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Domain Sales Letter Revealed

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Domains

It's been said that when you write an email, you should be prepared for the whole world to read it.  Probably a good philosophy since I'm sharing one I receive just the other day. This unsolicited email came from another domainer looking to sell me a name.  I was targeted as a result of my domain appearing as a result in a Google search for the keyword terms.  If I had to guess, this is a modified version torn right out of the book of Elliot's suggested email templates for domain sales.  I've sent out many similar emails myself, so I know the format well.

It's interesting being on the receiving end of such an email.  I don't have much in the way of critiquing this one, other than the Google search volume that is stated below is the "broad" selection, not the "exact."  Other than that, it's not bad.  Maybe a little too long for some, but not for my tastes.  One other suggestion I might make is to try to establish the value you are bring in the opening paragraph.  That might be as far as many recipients will read, so best to capture them right away with what you can do for them.  I also like to include the price.

Hello,

I am contacting you because coolbars.com appears for the search term
"club suppliers". I thought that you might be interested in knowing that
I am selling my domain name ClubSuppliers.com, since I do not currently
have the time to develop it myself.

ClubSuppliers.com is very well suited for your industry and owning such a
name will attract relevant customers and could give you an advantage
over competitors in the field.

Currently, Google shows a monthly search volume of 1000 for
club suppliers. Furthermore, if you add content to the website, Google
will boost your ranking for this search.

However, you can also choose not to develop the website and just have
this domain take visitors directly to your existing website. Not only
can owning this domain benefit you through additional online marketing
and search engine pick up like Google, Yahoo, etc., but it will also
grow in value as these types of .coms are becoming much harder to come
by and expensive to purchase.

I am offering "ClubSuppliers.com" at a very good price. Please let me know
if you'd like more info or to buy it. I thank you for your
consideration and look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Warm regards,

Elizabeth

By the way, my domain, CoolBars.com, has been sitting idle for a few years.  I recently had a new logo created and I'm looking to relaunch the site soon in a new format.  I'll post more information on that when I get closer.  I'll post any other emails I come across that might be valuable.  If you have any good ones you've had success with and would like to share, let me know and maybe I'll post it.

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18 Comments

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T
TeenDomainer
I like the letter, I change mine around depending on the name for sale and who it is going to. My letter is normally a little shorter and I often name a price. I am always testing and improving it. Brian
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Mike Sullivan
@Brian, I do too. I like to send some variation even on the same domain name to see which gets better responses.
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Acro
At least, the email didn't come from a fake female as is the norm these days. A lot of spam from either gmail accounts or newly created domains with WHOIS privacy on use names such as "Emily Locke" etc. to appear more appealing to the predominantly male domainer crowd. In the process, they offer to buy domains - mostly, dictionary .com's - for ridiculously low prices.
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Mike Sullivan
@Acro, funny you mention that. When I saw the female name, first thing I did was a WHOIS check to see if it was real.
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Josh P
Decent letter. I usually prefer not to state the price in my initial e-mail, using that message instead as an information-gathering tool. The subsequent end-user reply's "FROM:" e-mail address and the wording of his/her message may reveal clues as to that end-user's level of interest in your domain, a factor you could potentially take into account when stating your price. Further, let's say you'd like to pitch the domain as priced at $1000 but would be happy to settle for a sale of $500 or above. If you state your $1000 price upfront and receive no reply (or simply "no thanks"), you have no way of knowing whether that end-user might still have been willing to pay an amount in the $500-$999 range, as he/she might not have considered that your asking price was negotiable. But if you state no price, the end-user replies "how much?", THEN you state your amount, and then he/she fires over "no thanks", you know he/she is likely interested in the name — just not for $1K — and you could still potentially negotiate that $500-$999 sale. Yes, you'll probably manage to salvage a negotiation this way about 20% of the time; in the other 80% of instances the end-user was probably just curious what your price was though not seriously in your domain. Still, when your average sell-through rate per initiate e-mail probably stands at around 5% tops, that 20% figure is nothing to sneeze at. Finally, I like decoupling the "initial e-mail" and "sales pitch e-mail" because the initial e-mails I could simply form by running a list of end-user e-mails & websitse through a template and disseminating that en masse, whereas the sales pitch e-mails can be more detailed, thoughtful, and personalized since when sending the latter you know the end-user is at least slightly interested. Many highly successful domainers DO prefer to state their prices upfront to keep negotiations brief. However, if you have more time on your hands than money and would be willing to settle for less than your asking price — and I think this covers most of us domainers — I'd say "break the ice, then price."
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Mike Sullivan
@Josh - some valid points.
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Jerry Russell
I think you have a mindful approach, but the percentages you mentioned are a product of that approach IMO. If I were selling this domain, its a sub-$500 directory domain that represents a niche within a niche (club/pub/bar supplies) with only a handful of advertisers/searches. When prospects are limited, I stand to sell sooner with a definitive price. If I'm swinging for the fences with a name like this, I'll likely remain the end-user..
W
Wayne
Why not ask what they are ready to offer in your next letter.. and take it from there...
V
Vince
I also like to put some number in the sale letter...even if I list the approximate value, general range, or valuation from any of the number of companies out there that provide a number. I also like to provide a link to more information either about me or my company. Clicking a link to get more details about who your dealing with can be a passive means of portraying that your not really spam.
M
Mike Sullivan
@Vince, I like your idea of adding a link to more info about your company. That adds a level of credibility that you're not some scam artist.
T
Tim Davids
great idea Vince. May be worth have a "sales" site set up with. Bio and past sales. Great comments here.
C
Chris
Good letter. On occasion, I've tried the following: '...if you feel this domain could be valuable to your business, then by all means make us an offer at the price you think the domain is worth...' Had some success with this approach in eliciting reasonable offers - or, at least getting a dialogue going (tho you do get some lowballs, of course)....It puts the ball in their court; it links the notion of the domain being 'valuable' to a price they may put on it; And, it avoids you having to pitch a price flying blind, as it were... If you can get a dialogue going about the domain, then you're in with a chance...
D
DiTesco
The letter does seem to be somewhat long, however I must admit that if I was the one who received this it would have caught my attention due to a good opening. One final thought. I think that some people sometimes do not out the price because although they want to sell it, they don't really know how much to ask for.
J
Jay Lohmann / Lead Generation Directories
Very valid points in this discussion. I get these all the time and the well written ones with good domains usually get me to investigate a little further. I put together an list of bullet points and content that anyone is free to pull from. I just ask that if you put together a nice letter, you share your work with the class. :) http://www.tagteamcreative.com/why-invest-in-domains.html Happy selling - or developing. Jay Lohmann
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Ernest Hemple
Any suggestions on where or how to sell this premium SEO URL? Ernie@onpageone.com 801-615-0880
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Jerry Russell
I think if your holding names like Schwartz or Schilling, then you can hold out on the price and see where it goes. My strategy has been to definitively price a domain by its attributes. Sub 500, 500-1000, etc. etc. I Link to a sales page (from within the email) that states a definitive and realistic price with the opportunity to Buy it Now. Since then, my sales campaign percentages have increased significantly. If you're contacting people with a gmail or yahoo address, not only do you often get stonewalled by email programs, but some prospects won't take you seriously. You sound more professional from "sales@_____domains.com"
H
Hal Meyer
Not bad overall. A few comments and criticisms: 1. "I do not have time to develop it myself." Honestly, this sounds lame. 2. Many small business owners will be unfamiliar with "Google search volume." Explain that a bit. 3. "Good price." When you emphasize price and not uniqueness, you are at a disadvantage.
L
Landon White
@ Hal Could not resist my 2 cents. Agree on all 3 points ... AND Not only is the eMail toooo long ............................ ..................................................... "IT WANDERS" PLEASE STOP BEGGING FOR SALES ... DO THEM A FLAVOUR (typo) ASK THEM, WHY SHOULD YOU "SELL IT TO THEM" "AND" what they will do with it ???????????????? AFTER ALL, YOUR REPUTATION IS ON THE LINE! :-)