Domain Blogger Interview With Raymond Hackney

I founded 3Character.com and brought on Andrew from Zesty Domains who owned a lot of great LLL.com domains. The site got pretty popular and as I focused on the .tv extension, I sold my half to Andrew.  I then spent most of my time from 2004 to 2011 on the .tv extension. There was no dialogue about .tv on the forums except for the tagline “.tv sucks” I did not think it sucked and gave it a voice on Namepros with the .tv subforum. I continue to have interest in .tv but do not spend the 20 hours a day on it like I used too.

What made you start a domaining blog?

I was writing so much about .tv and it was all on Namepros, I realized I was doing nothing for my own content and started DotTVNation which I later changed to Everything.tv. I then realized that just blogging about .tv was too narrow and started HybridDomainer.com in 2010.

Has the blog benefited you as a domainer?

It has benefited me in meeting more people and getting to work with some great people in the industry. For example I am now starting to work with Morgan Linton, I don’t think that comes about without me already running my own blog.

What platform is your blog running on?

Typepad

Why did you decide to go with this platform?

I did not know anything about WordPress when I started blogging, Typepad was easy and it has had more features to customize so I stayed with it. New projects now get developed with WordPress but I did not feel like migrating Hybrid Domainer over to WordPress so I have stayed with it.

Do you have any plugins you swear by?

N/a

Who do you host your blog with?

N/a

Why did you choose this hosting provider?

N/a

What’s Your Best Blog Post?

The Go Daddy Auctions Guide has certainly gotten the most traffic as it gets traffic everyday. I think the 5 part Women in Domaining Series was the most ambitious and  the ladies were really great in sharing their thoughts, I wanted to stay out of it and let it be just their words. I have always thought Domain publishing begins and ends with Ron Jackson from DN Journal so that series was Jacksonesque in the length and amount of time, and I even asked Ron for his opinion as I was working on the series.

What advice would you give to someone who is looking to start a domaining blog in the near future?

I read your interview with Shane Cultra and I could not say it any better, he was spot on, I think if you are starting an online venture and your time needs to make you money, then a domain blog is not the way to go. I think the industry needs consolidation, I did not even go after an advertiser until 2012, in 2011 there were posts everyday, more than one most days, its hard to write for a year and make 0. I would say many other niches are more lucrative.

Are there any domaining blogs you tend to read daily?

I of course also look at Domaining and Domainsville and usually read almost everything there, I at least read the blurb on the homepage. I also like to check so as not to write about something already covered over and over. If I am first with a big sale on Flippa or Sedo I report it, If I see Michael reporting a Sedo sale or You reporting a Flippa sale I will not post about it unless I have an interesting take or details to add to the sale.

Thanks for having me on your blog Jason, all the best.

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I want to personally thank Raymond for providing such insightful answers to the questions above. I really enjoy reading Raymond’s blog. He tends to provide a fresh view to the domaining industry. I frequently read Raymond’s blog and can even be found commenting on it!

I’m really looking forward to the announcement that Morgan made today about adding Raymond as a writer to MorganLinton.com. This sounds like a great combination which will benefit all of us as domain investors. Thanks again Raymond for participating in this interview!

Raymond’s blog can be found at HybridDomainer.com. If you have any questions about this interview or would like to be interviewed feel free to contact me or comment below.