You ever go to a web address and see a page full of links? Those links are all ads and the pages are owned by “domainers.” To learn how that business works and how anyone can profit from it, I talked with Susan Smith of DomainSponsor.

Here are some of the things I learned from her. (Download the interview for more.)

The easy days are over – In 1996, Scott Day bought watermelon.com for $3,000 and a crate of watermelons. He went on to build a domain empire that included bed.com, dress.com, and even GeorgeBush.com Today, the easy-to-get names are gone.

You have some already – Chances are good you already own some domains and aren’t doing anything with them. Try running ads on them and see how profitable they are. Maybe you bought PartySupplies.com with a plan to build a party supply empire one day. Until you get around to it, use that domain. If you send it to Susan, she’ll run ads for you and help you figure out how profitable it is.

You can contact Susan here: ssmith[at]domainsponsor.com

Don’t Tase Me Bro – New words, concepts and ideas keep popping up into the language. When you hear a phrase that you think will stick around buy that phrase as a domain name. (DontTaseMeBro.com is already taken.)

Did I miss something? If you have any other lessons from domainers, add them to the comments.

Right click to download the interview