Questions need some advice!

[Kolten]

Ok im starting a web hosting company me and my team are preparing it for the end of December (we are waiting on LLC and tax forms back from the state in the time being so we are preparing to be ready to go as soon as the come)



Questions I Have:

1. Im planning to advertise really heavily in are first few months of business were do you advise to do this at? i was thinking maybe an add on here and some ads on google im unsure because i want to directly target people looking for web hosting any body with experience please reply!!! need all the help i can get with that question.

2. Should i offer free hosting with heavy limits? maybe to attract clients that will use the free and trust us and upgrade or is that i bad idea and waste of one of my servers for free hosting?

3. What should i do for domains im pretty experienced with hosting and im solid on that but domains isnt my line of work i know how to work with them but i dont know how to offer any type of domain register service can someone help me on this.

 

[New Idea]

As far as domains many billing software companies such as WHMCS or whatever you may choose have special offers with a particular registrar making it easy to set up automated domain registrations.

As far as the advertising...good luck, everyone wishes they knew the magic formula for that. Some people advertise in magazines hoping to get new to the web users. With Google or places like this you will have a very low return on investment, there is just SO much competition. The web hosting business is probably the most highly competitive business there is; if you don't have something special or a "niche" that sets you apart you are just one of thousands. Other companies already offer huge hosting plans free for a year (and advertise heavily) just hoping the customer will "stay & pay" after the first year. So that is already being done.

I cannot imagine a unique way to break into the market these days, I wish I could so I could expand. But there are offers of every imaginable kind, so I can't think of something you could offer that isn't already being done.
The offers don't get any bigger than "unlimited" and there is a lot of that at very low prices-some with a free introductory period and all kinds of "huge" & "free" offers so I don't know what you would find to do differently.

Like I said who knows where the people looking for hosting are. I laughed at some expensive magazine ads in a well-known PC magazine this month which has a feature article on how to get free hosting from Microsoft and other companies that offer free web sites these days (including the software to build one) so those ads were probably a waste.
But this economy is killing this business like every other-the obamaconomy is destroying all kinds of businesses and this is just another casualty as far as profits go.
That's why all the "one year "unlimited-for-free" offers trying to compete with Microsoft free & other such things.

The person with a web site is in the driver's seat as far as hosting and even the biggest names are offering all kinds of deals like 1 & 1 with 4-6 page full-color magazine spreads-those cost some big $$ and they have fone a lot of them)

Best of luck-try to think of something unique but on Google you will be lost in the crowd just like on most forums (no offense to here) or "web review" lists. And you may spend $1,000 for 1 customer for $2 a month.... not trying to sound hyper-negative, just reality if you look around you at what you are up against. :shaky:

 

[Kolten]

i full understand and yeah im trying to find a good place to advertise im unsure at the moment this is a hard decision on were to actually advertise any suggestions anyone?

 

[HostBill]

What i can suggest from my small experience - dont fall for AdWords in this business - you'll be eaten fast by high costs and low returns. Build PR - tons of articles there on seo - having baclinks on your page will make traffic grow, and registrations as well, its time consuming process, but you've come to right place with questions i guess.

Best luck!

 

[SenseiSteve]

The one niche that you can own is your local and surrounding communities. Instead of AdWords, I really recommend finding others in the industry you can team with to maximize networking, like consultants and designers. You can find these professionals in the Yellow Pages, on Craigslist, in local newpapers and so on.

Certainly, SEO and SERPS are important - that starts with a comprehensive professional site with value add content.

Welcome to Web Hosting, Kolten.

 

[XeHSean]

1. Im planning to advertise really heavily in are first few months of business were do you advise to do this at? i was thinking maybe an add on here and some ads on google im unsure because i want to directly target people looking for web hosting any body with experience please reply!!! need all the help i can get with that question.

Are you targeting any specific market or niche? Finding a market segment to target and finding niche websites within that market is definitely the way to go. I'd highly recommend that you try to avoid marketing at the same places that the really big players advertise (ie. google adwords).

2. Should i offer free hosting with heavy limits? maybe to attract clients that will use the free and trust us and upgrade or is that i bad idea and waste of one of my servers for free hosting?

I would advise against this. You'd be surprised just how many people sign up even when you just offer a several day free trial to send out SPAM on your server and even try to hack it. Never offer anything for free, you will regret it!

3. What should i do for domains im pretty experienced with hosting and im solid on that but domains isnt my line of work i know how to work with them but i dont know how to offer any type of domain register service can someone help me on this.

Get a domain reseller account, there are many companies that supply them (ie. Enom)

 

[Kolten]

the more and more a study this field i look and say "IS IT WORTH IT" People say it takes ages just to get a few customers and then hope to keep them. My ultimate question is should i go with it or seek a different field? I can make it work i have the skills along with schooling in the field but can i make profit ?

 

[handsonhosting]

I guess those questions can only be answered by yourself really. If you have the time and energy (and the bankroll) then web hosting can be profitable but with so much competition you usually wouldn't see rewards for a couple of years.

Whether to go into web hosting or something else - that depends on your skill set, your passion for the field and your commitment. Whatever you decide to do, you have to invest ALL your time to it (at least initially).

You'll hear places say that web hosting is easy - I guarantee that it's not! Is it worth it? For myself and my staff it is - but we've been doing this a long time too.

 

[ssluser]

You can start advertisement on Google and other directories. But, initially try to use personal and local contacts to get clients for your business.

The hosting market is surely very competitive but since you have been doing this for a while and you have a will to go for it than you should surely give it a shot.

Best Luck!!!

 

[Kolten]

Yes, im giving it shot soon we will be ready for release.

 

[Dave B]

I'm with Steve on this one. Targeting your local market is an outstanding way to gain those first few critical customers and establish your reputation at the same time.

Dave