DotMe marketing booth at New Media Expo, Las Vegas, 2013
DotMe, the personal domain extension, has an innovative program to assign high-value short keyword domain names based on good business ideas. That’s right, instead of selling to the highest bigger or the first to register, the domains are being assigned based on an elaborate submission process. While not exactly a giveaway, the process is designed to focus on business plans rather than high bids.
Clearly the registry was thinking ahead. And although they’ve made big money from domain investors, they’re thinking about the longterm value of the domain and making sure that some premium domains are actually developed and marketed.
The .ME domains being offered include: Around.me, Fund.me, Find.me, For.me and Hire.me. If put to auction, any of these domains could fetch 5-figures or even possibly 6-figures.
According to the registry, applications will be selected “based on a solid business plan, the quality of service to be provided and references of the applicants.”
I downloaded the application to have a look. The application requests a list of urls for existing online business. There’s a section to summarize your planned use for the domain name. Another to explain your development and marketing commitment along with timelines for development and marketing. There’s a section to suggest ideas for joint marketing activities. The final section is about financial plans and budget for development and marketing. In that section there’s an option to suggest any upfront feeds the applicant is willing to pay to sweeten the deal.
Applications may be submitted between May 10th, 2013 and June 15th, 2013, 5pm CET. For more information and application forms, visit: http://domain.me/premium-domain-program/
