Question about domain flipping

I thought I recognised the face - you're the chap who gave Colin a swift kick for polishing off the Masala.

Kick him harder next time. He loves it really. (Glad you like MO!)

Steve gave a cracking answer. I'll just add a few things.

I had a web development agency a few years back. We worked with small to medium-sized offline businesses.

The projects ranged from marketing (local SEO, video production, and so forth) to web design, bespoke coding, and VR.

The whole ball of wax, in other words.

Most enterprises ignore the little business and chase the larger contracts. Well, that's leaving money on the table, so I went after the full range.

What you'll find with small businesses (offline) is they have cash to throw about and they're very liberal with it, but they need to see something tangible.

You can talk viral marketing, content marketing, and other such things with them until you're blue in the face. It won't work. (Usually.)

I found a good niche in supplying this type of package to them:

1. Keyword Domain (Premium, Where Possible).
2. Hosting.
3. Wordpress Installation & Optimization.
4. WP Plugin Installation.
5. Theme and Theme Installation.
6. Basic Web Design.

We would back that up by showing them a client portfolio of local businesses. (Which is why I say it's good to run with the local route for this model. It helps convert, plus if you're a local they feel more comfortable dealing with you.)

Once they saw the portfolio and had a chat with one of us, it was pretty easy to convert a sale. They just had to see something tangible and understand what they were getting. To seal the deal, we'd then explain how the property could be used.

- PPC
- PPV
- Content Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- ETC

So you'd have the tangible package (just like a brick and mortar business) and (blammo) you'd have a REASON to own that property. We'd convert extremely well. We got them in the door with the above and kept them on as clients (not all; some of them).

The best way to go about the above is with your own hosting, decent designers, etc, etc, all of which is pretty useless if you're still fairly new to IM, so let me break down a much more doable method for you (or anyone).

1. You get decent reseller hosting.
2. You use ElegantThemes.com
3. You use free stock images.
4. You understand WP.
5. You understand Photoshop.

Those are the basics. Reseller hosting is good because you get the clients paying you for hosting each month. However, you can take that out of the equation, too. You can refer the client to hosting through your affiliate links. Doing so, you can earn commissions between around $50 and $200, but the norm for low-level sales is probably around the $50 to $100 mark.

So. Simple approach.

1. You put together a development website.
2. You subscribe to Elegant Themes.
(The copyright allows you to use those in design projects.)
3. You join a hosting prog or get a reseller account.
4. You contact 3 local charities who don't have a website.
5. You offer them a free web design to build your portfolio.
6. (Local charities and churches.)
7. Now you have a portfolio and a snazzy website.
8. You put together a services page.
9. You can offer all kinds of services.
10. You can also have a section for domains.
11. When clients buy a domain?
12. They also get the package I mention above.
11. First month free for hosting if you have the reseller.
12. The rest is free regardless.

As I'm writing this, I'm finding there's probably too much, but I'll do my best to cover the broad strokes and you can fill in the blanks.

The trick to finding clients? (I could write another book.) One easy route is Facebook. You visit local businesses (their FB pages) and look for ones without a website. The fact that they're on FB and promoting their business signals they're strong leads for a website.

Another trick is PPC. Whack in local searches into Google and contact each business. Send a unique email each time. Explain to them the advantages of having a keyword domain for PPC, especially the premium one for their business (which you own). And let them know the full package. Explain that you know they get tons of emails. You're a local lad, just up the road, and trying to grow your business. Give them your telephone number.

So, money? Well, far too much work for a lazy git like me, but I can break it down.

Costs (after ongoing costs like ET, hosting, etc). Unit costs per client:

1. Domain (A few quid/ $10)

That's it.

Money:

1. Price of Domain.
2. Hosting (reseller or affiliate commission).
3. Extra services.
4. Future work.
5. Referrals (local businesses all talk).

If you were to do this? I'd suggest you do it as a side business. Consider it more a hobby that you're growing in the background. I'd need to fill in far too many blanks for me to be comfortable with you rushing off and doing it. The trick (if you do it) is to keep your costs way way way down and setup a simple operation.

That way? You'll be filling in the blanks with experience.

It's a decent business. It didn't make me a fortune but I got rid of it before properly outsourcing everything. I'm a hard worker but I can make more money setting up passive businesses. This model is good; you'll just always struggle to make it passive, even with outsourcing.

But the upside (money) is good. It can be good from the start, too. You pay 10 quid for a domain, flip it for a couple of hundred, whack on $100 for hosting (or whatever deal you secure from the host) and you're already around £250 in profit. Whack onto that extra services and ongoing services.

It's not bad. What you want to do is get people in the door with that offer. The real money is subscription services for marketing. So you'd start out with the above setup. Then you'd either get staff (better) or VAs (still good if you can trust them). You use them to run marketing - especially social media management (you can get paid by the hour).

Sorry. Being called for dinner (and I value my balls too much not to go running).

Anyway! Some stuff to think about!

Cheers,

Tom