Domain Name Wire Podcast
Episodes
There has been a lot of talk about censorship and taking down websites over the past couple of months. On today’s show, I talk with Tucows CEO Elliot Noss about the issue. Tucows is one of the world’s largest domain name registrars. We discuss the role that registrars and registries could play in taking down domains used for nefarious purposes, and how Noss’ take on the issue has changed over time. He also explains what Tucows is d...
Mark Levine returns to the podcast this week to dig into his 2020 domain investing results. You’ll learn about his revenues and costs, which TLDs he sold, his strategy for finding and buying domains, how he’s pricing them and much more. Grab a pen and paper to take notes, because you’ll learn a lot for this domain investor.
Also: Endurance acquires Web.com, .Com price hikes, NamesCon sold, earnings season.
Sponsor: DAN.com
Frank Schilling is exiting the top level domain business. He’s auctioning off his 23 top level domains on April 28 in what is sure to be an interesting event. On today’s show, Frank explains what’s behind the sale, what he got right (and what he didn’t) about new top level domains, and what his plans are for the future.
Also: GoDaddy closeouts, Super Bowl ad and last month’s top stories
Sponsor: Sav
This week we take an outside-in look at your domain business from a business perspective. My guest, Warren Coughlin came on the show last year when the economy grinded to a halt due to the pandemic. We talked about how to save your business. The domain business had a good year in 2020, but that doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels. Today, Warren discusses planning for your businesses’ future. Our conversation got me fired up f...
Squadhelp launched its new whitelabel marketplace for domainers last summer and I’ve been testing it out ever since. Today, I quiz Squadhelp CEO Darpen Munjal about many of the features and how to get the best results out of the platform. We get a bit into the weeds (for example, which domains work best with logos vs. images) and I found it very helpful. I hope you do too!
Also: Donuts acquired (again), Namecheap milestone, Close...
They say "all of the good domains are taken" and many people think that if you didn't get into domain investing early, it's too late. But last week, I hosted a panel on behalf of the Internet Commerce Association that proves it's not too late. I interviewed three relative new-comers to domain investing: Joshua Schoen, Doron Vermaat, and Josh Reason. On today's show, I'm providing an abbreviated recording...
My guest today is Andrew Miller, an early domain investor who sold beer.com, shop.com, diamond.com and many other gems. On today's show, we dig into domain investing in the early 2000s. We also talk about developing vs. just selling domains, with creditcards.com as an example. I also ask Andrew about the trend away from category defining keyword domains to using one-word domains as brands, and he has a good take on it.
Also: ...
Nielsen — the company you know for TV ratings — is really much more than that. This year, the company is splitting into two. On today’s show, I interview Jacqueline Woods, Chief Marketing Officer of NielsenIQ. We discuss the split, what NielsenIQ does, and how it chose its domain. Jacqueline also explains why the company decided to acquire the three-letter domain NIQ.com.
Also: Donuts completes acquisition, GoDaddy phishing fury, r...
Bring out the champagne, 2020 is almost over! It has certainly been an eventful, life altering year.
We’re concluding 2020 with our annual predictions episode. I asked people in the domain name industry to reflect on 2020 and make predictions for next year. You’ll hear from 22 people representing investors, domain brokers, registries, and other organizations. Enjoy!
Sponsor: Dan.com
It’s a special edition this week as I review the top stories and trends in the domain name market in 2020. We’ll discuss the pandemic’s impact on the market, continuing consolidation, the failed .org takeover, and price hikes on the way.
Also: Levelup hijacking, Workforce fight, GoDaddy’s big deal, DoorDash and .online, and Namecheap data.
Sponsor: Dan.com and Donuts
You know Jen Sale as the CEO of domain name brokerage Evergreen. She has a new startup called Sparkly that hopes to make give-giving easier. Jen explains the idea behind the site and how the company settled on Sparkly.com. We also discuss the challenges of starting a company when profits might be years away.
Also: More RDNH, .IE transition, Canadian milestone
Sponsor: Donuts
Not many domain name brokers can say they’ve “been there” — in the shoes of a company trying to acquire a premium domain name. But today’s guest is one of those. Tim Hargis worked for online mattress seller Tuft & Needle and helped it acquire TN.com. Hargis explains why the company needed a new domain, how it acquired it, and the results. He recently was named VP of Premium Domains a Buckley Media.
Also: DomainTools gets cash...
Making profitable investments with new top level domain names has proven challenging for many investors. Registries held back their best inventory or priced it at a premium. Today’s guest, Madhu Oswin, made a great return on his new TLD investments. The sample size is small, but it shows that domainers who selectively choose their investments and negotiate well can make a profit on new TLDs.
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Sponsor: Donuts
Last week, Donuts announced it was acquiring Afilias in a blockbuster deal. My guest this week is Mina Neuberg, Chief Marketing Officer of Donuts. Mina discusses branding, whether Donuts should market individual TLDs, and her view of the domain industry so far coming from the outside.
Also: Donuts acquires Afilias, two reverse domain name hijacking cases, GoDaddy launches new product
Sponsor: DAN.com
Domain investor Adam Strong returns to the show today to talk about what he’s seeing in the domain aftermarket during this strange year. Adam sees the high level of the market through Evergreen.com, and also has a portfolio of 14,000 domains. We talk about pricing domains, negotiations, and more. Oh, and Adam has an important tip for PayPal users.
Also: Jonathan on the move, aftermarket rebound, Wix disappoints, Google news and ...
Domain names are a side hustle for many investors. On today’s show, I talk with Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation. He explains the three types of side hustles and where domain names fit in. He also talks about some of the more interesting things people are doing to make money outside of their 9-5 job.
Also: A listener question about trademarks, a big acquisition, GoDaddy and Tucows earnings, and more.
Sponsor: Donuts
One of the best sessions at September's NamesCon Online was a chat between Zak Muscovitch, general counsel of Internet Commerce Association, and David Bernstein, a partner with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Bernstein was counsel for Booking.com in its trademark fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. On today’s show, you’ll hear the NamesCon discussion between Muscovitch and Bernstein. They discuss the implications of...
I’ve always thought of Dan.com as another domain landing page sales platform. But I walked away with my conversation this week with founder Reza Sardeha with a new way to describing it: Dan.com is a technology and payments stack for domain sales. You’ll understand what I mean after listing to this week’s newsletter.
Also: Still no .com price hike, Wines.com dispute, PayPal woes and more
Sponsor: Donuts
On this week’s show I answer some listener questions. We’ll talk about domain leasing (when to do it and how to set it up), how to sell unused domains, and how to sell low-priced domain names.
Also: Nobel Prize, ICANN saves money, six-figure forwards, XYZ, no-fee backorders and more.
Sponsor: Donuts
Proper domain name valuation is crucial to being a successful domain name investor. On today’s show, Michael Cyger of DNAcademy walks through a valuation of a domain name I just bought. Along the way, you’ll hear about some great data tools to home in on the value of your domains. Michael also helps me answer the first two podcast listener questions.
Also: Reverse domain name hijacking, NamesCon plans, and Efty marketplace launch
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