“When the opportunity to buy PigeonForge.com came knocking, I opened the door and saw my freedom- personal, professional and creative.”

Interview by Mike Sullivan of Sully’s Blog

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This Interview was made possible by our friends at

Domain name registration, premium domain auctions, and domain monetization services

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Jessica Bookstaff Doppelt acquired PigeonForge.com in 2000.  She has been active in the Internet industry since 1998, managing marketing and public relation efforts for a mature start-up.   She owns and operates PigeonForge.com, Durango.com, and TheVirginIslands.com.  She is an active board member of CASA of East Tennessee (Court Appointed Special Advocates)  and a board member of Associated Cities. In her spare time, she is a mentor with knoxAchieves and an instructor with Operation Boot Camp. Jessica lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband and two daughters.

PigeonForge.com, Durango.com, and TheVirginIslands.com are each geo domains focused on providing information and listings for services in each of the respective areas.  Everything from real estate to business directories, local event to shopping can be found on these geo sites.

MO:
PigeonForge.com is a directory site for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  When you acquired the domain back in 2000, what did it look like?  Was it developed already or did you build the site into what it is today?

Jessica:
When I first purchased the domain, the site was minimally developed. It was a basic site with little to no content beyond the handful of advertisers. At the time, however, it was great site for what it was.  Beneath the old school HTML, frames and midi files of banjo music, I saw amazing potential. Unlike the mailed visitor guide, the possibilities were endless on how much vacation planning information you can put on a site. Imagine if you were to put all that info into a mailed visitor guide? What a costly endeavor! So I just started organizing and building. That is what we are doing today but on a larger level.

MO:
What was your involvement in the Internet industry prior to PigeonForge.com?  Was this your first domain investment?

Jessica:
Prior to PigeonForge.com, my involvement in the internet was pretty much ecommerce, email and researching how to make a great margarita. I was at the University of Tennessee so that is a fairly accurate picture…. but when I was in college, I worked as an intern in marketing and public relations for IPIX. It was a fun job and I worked under some smart people however I just felt trapped. Working in a big corporation was just not for me. When the opportunity to buy PigeonForge.com came knocking, I opened the door and saw my freedom- personal, professional and creative. In 2000, it was a risk.  All my peers were headed down the corporate path, we were sitting on the other side of the dot com rise and subsequent crash and I had professors telling me I was going to fail. Nice. But I knew I could make this a successful, solid business that would have sustainability.

MO:
When did you acquire Durango.com and TheVirginIslands.com?  Were these domains acquired through action or a private sale?  Were they developed?

Jessica:
I acquired TheVirginIslands.com at the end of 2002. That domain was not developed. It was parked.  We took that site developed, original content and different ad feeds and privately placed ads. The site is currently undergoing some significant change. Be sure to check back and see what we are doing.   Durango.com was a developed site with clients. Since I purchased it in late 2006, the site has an entirely new look on the front end and functionality on the back end.  Both of the domains were purchased through private sale.

MO:
You favor the geo domain market over other types of domains such as generics or brandable names.  What value do you see on geo names that attract you to them over others?  Do you own any non-geo domains?

Jessica:
I love the geo market.   There is an inherit value in the domains. On a personal level, the geo market is interesting because you are working two sides of the equation. On one side, I have my advertisers – I am trying to put together ads and ideas for them to drive traffic to their businesses. On the other side, we have the visitors. People just like us, traveling to our cities to make memories with their family and loved ones.  My mission is to bring my advertisers together with my visitors.  Simply put, it’s fun.  As for other domains, I do have a fair amount in my portfolio but they are all related to my geo domains.

MO:
You’re a board member of Associated Cities.  I see that organization also tied to other popular geo domains.  Tell me about the organization.  Do all of your domains have a relationship with Associated Cities?

Jessica:
Our brands are associated with AC. Associated Cities is a great organization that provides its members a noncompetitive space to interact with other city.com owners and share best practices, revenue models, etc.  In my opinion, that benefit far outweighs any other. It is great to learn from others but also to share your experiences with other geo domain owners.   As an association as a whole, we are building value in our brands.

MO:
You have quite a bit of experience in the domain industry and you are well respected by your peers within the industry.  Would you recommend developing a geo domain to an entrepreneur looking to break into the domain market?  Do you think there are any quality geo names within financial reach of a new startup?

Jessica:
I would definitely recommend developing a geo to someone looking to break into the domain market if the entrepreneur were willing to develop. There is often a misconception with people that we buy these domains, put up a site and money starts arriving in the mail.  Oh if it were that easy! There is a lot of time, research and work that we (my staff and I) put into developing the site. From my experience, developing a geo domain is a moving target.  Visitors tastes and habits change and we have to move with those trends. As challenging at it may be at times, I am thankful that this is the case. That might be what has kept me interested for the last 10 years.  In this market, there are quality geo domains in reach. I believe as our economy continues in this path, more geo domains will become available.