I see lots of threads of people asking for help getting customers and all I can think they expect is a magic line or magic place to advertise

Not really sure what the point of this thread is beside letting people know that there won't be any magic word someone on WHT will say and your business will skyrocket.

there should be several forums for "Running a Web Hosting Business", each one for people of different experience in the field. there would be one for total newbies, one for intermediate hosts, and one for experts. having all these people in one place does not help. experts don't understand why some people don't know their advertising options. newbies expect detailed explanations of trivial things...

:)

That's right. If there is a magic trick people won`t tell ya. And if there is no magic trick people can't tell ya ;)

Hi!
I've stopped helping with threads with people who do not want to spend the time to read the posts that are already on here.

I don't mind helping...but I'm not going to be someone's unpaid
concierge that just caters to their every whim.

Bryon

I mean, if there was a magic solution, would you tell everyone, ofcourse not, but there are little ways, and i think that if everyone shares their experiance in this field we may get somewhere

Certain basics about marketing apply to almost every business. If a business owner does not follow those basic steps no magic will help either.

I know the magic word(s), and I'll tell you ;)

Just paypal $10 to me :D




Ah, what the heck, I'll tell ya for free... "Hard work and determination, with a little bit of elbow grease"

Originally posted by AgaBoogaBoo
I see lots of threads of people asking for help getting customers and all I can think they expect is a magic line or magic place to advertise

Not really sure what the point of this thread is beside letting people know that there won't be any magic word someone on WHT will say and your business will skyrocket.

No problem simply spend 500Million plus on a presidential style election touring the country on your custom Bus promoting your hosting company and also invest in blanket advertising on all the major news channels,thats bound to get you a few sign up's.

Ohh yes! Everyone has their own magic, it's the way you use it that counts.

If you work hard you can get customers. Many people don't work hard and then wonder why customers are not coming to them.

That's my view on this.

Ryan

Hi!
Blah. I've said this before...I'll say it one more time, peoples.

In a crowded marketplace...what makes your offerings different?

Why should he/she trust *you*?

Niche building. Find a need...and fill it.

That's exactly what my father did more than 40 years ago.
Start small. Treat people right. Make people feel wanted and make them aware that, yes..I do appreciate your business.

Make a dollar and put it right back into your business. Look for partners...not mere "suppliers".

Advertising: find a affordable, small way to get your message across..perhaps in something that is not that big. Small papers with fairly good readerships. Alternative papers in big cities like Atlanta...Creative Loafing is a very good example. Cost effective.
I'm sure there are others.

Try classified ads. Didn't work? maybe try a small display ad. Have some way to track and reward a customer for telling you *how* they found you.

That's for awhile.

There you go...there is your Christmas present.

Merry Christmas...and good luck.

Bryon

I know the magic word! "FREE" your biz will rock but I cant guarantee your profit margin.

Originally posted by amish_geek
Ah, what the heck, I'll tell ya for free... "Hard work and determination, with a little bit of elbow grease"

Now if I can only find that elbow grease at Home Depot.

:rolleyes:

When you find that, send me some!

Ryan

Originally posted by boonchuan
I know the magic word! "FREE" your biz will rock but I cant guarantee your profit margin.

I'm not very sure that's right.I noticed that people like the FREE things ofcourse .. but they wont trust them as they are free and everybody knows that nothing is for free.And I don't think there's only one magic word, the matter is which one you will (or won't) find.

there should be several forums for "Running a Web Hosting Business", each one for people of different experience in the field. there would be one for total newbies, one for intermediate hosts, and one for experts. having all these people in one place does not help. experts don't understand why some people don't know their advertising options. newbies expect detailed explanations of trivial things...


I agree... we need multiple forums for running a webhosting business.


I know the magic word! "FREE" your biz will rock but I cant guarantee your profit margin.

lol....

Originally posted by whatever
I agree... we need multiple forums for running a webhosting business.


lol....

But let say that I dont understand nothing about billing software and such .. but I really can handle Plesk CPanel apache modules(including rewrite one for my needs) and I can teach other members about that.So which one will I go to ? To the newbie forums or to professional one ?
I think 1 forum is okay .. but people should mark their posts like
blq blq blq *newbie or blqblqblq * I'm beginner .. :)

Getting customers is the easiest part, no kidding. The hardest part is MAINTAINING and MANAGING them.

multiple forums will not really help anyone... just as a newbie would naturally gain experience form a veteran, a vet an also gain some knowledge from a newbie coming at something form a different angle...

we are all in the same boat ... there is not need to develope classes

>Getting customers is the easiest part, no kidding. The hardest
>part is MAINTAINING and MANAGING them.

I do mostly agree but I find the tax and legal stuff most challenging. Especially considering the prices you have to pay for lawyers and experts and especially that most of them are just crap and you have to search them for a long time before you find someone who knows what he is doing.

Originally posted by valmark
But let say that I dont understand nothing about billing software and such .. but I really can handle Plesk CPanel apache modules(including rewrite one for my needs) and I can teach other members about that.So which one will I go to ? To the newbie forums or to professional one ?
I think 1 forum is okay .. but people should mark their posts like
blq blq blq *newbie or blqblqblq * I'm beginner .. :)

if your question is a newbie question then you would go to that forum, expertise with a specific product does not make you a pro in running a business.

I love this thread!

What the new people must realize is that there is no secret... and if their was it would surely not get posted on a messageboard.

I have managed to get a free listing a google in the number 1 position for "9.95 web hosting" on google. do I get hits? yes, do I get customers? sometimes... point is there is no magic formula for getting clients to host with you... or to buy a car... or to buy a pen... if their was a magic formula. selling wouldn't be such hard work.

My tip on how to get clients... do anyting and everything you can. period.

Save a lot of money and get a google advertisement.

You can spend a lot of money on advertising and leave the control of possible sales coming to your site from it.

Instead you can control your own sales and be proactive. Join a networking group, do cold calls, etc. You will find that doing sales is a better investment in your time then trying to play with what google word is best to target.

Originally posted by Im_Goodspeed
there should be several forums for "Running a Web Hosting Business", each one for people of different experience in the field. there would be one for total newbies, one for intermediate hosts, and one for experts. Yikes. I think that would be opening up a hornet's nest. I can just see it. In the threads, there would be more bickering about which level of expertise it is, and whether it belongs in a different forum, rather than actually addressing the thread content. :eek:

Vito