Have You Sold a Domain Name via Twitter?

 

I saw this GoDaddy tweet, which I embedded above and was curious if you’ve ever tried to sell a domain name via Twitter. If so, were your efforts successful? I have never used Twitter as a medium to sell domain names, and there are several reasons for this:

  • Don’t want to risk that my account is reported for spamming
  • Don’t want to make a private negotiation public
  • Concern over the potential buyer calling me out for trying to sell a domain name via Twitter
  • My tweet could get lost amongst other tweets sent to the company
  • Could be annoying to tweet and email someone
  • Social media point person may not have any domain buying authority.

It is a bit annoying when people tweet at me to try and sell me a domain name. Perhaps this is related to the quality of the domain names people have been pitching to me over Twitter, but for whatever reason, I have never been receptive to inquiries directed at me. I find it strange when someone will fire off 10+ tweets in a row trying to sell the domain name to other people. Generally, I won’t even reply because I don’t want to risk offending someone about their domain name, and I also don’t want to field follow up questions either. Sometimes it is easier to ignore than engage.

What GoDaddy is doing in this instance might be effective because the company is well known and respected, and it is hand selecting a prospect that would likely have more interest than others, especially because of the prospect’s .CO connection (Tech Cocktail article reference). On the other hand, the person running the social media channel for the prospect may not have anything to do with the domain name buying decision or branding. I guess we can all follow the auction and see if someone bids on it, and if so, we can see who ends up with the name.

Have you ever tried to sell a domain name via Twitter? Did your effort pay off or open a channel of communication?

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

10 COMMENTS

  1. I have not – but in the last week, I have sold 2 domain names by sending targeted messages through FB’s messaging system.

    • Hey Luc,

      Can you please share how you used FB’s messaging system– where did you find the individuals? Also, what content did your message include, just a simple “would you be interested in _____” message?

  2. I have done Twitter marketing direct messages as well as occasional hashtag posts but have not found it a useful means of generating leads. FB on the other hand has been a good resource for generating dozens of leads though I still have not yet been able to convert FB leads into sales.

  3. Great topic!

    It would be nice to think Twitter as a good platform to sell domains, but I really don’t think it is.
    Users don’t want the ‘USED CAR FOR SALE’ type experience. However, there maybe more intelligent ways to market domains with different hashtag usage.

    However, does anyone have any evidence based researched Twitter and marketing?

  4. Hi,

    Twitter is a great platform for any business … however if only your tweeting within your circle …

    Or may be twitter allow buying tweets for commercial uses …

    In my case I do not have twitter at all 🙂 …

    HAVE FUN

    http://qutez.com

  5. I have posted domains for sale of my own or marketing for others, on my own twitter account @KeyDomainSales, so that they will show in others twitter feeds who follow me, but don’t usually tweet them directly to others or send messages. I have sent direct messages a few times in the past, but didn’t get many responses, but I know like most sales, you will get 99 no’s or no responses, before you get the interest or yes you are looking for. As you said Elliot, I think sending a direct message could differ in success depending on the quality of the domain name and if the person running the social media account has anything to do with domain buying decisions, or has a direct relationship with the person they are running the social media campaign for.

  6. No – Twitter
    Yes – highly targeted Facebook messaging, LinkedIn InMail, telephone, email

    The key is first identifying at least 20 – but no more than 50 – prospective buyers for each of your domain name’s outbound marketing campaign.

    Then, for each prospect, document in your spreadsheet the multiple ways to contact him or her and then start with the one that seems to be the best and most professional.

    Sometimes, LinkedIn can be the best one for both researching the prospect and for actually reaching out to him or her via InMail in a professional manner with your business deal. It fits well because business people expect to be contacted about business deals through LinkedIn. And, unlike email, it doesn’t come across so much like spam.

    Facebook is not really a commercial setting for a business deal, but if your domain name would really grab their attention as a business solution for them, FB messaging could be a great way to reach them if you cannot find them on LinkedIn or you cannot find their email address or a phone number.

    Those are my thoughts on using social to generate revenue. Click my name for the pun.

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