Webhostingtalk / Inet Interactive SOLD!

[drmike]

It'd be better if the restricted the ability to post offers to only providers who are capable of providing valid legal documentation that would suggest they're a legitimate business or proof that they've been operating/trading for X number of years. It's what we do here for the VPS offers. Of course, there are the non-verified offers forum but that's not indexed by Google and not seen to guests.

Well, that would require actual work, standards, etc.  All the sites, all the communities, everyone that has come and gone, only vpsBoard has had some real standards on providers coughing up their legitimacy documents and passing a baseline review.  This is why I love vpsBoard and think it's special.   Does the background stuff prevent a bad experience for customers, no, not entirely.  But it cuts down on children posing as a Fortune 500, rips through common provider abuse, etc.

As suspected, prices are going up for corp members. I see them going up for  stickies also fairly soon.

Folks are spending huge money on the stickies.   Do yourself a favor and me too, calculate your inbound purchases from WHT  stickies and/or WHT normal offer posts.   Take your chip in (membership + stickie if buying one = total month donation to WHT)  and then compare that to actual sales from such.  Be sure to deduct card fees and other costs outlays, like licenses you bundle in pricing --- compare your spend vs. you actual profit per item combined in one WHT lead total.

Calling WHT at this point price gouging is being nice.  I was looking at WHT last night.  If you look at new threads and filter the offers, it's pretty skinny.  Some pages over 50% of the new posts are offers.  Every page though is a big chunk of offers, which is bad for businesses (sea of offers blindness) and bad for site in general (everything looks like an ad).  WHT's bulletpoints for membership uptick justification are laughable.  It's all about ads:

· Reduced Ad Forum Post Waiting Time

· Free Industry Announcements Forum Posts <--- more advertising 

· Additional Keyword Alerts <--- Google Offers Superior keyword alerts for free

· Occasional Ad Forum Upgrade Discounts

· Discounts on HostingCatalog.com Advertising

· The Brand New Company Account feature. <--- ????

· New Benefits Coming Later This Year! <--- Fluff for we need to hurry up and create something worth 5 cents

[SIZE=13.63636302948px]People want to hand over big bucks to WHT for lack of ROI, pfft.  Time for me to officially get to launching a new company that is results oriented and services the hosting industry with marketing, public relations, etc. and does so at rates people can afford and actually show ROI.[/SIZE]

 

[lowesthost]

· Occasional Ad Forum Upgrade Discounts

has anyone actually ever seen this benefit ??? I think it may be a unicorn

· The Brand New Company Account feature. <--- ????

Is that that magical button that says you do not have permission to use this feature (great benefit)

We are going to just let our corporate membership lapse

I thought $375 was to high of price to attract  spammers,crooks, and customers who want everything for nothing. $450 defiantly is

We only got a corporate membership with the sound reasoning  that the few good clients we do occasionally  get that should double right ??? wrong!!  ROI for a paid membership has been lower than FREE . $450 can be better spent. I'm  thinking BEER 

 

[Jasson.Pass]

Does no one advertise locally anymore? It seems like you would get paid way more with less costs on advertising

 

[drmike]

Does no one advertise locally anymore? It seems like you would get paid way more with less costs on advertising

There seems to be a honest lack of local advertising from hosting and data companies.

My explanation for that lack and the propensity of industry folks to power dump ads on the usual sites is that people tend to be imitators.   They figure their competitors are doing it, so it must work (in relation to the community offer forums).  Likewise, they don't see their competitors on local TV, billboards, etc. so they don't go pioneering, cause it must not work.

Some subset of hosting and data companies just don't believe there are clients in their local area or that the dollars such would yield doesn't justify the ad spend.

All advertising needs to be part of a very detailed plan top to bottom.  You need good messaging, catchy visuals and strong calls to action.  This is regardless of the medium.  You also need to make such a percentage of sales/income and fund such properly within your business plan / financial tracking.  Every product has some costs built in and advertising and marketing should be accounted for.

Sadly in hosting world, advertising and marketing are what people seem to do usually when things are broken as a reaction.  Short on cash flow this month, go run offers with special pricing.  Companies that want to exist next year need to get out of that mindset and approach and convert to planned, intentional, calendar based logical offers / promotionals.

One word: PLANNING.

 

[Chatahooch]

WHT is overrated and the undercurrents and activity funded by extra $$ is ridiculous. Hope that will stop now.