The Rick Schwartz Domain and Traffic Blog RicksBlog.com...Home of the "Domain King"

Why August 15th is so important

Over the years the one thing that I have focused on more than anything else is the TRAFFIC. The traffic is what fuels the net. The traffic is REAL people looking for something. Most buy a million "hits" or they may be silly and buy a million "Impressions." But what they are TRYING to buy are targeted eyeballs. People, buyers, potential new customers, looking for their specific product. Many have not looked past THAT. But what is it about those buyers? How did they get to your site? Why did they get to your site? Ask questions. Get into their mind set. Profile them like you worked for the FBI. See the FBI catches criminals by putting themselves into the minds of the suspect. They get so deep that they basically may be able to figure out the criminals next move before the criminal figures it out. They know what they are going to do before they do. That same type of thing works for the customers coming to your site. When you figure it out for one you make a sale. When you figure out many, you make many sales.

You don't have to be that sharp to figure out that Christmas is probably the single slowest day of the year on the net. But do you know the second slowest day? The third slowest day? The tenth slowest day? The biggest day? The second biggest day? The third biggest day? Do you know why August 15th is important? Labor day? October 12th?

Let's start with August 15th. To me, this is one of the most important days of the year. Why? Because on June 21st summer arrives and surfers think more about surfboards than going shopping onlione. So you see a steady decline in traffic and earnings. Most factories in The USA close for July 4th week. Some run half shifts that week and then half the crew comes back and the other half goes on vacation. Then you have the heart of the vacation season. The last 2 weeks in July and the first 2 weeks in August. Europe goes on Holiday. The world is just out and they are distracted by life. So during this period it is a bit harder to get things done and it's a time and opportunity to recharge your batteries for the next business cycle that starts on August 15th. It may be invisible to the naked eye, but that is the day that a real transformation begins.

As I said before, you need to get into the MINDS of your customers. What are they doing on August 15th? Just look in your local papers. BACK TO SCHOOL!! So while some think August 15th is the middle of summer, and it is for some, the majority of folks are buying school supplies, and clothing for the upcoming school year. They are making the TRANSITION from summer to fall. A transition that takes about 8 weeks to complete. So August 15th represents the day that folks start to come back and pay attention again. Not the heavy hitters. They are just going on vacation. But if you deal with the MASSES, they are coming home each day and the eyeballs grow and grow until we have full strength again. When does that happen you ask? The answer.....November.

Now this may not be true for all business in all industries. There are many seasonal businesses that different rules may apply. For example on Candy.com, August is a very big month and interesting who the buyers are. This time of year candy.com gets “Industrial buyers” of candy products. School districts search vendors and start placing their orders. Retailers are also in play because Halloween candy starts to go on the shelves in the next few weeks. These are just things I have learned since owning the domain name and never actually selling a single piece of candy directly. But knowing who is coming to your site is vital if you are going to enjoy GREAT success on the net.

And let me add for the record, we are taking the "Long" view. There is another view. It isn't seasonal. It isn't monthly. It isn't even weekly or daily. It is HOURLY. Why do I even bring any of this up? Well for one thing, very few know it. Even fewer will agree with it. Many will be asking what the hell is he talking about?? I will repeat something I have said year after year. "More sales are being LOST on the net than are actually being made on the net." So then I say this and they don't know what the hell I am talking about so they just shrug their shoulders and move on. Well, just like there is a science and an art to selling in the real world there is a science and an art to selling on the Internet. The companies that understand this dominate their industries. The companies that don’t are losing market share to those that do. It’s the greatest shift of market share across the board in history.

I have the ability to go to virtually any website that is doing commerce, has traffic, and in 15 minutes I can increase their sales by a minimum of 15% and likey much more. I have done it many times. It’s easy for me. There are certain common and repetitive MISTAKES folks make that nobody ever told them were mistakes. So if they don't know, they don't see and they can't fix. Do you expect somebody to fix something that important that still doesn't understand what I have written here over the last few months? All I can do is try to give certain pieces of the puzzle that may lead to a better understanding. It could be as simple as a font change, a color change, a change in the location of a specific button. Usually a combination of all these and more. They need FRESH EYES to pick up those shortfalls that can make a huge impact on their bottom line. Most people just scoff if off. They don’t believe a few SIMPLE changes can add more sales. Ok, that is their right…..but they are wrong and it is costing them money. Costing them business. It is costing them customers that are likely being picked up by their competitors. Their businesses are getting weaker by the day and it is invisible to them until it hurts and by then it is too late. That is the cost they are paying.

It’s the heart of summer. Go have some fun, enjoy life, un-wind. Don't look for anything dramatic, just a trend. Like a large ship turning around, it takes time and the slowest part is at the beginning and at the end. The bleeding stops and the healing begins on August 15th.

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

The 5 year nap theory and Gut Instinct

The first part of this posted was lifted directly from Frank Schilling's blog. A blog all folks trying to make money online should read every day. Frank was answering a reader about something he mentioned in one of his posts.

"What is Rick's 5 year nap theory, if you don't mind elaborating?"

***Frank Schilling writes*** After the November 2004 announcement of Marchex's acquisition of the Yun Ye domain portfolio, Rick Schwartz made a fabled post on his private board that spoke to the fact that the domain industry was in its infancy..  He surmised that the industry would go through a great evolution as corporate America learned about the power of domain names as a tool to drive targeted paid-search leads. He posited that the Ye transaction was just the glimmer of the beginning and advised all parties reading that post not to speak to anyone or do anything hasty in the early innings. The best course of action in his opinion was to "take a 5 year nap".

Rick reminds me a bit of  Columbus.. a guy without GPS but with a sextant and a good sense of the sea. His line has always stuck with me. While I have personally gone with the tide to see if deal opportunities play themselves out equitably, so far hindsight has shown me that Rick's advice was spot-on. I would have personally been better off (saved opportunity cost) to speak to no-one and take a "five year nap", letting others find their own way through the education process and value proposition of domaining ... No offense to my former would-be suitors, who likely view their experience with me through a similar but reversed optic ;)

The preceding post was lifted directly off of Frank Schilling’s Blog. He did a great job describing what I do. My exact quote was "The Marchex deal created a FLOOR not a ceiling and the best thing any of us can do is take a 5 year nap and do nothing." Point is, sometimes you can earn more doing nothing than doing something. This was one of those times.

After reading Frank's post I discovered something that could possibly illustrate why GUT INSTINCT is key to whatever you do. Gut instinct is something that you may have on one thing and completely not there on another. But when you have that “GUT”, you have a tool that all other tools together can’t trump. Here’s why: Imagine you are at McDonald’s. You give them a $50 bill and the person behind the counter gives change for $500. That person input the wrong amount, and they are dependent on the cash register to provide the answer because they have no way to determine if the answer is right. They only know what the cash register says. They have no “Gut instinct” that says it is wrong to give him change for $500 instead of change from $50. The “Machine” said so. But if you don’t know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide on your own, the long way, the logical way, you will never be able to catch your mistakes. Means you will get wrong answers for a LIFETIME! Means you will never exercise or develop that muscle.  Means that logic and reason based on numbers may be missing. The KEY is knowing you have tools, knowing you have matches to make a fire, but also have the knowledge and patience to rub two sticks together until you CREATE that fire. For those that buy domains strictly based on stats, I would suggest that may work sometimes, but without knowing the nuts and bolts BEYOND the stats, I am sure there is opportunity passing them by just because so many have yet to develop that 6^th sense. That sense that knows the difference between a $50 bottle of wine and a $500 bottle. That TINY SLIVER of difference is what makes ALL the difference.  Reading between the lines. Seeing the domain in a future tense at a future stage at a future level of development.  In a future that includes growth and changes in the net as well as changes in human behavior.

What is interesting is I wrote this several weeks ago before the flap about “Gut instinct” in politics. It’s okay to follow someone to the end of a cliff. It is not ok to follow them off the cliff. When we get to the stage that “Gut instinct” is looked at with disdain, then we are all in trouble. If we have no “Gut instinct” we may as well be robots. The one thing that truly separates us from machines is having instinct. Knowing right from wrong, having a sense of what to do in any given situation.  If the goal is to eliminate “Gut instinct” then I say that is a goal that is going off the cliff. Gut instinct is a gift we all have and few hone. I have learned there are two places where gut instinct will get you nowhere. Corporate America and Politics. No room there for the most valuable of all tools. Believe me, I understand why many won’t agree with my post. If you have no “Gut instinct” how could you possibly agree? I would not expect you to agree with something you can’t see and may not believe even exists. So I understand 100% and maybe now others will as well.

Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz

The “C” word exposed. Cyberbully vs. Cybersquatter

Donald Trump accused of Land Squatting?

This may be a little long winded but it needs to be said. So  grab a cup of coffee and give me 10 minutes.

Did you know that Donald Trump owns land that he has yet to build on? Yet to develop? Did you know that thousands and maybe tens of thousands right here in the USA have land they have yet to develop? Some have been in the family and handed down from generation to generation. Some that own that land in densely populated areas put up parking lots!! Oh they screamed and yelled about having a parking lot. What an eyesore. Do something useful with the land. As if it was anyone's business to begin with. Ok, so parking lots are a terrible thing. Just remember to say that when you are in New York City and a parking spot for just SIX hours is $40 or more and don't forget to tip! Let’s BAN all parking lots!! That’s the answer!!!! Oh wait a sec, where will I park my car when I want to go shopping? Right!! I will take the bus.

The vacant lot by the stadium that you just happen to own and on game days you can pack 20 cars in there at $25 a pop. Did anyone call him names? Other than what a lucky guy to own that land? 

We buy land for retirement. Sometimes a generation or more before we will ever use it. Sometimes before the one it is intended for is even born. Here in the USA, over 200 years have passed and there is still vacant land. Folks that have not built. CYBERSQUATTERS!! I  mean LAND SQUATTERS!! I mean isn't this interesting? How do we square it? Land ownership is encouraged and looked at favorably. They don't ask you when you will build. That is entirely up to you. The free market system working as designed. You pay your taxes and if someone does not like it, too bad. I own or have the rights to or lease or contract for dot coms. Call it whatever you like. It gives me certain LEGAL rights. It is up to ME when I will build my domain names. It is up to ME what I will build on those domains. It is up to ME if I will build on those domains. And if you think I should do something different, you have 3 choices. Tell me your vision and I will tell you mine and partner up to make it happen or buy it from me and do what YOU want. However, let me warn you, I have only sold 6 domains and I have a specific development plan for each. OR.....Be quiet, because what you say has no value or meaning you just have too much time on your hands and you don’t know how to mind your business .

STOP THE TRAIN!! Own property in cyberspace? Land you paid for. Land you pay taxes and fees on. Land that is in cyberspace and then domain owners are attacked as CYBERSQUATTERS? That's just nonsense and folks need to stop swallowing nonsense. They need to stop being parrots that just talk out of ignorance by repeating what others say and actually THINK for themselves. I heard a dozen folks rag on the Iphone (tm) this weekend. When I asked them if they actually tried one they said “NO!” They just repeated what some other know nothing on TV said that hadn’t seen or used one either and has a motive. I got news for ya, it does not matter what Paris Hilton thinks! It does not matter what some newscaster thinks. It does not matter what some guy invested in Verizon or Sprints says. It is about what YOU decide.

It is not about some guy or company that is so upset that they wasted their time and missed such an opportunity that they try and discredit domain owners at every turn. Many of the folks doing this, work for fortune 1000 companies. Don't listen to their nonsense. They just want what you have and since they lost on the BUSINESS playing field they have to resort to other tactics to get what you own. So they resort to name calling. They circulate petitions against parking domain names. They lobby trying to change the laws to take what you own. And make no mistake, they are motivated by jealousy and greed. Motivated with a deep desire to discredit anyone and everyone but always focusing on the biggest opportunity they have had and it passed them right by. They can't get over it. So they will make petitions, try and pass laws, file frivolous lawsuits and WIPO actions and call everyone a CYBERSQUATTER. 

Well they are wrong. We are just everyday folks from every walk of life that have recognized a great opportunity. We paid the fees, abide by the rules, don't break any laws have families of our own and realized that if you were to develop in the future the FIRST thing you need is prime LAND to develop on. It is up to each when and where and how they will develop. The CYBERBULLY is thousands time worse than a cybersquatter. They FAILED at recognizing a TIME SENSITIVE opportunity and decided to spend millions to build failed companies and waste investors hard earned money. These LOSERS and BULLIES are responsible for the collapse of web 1.0. Maybe it is time to shine a light on them. They failed, we thrived. They are talking web 3.0 while we are still successful with 1.0. These failures still run big companies and some of them will lose your money once again like they did during the turn of the century.Listen to THEM whine?? Spare me! Maybe they should articulate how they missed the single biggest opportunity in their lifetime, their father's lifetime and their father's before them? How do they answer that? They put on their shoes and THEN they put on their socks and now they want to own what assets we took the RISK to have? NO WAY!

The CyberBully is the same as the railroad barons that came through towns and threw people off their land without just compensation. They are the elite establishment that wants to control everything. These BULLIES want the dotcom domains we own and the reality is, if they want it, there is a free market and they can either purchase one already owned or use their OWN IMAGINATION to think of another name. Scream as they do, there are an infinite amount of dotcom domains. There is NOT an infinite amount of beachfront property and if that is the property you want, pull out your wallet and pony up! You had the same opportunity each of us had and you decided to get bogged down on one failing project without thinking about the future and what was time sensitive and you screwed up!! That’s the truth Mr. Cyberbully! Deal with it! You had companies worth billions collapse overnight and since you failed there now you want to infringe on the rights of others and try to STEAL what they rightfully own.

There is one thing we can agree on Mr. CyberBully. Domain owners that have infringing trademarks in them are WRONG!! There are some that DO take advantage of trademark holders and what they do is wrong. But to lump all folks that own domains and call them cybersquatters is also WRONG! For every trademark abuser I can show you a corporation that STOLE a legitimate domain through a flawed system that allows domains to be transferred from one party to another with no standard. No rhyme. No reason. Those domain owners simply could not afford the fight and lost their LAND!

I never heard of someone that had 5 acres of land directly on the ocean and a 3 bedroom 1 bath house being evicted. There are zoning laws and guidelines and as long as those things are met, it is nobody's business what you do with what you own or lease. Go tell Warren Buffet he has too  much money and should trade in his old car and move to a mansion. He may just tell you to mind your own business. And speaking of business, I would be will to wager that even "The Donald" owns a parking lot or two.

So CYBER BULLIES, you have now been put on notice. We are going to fight back and not allow the CYBERBULLY to define or intimidate US! There are cybersquatters, but there is also a legitimate and thriving domain name industry that is worldwide and invests many hundreds of millions into these unique assets. It is time to stop painting us with one wide brush. That’s just being a bigot! So attack those that do wrong and we will be shoulder to shoulder. But  treat the rest of us like you would like to be treated. But if name calling is what you want than today the CYBERBULLY has been named and soon we will make a list of some warm fuzzy companies that are trying to take domains they have no right to take. See how the public responds to companies persecuting some of their own customers. Helpless folks with limited resources to fight the giant CYBERBULLY! History has always celebrated great deals. When Peter Minuet and the Dutch bought Manhattan for $24 worth of trinkets. When the Louisiana Purchase was made by Livingston from Napoleon. It is still looked back at as a great if not greatest purchase of all time. Why would domain names be looked at any differently?

I hear all the time….”Rick, why don’t you develop your domain names into websites?” Ok fair question and I have a good answer as it relates to MY LIFE and what “I” want and what “I” see. Let’s rewind to 1996. I have about 120 domain names. I had a choice, build now or wait for others to make colossal mistakes and learn from them before I pissed away my limited resources. But an even bigger reason for me is that I ABSOLUTELY KNEW that a website that may cost $750,000 to construct in 1996 would be a $75 template in 2006. A template $749,925 less expensive and a template FAR superior to that of that era. So I saw no SENSE OF URGENCY to develop. What I did see was a “Unique opportunity in time” that would NEVER pass again. So one much smarter group than me chose a much more sophisticated way to climb the same mountain. I on the other hand with no staff, no talents other than cut and paste, had to figure a way to compete with folks that had unlimited funds and staffs of 200. I am no cybersquatter and most folks in the industry are not cybersquatters either! I am a smart businessman just like many of my counterparts that figured out that the way others were doing it put things in the wrong order. I decided that securing the LAND for the development in the future TRUMPED developing one website. Looking back, that was one hell of a great decision on my part and a HUGE mistake for many of them. Not all, but certainly most. If they had a chance to do it again, I bet they would focus on getting domain names. Now all they can do is label everyone with GREAT undeveloped domains as “Cybersquatters!!" The truth of the matter is they FAILED MISERABLY and their sour grapes are being exposed! That is the evolution of the CYBERBULLY and why they should be exposed. SHAME on them and I hope they will be recognized for the true pariah they are. 

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz