction” techniques to find their prodservs. Once a company owns their prodservs domains, their competitor can’t “muscle in” on that phrase.
New studies have been published last week showing that a company placing a google adlink ad and using a prodservs domain as the link convert almost 50% more than a company with an adlink just promoting their company’s name as the website URL.
This has been a selling point for me when I deal with companies who don’t seem to understand that if you’re selling “galvanized steel tubing”, at some point, a vendor will type in that domain “galvanizedsteeltubing.com”, even if it’s only 10 a month, and be directed to the company site page featuring “galvanized steel tubing”. What if each of those ten enquiries from the typein traffic… as pinpoint as it can get in marketing, buy the product? The product can produce vendor deals in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per account.
So if 10 people type in that domain, and three of them open an account that produce $75,000 in profits, how much is that domain’s “name direction” power worth in your marketing?
Adam says
“makes more economical sense for Apple to buy iphone.com for 1m dollars after the launch than running the risk of spoiling the launch of the iphone for example.”
yep.why complain. domainers make more money this route then the other route. SHHHHHHHHHHHHH let them buy the name after launch. Domain owners win. 🙂 Keep ’em dumb.