In the previous five parts in this series I’ve covered a lot of ground on how to better buy and sell a domain traffic portfolio. In this article I’m going to expand upon the “Domain Risk Index” (DRI) which is a tool that helps you make better buying and selling decisions.

We developed the DRI as a domain and portfolio analysis tool a number of years ago for ParkLogic clients. In summary, the Domain Risk Index (DRI) mashes together about twenty different metrics to produce an index between 0 and 100. Zero represents HIGH risk investment and 100 is a NO risk investment.

The various metrics are weighted according to their impact on an investment’s return. Investors are typically interested in stable returns and the index allows them to gauge the amount of risk that they would like to take on.

What we then did was take a large sample of domains that statistically represents the Domain Industry and graph the results on a chart over time (orange line above). The blue line represents the ParkLogic account owner’s performance on the scale.

As can be seen from the sample chart there was a surge in stability at the beginning of October that has now tapered off into a time of instability. This needs to be viewed in light of the fact that the peaks and troughs are from 54 to 58 on the scale.

So what’s the point in all of this? Let’s image that you have a portfolio of domains that you are wanting to sell that is around 80 on the scale. This means that from an investment perspective it is MUCH less risky compared to the typical industry portfolio. This then logically translates into you being able to ask more money for your portfolio than the typical industry sale.

For example, if the industry is typically selling a portfolio for 2 years revenue then you now have a justification for why you should be asking 3-4 years revenue. It’s playing the capital value game with good solid independent metrics behind it that gives both the buyer and the seller that they are getting a good deal.

So what else can you view as a part of the DRI? We also provided some of the additional metrics that make up the DRI. For example, if you would like to see what is happening on EPC trends for the industry versus your account then it’s a button click away (see below).

For the trend graphs, anything above 50 means there is an upward trend anything below 50 means it’s trending downwards. The higher above 50 that greater the increases in the trend and reverse is true if the chart is well below 50.

As can be seen from the EPC trend chart there was a surge in higher paying EPC rates at the end of October that is likely due to the rush up until Christmas. What’s interesting is that this sample portfolio did not experience the same impact (blue line).

What’s great news for domain owners is that the CTR trend also increased at the same time and as can be seen from the chart the domain owner experienced an uplift in CTR.

By using some of these charts a buyer can purchase portfolios when the trend lines are down and sell when they are high. This is similar to what many of us do with our stocks. Buy low, sell high.

There’s a lot of information tied up with DRI and its charts. Further information on the definitions is available under the DRI Terms and Definitions link below the chart.

Over the years we’ve found that buyers and sellers that use tools like the DRI have an informational advantage over others in the market. This allows them to make smarter selling and purchasing decisions and take advantages of the fluctuations in pricing.

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face.
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I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Andrew Allemann of Domain Name Wire and this Podcast is now available via the link below. I really enjoyed discussing the domain industry with Andrew as we explored a wide range of topics.

Some of the topics include:

• The domain industry
• Why Google is taking more
• How to increase the earnings from your domain traffic
• Doing something different with your domains
• Why you will lose money by sending all of your traffic to a single parking company
• The difference between parking companies

It was great being interviewed by Andrew as he asked some really inciteful question. He's been blogging and running Domain Name Wire for many, many years and has an incredible level of knowledge across the whole industry.

Click here to go and listen to the Podcast

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face.
Click here to arrange time with Michael
Click here to advertising on whizzbangsblog.com

So it’s been Thanksgiving this past week….for the people in North America anyway. We don’t have this holiday in the rest of the world but it shouldn’t stop us from being grateful for the good things in life.

A number of years ago I heard a message at church where the minister challenged the congregation to develop an “attitude of gratitude”. I completely agree with him. Particularly in western countries we have so much to be thankful for and yet for some reason we seem to be some of the unhappiest people on the planet.

Research organisation Gallup Inc, created a “Happiest Countries” scale from a number of metrics and then published the results with the Australian Broadcasting Commission. What was interesting was that countries such as Mali in Africa was only 2 points behind the USA. Where is Mali you may ask? In the midst of suffering from Ebola in West Africa.

About 12 months ago there was a great Youtube video produced by nigahiga called “First World Problems”. The video’s has over ten million views but it really depicts many of the so called problems that we face in the west are plainly rediculous. Where some people are happy with getting a good meal we stress and worry about the size of our televisions.

So at this time of Thanksgiving I think that there are so many things to be grateful and happy about. Family and friends for a start. The incredible domain industry that many of us work in. How about having a roof over your head and food on the table….they seem pretty good to me.

So how do you really get happy? From my experience it’s not how “I” can get happy….it’s all about how “I” can make someone else happy. When we think of others something magical happens…..we ended up frinding true happiness ourselves. When we focus on trying to make ourselves happy then it all just seems so false.

So here’s my advice, if you want to be really happy. Think about doing something special for one person and be grateful for all the things that you have. Do these two things and you’ll be amazed at what you will discover about life.

Please leave comments about your own experiences here….I’d love to read about them!

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face.
Click here to arrange time with Michael
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My recent foray into publishing my own novel has been a really educational experience. For those of you that are unaware for the past eighteen months my skunk works project has been writing a science fiction book. I’m still settling on a title but it looks like the series will be known as “The Mind War Saga” (it may change again)….all very auspicious.

I’m right at the end of the final edit, beta-readers have provided their feedback and I’m about to publish. What’s the next thought that goes through my mind? I need a domain!

I searched Amazon to make sure that there aren’t any other series of books known as “The Mind War Saga” and I seem to have the space all to myself. I didn’t want any other series of books to be confused with my own or vice versa.

I’ve decided to move michaelgilmour.com to represent my authoring and I’ve just registered mindwarsaga.com to point to the same site. You can actually go there right now and see a few blogs on the site as well as a fan community (yes, I’m hopeful), a library (of one book), forum and also some cool stuff about me.

The website looks a little bland at the moment as it’s a work in progress and I’m waiting on the illustrator to complete the book cover. Once I have that in place I’ll be able to enhance the look and feel a LOT more.

So what’s next? Once I’ve finalised the title I need to register that domain and point it at my author blog. Here’s a few other things on the list for me to complete (it’s by no means exhaustive).

1.    Finalise book content (by mid-next week).
2.    Finalise cover design, typography and blurb for the back (end of following week).
3.    Get a photo done for the author’s biography.
4.    Complete the interior book design.
5.    Update website graphics and content.
6.    Publish the ebook and paperback via Createspace (an Amazon company)
7.    Update my author’s profile on Amazon.
8.    Establish a facebook and twitter account that are linked to my website.
9.    Update my website so that I can take sales via Amazon/Createspace
10.    Have a soft launch amongst friends. Encourage them to buy the book and leave comments on Amazon.
11.    Put together a package of material for other websites to review the book. This will need to include a copy of the book, synopsis, sample article, quotes, photos, artwork etc.
12.    Prepare a sequence of press releases to be released over a three month period.
13.    Approach media outlets for interviews – “Self-publishing author….scifi book etc.”
14.    Send out package to science fiction websites and reviewers.
15.    Engage community and detect who are real fans of the novel. Provide them with inside material, sneak previews etc.
16.    Brace myself for the feedback.
17.    Finalise marketing plan proper….including potential buying of advertising space.

I must admit that there are a lot more things that need to get on the list. One of which is finish book two in the saga! I’ll keep you up to date with how things are going.

Not surprisingly, what it all really hinges on is traffic, domain names and real sales. I understand a lot about those three items but it still doesn't necessarily mean that my publishing venture will be successful. Without a good product and plan I'm still sunk.

It’s going to be interesting to see if I can manage to make it as a part-time author. I love writing so I really hope that it’s a distinct possibility. Besides, my wife has been on my back to write a book on the domain industry…..so stay tuned for that one. Hopefully it will be more science fact rather than science fiction.

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face.
Click here to arrange time with Michael
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Last week I was walking with my wife through our local shopping mall and came across a Virtual Reality (VR) Samsung display. Without any hesitation at all we both donned headsets and headphones to experience what the latest and greatest VR was really like.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with VR it involves putting on some goggles and the images for each eye are slightly misaligned so that you get true 3D vision. The headphones are regular and are typically designed to block out any external noise. A head tracking device completes the kit so that when you move your head the images that you are viewing also move.

I first experience VR about twenty years ago at the Walt Disney Imagineering labs and it was incredible so I was looking forward to seeing what the latest and greatest was like.

The VR gear that we were testing was built by kickstarter funded Oculus Rift (later purchased by Facebook for a couple of billion) and the headset used a Samsung Galaxy phone for displaying the images. It’s incredible how far the computing power of a phone has come!

What I was really looking for was immersion. That point in time where I actually believed that I was where my eyes and ears were telling me.

The simulation that I was experiencing was an ocean dive where I could swim with fish and eventually encounter a great white shark. It really was incredible to be able to look around and see everything. The actual shark encounter was pretty good although being eventually eaten and inside the stomach was a little macabre.

I found the head tracking and the displaying of the images really good. I’d move my head and the image would instantly follow. In the past this would create a sense of motion sickness as the image would lag behind your movement. The only time I did feel a little off was when the simulation moved me up towards the boat. I was doing anything and yet I was moving….this was a little off-putting.

For a device that will sell for a few hundred dollars it was an amazing experience. It has the potential to bring a whole new level of meaning to tele-computing, gaming and education.

For instance, could you imagine your classroom teacher talking about Neil Armstrong landing on the moon and the whole class was waiting for him as he stepped down the off the Lunar Module! Now, that’s a whole new level of education!

Right now Sony, Oculus and Samsung are the forerunners in VR technology. There are quite a number of smaller startups doing some interesting things as well to facilitate the integration of movement and doing things such as simulating your hand in the virtual environment. All really cool stuff!

If you get a chance, I would highly recommend trying it out. VR is almost there but I’m sure with a bit more time that it will truly be a world changing technology. BTW – Oculus is planning on releasing their commercial headset around mid-next year.

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face.
Click here to arrange time with Michael
Click here to advertising on whizzbangsblog.com