Rush for bank and money related blogs shows herd mentality.
When bank blog Bankaholic.com sold for nearly $15 million a couple weeks ago, I knew what was coming. Within days, domainers everywhere were registering bank related blog names. Some internet marketers even started money related blogs. I got an email from someone who thought he could easily start a blog like Bankaholic and turn it into $2 or $3 million within a couple years.
This reminds me of when Pizza.com “sold” and everyone started registering and trying to sell pizza related domain names. I don’t think any of them sold. People would market CrappyPizzaDomain.com and then post it to forums saying “Pizza.com sold for $2.6 million, so this domain is worth at least 1% of that.
If you want to really make it in the online world, you need to lead the trends, not follow. Jumping on the back of one success won’t get you ahead. And blogging about something you don’t enjoy — perhaps banking — won’t make you successful either.
I recommend thinking about what you’re passionate about and then trying to start a business or domain strategy around that. Do a market analysis, but start with the ideas and then the market analysis.
Rob Sequin says
Right.
Unique idea and unique content. Surround yourself with good people and get first mover advantage.
Otherwise you are “me too” which can be fine but you still need the unique content and good people. Then you have to be better, faster and cheaper than the first mover.
However, even looking ahead is hard in the domain world. I just finished searching for electric vehicle, hybrids, charging stations, etc related domains and there really weren’t any good ones.
Subscribe to MIT Technology Review and other forward looking magazines if you really want to look ahead.
jp says
Yea, sometimes there is only 1 wave in the set.
Jeff Schneider says
We would caution all of those reading the medias call for a huge bull market rally BEWARE. The market fundamentals are horrid and the technicals are as well.
My experience being the market analyst for the Rockefeller foundation some 30 years ago, is telling me right now to recommend anyone in equities to use any sucker rally to get into treasuries or cash. Just a friendly attempt to help fellow domainers through what I see as the most difficult equity period of my lifetime, dead ahead.
The good news is that cyber-assets of all assets will hold up very well. If you need to sell domains sell non .coms and put the money, if you can, back into quality .coms.Just my read on things.
Mike says
Good tips. Sometimes timing is very important as well but if you are passionate about something…it is only a matter of time before things start happening.
Mike
Shlomi k. says
I totally agree with that, people create your own trends, that where the big money is
Lizzy says
So true.
ZeRohiLL says
You couldn’t be more spot on with this post.
As a new domainer, its easy to “follow the trends” and lose a lot of cash quick.
I think everyone new gets in and thinks this is a get rich quick scheme, but they couldn’t be farther from the real truth of the matter.
It takes time. It takes passion. It takes brains.
Setting a trend is much easier and inexpensive than following a trend and getting behind the true members of our community that set the trends.
Pat Walker says
This was an excellent story on Pizza.com and
Bankaholic.com and Clearly shows what “Herd Mentality” can cause in “Buying & Selling”.
Pizza.com was listed in many newspapers as being sold for $2.5 dollars – I may be wrong on this but I did earlier research on this and could not find any Clear Evidence that Athe Seller was ever paid for PIZZA.COM.
If this is the case it proves even more how
careless investors will be…
Andrew says
Pat – you’re correct. The domain didn’t sell to the original buyer and my understanding is it sold for a lot less.
Pat Walker says
Andrew – Thanks very much for the info on Pizza.com – that really proves that many buyers or maybe most believe what they read
in papers and/or hear thru the grapevine as all being 100 percent true. Also thanks for the Great story – The Last 2 paragraphs are Incredible and I wished I would have known these facts a long time ago…