Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

Frank Schilling‘s active involvement in the domain aftermarket auctions has been covered many times by DomainGang.

Fun and games aside, many domainers are curious about how the Canadian late-comer managed to build a successful empire, first registering and then acquiring thousands of top quality domain names; finally building a domain sales platform for himself and for others.

Frank’s active bidding on NameJet is not a secret, and I’ve followed his bids closely at times – outbidding him once for a dictionary .net. I’m not sure if this is a feat to be proud of, but I respect Frank’s involvement in quality domain auctions, as a participant or as an observer.

Today I had a strange thought: Should I be concerned if Frank Schilling isn’t bidding on two auctions I follow as a NameJet bidder? Is that an indication that the domains aren’t really of great potential?

After having a second cup of coffee, I decided that it’s simply a matter of being selective; unlike stamps or sports cards, with domains you can’t have them all. One needs to pick and choose, regardless of how nice a domain might seem to be.

Still, it’d be great to bid against Frank once again, knowing that he’s a sensible bidder and not someone who places crazy amounts of money on the auction table.

After all, gambling is best suited for the Las Vegas casinos.

Shane Cultra’s post about increased domain inquiries at Frank Schilling’s Internet Traffic outfit, clearly shows something that Sedo and other parking companies need to take note of.

The increased number of inquiries and offers aren’t due to the beautifully crafted landing pages that Frank offers. Actually, I’m being sarcastic about the look of those headers but that’s not the point here, as we’re not discussing PPC conversion rates.

There is one single thing that contributes to the increased number of inquiries, and that’s the large, bold, in-your-face line at the top of the domain that says:

This domain has recently been listed in the marketplace at domainnamesales.com. Click here to inquire.

It can’t be any simpler reason than that.

Meanwhile, Sedo’s “For sale” links in order to place an offer are hidden at various locations, sometimes below the notorious “fold” and in small print. And yes, this costs a lot of missed opportunities.

In the pre-PPC era, I used my own landing pages to promote and sell domains; a simple PHP script would parse the domain URL and create a contact form pre-populated with the domain in question. I received considerably more inquiries this way, which I would then convert into sales, mostly by utilizing Escrow.com

If you’re not concerned about the loss of PPC revenue due to moving your domains away from parking pages such as that of Sedo, creating your own landing pages with a contact form is the way to go, in order to achieve more direct sales.

There is also VooDoo.com that allows for custom placement of the “Domain For Sale” line, including my preferred top of the page.

It’s always exciting meeting large-impact domainers for the first time.

When I first met Rick Schwartz at TRAFFIC in Orlando, I was star-struck; then Rick asked me to simply enjoy the conference and of course its food.

It’s amazing how those “larger than life” domainers are in fact very normal-acting, very much human; in fact, sometimes more so than an average Joe Domainer.

So what makes such domainer idols project a different, God-like persona through their achievements and writings?

It’s very simple: industries need leaders. Those that stand out are soon given the ranks of a “strategos” – the Greek word for “general” in the military and political sense.

An industry that welcomes a variety of people from different cultures, age groups and places of the world – such as domaining – soon benefits from the lead and direction these leaders take.

Shane’s article about whether one would buy scalped tickets in order to meet with Frank Schilling at Domainfest reminded me that I met with Frank about eight hours ago.

Frank also gave me some free advice, despite the fact that it was only in my dream that he appeared.

When one is immersed in the domain industry, such dreams – however confusing they might be – often turn into revelations and the occasional epiphany.

To cut a long story short, in my dream Frank Schilling made this statement when I asked about his prediction about the future shape of things to come:

“Why change something that works already? Things won’t change.”

Frank then politely asked for directions to the bathroom of my house. It was a small price to pay for hearing such a simple yet empowering statement from Frank.

Even though it was just a dream.

A day can be as busy as we make it.

From the moment we wake up, until the time we turn our brain into ‘sleep mode’, the interaction with events, obligations, projects and other such business functions is a continuum that we rarely dare interrupt.

During prolonged periods of time when we need to rest, take vacation, enjoy a trip or simply unwind away from these daily functions, certain things are bound to happen.

You know it.

Step away from your daily schedule and you will forget about the time you planned to make that phonecall. Take a longer nap and the closing time to enter a domain auction will be gone by the time you wake up. Take a vacation, have a holiday, drive to the store at a time you planned to watch that domain drop – and it will drop and be caught, just not by you.

There is no such thing as a holiday in the Domain Business.

Even on a Sunday, things happen, around the clock and you can’t be missing out. Even on Easter Sunday, Frank Schilling will be watching the clock before the auction ends, to beat those of you who thought it’d be luxurious to have an extra beer with your Easter meal.

And that’s exactly how you lose great deals, you miss opportunities or you fail to succeed. The Domain Business is open 24 hours a day and it requires a lot of effort and discipline.

That, and a good alarm clock.

For more news follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/acroplex

I admit it, I am a Star Trek fan. I discovered the series in the late 70′s, long after Space 1999 and right after the success of Star Wars. I’d rush home from school and I’d turn on the TV to watch – in glorious black and white – the adventures of Starship Enterprise and its brave crew.

What set Star Trek apart from the other sci-fi shows, was the depth of its characters. Each and every member of the Enterprise’s multi-cultural crew, which included men and women, humans and aliens, black, white and Asian – maintained their own important role in every episode.

There would be no complete show without captain Kirk’s boldness and tongue-in-cheek humor, Spock’s ultra-logical genius, the seriousness of Dr. Leonard “Bones” or the agonizing dedication of Uhura, Sulu and Scotty. And at a time that the Cold War was at its peak between the US and USSR, Chekov served as a hint to the TV viewers that the Russians might not be evil after all.

Without further ado, “Friday Funnies” brings you Star Trek – the Domainers’ version. Click on the image to view at full size.

Live long, and register.