Writing General End-User Emails
At some point in almost all domainer’s careers, they’ll write an end-user email. When writing an end-user email, you don’t want to be too formal, but you want to be too casual either. Companies will often trash letters and emails that don’t have proper grammar or spelling as well. I have created and wanted to share a good general end-user email, that companies have taken seriously, some of which have converted into sales for me.
Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs. _____________ (try not to use Sir/Madam)
I am contacting you on behalf of _____________ (company name). We own the domain name www._______________. We thought your company might take an interest in it because ____________________.
The domain name gets ______ visitors monthly (always use the monthly visitors because it will look like a bigger number). It is registered at ________________, and is set to expire _______________.
Our asking price is only $_________ (set the asking price a little above what you’re willing to take), but we do have some flexibility. If you’re interested, feel free to email us back, or call us at ____-____-____.
Thanks,
(Full Name)
(Position in Company)
(Company Name)
That end-user email has worked out for me in the past, but I would also love to see the emails you generally send. So please comment below on what you think of my end-user email, and make sure to submit your comments with the end-user emails you use to send to end-users. I hope this post helps to everyone who is sending out end-user emails!
We sent out several hundred such letters in January and February. The verbage had a little more explanation on why the domain would be a good one (.COM extension, one-word, search volume for the phrase, traffic if signficant). We also mentioned that existing traffic could be redirected to an existing website to allay fears of having to spend several thousand more on development. Our letters were sent to firms either with lower-quality domains, i.e. .NET, .BIZ, hyphenated, long .COMs or brands which did not describe their product or service offering. Given that these letters were sent to businesses, I don’t believe that our asking price was in the stratosphere. However, we must conclude that a large percentage of small businesses just don’t see the value in descriptive generic domains. So until that perception changes domainers will have to develop to carry any decent-size portfolio.
That isn’t a good letter to start with in my opinion.
I wrote a comrpehensive article titled “the art of domain sales” on my website and you should take a look at it.. Inside I mention that keeping it simple works best. Under 100 words total
All the best,
Mike
You could have wrote this hour before. I sent out email to end users for a domain sale. This would have came in handy.
Nice share.
Thanks for your comments. As for yours mike – short, sweet, and simple – that’s all I have to say. You don’t need to write a company an extensive letter that most likely they will take a glimpse at and skim. You need to get right to the point.
Also, thanks very much Leonard for sharing what you tend to put into your letters. You definitely have some good ideas that I don’t normally include in end-user letters, that I will think about including next time.
I’m hoping to see some more comments!
Short and simple works! I like the part in Leonard’s comment that says, explain that traffic can be redirected to their existing website
That letter would only be a good letter if you actually knew the person that you were sending it would actually get it….not personally knowing the person, but getting it to the person that can actually make a decision.
A lot of email’s are screened before reaching the intended participant, so you risk it being trashed, especially when using the line “I am contacting you on behalf of _____________ (company name).”
Somewhat comes across as a global generic spam request, and would most likely get trashed.
On the other hand, using a company name to promote a domain name you have for sale, either adds weight to the above comment or could also have the ability to turn them right off of it, as they would then maybe tend to think that you registered the name with the sole intention of bleeding them for money.
This is alright if you’re sending out dozen’s of these a day I suppose, but it could be a little more personal.
I’ve rec’d 3 of the same email’s mailed by the same person when approached about a domain name, pretty much the only thing that was changed was the domain name itself….
Click…Delete Spam….
Yes short and sweet is always best, it’s a lot less formal which makes the prospect feel it’s a bit more personal, once you get into a chat you can then ease in the stats info if they need it, and your pricing which shouldn’t be astronomical at first but obviously amicable.
I tend to stay away from the reasons to buy angle.. it’s a sales overload sometimes and it can put them off fairly pronto. Let them know “it’s available now, here’s my best price, otherwise I’m afraid it’s going to someone else this week”.. if it’s in line with their brand it’s usually MUCH easier.
One thing I’ve learn’t, if your still haggling after 5 or so emails – it’s probably not the right buyer..
Great example! I’ll probably steal a few words, but I try to keep it under three lines for these reasons:
1. Gets through spam filters: no links or attachments!
2. They actually read it: If an email is long, I’ll skip it. lol
3. Concise and direct communication: like twitter does!
4. Saves you time: less words = more emails!
5. Less commercial: A soft, non-aggressive approach is usually best.
IMO, in those days of spam, a properly written letter, sent by postal mail, on a letterhead, will get more attention than an e-mail. Obviously, it will cost postage – depends if you contact people in a very targeted way or send a large number of messages.
What do you guys use as the subject? I have been using the domain I’m pushing, not sure if that’s a good idea or if it looks spamy. Looking forward to what others are using as subject. Thanks. Blueprint Domains