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  1. #1

    Share your Knowledge: Promote Your Hosting Business

    If you are like me, you enjoy helping other people. One way to help people is to share your knowledge with those who could benefit from it. Because the Internet is so massive, it is certain that there are people out there who would love to read what you write.

    Our company was on Google page five for this service a about 10-months ago and now we have progressed to page two. We have not made it to the coveted page one yet but we are steadily making progress in that direction. Our efforts do not preclude hiring an outside SEO firm to assist us, an option that we are actively considering now.

    In addition to writing articles, I also submit our website link to relevant, high-ranking websites. Others have covered this tactic well elsewhere, so I will not go into it much here. You should augment your article strategy by submitting your link to directories and other relevant sites.

    Here we will focus on sharing your knowledge through writing articles, and in return achieving a higher search engine rank, more web traffic, more leads, and more new business.

    You have a profession and you are in a particular industry. You undoubtedly have knowledge and experience from which others could benefit. You enjoy sharing your knowledge with others. Could they benefit from reading the articles you write? The answer is a resounding yes!

    Make a list of possible article topics. Choose a topic for your first article and start writing immediately. This is probably different advice than you are used to getting about writing. I recommend writing a first draft as fast as you can. Do not write an outline or worry too much about organization and structure at first. You can save the task of improving the organization and structure of your article for later.

    The goal of your first draft should be to get your thoughts down on paper and to get ideas flowing. The very act of writing generates new ideas. You may find some of the ideas you generate by writing fit with the flow of your article, while some ideas you will want to save for future articles.

    Different ezines and publications prefer different formats, and various ways of submitting your work. You may want to write your article in Word format first but then save your work in ASCII (standard) text format as well. In addition, you may want to embed some HTML formatting into your text version as most sites accept some HTML. If the publication requires you to email your work to an editor, they usually prefer that you email it to them in MS Word format. If the ezine is self-service (you submit it using a Web form), often they require text (with some HTML) or sometimes just plain text only.

    If you create your article in Word format, you can often make hyperlinked words and phrases. If they are relevant, you can put these in the body of your article. Otherwise, you can put links in your biography. To insert a link, select the text or phrase that you want to be a link and then go to the Insert pull-down menu called and select hyperlink. Then type in the full web address of your web site. This process inserts a hyperlink into your Word document.

    If you submit your article in text format, generally you will be using a self-service Web form. These forms are very easy to use. You simply copy and paste the text into the paragraph text field provided, including the resource section (or biography). If there is no resource or biography section be sure to append the biography to end of your article. You have now submitted your article to the ezine. After you submit your article, the editors will review and approve your article first so make sure you read their guidelines both for content and for how much HTML the publication allows in the body vs. the resource section (biography). Ezine's HTML and hyperlink policy is often more open in the resource (bio) section so this may be your primary opportunity to submit your website links.

    HTML

    For the most part, you will submit your articles to ezines that accept text format with some HTML included. You can use some HTML to make your article look a more organized and to include links when relevant. Further, be sure to include at least one link in the "resource" section (short bio) that is often a separate paragraph field. Otherwise, you can place the bio at the end of the main body of the article.

    Be sure to make the links association with keywords that you want to promote. For example, let's say a fictional company wants to increase its ranking for the keyword "Blue Widgets". They would want to have the link look like this: XYZ Blue Widgets. Now XYZ, Inc., will make some progress in increasing its ranking for the "blue widgets" keyword phrase.

    Editors and You

    Whether you email your article to an editor or use an online submission form, a live editor will review your article at some point. Just like the print world, editors play an important role in the online world. They are the arbiters of content.

    Writers and editors form a symbiotic relationship. You write content that editors need; if it fits their needs, they publish your content on their publication. Be nice to editors and try to cultivate good relationships with them. Read their editorial guidelines and follow the instructions for submitting articles. Some publications have very specific guidelines for submissions and specific types of articles they need.

    I always find it very exciting when an editor publishes my article! It is good fun.

    The Big Picture

    Modern capitalism is characterized more by cooperation than by competition. Most companies are specialized enough in the services they offer and customers they serve that they have few direct competitors. You could say the same of individuals, even within the same profession.

    As a result, we have more to gain by sharing information than by hoarding it. The most effective means to disseminate your knowledge is to write articles and publish them on the Web. In return, you can get a higher search engine rank, leads, and new business. If you diligently put your knowledge out into the world, rewards will flow back to you in due time.
    Try the StreamSend Email Marketing Service. StreamSend is a permission-based email marketing service that offers both a private label reseller program and an affiliate program.

  2. #2
    Yes, and article marketing really does work!
    Try the StreamSend Email Marketing Service. StreamSend is a permission-based email marketing service that offers both a private label reseller program and an affiliate program.

  3. #3
    To promote your website, it is especially important to be creative and reliable. Creative means you should think of new ways to get your website attractive in order to get attention. Reliable means once they visit your website, they would trust the privacy of their signed iformation, the response of their relevant questions, and the useful things they found on the site. <<snipped>> and we are trying our best to be creative and reliable. Somehow, we have done it quite well and we are getting our own reputation in the line.
    Last edited by anon-e-mouse; 07-17-2007 at 04:41 AM.

  4. #4
    excellent points wangcui333, creative and reliable are words to live by. Seriously!
    Try the StreamSend Email Marketing Service. StreamSend is a permission-based email marketing service that offers both a private label reseller program and an affiliate program.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Mumbai, India
    Posts
    33
    I have found forums are an excellent place where you can share and exchange your ideas / knowledge with like minded people. You GAIN more by sharing your knowledge / experience with others. It also makes other people aware of your website / business.

    <<signatures to be setup in your profile>>
    Last edited by sirius; 09-26-2007 at 10:19 AM.

  6. #6
    Has anyone ever used a place like this? http://www.online-internet-marketing....com/index.php They list your websites into directories like 100 for $25.
    www.asgwebhosting.com sales[at]asgwebhosting.com
    -For Professional Designers and Gamers, Deserving the Best Quality
    -cPanel+Fantastico
    -24/7 Premium Support

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Plymouth, UK
    Posts
    104
    for me, i havent promoted my web hosting business in any way, because i think the market is too saturated and without a large budget, its pretty much impossible to get good ranks for such competitive keywords, but i promote similar services i offer like web design, logo design, and whilst my website ranks highly for those services and competitive keywords, i do get a steady number of sign ups on a daily basis. i have recently started trying out adwords which is also helping a lot, so i say promote similar services, and sometimes you will get signups that way.

    you can also try targeting less competitive keywords rather than "web hosting" like "uk web hosting, plymouth web hosting, website hosting company" etc etc etc
    Kind Regards,
    Andy MacDonald
    Web Design | Logo Design

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Saint Louis
    Posts
    194

    Great Topic

    This is a great topic.

    I do not remember where I was reading about building your brand I think it was in Business 2.0 but the topic really hit me. Writing articles in as many places you can that are relevant to your industry. As you write articles on blogs, forums, press releases where ever, that are relevant to your industry, not only are you building your companies brand but you are building your own personal brand as well.

    So I did what I always do take a good idea and give it a try. I truly believed what I was reading about this topic, it just makes since. The more non-bias topics your write about not promoting your product necessarily, which is hard for me to do, the more people see your company and more importantly you as an expert in your field.

    I have taken the approach of writing some articles and answering as many people’s questions about Web Hosting for the past couple of month. I am trying to move into the realm of writing more articles than simply answering questions but the point is since I have started doing this I am not really selling my products any more. I am more of an order taker. Someone is looking for a service, they see that I have written something specifically about what they need, and they call. It’s the easiest sell in the world they already have your trust which is an important part when dealing with large collocation or dedicated servers.
    Ken Cox
    ken@*********.com
    VP Of Operations *********.com
    www.*********.com

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    16
    Another way I have found that works amazingly well to not only promote your website, but get some actual solid feedback from the visitors who actually go there is to perform a usability analysis on your site. This is especially true if you are selling something directly from the website. It will let the testers tell you EXACTLY what is wrong with your site and what they would like to see improved / changed / added /removed, etc.

    For the longest time I used to just pray that the websites were working and never had any feedback to help me progress. Now that I think about it, in retrospect, it is hilarious that I would not do something so logical as a usability analysis on my site that will get me business by asking the customers what they like or do not like about the site.

    A few tips: If you want to test people nationwide, just place a form on the front page of your site asking "Help us improve our site" which will present the usability test to the visitor which they can fill out and submit to you.
    -If your site is locally based, hold a survey of randomly sampled users in your town and have them take the test.

    More information can be found at

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_testing
    usability.gov

    Hope this helps some a little.
    KMLV, inc. | VoIP+Dedicated Servers+Colocation
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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    15
    Thanks for sharing the advice, Its much appreciated. They are some legit and great ways of promoting your business.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    St. John's, NL
    Posts
    2,201
    All good advice, and as another poster briefly touched on, make sure your site is accessible. Nothing is worse than a pretty site that is completely disorganized.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    LocalHost
    Posts
    1,317
    Thanks a lot....all of you. This thread is really helping me in promoting my hosting company. I think another thing we must not forget is SEO. People generally search Google for hosting..and if we can make our site to appear on 2-3 page, than I think it will boost much selling.
    YagHost - Fast Reliable Hosting Since 2009
    Managed VPS - NVMe DirectAdmin
    Web Hosting - NVMe SSD, AMD EPYC, 10 Gbps (US, Europe, Singapore)

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Lexington Kentucky
    Posts
    6

    Thumbs up Great subject I agree

    Quote Originally Posted by kencox View Post
    This is a great topic.

    I do not remember where I was reading about building your brand I think it was in Business 2.0 but the topic really hit me. Writing articles in as many places you can that are relevant to your industry. As you write articles on blogs, forums, press releases where ever, that are relevant to your industry, not only are you building your companies brand but you are building your own personal brand as well.

    So I did what I always do take a good idea and give it a try. I truly believed what I was reading about this topic, it just makes since. The more non-bias topics your write about not promoting your product necessarily, which is hard for me to do, the more people see your company and more importantly you as an expert in your field.

    I have taken the approach of writing some articles and answering as many people’s questions about Web Hosting for the past couple of month. I am trying to move into the realm of writing more articles than simply answering questions but the point is since I have started doing this I am not really selling my products any more. I am more of an order taker. Someone is looking for a service, they see that I have written something specifically about what they need, and they call. It’s the easiest sell in the world they already have your trust which is an important part when dealing with large collocation or dedicated servers.
    There are so many things in regards to branding and online marketing to take into consideration. I really appreciate the thought that goes into some of these comments. They're great.

  14. #14
    i suggest you craiglist ad posting

  15. #15
    I agree that article marketing is great. You get tons of high PR backlinks from it that really boosts your ranking in search engines

  16. Whay do you use for article marketing?Do you write yourself the article and send to a specialized blog?

  17. #17
    The most effective way is try to get as many backlink as possible from the relevant site.

  18. #18
    Thanks for posting great info

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Tycoon View Post
    Thanks for sharing the advice, Its much appreciated. They are some legit and great ways of promoting your business.
    Agree with you!

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    929
    Wow, this is a tremendous tutorial, good job!

  21. #21
    Any tips anybody? Im desperate for some visitors. I keep reading alot about article marketing, how can I start this?

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Philippines
    Posts
    33
    Yes, but before that, it is better to design your website professionally. that is a big impact of viewers.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario
    Posts
    125
    Article marketing proves to be highly effective. Just make sure your spelling and grammar are perfect otherwise you end up coming across as unprofessional and uneducated.

  24. #24
    Being new to Hosting its tough to know all the right things to do.
    Good Article I will give the article writing a shot.

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