Domain Name Wire Podcast

Chocolate.com. Licorice.com. Caramels.com. These are some really sweet domain names, and they're all owned by one company: GOAT Foods. The company is leveraging these great domain names to sell snacks and confections.   On today's show, GOAT Foods cofounder Jonathan Packer tells the company's origin story and explains how the high-quality domain names have helped it launch its brands. He also expl...

It's the annual predictions episode! On today's show you'll hear from 25 people about what the biggest surprises of 2023 were and what they expect to happen in 2024. Happy new year and let's make 2024 a great one! Sponsor: Sav.com domain transfers

"Brandable Insider" Keith DeBoer returns to the show this week to talk about domain investing. Keith owns about 5,000 domains. Today, he explains how he decides which domains to buy, where he's listing them for sale, and why (and how) he pruned his portfolio by about 500 domains this year.   Also: DNS abuse, .io, .xyz, and more.   Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers

2023 has been full of activity in the domain name business. There have been acquisitions. Changes in hot technologies. And much, much more.   On today's show, I discuss what I think were the five biggest stories in domain names last year.    Also: .AI mania, fast transfer, ICANN's schedule and more   Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

NIS2 is a European Union Directive that could impact domain registrations. On today's show, I'm joined by Polina Malaja, Policty Director of CENTR, to talk about NIS2. She explains why the EU brought forward this directive, and how it will impact domain registrars, registries, and other parties in the domain name ecosystem.   Further reading: Whitepaper on registration data accuracy , and NIS2: Un...

When domain investor AbdulBasit Makrani was frustrated by his domain sales volume, he decided to take drastic measures by reducing the prices of nearly all of his domains by 20%-60%. Sales volume almost immediately went up. We discuss this on today's show, and some takeaways for domain investors. As always, AbdulBasit provides great tips, so listen to today's interview!   Sponsor: Sav.com domain t...

Just six weeks remain in 2023. On today's show, I run through my domain sales results so far this year, including sell-through rate, median price, top level domains, and a breakdown of one, two, and three-word domains. Then, we revisit predictions people made for 2023 to see who nailed it.   Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

What to find bargains at Afternic? Filtering through Afternic's 23 million domains just got a lot easier thanks to a new tool in Domain Academy : Afternic Advanced Search.   On today's show, GoDaddy's Joe Styler, who has taken over Domain Academy, talks about this tool and other "hidden" tools in Domain Academy. We also talk about what Joe has in store for the platform going forward.   Also: .AI,...

Can blockchain technology improve domain name registrars? That's what today's guest, Paul Gauvreau of 3DNS , believes. We discuss the relative benefits and potential benefits of bringing a registrar "on chain".   Also: Earnings season, .bot, domain search data, and "It is not."   Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions

If you want to talk to someone who understands the power of a great domain, look no further than Erik Allebest. In 2005, he acquired the domain name chess.com for only $55,000 in a bankruptcy auction and hasn't looked back.    The domain paid dividends early because of how browsers worked. And the great domain still pays dividends to this day.   Chess.com now generates over $100 million a year and...

On today's show, domain investor Braden Pollock explains his deal with Hilco Digital Assets, and we're also joined by Hilco Digital Assets managing director Andrew Miller. We also discuss the state of the market, and Braden reveals a new $600,000 domain name sale.   Also: .Org, .desi, bad lawyers, and going to jail over IP addresses    Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

Earlier this year, Ray King's Top Level Design sold its remaining top level domains to GoDaddy. On today's show, Ray explains why he sold. We also discuss TLD valuations and if he'll participate in the next round.   Ray is also the founder of domain name registrar PorkBun. He originally created the registrar to help sell its new top level domains. But over time, the registrar has grown thanks to w...

Fred Hsu and Shayan Rostam have been in the domain business for a while. In fact, if you're fairly new to the business, you might not know who Fred is. He was a founder of Oversee.net, the company that ran DomainSponsor and the famous Domainfest events.   Through a weird chance encounter, he met Shayan Rostam, who has been in the registry business at several companies, including his own company In...

Colin C. Campbell has built and sold many companies, including several in the domain and web space. On today's show, Campbell talks about some of the things he's learned (both himself and from interviewing 200 entrepreneurs), which are part of his new book Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat.     We talk about co-founding Hostopia and Tucows, building the right team, good timing for selling businesses, gro...

My guests this week are Kamila Sekiewicz and Zak Muscovitch of the Internet Commerce Association (ICA). We kick things off by talking about the upcoming ICA meeting in Las Vegas, including some news about the Lonnie Borck Memorial Award. I mange to get Zak's blood boiling by bringing up .net price increases, and the pair fill us in on UDRP and the ICA's "ask me anything" events.   Also: Domain bid...

On today's show, Squadhelp founder Darpan Munjal shares data and ideas for how to sell more domains. One of the datapoints was so impactful that I changed the prices on about 50 of my domains after recording this interview.   We talk about domain pricing, how to get people who buy domains on payment plans to pays sooner, experiments with domain discoverability, and using remarketing to sell more d...

Have you ever passed up acquiring a domain only to kick yourself later? This week's guest can one-up you.   Jeremy Padawer had the opportunity to buy x.com for $10,000, only to be beaten to it by Elon Musk. On today's show, Jeremy tells the story, as well as several other great stories (including ones with no regrets!) from the early days of domains and websites…just as buying Jeremy.com.   These...

On today's show, DN Journal publisher Ron Jackson joins me to talk about the domain name market so far in 2023. We compare the top charts vs. last year and run through the top public sales of 2023. We also discuss some trends in domain sales.   Also: Namecheap badges, CBS, CentralNic and more.   Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

Identity Digital operates more top level domains than any other company, with over 270 new top level domains including .info, .pro, .live and more.   Today, the company's Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Sterling and Chief Revenue Officer Matt Overman join me to talk about the business and the future. Rachel outlines a shift in marketing strategy for the company and some interesting use cases for ne...

Attorney John Berryhill returns this week to discuss some factors people should consider before entering into a lease-to-own (or similar) domain transaction. He also talks about what brokers should do when a buyer mentions a trademark or makes a threat about trademarks during negotiations.    Also: If only you have known, Inc 5000, and ICANN's letter Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain...

Joe Uddeme of NameExperts joins us this week to talk about the deal for max.com, which HBO acquired as part of its rebrand to Max. Would it have gotten the domain had Uddeme not pitched it to the company? We also discuss the challenges of Whois privacy and the current state of the domain market.   Also: Bidding strategies, reverse domain hijacking, .ai, and more   Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions

Before Brett Farmiloe started his business that gets experts quoted in Q&A articles, he reached out to the owner of featured.com about buying the domain. It was clear Brett couldn't afford the domain, so we went with a decidedly less appealing domain: terkel.io. While the business is successful, the domain held the company back, especially from a credibility standpoint with publishers. Recently, B...

Two months ago I did a solo episode where I covered my domain sales through May of the year. Today, I give an update on my results since then. I also explain what I'm doing with lease-to-own at Afternic and what I'm doing for sales landing pages.   Also: Domain Data, earnings season, China's woes, Ethereum Name Service and more.   Sponsor: Sav.com domain transfers  

This week we catch up with Kate Buckley, founder of Buckley Media. We discuss what's going on in the market and talk about lease-to-own or long term payment deals on domains. With Afternic adding LTO capabilities, we discuss some of the things you'll want to think about before doing one of these deals.   Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers