I thought it would be fun to write about some of the particularities and patterns I’ve noticed over the years. Now, of course, this list is by no means definitive, feel free to contribute. Nor is it meant to make anyone feel bad or embarrassed.

Here they are:

The future trend investor. This is a person who spend lots and lots of time trying to figure out what the next “big” thing will be in terms of trends so that he can determine which one to jump on. On the one hand, it is true that all it takes is one spectacular domain registration and the person in question will be very happy but on the other hand, we have to understand that the likelihood of this happening is extremely low. Unfortunately, most future trend investors don’t do well. They arrived late to the party and are unable to register the best of the best domains and therefore have to settle for let’s just say the next best thing, if that. In my opinion, settling for anything other than the very best future trend domains is a waste of money. If you want to prove me wrong, go right ahead and invest in whatever you see fit but my honest advice would be this: only invest in future trend domains if you are able to secure one of the genuinely amazing ones.

The old-timer who has been able to register lots and lots of amazing domains. This person is in a great position to play the buy-and-hold game. Idolized by some, envied by many, this domain investor is basically set for life. Even if he doesn’t make the most brilliant acquisition decisions as of this point, the domain nest egg he is managed to put aside will be more than enough.

The hungry go-getter. This person is enthusiastic and eager to do what ever it takes to succeed as a domain investor. Even if this means spending hours upon hours doing outbound marketing, even if it means obsessively analyzing domain list and so on, this person doesn’t care, he wants great results and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve them.

The complainer. Just like the previous category, this person is let’s say a bit late to the game. The main difference is represented by the fact that the complainer tends to hold a pessimistic outlook on the world and instead of being constructive, he has a tendency to find people to blame other than himself. Maybe the industry is to blame, maybe ICANN, perhaps the economy or the president of Botswana, it doesn’t matter. This much is certain: he is definitely not at fault.

The well-funded newcomer. This person is also new to the industry but he has the capital it takes to build a genuinely amazing portfolio. Whether we’re talking about domain investors from China or people who did well as let’s say developers and want to invest their profits in domains, this domain investor type has the liquidity it takes to do well.

The shady domainer, also known as the Alex-type domainer. This person is more than willing to employee let’s say questionable tactics and the most common one by far is represented by domain spam. If you received, just like myself and many others have, countless emails pitching completely irrelevant domains, you know who I’m talking about.

The guy who got in at the wrong time. This category is relevant because it describes people who for example bought domains at very high prices prior to the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Even if he made reasonably good purchase decisions, his timing wasn’t exactly perfect and therefore, his career will be an uphill battle. A lot of domainers fit this description and some of them actually managed to ultimately make money. Words can’t begin to describe how much credit they deserve. Congratulations.

The technician. This person has a very analytical view of the world and tends to see everything as a mathematician. In other words, he treats domaining like an exact science, which it is not. As time passes, this person has to adjust or his results will just not be up to par.

The service provider. From parking company owners to brokers and domain registration company owners, these people all help create the ecosystem we refer to as the domaining industry. At the end of the day, this ecosystem enables domainers to make more money, which is pretty awesome, as I’m sure you agree.