Domaining Fool - domainer tips and mistakes

At a few bucks a pop for a new domain registration it is easy for fresh faced domainers to enter a buying frenzy, spending a lot of their money and time buying not very valuable domains. If you're purchasing at after market prices then the higher costs make this frenzy less likely. However, regardless of the domain markets you are in, for a long lasting domaining career, you need to budget, first your money, and then your time.

Financially, my advice is to work out how much you can afford to spend per week or per month, and stick to it. Sticking to a budget is easier said than done. I keep a weekly budget in the form of a sheet of paper stuck to the wall with three columns: domain, price, and running total. Every domain I buy is entered into the weekly budget and the running total helps keep my budget in check. The pen-and-paper-phobics out there might prefer to do this in their favourite spreadsheet app.

Time management is harder than financial budgeting for me. Domaining will suck up your time if you let it. I'd say limit yourself to half an hour to a full hour per weekday. Give yourself a break on the weekend, you deserve it (plus auction prices are inflated then anyway). On the whole the number of domaining opportunities at the lower end of the market aren't numerous or valuable enough to be worth taking up more time than that.