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Thread: Hiring a Marketer

  1. #1

    Default Hiring a Marketer

    I run a successful, albeit small, web hosting business. I
    recognize that the key to taking this business to the next level is
    marketing but I also feel that I have no real skills in this area. I
    myself am very wary of marketing firms because, like SEO, all I really
    know is that many of them aren't worth a dime.

    So I am wondering if anyone knows of a good marketer who would be
    interested to market the business on a percentage basis. For a
    startup, I realize this is a silly request but for a business with an
    annual profit of well over $10,000 USD, a percentage of new sales has
    the potential to be a viable option. I would think so, anyhow.

    Any thoughts are appreciated.

  2. #2

    Default

    The best advertisement you can have is the product itself. If the customers like what you offer then loyalty and word of mouth will build. There are plenty of sites that will review your company and also allow the customers you have to post reviews for you try submitting for a review at hostresponse.com and let people know that they are welcome to leave a comment for the company if they are satisfied

  3. #3
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    Default

    Try looking for local marketers on Craigslist. (You can use the search function or post your own ad in the Wanted section.) Most people are very skeptical of profit-sharing because there's no guarantee they will make any money for their time. SEO is well worth putting some money into. It's sole purpose is to drive more traffic to your website and make you more money. Start off investing $100-200 a month in SEO for 3 months and see if it pays off. If not, try another SEO company. Best of luck!

  4. #4

    Default

    you say you run a successful hosting business, well what did you do to get that initial success. Is it possible to scale on what has been working already.

    Also, rather than hire a marketer, have you considered spending on Google Adwords, or Bing etc. Generally the best marketers aren't for hire because they generate revenue for themselves with their own lead gen.

  5. #5

    Default

    First, I'd recommend leveraging your current client base. If you have happy customers, asking for referrals is a great way to expand the business. Maybe provide a discount if they have a badge on their Web site linking to yours?

    Doing a rev-share will usually give you a younger, less-experienced marketer who isn't as sound in marketing. I've seen people get in situations where they hire a marketer on a performance-based payment plan and had to deal with a lot of over-promising and under-delivering. Just my 2 cents.
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    I suppose it would depend on what the percentage is that you offer, and what the percentage is of.

    If you offer a percentage of profit, even 100% would barely be adequate for anyone to even sweep the floors! Who would do your marketing for $10,000 a year? And if you found someone, how good could you expect them to be?

    I think this needs a re-think, don't you?

  7. #7

    Default

    So to what has already said, two giant thumbs up on the referral comment. People who really know marketing are going to offer a lot, but they are going to cost a lot more than you have to spend. There is no need to pay someone to help you until you really have done everything you can yourself. The best marketer for you business is your happy, satisfied customers. Have them spread the word, you just run a really good business. That alone can take you really far.

    I would also really recommend against searching craigslist for marketing help, cause, you know, its craigslist. My friends 8 year old just posted an ad on craigslist saying he was a private detective...

    Good luck!

  8. #8

    Default

    Honestly... you can do this yourself and it's much easier than you think! Like ChrisHeggem mentioned, leverage your existing client base first but I'll give you a different way to do that... sell them something else. If you run a web hosting business, there is a plethora of other things you could offer to them... web design services, printing services, etc. (if you can't do these yourself, outsource the work).

    I would grow your business on more of a local level. There's way too much competition nationally and you would be competing for pennies. Send some letters to local business owners in your area and tell them why your "different". Give them a reason to use you.

  9. #9
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    Joint Ventures? I am actually in the process of doing something a hosting company right now. If you look at my site, you will see I am offering web site creation services for new businesses without sites. I have a marketing plan for that and we will see how it goes. Anyway, I am actually going to try to do the site and SEO at not much more than cost. My plan then is to revenue share with the hosting company and offer more SEO services later. So in effect, I want to make all my money on the back end. This does a couple things for me, I am getting the customer a good deal on getting a site up and going, decent cost on hosting, and of course the rev share for me.
    The other advantage I have is that SEO people are looked at like used car salesmen until you show results. My theory is that getting the site going with basic seo services to get them going will build that relationship and trust. From that I can continue to get referals. My main issue now is getting the processes in place to create the sites cost effectively for everybody's taste.
    I have several years of small business Internet Marketing experience with specializations in email marketing, SEO, and local search engine marketing.
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    Web hosting its a VERY competitive market. A few years ago I dipped into promoting a couple different hosting companies. Initial results we're great. Ad costs are extremely high and competition is fierce. The low cost hosting providers will basically eliminate any margin you have. To compete, you really need to niche out your hosting business to fill a specific need.

    Like mentioned before, leverage your existing client base. Offer referral coupons to customers, offer great service and create a buzz. Jumping in to paid advertising will make you broke very quickly.

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