Dynadot

opinion The 7 attributes of a "Domain Artist"

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The dictionary defines art as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power”.

The same can be applied to domain name investing. It is truly an art form, and much like art, you can only learn so much before your creative expression, instincts, and imagination need to fill in the blanks. You can learn how to hold the brush, how to stroke the canvas, how to blend the colors, but that will only take you so far. You must understand that on top of learning the fundamental basics, you must dive deeper and develop many more attributes.

From what I have seen, there are some very important attributes that set the Rembrandts of our industry apart from the rest of the crowd. Here are my top 7 observations:

1. Instincts
For starters, the true artists in our industry have impeccable instincts. I am not talking about that “feeling” they get when they are at the roulette table and something tells them to bet on 18 red. I am talking about experience rooted, finely tuned, precise and machine like instincts that took an incredible amount of work to develop.

2. Valuation
They have an uncanny ability to valuate domain names. They have studied the market to the point where they can valuate both the wholesale and retail price of a domain name to within a few percent of its actual sale price.

3. The Right Domains
They understand that a domain name is much more than just a couple of keywords with search volume and CPC. They know that the domain name will eventually be the foundation of a company's brand. They fully understand all of the factors that go into making a domain name valuable and they always choose the best variation of the domain name to invest in.

4. Work Ethic
One the most important pieces to the puzzle. Hard work, ever heard of it?

5. Negotiation Skills
The best of the best will eat you alive in a negotiation situation. They have studied the art of negotiating to the point where there is no winning for you; you will cave into their will, every time. Even if you don’t know it’s happening.

6. Discipline
This is without a doubt one of the biggest fundamental attributes that differentiate the wolves from the sheep. It is crucial to the success of any investor. You need to set a code, and follow it.

7. Attitude
Truly successful domain name investors are some of the most interesting people in the world. They have a “can do” attitude. They are generally very positive, optimistic, and bold. You tell them it’s impossible and they show you it's not. They smile, laugh a lot, and have fun. They believe they are successful, therefore more success is drawn to them.

As you may know, there are always more variables at play; however, if you look into all of the true artists in our industry, they all have those 7 things in common. Not everyone can develop those attributes. Why? See #4. Not everyone who works hard can obtain success. Why? See #7. Not everyone with a good attitude can make can make a profit. Why? See #'s 2 & 5. You can see that all of these are must have attributes in order to truly paint a masterpiece.

In my opinion, art is an incredible journey of self discovery and with it comes a lot of responsibility. You are responsible for learning the truth. You are responsible for being honest, not only with yourself, but with others and the industry as a whole.

The art must always flow through you with the purest of intentions.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Must follow steps for all "real" domain investors and sellers!!
 
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i would also add risk taker to this list. sometimes you have to take risks to get a huge reward.Rick Schwartz rejected 5 million before accepting 8.88 million for one of his names.
 
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How's about a "Good Reputation" ,considering the community is so small. You F' someone or something over, and everybody will know about it.
 
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i would also add risk taker to this list. sometimes you have to take risks to get a huge reward.Rick Schwartz rejected 5 million before accepting 8.88 million for one of his names.

Yes! It takes a lot of patience and discipline to hold out like that! The man is a true artist!

How's about a "Good Reputation" ,considering the community is so small. You F' someone or something over, and everybody will know about it.
Definitely! Top 10 for sure!
 
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Thanks for sharing the valuable knowledge from your experience.
Its a great write-up as well, some of the lines were such a good read, I learnt them.
 
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Thanks for sharing the valuable knowledge from your experience.
Its a great write-up as well, some of the lines were such a good read, I learnt them.

Thanks for taking the time to read! :xf.smile:
 
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wow, learned ! This is an "art"! Thanks for sharing!
 
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I love ethic moment at this list
 
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Awesome post, Ali! Thank you so much. :)
 
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By the way, what millionaires have in common - is discipline (self-discipline)
I like that you have mentioned it in your post.
 
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They are generally very positive, optimistic, and bold. You tell them it’s impossible and they show you it's not. They smile, laugh a lot, and have fun. They believe they are successful, therefore more success is drawn to them.

Hey! How did you know I am like that? :laugh::rolleyes:;)
 
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Dude, I'll have to build a Zandibot shrine if you keep sharing all this valuable stuff regularly...between the info here and on your new website, it's like you're trying to write the "Domaining Bible".

Maybe "Domaining for dummies" ?

Maximum respect.
 
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"The dictionary defines art as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power”."

Domain investing is not an art. That makes no sense.
It is a science.

The dictionary defines science as "the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment."

A real artist could never teach someone how to completely reproduce their art. (sure, maybe a computer can these days, but that's different.)
To say domaining is so deep in that way is nonsense. Anybody could reproduce what anyone else does in this "industry" (also a silly word to use for domaining).
If I copied a very successful domain investor's actions for a year, I'm sure I could start to do just as well as them. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's why people like to keep their secrets to success..secret.

But I think that the only "secret" is being able to choose the right domains and have the money to wait for buyers.. or the ability to target the right buyers and send an email (is it an ART to send an email now?).

The only thing that really matters.. is to have
3. The Right Domains

As for some of the other points,
You can't tell what a good domain is just by instinct.. there are always exceptions. This is why people can appraise domains for close to nothing and they can still sell for decent amounts. The only "instinct" you need is a very basic idea of what is obviously crap.
You cannot "valuate both the wholesale and retail price of a domain name to within a few percent of its actual sale price."
And you don't even need good negotiation skills if you just set buy it now prices or are firm (and somewhat reasonable) with the prices you quote.

All that matters is that you buy the right domains, that you don't alienate any potential buyers, that you can manage your money well, and that you have patience. None of these are an art form.

So funny how people like to pump themselves up lol. There is real work out there to be done that COULD be considered art, yet you want to call domain investing an art. Sure, the art of contributing as close to zero to the world as possible and still making a few bucks.
 
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[QUOTE="jacoliobo, post: 5690841, member: 982392]Domain investing is not an art. That makes no sense.
It is a science.
[/QUOTE]
I think depending on who you are, is how you treat it. To you it may be a science, to him an art, and to others it could be a religious experience.

Great read, inspirational even!
 
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