Why Most Domain Investors (Especially Flippers) Are Bad Developers

… or why a skill set that enabled you to succeed at one type of activity is more of a disadvantage for another. If there is one idea my recent GiganticWebsites.com journey reinforced, it’s that the average domain investor tends to approach Web development with an unrealistic attitude.

Right off the bat, I’m not saying this to be “edgy” or criticize. I’m merely explaining a phenomenon I have come across in this industry for over a decade, well before GiganticWebsites was even a concept.

So without further ado, let’s start with the main reason why domain investors tend to be bad developers:

Overestimating the Impact of Domain Names

Don’t get me wrong, an awesome domain will represent an amazing asset in the world of Web development, one that will augment everything you do. For example, maybe you submit a press release related to your project and hope it gets picked up by media outlets… let’s just say the likelihood of that happening goes up a lot if you own Investing.com as opposed to something like Investing-Information.biz.

The same way, it’s one thing to send a business development email to someone from andrei@investing.com and something completely different to send one from andrei@investing-information.biz. Or to pitch a project on Investing.com to potential investors if you want to raise capital and so on, the list of benefits could continue indefinitely.

However, far too many domainers believe a great domain guarantees success.

That you can get away with a shoddy business model or inconsistency simply because your domain is amazing.

It doesn’t and you can’t.

This idea that a great domain is all you need makes many people grossly (and I mean grossly) underestimate the development budget you need. Leading to comical situations such as assuming you can spend $200k on a premium domain, then just $10k-$20k on development and you’ll become the next tech billionaire. That is unfortunately not the case.

What percentage of the project success pie is represented by a great domain?

I love this asset class, so I personally believe that if you are creative about it and leverage the power of your asset accordingly, we can get to 25%.

But 25% still means that if you want results at parity with the value of your assets, you should expect to spend three times more. In other words a $600k development budget for a $200k asset, which tends to be 30x-60x higher than what most domain investors feel comfortable allocating.

Which leads me to the second reason I want to address:

Having Unrealistic Expectations

Let’s say you own a $200k domain name but only want to allocate $20k toward development. So 30 times less than what you should so as to expect results at parity with the quality of your domain. Premium domain, premium development.

Is there something inherently wrong with that?

No, as long as you lower your expectations accordingly.

Over at GiganticWebsites.com, we actually cater primarily to this target audience, so domain investors who are sitting on great assets but do not have the liquidity it takes to develop them in a spectacular manner.

That’s fine.

But we do not promise to build them the next Google.

Instead, we build encyclopedia-level sites as cheaply as humanly (and robotically!) possible so as to enable them to get the best bang for their buck. Decent design, quality sites, a ton of content. But certainly not projects that will move you to tears, as there is simply not enough money on the table to achieve something like this.

As long as expectations are in line with budgets, solid results can be achieved. But if you believe approaching development with a 30x lower budget than that necessary for your expectations is feasible, you will have a hard time and end up chasing multiple rabbits with your limited liquidity, only to end up not catching any.

An idea I’d like to end with so as to move on to the third and final reason I want to address through this post:

Being Impatient

… the “esspecially flippers” part should now be obvious.

With me even interacting with domain investors who believed my GiganticWebsites development service involved them paying me for a package, us finalizing everything and traffic pouring in immediately.

Doesn’t work like that.

Maybe if you want to deploy BH SEO and other sketchy “business models” but other than that, in the proverbial real world, a healthy dose of patience is required.

For example, here are five traffic progression screenshots for DN.org:

https://giganticwebsites.com/DNorg/DNorg_Stats.PNG
https://giganticwebsites.com/DNorg/DNorg_Stats2.PNG
https://giganticwebsites.com/DNorg/DNorg_Stats3.PNG
https://giganticwebsites.com/DNorg/DNorg_Stats4.PNG
https://giganticwebsites.com/DNorg/DNorg_Stats5.PNG

… slow and steady progress, so definitely singles rather than a home run. Which is precisely how things should be if you are interested in doing this Web development thing right. Unlike domain flipping, there is zero room for adrenaline in Web development, at least as far as the GiganticWebsites model is concerned. More like watching paint dry and diligently working toward turning one or a few of your best domains into long-term traffic and revenue-producing assets.

Which leads me to the final question, the elephant in the room:

Is Development Worth It for Domain Investors?

In my opinion, it most definitely is.

Not for your entire portfolio, but for one or some of your best assets.

If done right, it can turn into something that complements your journey as a domain investor. After all, it’s easier to say no to low offers on your domains when revenue is coming in from your developed properties, that’s certainly the type of scenario you should be aiming for.

Mass development, however, is not viable.

The idea that you can spend a couple of dollars per domain and develop all of your 10,000 assets or however many you own… not going to happen, at least not in a way that leads to results. It’s not that you cannot try but that as outlined throughout this article, you get what you pay for when spreading yourself that thin.

Again: for most investors, one domain or maybe a handful at best represents the sweet spot.

But please (PLEASE!) do it right and embrace a non-delusional mindset!

Want to turn your best domain(s) into encyclopedia-level websites with thousands of articles? Click HERE to find out what GiganticWebsites.com can do for you and receive 30% to 50% discounts as AndreiPolgar.com readers.