After nearly a dozen years at the helm of a communications agency he built from the ground up, Sault Ste.Marie’s Jeff Elgie now has his sights set on the Greek islands. Or, at least, a pair of websites promoting them.
Diverging from Lucidia last fall, Elgie has formed Digital Intelligence Group (DIG) Inc., which offers digital consulting services related to building traffic, increasing online acquisitions or conversions, and optimizing digital revenues.
As part of his new endeavour, Elgie has retained ownership in the well-known domains Mackinac.com and Sootoday.com, along with an additional 130 sites. Two of his newest acquisitions are websites devoted to the Greek islands of Antiparos and Euboea. So, could a visit to the Greek islands be in his future?
“My wife says that to me every couple of days,” he chuckled.
Part of the appeal of opening a new business is in the flexibility it affords, Elgie said.
“We have roots in the Sault, our family’s here, and we love the community that we live in, but the beauty of the business now is that it can be done from anywhere,” Elgie said. “So if we want to travel or spend the summer at the cottage, all we need is a laptop and a phone; we don’t need to be physically tied down to any location—there’s major appeal for that too.”
There are two parts to the business. Elgie offers digital consulting to clients looking to build and increase traffic on their websites—whether it’s the sale of a product, a reservation or a newsletter signup—and determines how to increase revenue.
But the bulk of the business comes from something Elgie calls digital property stewardship. He buys various websites and domain names, building them up over time and generating revenue streams by selling advertising on the sites, or partnering with companies like Google which will let him display ads from its network on his sites for a percentage of its profits.
Choosing which domains or websites to purchase involves “a lot of science and a bit of a gut feel,” Elgie said, comparing it to real estate development. He studies markets to determine where there is a high level of interest and how much competition there is in that area, and then purchases the sites or domains and enhances their assets, increasing their value.
“I’ve always been a bit of an entrepreneur at heart and so the fun of the business for me is that every one of these is like starting up a new, little business,” he said. “Every one has its own background and research and its own marketing plan and agenda.”
His keen interest in tourism has led him to focus on geographic domains, but Elgie said he’s not placing any parameters on the industries he’ll explore.
Fuelled by “a desire to create new things,” and confident leaving Lucidia in the capable hands of his former partner, J.R. Pierman, Elgie said the time was right for him to find a new challenge in business. “Lucidia was very well positioned,” he said. “We had a very strong leadership team in the company and we also had a very stable client base, and we were in very good condition for me to make an exit, so that gave me the comfort to be able to leave.”
