New Years Resolution #1: Domaining

Forget condos and strip malls. Domain names, the real estate of the Web, have been delivering far greater returns. How some of the savviest speculators on the Net are making millions from their URL portfolios.

So starts an excellent Business 2.0 article on domainers – people who buy, sell and earn money from domain names.

The December 2005 write-up caught my imagination. But it wasn’t until I heard Jeff Libert (aka WebWork) speak at PubCon that I decided to dabble in domaining.

I thought the days of large-scale domain speculation were over. But the title of WebWork’s talk – “The $100,000 click” – made everyone in the room listen up (See Graywolf’s PubCon summary).

Everybody knows the value of a desirable domain (ie. lots of zeros), but Jeff explained exactly how he chooses domain names and makes money from his portfolio.

Unsurprisingly, resale value is often top of the list. But everything from lead generation to parking page pay per click ads can cover registration costs. That means a well-chosen domain portfolio can pay for itself in the short term and add a healthy source of income in the longer term.

Scoreboard’s post on domaining has given me the perfect target for 2007: aim to invest in one decent domain a day.