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Greetings Mmoleaners.
Although I've been a member of this forum since 2008 (under a different profile), this is my first post as a Junior VIP. I want to give back to the community by sharing the method that initially helped me make money online over a decade ago. Although times have changed, it's possible that this method could still be effective today.
What exactly are IDNs?
IDN refers to Internationalized Domain Names, which can include hyphenated characters (such as á, é, etc.) or special characters (such as Chinese, Korean, etc.). These kinds of domains have actually existed for quite some time, although they are not particularly popular. Using Punycode, host names that contain Unicode characters are transcoded to a subset of ASCII consisting of letters, digits, and hyphens. For instance, München (the German name for Munich) is encoded as Mnchen-3ya. You can try this out for yourself by visiting https://www.punycoder.com/.
IDN Registrar & Lookup Instructions
Finding and registering IDN domains is similar to registering regular domains. Many domain registrars accept IDNs for a variety of domain extensions. However, when searching for available IDNs, you may need to enter the punycode. The great thing about IDNs is that they are comparable to the Wild West of domaining, at least that was the case 10 years ago. Typically, the cost of these domains is also the same.
How I chose the domain names to register
Regarding the kinds of domains I registered, I began with Hungarian IDNs since I'm from Hungary. At one point, I had a collection of over 300 hyphenated domains spanning various categories. Essentially, I had a domain for every electronic and home appliance imaginable, but in the Hungarian version (e.g., microwave oven).
Even if you don't speak the language, you can register and make money from IDNs! I once combed through the Swedish dictionary to find potential words that I could register as Swedish IDNs. My Swedish portfolio consisted of around 70 domains, and although I only sold a few, it was still worthwhile.
Selling Internationalized Domain Names and What You Need to Know
If you're familiar with domaining, you know that selling your entire portfolio can be nearly impossible, but you can still make a good income by selling some of your domains. I sold around 20 or 30 of these names and was able to earn a decent living for a full year. Half the time, buyers contacted me directly, so selling was straightforward. For the remaining domains, I used cold emailing to reach out to companies that might be interested in a particular domain.
How much money could you make?
As for how much you can earn, it varies greatly. My average sale price was $300, but that was 10 years ago in a relatively small country. My best day was when I sold three domains for a total of $1300! I imagine that for more popular extensions, selling IDNs could result in significantly higher profits.
To you now
Now, over to you. I hope you found this method helpful, and if you decide to try it, I wish you the best of luck! Have you ever owned or sold IDN domains? What was your experience like? Do you have any questions or comments? Share them below!
Although I've been a member of this forum since 2008 (under a different profile), this is my first post as a Junior VIP. I want to give back to the community by sharing the method that initially helped me make money online over a decade ago. Although times have changed, it's possible that this method could still be effective today.
What exactly are IDNs?
IDN refers to Internationalized Domain Names, which can include hyphenated characters (such as á, é, etc.) or special characters (such as Chinese, Korean, etc.). These kinds of domains have actually existed for quite some time, although they are not particularly popular. Using Punycode, host names that contain Unicode characters are transcoded to a subset of ASCII consisting of letters, digits, and hyphens. For instance, München (the German name for Munich) is encoded as Mnchen-3ya. You can try this out for yourself by visiting https://www.punycoder.com/.
IDN Registrar & Lookup Instructions
Finding and registering IDN domains is similar to registering regular domains. Many domain registrars accept IDNs for a variety of domain extensions. However, when searching for available IDNs, you may need to enter the punycode. The great thing about IDNs is that they are comparable to the Wild West of domaining, at least that was the case 10 years ago. Typically, the cost of these domains is also the same.
How I chose the domain names to register
Regarding the kinds of domains I registered, I began with Hungarian IDNs since I'm from Hungary. At one point, I had a collection of over 300 hyphenated domains spanning various categories. Essentially, I had a domain for every electronic and home appliance imaginable, but in the Hungarian version (e.g., microwave oven).
Even if you don't speak the language, you can register and make money from IDNs! I once combed through the Swedish dictionary to find potential words that I could register as Swedish IDNs. My Swedish portfolio consisted of around 70 domains, and although I only sold a few, it was still worthwhile.
Selling Internationalized Domain Names and What You Need to Know
If you're familiar with domaining, you know that selling your entire portfolio can be nearly impossible, but you can still make a good income by selling some of your domains. I sold around 20 or 30 of these names and was able to earn a decent living for a full year. Half the time, buyers contacted me directly, so selling was straightforward. For the remaining domains, I used cold emailing to reach out to companies that might be interested in a particular domain.
How much money could you make?
As for how much you can earn, it varies greatly. My average sale price was $300, but that was 10 years ago in a relatively small country. My best day was when I sold three domains for a total of $1300! I imagine that for more popular extensions, selling IDNs could result in significantly higher profits.
To you now
Now, over to you. I hope you found this method helpful, and if you decide to try it, I wish you the best of luck! Have you ever owned or sold IDN domains? What was your experience like? Do you have any questions or comments? Share them below!