Another slow week in Geo sales.  DomainFest has slowed down the market action somewhat, due to investors saving to bid on premium names on auction this week.   There should be some great sales reported after the conclusion of DomainFest.  There are 9 premium Geo names on auction this week and it will be very interesting to see what prices they sell for.

Ron Jackson from DNJournal.com has done an outstanding job communicating the enthusiasm and vibe at DomainFest in his daily Lowdown post today.  He continues to amaze me each time he reports from these conferences.  It is hard to step away from all the excitement just to keep those who are not present, upto date with conference news.  Thank you Ron for not keeping us in the dark.  Selfless Service! 

A near record breaking attendance of 600 individuals checked in yesterday.  I wrote in an earlier post about DomainFest becoming the next big conference for domainers and investors in our industry.  I think I am on the money with such a great turnout at DomainFest.  One essential key to the success of DomainFest is the almost affordable conference fee for the average domainer.  As prices become more competitive and in reach for the average domainer, attendence will soar at these domain conferences/Expos.

You can read the full article from DNJournal.com (Here)

The domain industry is a very expensive business to partake in, especially for a beginner.  Over 95% who enter this business, do what I call, Part Time Domaining.  This occurs until the right sale or opportunity comes along to give you financial freedom from your daily life obligations.  There is so much to learn and understand.  During this process of education, the average domainer spends over a $1,000, if not more.  Most will spend 10x more and never become successful no matter how long they stay in the domain industry.

Approximately 3%-5% will ever become successful in this industry.  The majority will fail because they remain unfocused by registering every domain imagineable.  Additionally, they will remain unsuccessful because of their failure to think outside of the box, and embrace niche opportunities in the industry to build wealth.  98% of domainers are followers, and remain in a flooded market, domaining in general, instead of looking for undervalued niches in the domain industry to capitalize on.  The cold truth being that 90% of the domains acquired by unsuccessful domainers are very limited to an enduser, have no typein traffic, and contain no real value.   

(Warren Buffet said:)

“For some reason, people take their cues from price action rather than from values. What doesn’t work is when you start doing things that you don’t understand or because they worked last week for someone else.”

In order to become successful in this industry, every successful domainer will tell you to focus on a niche and stick to it.    

The Geodomain Niche is all about the hot trend of LOCAL and is the answer to success for the small time domain investor.  Geodomains allow a domainer to remain focused and with a little hard work, they are able to build profitable empires.  The difference between domaining in general and the Geodomain niche, is that approximately 90% of geodomains contain real value with many revenue streams waiting to being unlocked.  Geodomains have a variety of end users to select from once developed as well.  This is your opportunity to enter the undervalued Geodomain Niche before values rise like generic domains.  Continue to wait, and you will miss a golden opportunity.  There are thousands of affordable geodomains still available for registration and on the aftermarket.  There will be a few more posts written on this subject.  You can visit the Geo Forum to learn more until then.  

***UPDATED***
This has been posted in the Geo Forum for your interaction.

Is it possible for domain industry services to give legit appraisals on domain names?  Yesterday, Rick Schwartz went on a tangent about his iReport.com sale, domain valuations, and domain appraisals.  This is what he had to say:

(via Rick’s Blog)

Maybe this will blow the lid off all the appraisals services. They are ALL WORTHLESS. Absolutely worthless. Not a single one has a clue. Not a one and SCAM is usually the first thing that comes to mind when I read a worthless appraisal that somebody actually paid for.

I believe it is possible to assess domain values, so long as historical sales have occured in each category or niche that can be used as a measuring tool.  Realestate appraisers have been using this same concept for years when giving a valuation to a property.  These past sales will help establish an approximate value of a domain name in a category or niche.  However, in the end, the price a name sells for will be determined by the end users need and want for the domain.  Supply and demand will increase the value of a domain overnight, as experienced with iReport.com.

So how do we assess the value of a Geo domain?  These are different than regular domains once you truly understand the impact they have, if developed.  I have started to build a historical Geo Tracker for sales that have occured to help determine geo values as the industry matures.  I would like to publish some sort of standard for geopreneurs to use to assess the value of their Geo domains.

What do you think are the essential fundamentals to assess an approximate value on a Geo domain?  I need your help to establish a living valuation tool to assist geopreneurs as the industry matures.

Please submit your comments on this subject, good or bad. You will not be judged on your opinions.

Thanks!

This is an outstanding motivational speech by Steve Jobs.  I think you will find it inspirational as you embark in your future endeavors.  Think outside the box as you listen to this speech and apply it to your life scenarios you have encountered throughout the years.  There are many people who were laughed at when they decided to embrace the domain industry, now these people are successful because they believed in what they were doing and continuosly adapted with the trends. 

There will always be big fish in every industry that others will look upto, but do not let these icons limit you from achieving your maximum potential by thinking it is to late to make it.  One day, you too, may be a big fish because you chose to embrace what you love and believe in.  In the end, you may have others looking up to you for advice and motivational enlightenment due to your accomplishments.  It is never to late!

Always remember, when you reach the top, to send the elevator back down with knowledge so others can reach the same destination.  In the end, Karma will bring you more success in the future as you help individuals become successful, or even surpass you.   

Knowledge is the ultimate key to success and humanity.            

Can you relate to the words spoken by Mr. Jobs?  I certainly can, and after all my setbacks in the domain industry, have finally decided to embrace my passions after all these years; teaching and the domain industry by establishing SimplyGeo.com.  

-Godspeed Geopreneurs!-  

Throughout the years, there has not been much exposure given to the Geodomain niche and the value associated with these names in our industry.  Many have sold names undervalue because of industry leaders and owners failing to acknowledge their hidden revenue streams once developed.  The standard emplaced in this industry has been to assess domain name value based on two factors:  Traffic and Generic wording.

There is so much more that must be used in determining the true value of a geo domain.  The true value of Geo domains is going to become apparent in 2008 as consumers and businesses finally discover how they can reach their targeted markets by simply using a geo domain or the resources located on one.  Development  unlocks these hidden revenue streams and stays a constant stream regardless of the economy, if done correctly.       

Realestate is going to be the industry/vehicle that will exploit the Geo niche in main stream media.  Consumers and realestate developers are selling/promoting their properties on Myspace.com, Blogs, and Craigslist to lure buyers.  This was the trend in realestate for 2007.  They have discovered that it is essential to have a presence on the internet in order to sell their realestate.  It is only a matter of time before they connect the dots and turn to Geodomains for the targeted audience they have been striving for all this time.   

The writing is on the wall: Many more articles/posts on this subject will come to the blog in the near future.

(via the NyTimes.com) 

A lot of people do all their home shopping online, start to finish,” said Kelly Marzullo of Core Marketing Group, which is using the Web to promote various Manhattan buildings and the Peninsula at City Place in Edgewater, N.J.

“People like to know everything about a building before they come in, or at least have a taste and a feel,” Marzullo said. Her Manhattan-based company does advertise properties on craigslist, building in links to Web pages that might include photographs, digital drawings, video, floor plans and the range of asking prices.

Nationally, however, real estate companies are spending 26 percent more on online advertising this year, even as total real estate ad spending declined 3 percent, according to Borrell Associates, a research company.

Today, Ron at DNJournal.com recommended reading the Castello Brothers Interview with SimplyGeo.com on the daily LowDown.  As you know, DNJournal is the top magazine in the domain industry.  It is not very often that DNJournal recommends reading an article covered on a blog, especially a new one.  I would like to thank the Castello Brothers for an excellent interview and for putting SimplyGeo.com on the map.  A little over a month ago, I launched the blog to cover the Geodomain niche with little resources and a rough draft game plan.  Since then, the blog and the game plan have conitnued to evolve and excel on many levels. 

Please stay tuned as new developments and features are announced on the blog that will assist in exploiting the Geodomain Niche.

Thank you DNJournal, Readers, and the Castello Brothers for the opportunity to blog!  If it wasn’t for you guys and gals, the blog and forum would not have evolved into education platforms.

-Godspeed-