"I call developers (or parked domain owners) if I see an opportunity for strategic alliances. When I propose a win-win idea, it usually gets their attention. I work with individual site owners as well as many of the major (publicly traded) players in the development space."
Mark Zuckerberg, Tony Heisch, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs are names that come to mind when thinking about how the Internet has revolutionized and touched our lives. Their innovations empower possibilities that were not possible before, making communication, work and play easier on every level.
Yet in the last decade, plenty of lesser-known visionaries have also looked beyond accepted ways of doing things and changed how life and work gets done. One of those men is Los Angeles-based Braden Pollock, a subject matter expert and thought leader who’s made a science of the digital practice of lawyer marketing, and DUI law in particular. Fresh from addressing three major domain conferences, (Domain Roundtable, RMDC and Punta2011), and having built his own successful brand, Braden’s joined forces with the fast-growing and popular domain developer, Epik, where he’s playing a key hands-on role in applying his insights and experience to the advantage of others.
Changing The Business of Law. And Its Results.
In 2004, Braden formed Legal Brand Marketing LLC (LBM), a network of 12,000+ legal-branded websites that are profitably generating leads for hundreds of DUI attorneys nationwide. Says Braden, “Our brand becomes their brand, helping them to generate value and traffic in ways they can’t do on their own.”
The DUI referral-generation business is a great example of what trend forecasters are calling the next Internet frontier— the $1.7 trillion dollar online-to-offline commerce market. LBM charges lawyers a flat monthly subscription to be featured on the sites and receive leads via email and through its toll free numbers. As the price of CPC (cost-per-click) for DUI-related terms (typically between $20 and $100) continues to rise, so too has the value of the captured referrals.
What sets LBM apart is that they don’t live in an online bubble. Web-generated leads are one service, field-real interaction is another. LBM serves as counselors and coaches to DUI attorneys, providing marketing strategy and best practices - including producing an elite bi-annual marketing conference for DUI lawyers. Says Braden, “I've been running this conference for the past 6 years. It's an intimate gathering of 20-30 lawyers - a nice size group. It's a 3-day event, and state-exclusive membership is $10k a year.”
Also setting them apart, and providing a role model for value-added possibility at Epik, is a fully integrated marketing strategy that runs the gamut from print to mail to landing page. “We print a 24-page, full color, DUI Report -- a magazine that explains everything an offender needs to know after being arrested for DUI in their state. Each state-branded edition features ads for LBM products and services while a sponsoring attorney pays for exclusive placement. It’s also distributed on news racks mounted at the curb in front of court houses and police stations.” LBM is gaining prominence in social media like Facebook, sharing stories of outrageous DUI arrests that have powerful emotional and political appeal to a large audience.
A Born Entrepreneur
As a child, Braden didn’t dream of what he’d be when he grew up, but he knew he wouldn’t want to be like his parents— cogs in someone else’s wheel who would never get rich living paycheck to paycheck
His mother always worked as a secretary or medical transcriber. His father was a "Systems Analyst" — a fancy title for Manager of the Computer Dept. This was back when computers filled giant rooms, used reel-to-reel tape, read "punch cards" and were programmed with some 20 year-old long-dead language few domainers have ever heard of. Though you and I would think this was cutting-edge, interesting work, neither parent talked about computers or their jobs with the kids, nor did they have a PC at home when such a thing came to exist. Work was a job and not a passion, and from an early age Braden recognized that he wouldn’t be fulfilled having one without the other.
“You’re Out of Business. Effective Immediately.”
“As a kid, I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I was selling anything I could get my hands on. I was literally selling eraser caps to classmates in 3rd grade. I was the kid who sold the most candy or magazines during the school fundraisers - winning whatever the "grand prize" was. Once, while in middle school, I took to selling Atomic Fireballs, which were basically cinnamon jawbreakers. I bought them from the local convenience store for a nickel, took them to school in my pockets and sold them to my friends for a dime. After a few weeks, I was buying them by the case (600/carton which included display racks) and was raking in the dimes. I even set my sister up, on consignment, to sell at her school, too. Eventually, the school principle called me into his office and told me (I still remember his words) "You're out of business. Effective immediately." So much for free enterprise,” he thought.
If he only knew then where he’d be standing now!
An Epik RevelationNever forgetting the childhood thrill of bringing an idea to fruition, seeing what others were missing, and connecting the dots all became ingrained in Braden’s DNA.
That light bulb went off again when Braden met Luke Webster at Pitchfest LA. Luke was presenting what was billed as a revolutionary WordPress-based breakthrough in platform domain development called DevRich. Impressed with Luke’s DevRich elevator pitch, Braden was ready to jump in. “After trying to develop domains on my own over the years, I tested 500 domains with DevRich and they did well so I continued moving my re-directs to the DevRich platform. Since there was no lead-gen platform at time, I monetized the leads through my own directories or through my existing alliances.”
Rob Monster also knew that the keys to building out a profitable portfolio of domain names were cost-efficiency and scale. He thought, “If one could build dozens or even hundreds of truly useful sites in less time than developing one custom site, the economic benefits would be clear. And yet I knew that developing a single domain development platform, no matter how scalable, would be insufficient.” Eschewing a one-size fits all approach that was tried and failed by so many others, Rob needed to add "micro-site" development to his stable of products. But he wasn't yet aware of the existence of DevRich or its creator.
That would soon change when Rob and Luke both chanced to post comments on the same blog article. Rob took note, the two men began communicating, and soon their relationship led to a merging of the minds. Recognizing the capability of DevRich, Rob made Luke an offer he couldn't refuse and integrated DevRich with Epik.
The acquisition and integration into Epik created a stronger, more capable domain development company with a full domain life-cycle approach. In other words, a complete solution that included everything from (1) picking the right domain (2) developing a turnkey SEO Optimized high Page Ranking product portal, directory, video portal, blog, e-commerce website or an entire portfolio, and (3) selling a developed website to a strategic buyer. This was good for DevRich (and Braden) as it provided more resources to better scale development.
Once Rob saw what Braden was doing to enhance the DevRich platform, he knew he was onto something. So he invited Braden to Seattle to attend Epik's first annual DevCon. “Little did I know, Rob was sizing me up. He recognized that lead-generation is one of the best (if not the best) monetization options available to domainers today. He knew Epik needed to be in that space in a big way and wanted my help. Soon after returning to LA, I got a call from Rob asking me to join the Board of Directors.”
Says Rob Monster, “It was easy decision as we both knew that the synergies were obvious, and the team chemistry was tested. It was a natural progression of friendship and mutual respect for one another’s ambitions and vision.”
Braden believed so much in the collaboration that he wanted more skin in the game. That sparked an investment in the company.
One Lead Generation Leads To Another
With the synergies, leverages and complimentary talent in Rob, Luke and Braden as a team, they set out to develop a lead generation solution that could apply what they'd learned to the benefit of all domainers— short-cutting the time and cost it might otherwise take to realize a domain’s full potential.
At this writing Braden has 7000 developed sites on the platform and about 5000 more in the queue. “Development, content, lead form, buyer. It’s easy and seamless. This platform was quick, efficient and sustainable, since it included content continually added to each site.”
“Based on my own successful formula, I've helped Epik launch two lead-gen products (Lead-Gen and Lead-Gen Pro). One is basically a micro-site while the other is a full-blown directory. We've identified the highest value verticals and are developing unique template sets for each one. We've also negotiated pricing and signed strategic alliances with the major consolidators — the lead buyers — in each vertical. We've created turn-key monetization solutions for domainers, and investors with portfolios of domains.”
Some of the verticals that have been created thus far are; legal (plus 30 sub-verticals), financial (debt, etc.), contractor (windows, flooring, etc.), online education, real estate, travel, cosmetic surgery/dentistry, insurance (auto, home, life, etc.) and others.”
Dancing With An 800 Lb. Gorilla
Of course one big concern was Google.
“We've met with Google to discuss our platform. They know we're out there and they're okay with what we're doing. We're working towards having Google white-list the Epik platform across the board. If we were cutting corners and trying to "game" the algorithm, eventually all the sites would be de-indexed. “
Epik plans to build 12 million sites over the next 12-18 months. “We couldn't do that unless we had a stable, sustainable platform.”
Why Leave Money On The Table?
Now as an integral part of the Epik team, Braden is there to help. “I have a certain way of doing business, and when I see a site owner leaving money on the table, I let him or her know. This isn't to say that I randomly call developers with an opinion about their site. I call developers (or parked domain owners) if I see an opportunity for strategic alliances. When I propose a win-win idea, it usually gets their attention. I work with individual site owners as well as many of the major (publicly traded) players in the development space. I've been speaking regularly at the domain conferences lately so I get a lot of questions from domainers about how to better monetize their domains.”
Once an Entrepreneur, Always an Entrepreneur
From Braden’s earliest memory, all he ever wanted was to own businesses. Not one, but several. Adults would always ask "Okay, so you want to own a business, that's great. What kind?" Braden would always reply, "A successful one".
With 12 million Epik sites on the horizon, he is certain to realize this dream.
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Check out LMB sites:
1800DUILAWS.com
SmartStartofCalifornia.comIgnitionInterlock.com
1800DUILAWS.com
DUILawyers.co
SignatureFiling.com
DrunkDrivingDefense.com
DUIattorneys.com
DUI-DWI.com
NotDrunk.com
Plus sites for fiance Lisa Bloom, an attorney and popular television personality (they got engaged 2 weeks ago on top of a glacier in Patagonia): LisaBloom.com
TheBloomFirm.com
Think.tv
Photo (top): Braden Pollock courtsey of Facebook/BradenPollock
Photo (left): Braden Pollock, Lisa Bloom and mother-in-law-to-be Gloria Allred via ArtHarris.com
Photo composition of sites courtesy of The Frager Creative Group
