Donuts Launches BL.INK: Unprecedented Branded Short Link Solution

"TEN: The Enthusiast Network's Adventure Sports Group has iconic brands such as SURFER, TRANSWORLD SKATEBOARDING, ADVENTURE SPORTS NETWORK, SNOWBOARDER and POWDER MAGAZINE," said Kris Heineman, director of Audience Development at TEN.  "We switched to BL.INK because we needed a link management platform that's flexible and agile, to meet the very different needs of each of our media brands. BL.INK enables us to elevate our social marketing and connect with our readers via branded short links."

Donuts acquired BudURL in 2017 and has been working in stealth mode to enhance the product with unique, game-changing features, a new name (that conveys its agility and simplicity), and a robust API that allows distribution as a value-added service (VAS) through Donuts' extensive registrar and reseller channel of more than 200 partners.

"We use the BL.INK across all our social channels," said Jared Muscat, social media content producer at Patagonia. "We are able to track metrics with great detail, and with the branded short link, we're able to maintain our brand standard while doing so."

To celebrate the BL.INK launch, newcomers who register at www.bl.ink will also be able to buy a free domain name. Visit www.bl.ink for additional details.

"Short links are a digital marketing essential - for any size business. Every digital interaction should reinforce your brand or convey your message. At Donuts, we saw an opportunity to offer a better product: links that use real words," said John Pollard, executive vice president, Donuts Registry. "We found the best link management platform, and for the first time ever, customers can create custom links using brands and other meaningful, memorable, real words."

"BL.INK is another example of our commitment to find and develop new value-added services for the domain channel," Pollard continued. "With BL.INK, our partners have an unprecedented opportunity to benefit from the economics of this rapidly-growing space. With the power and reach of our channel, BL.INK can now be embraced by businesses of all sizes. It's a win-win-win-win, for BL.INK, for Donuts, for our partners and for their customers."  

Concurrent with the launch of BL.INK, Donuts also announced the formation of the BL.INK Advisory Board, a group of influential thought leaders in digital marketing, branding and online communications. The purpose of this group is to provide guidance on BL.INK's product strategy and innovations, act as important conduits to digital marketers throughout the world, and offer advice and commentary on best practices for short linking and link management. Founding BL.INK Advisors include:

• Joel Comm: New York Times bestselling author, blockchain enthusiast, professional keynote speaker, social media marketing strategist, live video expert, technologist, brand influencer, futurist and eternal 12-year old
• Jeremy Goldman: best-selling author, speaker and digital disruptor
• Stephanie Carls: digital strategist, brand ambassador and tech YouTuber
• Tim Hayden: author, speaker, and digital marketing consultant
• Leonard Kim: branding expert and TEDx speaker
• Brian Massey: SEO expert, and co-founder of Conversion Sciences
• Chad Pollitt: author, international speaker and marketing professor
• Neal Schaffer: social media speaker, consultant, author, educator and innovator
• John White: journalist and founder of Social Marketing Solutions

Recent research affirms the growing importance of short links that use real words. In a survey conducted by Sapio Research and commissioned by Donuts, respondents overwhelmingly opted for branded short links using real words, over links containing long strings of characters and / or legacy short links. Reasons for preferring branded short links using real words included: more meaningful information, clarity of content, identification with the brand, trust and greater simplicity. To learn more about this survey, click here.

Contact:
Judith McGarry
(415) 971-2900
[email protected]

About Donuts
Donuts simplifies and connects a fragmented online world with domain names and related technologies that allow people and businesses to build, market and own their digital identities. Donuts holds the world's largest portfolio of new top-level domains, and offers a wide variety of clear and meaningful names for use as business identifiers (such as .ltd, .company), navigation (such as .careers, .support), in vertical markets (such as .photography, .cafe,  or .builders) or in broad-based generics (such as .life, .world or .live). Donuts provides its registrar / reseller customers with innovative services for the discovery, registration, usage and monetization of high-quality domain names. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Donuts, the registrar Name.com is one of the most admired brands in the industry. In 2017, Donuts was named Number 1 in the Deloitte Fast 500. Donuts' headquarters are in Kirkland, WA; it has offices in Denver, CO; Austin, Tx; Washington, DC; Dublin, Ireland and Beijing, China.

About BL.INK
BL.INK is a leading link management platform, ideal for people and businesses of all sizes who want to connect more effectively with their target audiences. With BL.INK, our customers can create custom short links using real words to convey memorable, meaningful messages and brand impressions. We founded BL.INK in 2008, because we believed that simplicity should also mean power, sophistication and flexibility. We're always adding new features to help our customers thrive in a quickly-changing world. In 2017, we were acquired by Donuts Inc., the largest new top-level domain name registry in the world. Together, we're passionate about fueling customers' ingenuity, and we've got the track record, resources, and moxie to deliver.

SOURCE Donuts Inc.

Related Links

http://www.donuts.domains