Every December I do the same thing. I sit down with a blank page and map out what I want the next year of my domain investing to look like, and the rest of my life. Some years I hit every goal I set. Some years I miss badly. The exercise is still worth doing because it forces me to think about where I am, where I want to go, and what needs to change to get there. If you have been in this industry for a week or for twenty years, setting real goals for 2026 will make you a better investor.
Most people do not set goals for their domain business. They tell themselves they will buy smarter names or they will sell more or they will clean up their portfolio, but they never write any of it down. They drift into the new year and hope momentum carries them. It rarely does.
Clear goals give you two things. The first is direction. The second is accountability. Without both, domain investing becomes a reactionary hobby. You buy what crosses your feed or catches your eye and you justify it later. You renew everything, even when you should not. You chase sales instead of building a strategy that creates sales.
When I talk about goals, I am not talking about vague ideas. I am talking about measurable targets that actually guide your decisions. For example, you might decide you will hold no more than 300 names by the end of 2026. Or you might decide you will only buy names that match three specific criteria. Or you might commit to a minimum sell through rate. You might set revenue targets, renewal budgets, education goals, or networking benchmarks. The type of goal matters less than the discipline of committing to it.
If you are newer to the space, start simple. Decide how many names you want to buy this year and what you want your total spend to be. Decide what categories you will focus on. If you are more experienced, you should be thinking about portfolio quality, average acquisition cost, and how your pricing strategy needs to evolve. Do not drift through 2026 with the same habits that held you back in 2025.
Once you set your goals, the next challenge is staying accountable. I learned a long time ago that relying on motivation is a mistake. Motivation fades. Accountability systems do not. You need something that forces you to review your goals regularly and measure your actions against them.
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There are a few ways to do this effectively. You can build a simple spreadsheet that tracks acquisitions, sales, categories, and spending. You can create quarterly check-ins where you review your portfolio with brutal honesty. You can partner with another domainer and meet once a month to compare progress (highly recommended). The point is not the tool. The point is that the tool anchors the behavior.
One thing that has helped me is keeping a short list of questions on my desk. When I am considering a purchase, I ask myself whether the name aligns with the goals I set. When I am pricing a name, I ask whether the price reflects my strategy or my mood. When I am reviewing renewals, I ask whether the domain still fits who I am as an investor now, not who I was when I registered it.
Goals will not guarantee success, but they will absolutely guarantee clarity. And clarity is what prevents waste. It prevents bloated portfolios, emotional pricing, and random buying sprees. It also increases your confidence because every decision is grounded in something intentional.
If you want 2026 to be your best year in domains, do not wait until January to start thinking about it. Set the goals now. Write them down. Build a simple system to keep yourself accountable. Then show up every week and follow the plan. The investors who treat this like a business will outpace the investors who treat it like a hobby. The choice is yours.