What are the most effective ways of bringing in customers that you have found? Im struggling to even get 1 customer!

the best way is word of mouth... recommendations from other customers (when you have one), also forum posts!

I think that following 2 things are the most important thing to bring new customers to your business.

1. Great Plans / Nice looking website
2. Proper search engine optimization

I would say. You have to see what others hosts are doing and do the exact opposite of what they are doing promotional wise. Being original will net you the sales and exposure that your business needs.

Best methods of advertising are WOM (Word of Mouth) from old customers which can be hard if you have none... next best is friends and family.
Also selling to your local area is good, also they buy for a higher price :D

if you want FAST customers..focus on the local businesses thats in your local area.... provide a gd service...and tell em to refer a friend or two...maybe launch an affiliate program also...

Local advertising is how we started things off. Definitely a great way to develop a quick and "no-trouble" client base.

Offers!! everyone also likes to see some discounts. even if your prices arnt that cheap with the offers people see the offer and buy. Don't know why but it works :D

Word of mouth is a great way to advertise, these days most of our customers come from word of mouth, we tried google adwords and after spending several thousand pounds we just did not see the kick back that we do from advert posts on WHT / word of mouth.

Blogging with relevant entertaining content. Posts and threads on forums. Local networking with consultants and others in the industry. Direct mail campaigns to your niche.

What has been working for us is word of mouth, promotional campaigns (customers want to feel like they are getting a good deal, even if its just a $1 off a package), local sales (takes more work but the relationship is worth it >> leads to more sales), and forum posts. We have also got a few sales from google targeting a specific key word but this method usually costs more than it is worth and I would personally not recommend it unless you have the capital and money flow to support it.

I agree with what is said above, what would lure me is a great website and a special offer.

Also don't always think of expanding, if you have 5 customers treat them like royalty and I guarantee you that those 5 will turn into 10 in a couple of months and so forth.

Firstly in an online business you have to remember that the first thing they see is your site. This means you have to make sure the site will make them want to explore your services and products.

Once you have drawn them in, you need to provide them with relevant, to-the-point information.

Good luck with your site :).

Offers!! everyone also likes to see some discounts. even if your prices arnt that cheap with the offers people see the offer and buy. Don't know why but it works :D

I agree this works in all businesses for some reason, a couple of examples.

i sell physical goods, try and sell an item for £6 does not sell reduce to £5.99 and they sell like hotcakes.

also tried to sell an item for 50p would not sell so changed the item to 60p or 2 for £1 and sold out.

their is nothing more wierd than customers

Put your website in your signature, give your clients good support, try doing a link exchange(providing no conflict of interest, maybe pay for a few ads, maybe mention it in your social networking and IM names(providing doesn't look to bad)

I would say start-off slow, do not rush things and create business cards, fliers, etc. and pass them to local business that may have a website or may want to venture into e-commerce and have their own site. Also make your family purchase hosting even if they don't need it (just kidding.) Do not be in a hurry and plan for the future, things take time and look at all the other competitors that are out there. One mistake new hosting companies make and that is why they disappear is that they believe they are going to become rich over night, inexperienced (some companies have kids running them that get a reseller account somewhere) and they have no business plan or the money/investment to back their company. All these are good ideas but start small, have a plan and be patient. Your not going to become the next Bill Gates selling web hosting and if you have little to no client base "DO NOT QUIT YOUR DAY JOB" you may also want to use that to invest leftover money into your company, get a business loan or find an investor to help pay company expenses.

One more thing, if you just started you must be patient. Many webmasters, companies or individuals are not going to trust new hosting companies because of what I said above. The longer you stick around, the better you will do in the future.

The most effective way, in my opinion, is being the first company that your potential customers think of when they are ready to buy. Generally, that means branding. It's not always "cheap" but often is very effective.

I agree this works in all businesses for some reason, a couple of examples.

i sell physical goods, try and sell an item for £6 does not sell reduce to £5.99 and they sell like hotcakes.

also tried to sell an item for 50p would not sell so changed the item to 60p or 2 for £1 and sold out.

their is nothing more wierd than customers

the human mind works in funny ways... :)

Advertise on specific sites related to web hosting and with high traffic.

Nothing when you really think about it, all you can give people are gimics. If they want to try you, they will. You can't change their mind. It's just if they took take a risk with you, make them welcome and treat them with respect.

So one way is trials.