I need advice on how to advertise. Im really sick of hearing the phrase "word of mouth". Ok maybe it is the best way to get advertised but it is not a form of advertisING.

I need advice on how to actively advertise, ie go out and do something ... i cannot rely on word of mouth to run my entire business.

More specifically i need feedback from people who have advertised in magazines. How much success have you had and with which magazines? I have advertised in a number of magazines, the costs are very high and the return is very little.

I know about telemarketing, google adwords, overture etc. but what about banner ads or flyers? how much success have you had with these forms of advertising? Are there any other useful ways to advertise webhosting?

Also, do you have any B2B parnterships? With which companies and how much success have you had with these?

any advice would be appreciated, thanx in advance.

My experiences with local newspapers and local magazines are not so bad. Smaller ads over a longer time work better than a singular big one.
We have developed some info and community sites which also link to our business.
Google is definitely worth a try, this way we increased the number of members at our community sites a lot.
The usual banner ads are quite expensiv, the CTR is not very good, most important as with all advertising is to target them as close as possible to your market.
That's not much, I know, but maybe it helps a little bit.

Have you gone out and pounded the local scene? I'd think many smaller businesses who are a bit aprehensive about getting on the web would love to see a face and meet someone (build a trust relationship). You might also be able to sell design, ecomm packages, etc., at a higher price.

We advertised in NY Times, but we didn't get many signups because of it. (It wasn't a huge ad). :bawling:

Originally posted by rewdog
We advertised in NY Times, but we didn't get many signups because of it. (It wasn't a huge ad). :bawling:


How big was it and if its ok with you how much did it cost you?

Originally posted by Magic
I know about telemarketing, google adwords, overture etc. but what about banner ads or flyers? how much success have you had with these forms of advertising? Are there any other useful ways to advertise webhosting?

Some info..............

Couple years ago a friend wanted to do a yard sale (okay folks laugh). Problem was this friend lives in an area with a lot yard sales and competition for buyers is tough. An ad in the main newspaper would've killed whatever profit ratio involved, so flyers had to be done.

Fired up an art program and made enough flyers with the printer to even make cheap posters. Was creative in putting graphics and large enough print to accent the essentials. Put the flyers out 3 days in advance.

End result: a profit of hundreds of dollars on five and dime stuff in one day. Cost: donated time and $15.

Flyers do work. You just have to be creative.

Magazine ads: you have to be able to market a hot product and hussle to sell it to gain a profit (in my local paper a small add costs over $600 -- a magazine ad would be even more). Exposure is limited in who reads the magazine. Unless it's a national one with mega circulation your ad may go unnoticed - stay clear of ads in the back of mags.

Trick in advertizing is not how much you spend (don't tell that ad firms) it's how you spend it. Research, test, research is critical. Learn from each non sale advertizement and don't repeat it. If flyers aren't working it maybe not the flyers aren't getting customers' attention, but what's on the flyer in the first place.

I have found 'Press Releases' via the net to yield good results.
Originally I used the 'free' ones - but didn't gain very much , I now use a 'semi' free one (works by donation). Which has been very fruitful.

Eladesor.

I think it was about 300 bucks for a 50 character text ad in the science times.

Hello

See this thread for my experience with Google Adwords:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=24952

I just pulled all our Overture and other PPC advertising for this month to see what difference it would make.
Sales are down, but so are fraudulent transactions (down to zero).
Its only been three days but its looking like our profit per day is about the same, withless sign ups, less frauds and less people trying to sell me servers and reseller pmlans!

Probably will have to go back to that type of advertising to get a higher level of sales, but the targetting is a real problem.With Google we can specify countries to see the ads.
This really improves the CTR and reduces the fraud risk.
Why adveritse in countries where they don't speak english when we can only provide a service in the English language?

Just some thoughts.

Gordon

Originally posted by GordonH
Why adveritse in countries where they don't speak english when we can only provide a service in the English language?

I would rethink that. In my country (Austria, Europe) the native language is German, but nearly everyone at least understands English and many can write or even speak in English.
And as hosting is an international business you would loose some sales. Of course I don't know what percentage of international customers you have, but if I would act like this I would have lost nearly 50% of my customers.

It's all about testing really, one company could advertise and get great results, and another company will advertise and will get bad results, so you just have to do test campaign before you spend your entire budget somewhere...

Yes Walter,
You are right up to a point and we are looking at the European market for further development.
We already have the ability to bill peoples credit cards in Euros.

However, advertising in places like India and South East Asia is not money well spent in my expereince and its better to have some geographical targetting.
This is where goto/overture etc falls down badly.

Gordon

Originally posted by GordonH
You are right up to a point and we are looking at the European market for further development.

Please don't, this is where we are ;)

its better to have some geographical targetting.
This is where goto/overture etc falls down badly.

Yes, thats insane. My kast google campaign was expensive but very effective (for a community site) due to targeting.

Originally posted by GordonH
However, advertising in places like India and South East Asia is not money well spent in my expereince and its better to have some geographical targetting.
This is where goto/overture etc falls down badly.

If you have the budget, hiring someone who is Indian or from SE Asia will help (they know the lingo and culture). SE Asia is a great potential market, i.e. Taiwan (computer maker capital of the world).

Hire (or contract part time) someone to write the advertizing, translate your site for them and handle foreign customer service. Many computer literate foreigners can email in english (most of the web is in english anyhow) so potential sales might justify the headaches. Cheap translating sources are kids who are fluent in both languages. Approach them at their community boards and such.

Getting foreign customers takes more work, but if you understand how their culture works, you have a new customer base (one others skip because they don't go for them themselves).

I think I would be more intrested in the European market first as we are already in the UK.

I would need to find a mainland Europe colo first :)

Gordon

I know this is a bit off subject, but as the thread has 'moved' slightly ;)

Gordon H:

I've been looking at the Euro market, but have experienced major problems with the finances. Have you ever tried accepting payment from someone without a credit card? Perfectly valid reasons they simply wish to pay by direct debit / standing order.
To be succinct, I eventually had to open a EURO account (already have Dollar, Sterling and merchant facilities) Not sure about the majority of Banks but for e.g. mine charges $10 per month for the Dollar account (EURO is thrown in free), and although it allows transfer without charges to your sterling account (no currency exchange). To use a cheque book or anything else is very expensive. Conducting a bank to bank ¡¥online¡¦ transfer¡¦ is easier, but I have found that the customers who pay this way (even though they have EURO accounts) still have to transfer fund in Sterling ¡V crazy!
Add to this the fact that UK Banks are charging extortionate exchange rates, min 4% on some transactions and or a fee, I often wonder does anyone really want us to be able to do business?

I have often thought (I'm back on track with the thread now :) ) of advertising throughout Europe, as I already have a reasonable European customer base (Sweden, Germany, Malta, Belgium) and don't really mind the advertising or translation costs. My concern lies in two specific areas:
1. Bank charges
2. Customer support - Although a bit rusty, my Spanish is reasonable (lived there for a while ¡V but that¡¦s another story) and fortunately my Wife speaks fluent German. But if I don't feel comfortable communicating with customers because of a language barrier, I'm not going to offer them the level of service they deserve.

If I'm teaching you (or anyone) to 'suck eggs' - sorry, Just sharing my thoughts

Eladesor.

Well
We are able to accept currency cheques quite cheaply through a special arrangement with our bank and we can bill via credit card in local currency.
We don't do direct debit for our current brands and don't intend to start.

The language issue is quite serious though.
We have a few customers in Germany and The Netherlands where English is quite commonly spoken.
However, to operate in France you would need French language.
Its OK to say that people speak English, but when a non native English speaker is trying to explain a complex problem it can be very difficult.

Priority here is to sort out the Canadian side first and then look at Europe.

Gordon

Originally posted by GordonH
I would need to find a mainland Europe colo first

To find one is no problem, but to find one with reasonable bandwidth charges is nearly impossible.

We have some partners in Berlin Germany that are going to open up their small business customer bases to us. This is extremely targeted and will probably result in many customers. Another way to attract the international market is to offer support services in several languages. On our web site we say "Our in-house staff is fluent in English, French, and German, thereby optimizing interoperability with the national and international community." Learning other languages comes in handy whatever business you do. I believe Internet expenses are much less in the US, thereby attracting Europeans to the US for hosting and other services. Connections are one of the most cost effective ways to expand and attain more customers.

The New York Times (Science Times section on Tuesday) advertisement was an expensive way to say we were in the New York Times.

I just came across this article. I am sure I'm breaking some laws by posting it, but it's full of lots of great info. :D


11 Internet Marketing Strategies
To Boost Your Visibility
By Angela Wu

It's so easy to fall into a 'labor of love' - painstakingly revamping our websites so that they look absolutely 'perfect' ... or pouring our heart and soul into creating the best product possible, one that's sure to draw rave reviews.

The problem is, no matter how great your product or how gorgeous your website, you need traffic. If people can't find you, they can't buy from you either. Consistent, dedicated marketing will help you to draw interested prospects to your business. Here are a few strategies...


1. Search engines. Optimize your pages and submit your site to the major SEs. If you're able to rank within the top 10 or 20 sites for a particular key phrase, you'll be treated to a steady stream of targeted traffic. A good place to learn more about SE optimization is SearchEngineWatch.com

2. Targeted link exchanges. Find other good sites within your market and offer to trade links. You and your 'link partner' will both benefit from each other's traffic ... plus some of the major SEs are now using 'link popularity' to help determine your ranking. Zeus is a neat little robot that can help you with your linking efforts.

3. Build your own opt-in newsletter. Your own newsletter gives you the opportunity to build your credibility and keep in touch with your customers. You'll be able to market your own products or services to them as well - and even earn some extra income from advertising sales. Find a quick tutorial on starting your own newsletter at BuildYourHomeBiz.com

4. Ezine advertising. Ezines are a very affordable way to reach thousands of targeted prospects for just a few dollars. A great place to pick up deals on advertising is EzineAdauction.com

5. Network through message boards. Join a forum where potential customers or partners may congregate. Become a contributing and respected member by offering help and support. Leave your link at the bottom of your posts; people who have come to know you will click on your link for more information about you and your business. Careful, though - it's easy to spend too much time 'chatting'! Search for appropriate forums at ForumOne.

6. Referral marketing. Encourage your customers to refer others to you. You may want to give them an incentive to do so - for example, provide them with a discount on their next order, or offer a quality free gift.

7. Pay-per-click search engines. These SEs offer you the chance to literally pay for your ranking - a popular option, especially for people who don't want to fiddle with search engine optimization. You simply place a bid per 'click' - that is, everytime someone clicks on your link, you pay the bid amount. More information is available at PayPerClickSearchEngines.com

8. Major indexes. Get listed with the popular large human-reviewed indexes such as Yahoo! and Open Directory. This can result in a significant boost in targeted traffic - up to several hundreds of unique visitors each day!

9. Article submissions. Write about what you know and offer your articles to other editors and webmasters in your market. Offer the article for reprint in exchange for an author byline. Some sites also run syndication networks, where your article may appear on dozens or even hundreds of sites! There's always a demand for fresh, original articles. Ezine directories such as BuildYourHomebiz.com are a good source for finding editors that accept articles.

10. Create a free eBook. Give it away to your visitors - and to other editors or webmasters within your market. Encourage them to pass it on. Your business will profit from the free publicity. Free eBooks are an excellent viral marketing tool; read more in the article, 10 Quick Tips on How to Create, Distribute, and Profit from Free eBooks.

11. Joint ventures. Partner with other editors or webmasters within your market to help promote each other's businesses. This is one of the easiest and most profitable marketing methods! Examples of JVs include: ad swaps, newsletter co-opts, barter agreements, special affiliate commissions, and offering discounts of your own products/services to each other's customers.

The key here is *consistency*; writing an occasional article or placing an ad once in a while isn't enough to give you the targeted traffic necessary to build a solid, steady online income.

There are lots of ways to market -- start today! Pick something and just do it. If you don't feel like writing an article, find some potential link partners. Don't feel like doing that? Then check your pay-per-click campaign and make any necessary changes.

Commit yourself to marketing your business -- and hold yourself to it! After all, it would be a real shame for a great product to go to waste. :-)

* About The Author
Angela Wu is the editor of Online Business Basics, an exclusive newsletter for eBusiness beginners. She offers a 'no hype, no bull' approach to building a profitable Internet business. Every issue is packed with helpful tips and useful tools, specially selected to fit a beginner's shoestring budget. Visit her online today at OnlineBusinessBasics.com

==================================

Bailey's thoughts:

~ This was an article from a gazette I subscribe to. I get no kickback by posting it, but I thought it was a fairly decent overview of lots of the ways to get more well-known.

In my experience:
(1) an opt-in list is a must. People actually WANT to hear more from you, so take the opportunity for free advertising! Even if they are already customers -- hey! -- that's how you get word-of-mouth advertising

(2) your site must have content, not just be an advertisement for what you offer. How exactly do your services solve specific problems your readers have? How can they use your services in day-to-day operations? By relating your services to your client's daily problems and needs, not only will you improve your search engine ranking, but you build a trust with your client (they might not even realize it). Trust can help sales.


Well there's my thoughts for the day. :) Good luck!
:D Bailey

Here is another tip:
Archive your newsletters as web pages and get them indexed by search engines.
Same with all your support manual pages.

Another thing I do is submitting the scripts I create for our own use to placs like hotscripts.com
You would be amazed how mant visitors we get from there, and they are all webmasters. Same with the support manual pages.

I need to do more with the hosting directories.
We are listed in them but get very few visitors from them these days.

Gordon