Over the last seven years, I've bought website hosting
from several different companies. I noticed that the majority
of webhosts make the mistake of thinking they are in the
webhosting business. They only offer website hosting and,
maybe domain name registration. As a marketer, I see huge
missed opportunities to make more profits.
Some website hosts see these opportunities. They realize
that they have gold. They have a group of clients who
crave something more than hosting. What do hosting clients
want? To make sales from their websites.
Knowing this, these webhosts create backend Profit Centers
so they can make more money with their clients. A Profit
Center is an area of your business that brings more cash
to your bank account. Webhosts who bring in lots of profits
offer their clients useful information, tools, software,
audios and more to help their clients become successful.
It doesn’t have to be difficult or labor intensive.
First
ASSESS YOUR CURRENT PROFIT CENTERS
In your website hosting business, you may have these
current Profit Centers:
Website hosting, of course
Domain name registration, an easy tie-in
Website design
Higher level programming services
Search Engine Optimization services
Search Engine submission services
If you don't have all of these Profit Centers, remember
you don't have to provide these with in-house talent.
You can joint venture with other quality businesses and
get referral fees. This is a wise way to go because you
don’t have the up-front investment and risk if it
doesn’t sell. If a service DOES sell, you may decide
to later offer it in-house.
And this is just a beginning. There are more Profit Centers
your business and your clients can benefit from.
NEW PROFIT CENTER IDEAS
You can add new Profit Centers to your webhosting business.
Some of them require a few hours up front, then they run
automatically for months or years with minor updating.
You decide how much time you want to put in. The key is
to ask yourself - Does this help my clients make more
sales?
Three new Profit Center Ideas are:
*An upsell on your check out page. This works because
it catches them when they are already buying.
*A mini-marketing course sent by sequential autoresponder,
offering solid information and products to help them achieve
their website marketing and sales goals.
*A Resource Center webpage that's available only to your
clients.
Remember, each Profit Center needs to be more than just
a pitch. I must warn you...
you can do all of the above and STILL fail at creating
Profit Centers that go ka-ching. How?
Imagine, a man wants to get married. A friend tells him
to start on the road to marriage by simply finding a nice
woman and asking her for a date.
Will this work? It CAN, but you and I both know there
are many factors that make a difference...
WHO he asks, WHEN he asks, HOW he asks, WHERE he asks,
and WHAT he says
All this makes a difference to him (and her) and it makes
a difference to you when you're building Profit Centers.
Profit Centers need marketing finesse. You may remember
Beta videotapes. It was a superior video format, but it
failed because it wasn’t marketed as well as VHS.
CONSIDER THIS WHEN BUILDING NEW PROFIT CENTERS
WHO you make the offer to - are they a good match for
the product or service? If they are not in the market
for what you offer, it's very unlikely they will buy.
WHAT offer you make - will this offer make a difference
for your clients or do they feel like you're pitching
them for your own benefit?
WHEN you make your offer to them. Before they buy hosting?
After they buy hosting? Once their site is live?
WHERE will you make the offer - on your website or in
an email? Either can be successful.
WHAT will you say? This is crucial. You can have a useful
product or service and still may not make sales.
What you say makes a huge difference. Use poor copywriting
and people will click away from your offer like water
jumping off a hot skillet. Great copywriting can inspire
people to GO FIND THEIR WALLETS. That's the level of copywriting
you want - compelling.
To start building your Profit Centers, test your offer
on a group of clients. See if it sells, and if not, analyze
why not. Edit your Profit Center until it consistently
helps your clients and brings your website hosting business
more money.
About the Author
Resource: Author and Marketing Specialist Raynay Valles
produces New Profit Centers for website hosting businesses
- upsells, mini-courses and resource pages, customized
for your business and complete with proven copywriting.
Just plug in and start profiting. For more information
email her at webhostingprofits@jawdrop.com
