This interview is not to be missed.

1. Ron, you founded NamePros in February 2003, but were in the domain name industry beforehand. How and when did you get started?

Yes, I’ve been in the domaining business for 10 years, full-time for eight.

My first experience registering a domain name and building a website was in 1996 while working as “the tech guy” for an industrial manufacturing company. The following two years I starting stumbling through building websites for myself and discovering more about domain names. I learned the in’s and out’s of the dropping names, but didn’t devote much time or money into it in the beginning.

I was laid off my full-time job in 1999 and tried my best to make it on my own as a freelance web designer and programmer. As it turns out, my side hobby of buying and selling domain names would ultimately pay the bills. I’ve been my own boss ever since. When people ask what I do for a living, I either say I’m a domainer or a webmaster. Both are true.

2. How did NamePros come about?

I founded NamePros in February 2003. I wanted to be a part of a fun and free community for domain owners. Not seeing one since the demise of the original Afternic, I started NamePros.

There were a couple other domain related forums that existed at the time. I did not want to detract from their userbases, so I did not invite anyone from any other forums. Instead I sought out domain owners from other sources. It was a plan that worked out well and help create an identity for NamePros as a place you can meet people you wouldn’t normally see at other places. Over time the more seasoned domainers discovered NamePros and joined in the discussions to form the community we have today.

3. What was that moment, that you said to yourself “This is what I want to do” ?

I never had any doubt NamePros would be successful as a forum. I poured my heart into it and plowed ahead from Day 1 as if it were already a success. However it was about four months later that it really “took off” and I knew I would be doing this for a long time to come.

4. There are a number of forums for domainers that have sprung up over the years. How do you see yourself in comparison to other sites such as DNForum? Is there a key differentiator at NamePros?

All three forums have overlap in their memberships. The thing that distinguishes them from one another is the feel or “vibe” that members get while participating there. To oversimplify things, DNForum is business oriented, DomainState is more community centered. I feel NamePros is a perfect blend of business and community.

You’ll find all kinds on NamePros, from the new domainer with only a few names to the full-time professionals. We welcome anyone who is able to abide within our code of conduct, which is basically “be respectful of other members and straight in your dealings.”

5. It takes a lot of resources to run a successful community like NamePros. Over the past few years there has been various discussions around paid subscriptions. Would you consider moving to a paid model or are you completely ruling this out?

Paid membership sites are a big turnoff for me. NamePros will always remain free to participate in.

6. What do you think makes a great domain name?

A great domain is easy to remember… and hard to replace. There isn’t an exact formula for identifying one, it’s more like you’ll know it when you see it.

7. For newcomers to the industry, do you believe it’s “all too late” or is there still an opportunity to make some serious money? If the opportunity is there, where do you think that is and why?

There will always be opportunities for newcomers to make money in domains, though it takes more work and research to identify the opportunities that are available. It’s not as easy finding good unregistered domains today as it was 10 years ago but the opportunities are still there. I still hand register 10-20 new domains every week. Browsing the auctions is a good place to find values too if you’re careful not to get caught up in the excitement and overpay for a name.

8. If you were a newcomer to the industry, what investment strategy would you undertake and why?

The days of quantity over quality are well past us. It’s easier and smarter to manage a smaller portfolio of quality domains. This is especially true now that registration and renewal fees are on the rise. I would focus on buying a few good names from existing registrants rather than registering a ton of mediocre ones, and set aside half my budget for development purposes to build out a couple of the best ones into useful websites.

9. What’s your view on the future investment opportunities with regard to ccTLD’s and newer TLD’s such as .mobi, .asia and .me ?

I advocate cautious optimism with all new TLDs and domaining trends. It’s never wise to invest all your time and money into a narrow niche of domains. There are opportunities in new TLD launches, but mostly for those that get the best names early on. If I were entering the market now, I would avoid investing much in .MOBI or .ASIA since the initial window of opportunity is gone.

Investing in ccTLDs requires more premeditation and research before jumping in too deep. Established country codes like .co.uk and .de are safer bets where I’ve seen some good values compared to the more obscure ones.

10. Looking into the future, how do you see domaining evolve over the next 3-5 years?

I like that you mentioned word ‘evolve’ because that’s exactly what we’re seeing. It’s more of an evolution than a revolution going on now in the business.

Squatting on typos and trademarks is not the brilliant business model it once was. We’re going to see more domainers retiring from cybersquatting and become trademark holders themselves. It’s a maturing of our industry that I’m excited to see.

As far as parking is concerned there is a real obvious trend away from domain parking and towards development. It’s hard to be proud of a domain name that ends up on a page full of ads. Domainers want more that than, and I think we’ll start seeing more companies offering parking alternatives to domain owners. One reason I got involved with iModo.com was it’s goal of providing useful content based sites in place of traditional parked pages.

11. If you could give one piece of advice to someone new to the industry, what would that be?

Think outside the box, try different things until you find a strategy that works for you, and then stick to it. There is no one-size-fits-all business plan in this industry.

Thanks for your time Ron, I really appreciate it. I’m sure the domaining industry will find this interesting reading.

Tags: domain name, expired domain names, interview, NamePros, Ron James