Hi all, Ive posted a few times here and have another question :D

I run a small web hosting business, I would like to grow (not massive growth) quickly, my optimal growth right now would be to 15 - 20 customers.

I have purchased links and advertising etc and also have affiliates who can earn everytime someone signs up, but nothing seems to be working thus far, so I come to the masters at WHT to let me know your favorite strategies.

BTW :lovewht: :peace:

Turk

I'm going to be honest with you, the guy that you have as the image for your website looks like a hardened criminal in a business suit. However, here's some advice: pick a target market and advertise to them, not an "end all, be all" solution for everyone.

lol I have gotten a few comments about that guy lol.

Thinking of purchasing a template.

Turk

Besides strong marketing and site content that will close a high %, your other options for growth are excellent customer service which leads to word of mouth, PR, affiliate programs & other types of partnerships, and finally, probably the fastest way, is to simply start acquiring other existing hosting companies.

all good suggestions, thank you mj.

Turk

If you are getting traffic but are not converting, you may need to find something that sets you apart.

I feel that the little content found on the site doesn’t inspire trust. For example, instead of conveying a negative message by saying "We are a fairly new web host" in the about us page. I would say that we've been in business since XXXX, and let the visitor determine if that is long enough. I was also disappointed to see that the control panel demo did not work and the online community link in the support page points to the Host Gator forums. Very confusing. They are likely to ask themselves - what is the relationship between DX-Hosting and Host Gator?

The worst thing is probably that the ordering process is not using SSL (I got to the point where you ask for my personal information and cPanel login). I would definitely have a problem with this as a customer.

Just my 2 cent.

Could it be the fake testimonials? Or the fact that you claim to have DX-hosting claims to have been going since 2000?

Viewing your site as a potential customer and performing proper DD, would leave me without an ounce of trust.

D

Your sentence structure is extremely rough, it doesn't flow very well.

If you are getting traffic but are not converting, you may need to find something that sets you apart.

I feel that the little content found on the site doesn’t inspire trust. For example, instead of conveying a negative message by saying "We are a fairly new web host" in the about us page. I would say that we've been in business since XXXX, and let the visitor determine if that is long enough. I was also disappointed to see that the control panel demo did not work and the online community link in the support page points to the Host Gator forums. Very confusing. They are likely to ask themselves - what is the relationship between DX-Hosting and Host Gator?

The worst thing is probably that the ordering process is not using SSL (I got to the point where you ask for my personal information and cPanel login). I would definitely have a problem with this as a customer.

Just my 2 cent.

Ok, thank you for your info, I will make some changes to the website. :D

Could it be the fake testimonials? Or the fact that you claim to have DX-hosting claims to have been going since 2000?

Viewing your site as a potential customer and performing proper DD, would leave me without an ounce of trust.

D

Yes, those are not real testimonials because this is a template and I do not have any info to put there, these simply came with the template.

The testimonial on the main page is real :D

And I do not claim Dx-hosting has been around since 2000, this may be what ACW was talking about with misleading, the sentence I beleive you are talking about is this We are a fairly new web host, but have been in the business of web hosting and web design since 2000

In that paragraph I say that I am new at web hosting but "I" have been in the business since 2000, being a web designer I have been dealing with web hosting since 2000, that is what I meant.

Sorry for any confusion, thank you all for the critisism I will rework what I have.

Thank you all

Turk

If you are good at writing then write your own text, if not hire a copywriter. When deciding which to do keep in mind, the only thing worse than using the generic template lingo is writing your own sales pitch when you are not a real good writer (like me ;) ).

Good luck :)

D

Oh no. . . I feel another long and drawn out reply coming on :D!

What is the best way for quick growth? Hmm... that is definetly a question that I would say almost every host has asked there selves more than once. There are a LOT of different things you need to take into consideration when marketing for your company.

Let's start with YOUR website (www.dx-hosting.com). It looks to me like you are using one of those pre-set templates when you sign up for WHM (no offense). That could be one reason why you are not getting any clients. Your website is not optimized to be picked up in the search engines and really isn't giving people the message they need to receive. To improve your web presence/design, I suggest that you:

Get a Website Designed- There are tons of freelance designers out there that are really cheap and would be willing to re-design your entire website for a very small amount of money. If you don't have the $100 to invest into that, definetly consider purchasing a template off of WHT or take a look around on www.templatesmonster.com. However, I highly suggest that you look into getting a custom website designed. People can tell a template site from a custom site!
Provide Customer Service- I took a look around on your website, and there really does not seem to be a true presence of customer service! I would suggest investing into some sort of telephone number, ticketing system and/or maybe even some flash tutorials from www.demodemo.com or www.demowolf.com. People will really enjoy being able to solve there own issues, and not have to wait 24-48 hours to find out how from your support team.
Build Trust- I clicked the 'Order' button on your site for your personal plan, and your ordering page(s) are NOT SSL secured. That will turn a large fraction (if not all) of your clients away from ordering off of your website. SSL Certificates are pretty cheap and it does benefit to invest into one.
SEO- You can pay a trained Search Engine Optimization $299.95/mo to optimize your site, or you can do a couple of things yourself. First, add some META tags and what not to your website (ALL of your pages). Your website does not have any now at all! Second, optimize your title bar. Right now it just reads "DX-Hosting.com'. This will lower your ranking on the search engines! Summarize your services (e.g. Web hosting, domain registration, reseller hosting by DX-Hosting.com). And finally, Submit your site to Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Ask Jeeves and a few free hosting directories.


Lets move on to your web hosting plans. Okay, not to sound rude but 1 GB of Bandwidth for $6.95/mo? Really, lets think, what can you do with 1 GB of bandwidth these days! If you get a good client with a well known site, he will use up 1 GB of bandwidth in a heart beat! I highly suggest that you raise the amount of bandwidth that is included with your web hosting plans.

Now to client interaction methods. Your contact page has 2 email addresses and 1 AIM handle, thats really no good! -- There really is hardly no web host today that doesn't have some sort of live support/assistance chat on there website. If you think that it will cost a fortune... WRONG! There are tons of free chat software companies out there (www.websitealive.com, www.boldchat.com) and there are tons more. For today's market if you do not have a telephone number, you need to have the following:

Real-Time live chat
Sales, Support, Billing and Abuse email addresses
AIM/ICQ/YIM/MSN IM handles (related to your company name)
Online Contact Form (Name, Email, Subject and Question)


Once you get that improved, submit your site to a few free hosting directories, throw up some banner ads on some forums or banner exchanges, post some ads on Web Hosting Forums and keep a business card with you all the time.

If you complete the things above, I can almost GUARANTEE that you will start getting more sign ups than you have had in your entire time of business!

Good luck :).

Just to let you know, the bandwidth was an error, I was updating what the others told me and uploaded the wrong pages :D its 5 gb for 6.95 and 10 for 10.95. Do you think these prices are a little better?

And thankyou for taking the time to write that out, I will do each and every one of those in the coming days.

and although I have been in the industry for quite some time, I have never used ssl, I never did e commerce sites.

Is it difficult to use this?

Thanks

Turk

Oh no. . . I feel another long and drawn out reply coming on :D!

What is the best way for quick growth? Hmm... that is definetly a question that I would say almost every host has asked there selves more than once. There are a LOT of different things you need to take into consideration when marketing for your company.

Let's start with YOUR website (www.dx-hosting.com). It looks to me like you are using one of those pre-set templates when you sign up for WHM (no offense). That could be one reason why you are not getting any clients. Your website is not optimized to be picked up in the search engines and really isn't giving people the message they need to receive. To improve your web presence/design, I suggest that you:

Get a Website Designed- There are tons of freelance designers out there that are really cheap and would be willing to re-design your entire website for a very small amount of money. If you don't have the $100 to invest into that, definetly consider purchasing a template off of WHT or take a look around on www.templatesmonster.com. However, I highly suggest that you look into getting a custom website designed. People can tell a template site from a custom site!
Provide Customer Service- I took a look around on your website, and there really does not seem to be a true presence of customer service! I would suggest investing into some sort of telephone number, ticketing system and/or maybe even some flash tutorials from www.demodemo.com or www.demowolf.com. People will really enjoy being able to solve there own issues, and not have to wait 24-48 hours to find out how from your support team.
Build Trust- I clicked the 'Order' button on your site for your personal plan, and your ordering page(s) are NOT SSL secured. That will turn a large fraction (if not all) of your clients away from ordering off of your website. SSL Certificates are pretty cheap and it does benefit to invest into one.
SEO- You can pay a trained Search Engine Optimization $299.95/mo to optimize your site, or you can do a couple of things yourself. First, add some META tags and what not to your website (ALL of your pages). Your website does not have any now at all! Second, optimize your title bar. Right now it just reads "DX-Hosting.com'. This will lower your ranking on the search engines! Summarize your services (e.g. Web hosting, domain registration, reseller hosting by DX-Hosting.com). And finally, Submit your site to Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Ask Jeeves and a few free hosting directories.


Lets move on to your web hosting plans. Okay, not to sound rude but 1 GB of Bandwidth for $6.95/mo? Really, lets think, what can you do with 1 GB of bandwidth these days! If you get a good client with a well known site, he will use up 1 GB of bandwidth in a heart beat! I highly suggest that you raise the amount of bandwidth that is included with your web hosting plans.

Now to client interaction methods. Your contact page has 2 email addresses and 1 AIM handle, thats really no good! -- There really is hardly no web host today that doesn't have some sort of live support/assistance chat on there website. If you think that it will cost a fortune... WRONG! There are tons of free chat software companies out there (www.websitealive.com, www.boldchat.com) and there are tons more. For today's market if you do not have a telephone number, you need to have the following:

Real-Time live chat
Sales, Support, Billing and Abuse email addresses
AIM/ICQ/YIM/MSN IM handles (related to your company name)
Online Contact Form (Name, Email, Subject and Question)


Once you get that improved, submit your site to a few free hosting directories, throw up some banner ads on some forums or banner exchanges, post some ads on Web Hosting Forums and keep a business card with you all the time.

If you complete the things above, I can almost GUARANTEE that you will start getting more sign ups than you have had in your entire time of business!

Good luck :).

WoW.. thanks everyone. I learn a lot of new things too..

Btw, market offline. I think that's the best strategy for growth for new hosting companies. Find your local business, tell them why they need you. Better, offer a package that consist of building website for them.

Yes, those are not real testimonials because this is a template and I do not have any info to put there, these simply came with the template.

If you don't have any real testimonials, then don't have a testimonials page. People can tell that they are fake, and that would make them not trust you. Its not very professional.

I would redesign this web site. Your best bet is to hire professional graphic designers. Your site is the first impression, you need a professional web site first off.

yes change the design and make it look professional. sales phone numbers, live support etc would really help, Consumers do look for these things these days

yes redesign your site and add sales phone numbers and all etc

I have removed the testimonials page, installed live help (free version for the moment, just to get used to it) and added MSN/AIM/ICQ for support.

I will be obtaining SSL asap.

I will also redesign the site, prolly purchase a template, there are some very nice ones out there.

Any other suggestions for the moment?

Turk

Your site only takes up a third of my screen from top to bottom. It almost looks like the bottom 2/3's are missing. Perhaps you could put more information under it to fill it in more.

1. Change the template.

2. Get a Help Desk, there is some free ones that will help you at the start (like OsTicket)! (best option..try the free version of Cerberus (http://www.cerberusweb.com))

3. If you provide IM support..don't use your personal address! that's unprofessional...get new accounts, and for msn a support@yourhosting.com will be great (you can get it free at www.passport.net)

4. More information on your site...lack of information, lack of customers.

5. Promote the site to your friends, host some free sites for adversiting, give some promotions to your actual customers if they bring you new ones.

6. Change the template...oh...I said that before? :)

I noticed you said something about offering affiliate programs, advertising, etc. If your ambitions are to get up to 15-20 customers but you're having difficulties with your current arrangement, review how much you are paying your affiliates for a new customer and how much you are spending in advertising. As a hint, take a look at Commission Junction for some sample, high-converting affiliate programs; also, consider looking around the net for some figures for how much good-converting advertising will cost you. (I'm a current affiliate, and CJ is where I always turn to get some good ideas about new programs.)

If I were to make an estimate, you'll probably find that anything you spend to get a GOOD converting marketing program in place will probably offset whatever your customers pay you in the first year. I know, this may sound defeating, but bear in mind that few businesses are cash flow positive --- or even cash flow even! --- within the first year.

Good luck!

At this point I simply cannot offer insanely high awards to my affiliates, seeing as I am just starting up, hopefully eventually I will be able to.

I noticed you said something about offering affiliate programs, advertising, etc. If your ambitions are to get up to 15-20 customers but you're having difficulties with your current arrangement, review how much you are paying your affiliates for a new customer and how much you are spending in advertising. As a hint, take a look at Commission Junction for some sample, high-converting affiliate programs; also, consider looking around the net for some figures for how much good-converting advertising will cost you. (I'm a current affiliate, and CJ is where I always turn to get some good ideas about new programs.)

If I were to make an estimate, you'll probably find that anything you spend to get a GOOD converting marketing program in place will probably offset whatever your customers pay you in the first year. I know, this may sound defeating, but bear in mind that few businesses are cash flow positive --- or even cash flow even! --- within the first year.

Good luck!

I am trying to get an address for AIM like dxhosting or dxhosting114221465 but every single alphanumeric suffix I have put in is taken, how is this even possible?

Turk

1. Change the template.

2. Get a Help Desk, there is some free ones that will help you at the start (like OsTicket)! (best option..try the free version of Cerberus (http://www.cerberusweb.com))

3. If you provide IM support..don't use your personal address! that's unprofessional...get new accounts, and for msn a support@yourhosting.com will be great (you can get it free at www.passport.net)

4. More information on your site...lack of information, lack of customers.

5. Promote the site to your friends, host some free sites for adversiting, give some promotions to your actual customers if they bring you new ones.

6. Change the template...oh...I said that before? :)

Try DXHdkin

or DXHSupport
for MSN: use passport..as I said before =)

I will recommend that for IM Support, use Trillian, as you can have all your accounts in one client and it has some interesting features! :)

ok, I know to redesign my website, add meta tags, purchase an ssl certificate.

Is there anything else I should do at this very moment?

am trying to get everything done.

Thanks

Turk

You need a lot more content, a lot of pages, and try and get real testimonials.

Why not working?

A few months ago I was looking for new hosting provider, to change the 2 I was not happy with and to put all my sites in one place. The first think I was looking for is RELIABILITY - your site does not looks reliable (neither professional). It needs a few seconds look to say that it is resellers account and use template. Taking a close look at your hosting plans, no way to provide quality hosting and/or quality customer support at this price !

In addition to what all other posts suggest, I would suggest also to :

1. change the site design. Do not use template.
2. do not put extra pages to make content (or to make trust) unless these pages are written by you or especially for you? The customers very easy discover the fake contents/service/quality.
3. Your Personal plan - limit the number of hosted domains to 2 or 3 maximum. Limit also the number of MySQL DBs.
4. Your business Plan - increase the disk size to 5GB
5. Provide some kind of extra service
or/and
6. Offer let say 3 months free hosting of 1 domain on 25 MB disk space to gather more customers. 10 percents of those who use the free hosting for 3 months will turn in your customers afterwards, I think.
7. To find customers, do direct advertising - contact potential customers in your area personally

"no way to provide quality hosting and/or quality customer support at this price !"

How is it that there is no way? you couldnt possibly know how my support or service is by the price of my plans.

Turk

Why not working?

A few months ago I was looking for new hosting provider, to change the 2 I was not happy with and to put all my sites in one place. The first think I was looking for is RELIABILITY - your site does not looks reliable (neither professional). It needs a few seconds look to say that it is resellers account and use template. Taking a close look at your hosting plans, no way to provide quality hosting and/or quality customer support at this price !

In addition to what all other posts suggest, I would suggest also to :

1. change the site design. Do not use template.
2. do not put extra pages to make content (or to make trust) unless these pages are written by you or especially for you? The customers very easy discover the fake contents/service/quality.
3. Your Personal plan - limit the number of hosted domains to 2 or 3 maximum. Limit also the number of MySQL DBs.
4. Your business Plan - increase the disk size to 5GB
5. Provide some kind of extra service
or/and
6. Offer let say 3 months free hosting of 1 domain on 25 MB disk space to gather more customers. 10 percents of those who use the free hosting for 3 months will turn in your customers afterwards, I think.
7. To find customers, do direct advertising - contact potential customers in your area personally

How is it that there is no way? you couldnt possibly know how my support or service is by the price of my plans.

From customer point of view.

To provide quality services, you need resources. The resources cost money. The fact that thre is no even telephone number to receive customers cals also confirms the same statement.
Even if you and your team are the best of the best, with these plans and price you will probably be able to provide quality services for a while, but in long terms not.

Another example - your Personal plan offers 500MB disk space and unlimited number of domains, mySQL DBs and pop3 accounts. How many domains can be hosted there if the disk space is shared between the web site files, mySQL and e-mail accounts? How about the quality if a customer put 20 domains there and each of them has 5 pop3 accounts and one DB per account? How about if you have to handle 100 accounts like this.
That is my opinion as a customer. However, I am not in the web hosting business. If there is some extraordinary possibilities to work around the price / quality corelation, then it is okay.

I see your point, I never thought of it that way, thank you.

Turk

From customer point of view.

To provide quality services, you need resources. The resources cost money. The fact that thre is no even telephone number to receive customers cals also confirms the same statement.
Even if you and your team are the best of the best, with these plans and price you will probably be able to provide quality services for a while, but in long terms not.

Another example - your Personal plan offers 500MB disk space and unlimited number of domains, mySQL DBs and pop3 accounts. How many domains can be hosted there if the disk space is shared between the web site files, mySQL and e-mail accounts? How about the quality if a customer put 20 domains there and each of them has 5 pop3 accounts and one DB per account? How about if you have to handle 100 accounts like this.
That is my opinion as a customer. However, I am not in the web hosting business. If there is some extraordinary possibilities to work around the price / quality corelation, then it is okay.