I wrote an article the other day about buying domain names that contained exact match terms to domain names that people already own and Joe asked a question in the comment section on how I would go about contacting the potential buyers I mentioned in the article. So this is how I would do it.

I will stick with the same domain name I used as an example in the first article, FoamInsulators.com .

ZFBot.com is going to be your best friend in finding domains (to confirm there are other registered with the term(s) of the domain you are interested in) that are very similar to your domain. Use the Starts or Ends box with your keyword(s) and click Search. You can redefine your search by TLD, length and more but I use the default settings. So ZFBot is showing me that 20 other domains end with the matching term to my domain, FoamInsulators.com . Do not include the TLD with your search and I always put the full term together. Here is a screen shot of my search sample:

It states 21 domains that match, but that includes the domain I own. Start from the top of the list and take those domain names and do a whois look up (whois.domaintools.com) to obtain either the email address or physical mailing address of that domain owner to contact them. I normally go for the email as it’s easy, free and quick. It doesn’t hurt to visit their site directly as well, just to get a feel for what you are dealing with. Start at the top (AirTightFoamInsulators.com) for an example and keep going down the list. These are 20 of your best "leads" for a buyer of your domain (for the example I am doing) and a great place to start.

General Email Template to contact them with that I use:

"Hello, Persons Full Name

My name is Your Name and I own the domain name DomainHere.com and I thought you would hold interest in owning it as it will be an asset to your company.

The offering price is $Price Here, which is a one time payment and you have total ownership of the domain.

I look forward to any questions you may have and look forward to potentially working with you.

All the best,

Your Name

Your Phone Number

Your Company Name

Your Title"

You can always go more in depth in the email as I often do. Here is an example of that style of email. I try and explain WHY the domain name would help them. I think that is the thing to get across. Feel free to provide them with stats (search volume, other domains owned that are similar, ad rates for the term etc) Remember they are spending a fair amount of money on something, so clearly the purchase should help them!

I would advise NOT to send these emails from a "free" email provider like gmail or yahoo address. It’s not professional and they often get blocked in spam filters. If you do not have a little site set up about yourself or company, it might not hurt to do so. I have about 10 I use often.

Google is going to be your next provider of leads! Again, use your domain names keyword(s) for the search. Related keywords etc. I always look for paying advertisers for the term and contact them. Use the domain name displayed in the ad and do a whois on that domain and contact the email address on file.

You can also look for similar domains used that rank fairly well in search engines. Google, Bing and Yahoo often display different results so don’t just use Google. Don’t be shy to get several pages deep in the SE, because you can use that as ammo to help sell the domain as it will help them rank better using the domain you have for sale.

These are just two ways to help you find potential domain name buyers. This article I wrote in March 2009 and I still use some of the same tactics today, so you may want to read it if or when you have some time. It talks a bit about marketing your domain name just the way companies market products and services. Can your domain name be found? This article may also help you that I wrote.

Tips: It doesn’t hurt to do the following research BEFORE you purchase a domain name. Knowing there are a fair amount of potential end user buyers before you buy may help you decide how much you are willing to pay for an expired domain auction for an example

The quality of your domain name is important. Again, it really needs to HELP the person/entity you are trying to sell it to and you will have a much easier time selling it. There is almost always a "want factor" but that likely comes when somebody is reaching out to you and not the other way around.