12 replies
Hello. I received an email today about one of my domains as it didn't have a website built to it. This guy emailed me asking do i want a website built for such & such price etc. This give me an idea and i think i might look into it more.

Basically what he is doing is going around finding new/old domains without anything built on them. People are creating domains everyday so there is always a shot at getting work.

Could this be a way to make a decent income? Finding new domains etc, emailing the owner offering web development etc

Maybe a lot of people is already doing this but i certainly haven't heard of it or thought of it before?
  • Profile picture of the author Domain 1
    Most people consider emails like that spam. I received many emails shortly after registering my domains and had your been one of them, genuine as it may be, it wouldn't have stood out or appealed to me any more.

    If you want to offer web design services you probably would be better off to focus on joining freelance websites and finding people there or letting them find you.
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  • Profile picture of the author StanHyeck
    I'm going to second Domain1 here.

    You shouldn't ever email someone that hasn't asked you to send them an email.

    Contacting someone about building a site just because they registered a domain is spam. It's no different than scraping email addresses to send any other kind of offer.

    Absolutely, positively NEVER email someone that hasn't give you specifically explicit permission to send them email.

    That's my .02 anyway
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    • Profile picture of the author Dani78
      Who knows... maybe if you ask the same person
      doing it, will give you a better idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Luck
    Definitely don't send out spam emails like that.

    Yes, it's a way to make some extra income, but it's very high risk.

    Also, you would have to send out a very high volume of emails to get ANY response.
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  • Profile picture of the author Horacioplus
    Personally i really hate those emails. Anyone who sends me a message with a link to buy something without my permission
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    All I can tell you is that if I get emails like that, I usually delete them right away and don't even bother to read the email itself.
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  • Profile picture of the author lukeblower
    Anybody I know who builds websites for people successfully is very careful to build their client base very carefully by showing their skills and reliability.

    From what i can see, it takes a lot of providing value at the front end an slowly building up income on the back end. Going for this spammy method may work, but ethically and practically I think it's no go.
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  • Profile picture of the author badonkadonkdonk
    Uhhhh... I guess I'm guilty as charged here... I have to admit that I randomly email websites offering them to upgrade their websites. I mean, It usually happens when I'm researching for a client and all of a sudden I will run into a really crappy website that looks like something from 1997 with a ton of those flashy gifs and an odd-ball navigation that lacks any sort of solid structure (or worse, the content is absolutely horrible).

    It makes me feel sorry for the website owner but even more for the poor domain, especially if it's a good domain! I don't even charge a whole lot of money for the work, sometimes no more than 800 bucks for a fully loaded site with all original, super great, content (I throw in one hour of CMS training for free).

    I know it sounds unusual but there are still lots of people out there who really want to help. Also, I just think that some Website owners don't have a clue, I mean, they have an idea or a vision of what they want but don't know how to articulate it or even where to 'technically' begin because they are not webmasters to begin with! They are entrepreneurs that need to stay focused on the business! Or maybe they just have no clue about how to optimize for conversion or write great content, etc.

    I usually give a ton of free advice, just to help people out. It drives my partner nuts but I don't really care. I like sharing knowledge and if it helps someone, why not? I mean, I've been doing this stuff for 15 years! I have to do SOMETHING with all of this knowledge, right? Why not help others?

    If someone is offering to redo your site, especially if it looks crappy, you don't need to get all freaked out about it. Listen to what the person has to offer; use good judgement and if you decide to work with them ask for referrals, then verify those referrals or otherwise work out a payment deal that is safe for you and fair to the person making the offer... usually half upfront and half upon completion. I would advise you to get a full plan in advance along with a delivery schedule. That will help you stay on top of things even if you don't have a clue about technical stuff.

    Keep in mind that building your website is only the beginning. You will have to maintain it as well so make sure that the website is created on a CMS that you will be able to work with on your own in the future. You can use Wordpress, Joomla, Magento... any of these are fairly easy to learn. The last thing that you want is someone creating your website and then holding you by the balls every time you want to make any tiny little change and FFS, get your own hosting. Don't allow anyone to host your website or transfer your domain to their registrar.

    Dang, this is an old post! I just scrolled up for a min... well, I don't know if it's even relevant any more but I hope it helps someone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Katie Rich
    Old post? From yesterday?

    I had the same email yesterday, probably from the same company, somewhere in India. I was surprised as the domain is only a week old.

    Guy's name was Steve. I did take a look at the website link but it didn't fill me with an urgent need to have the work done, the spelling mistakes put me off.

    Relegated it to spam and delete.
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    • Profile picture of the author wtatlas
      Businesses offering a service have been contacting businesses that might have need of their services for long before there was an internet. What about cold calling either by telephone or walking through the door of a business and putting a business proposition to the owner? Every offline business owner I have ever met regards this approach as normal and it's an accepted way of businesses making contact.

      Personally I don't mind the type of emails that the OP talks about at all and I don't have any problem with them provided they are from a legitimate business or individual and they are relevant. In fact, I give the people who send them credit for having some initiative and for taking action to try to build up a business for themselves - a far cry from the "business model" of the real email spammers.

      Unfortunately, because of the antics of the illegal spam merchants, the ones with false "From" headers and misleading subject lines, all unsolicited email tends to be labelled as bad when, in fact, some of it might be from businesses that have a good service to offer.
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      • Profile picture of the author lastreporter
        It's a major turnoff. I get about three such emails a week. I hit the spam button and register the sender as a spammer. It gets real old.

        Everyday, I must get 80 spam messages in my spam folder. All the wasted bandwidth and bad ideas and scams. It makes me believe the worst about mankind.
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  • Profile picture of the author actionplanbiz
    nothing wrong with it and i cant discriminate against it.

    theres always going to be those people that wont like it. but there are going to be those that do and buy from you.

    There's a lot of success with people doing this with local businesses. offering website creation & SEO.
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