LebGeeks

pikatore

Member

Sorry, been a while

Hey guys, sorry, I disappeared off the radar for a while.

Basically was moving, and combined with the most incompetent jackasses I've ever dealt with ('WELCOME TO LEBANON' being their effing catchphrase whenever they royally @#$# up things) I'm back up and running, with free time to spare!

Erm anyway, I'm basically looking for designers/design companies in Lebanon who want cheap/reliable hosting at a discount, but in return guarentee a certain number of signups a month (starting pretty low), or a similar arrangemnt.

I have about 4 months to do this before I am headed back to Melbourne, can people please tell me what a good way to promote this in Lebanese web design/freelancer circles? Can people point me in a good direction, other forums perhaps, or maybe a few good marketing tips?

I really do want to put myself out there, because as a designer myself I've been wanting the kind of arrangment that I, ironically want to provide to other designers. I'm hardly desperate for income, but I do want to at least get with as many designers of all shapes and sizes before I leave.

What is the best course of action?

And no I'm not trying to sell myself here, I'm just poking around for good channels to help out. I won't give my hosting site's address unless PMed to prove this point.

Last edited by pikatore (April 15 2010)

Kassem

Member

Re: Sorry, been a while

Twitter and LinkedIn might be a good start.

Before advertising your business make sure your website looks good, delivers the message, users can get to the information easily, and the sites offers them ways of contacting you. Include some animations on your website (not necessarily full flash, at least some banners or any sort of catchy interactive swf's - or simply some jQuery and AJAX). These are some tips from my e-Business course.

Now concerning the marketing. Make sure you have a good mission statement ("We provide cheap/reliable hosting" is not a good mission statement). Then figure out your target market, which means which segment of the market would be most interested in your product/service. Adjust your marketing plan according to the needs and wants of your target market to ensure that your marketing strategy is customer oriented. And finally try to give your customers solutions in a better way than your competitors in the market, that would be your competitive advantage (in your case stress "cheap" and "reliable").

That's all I could think of for now, of course it's much more complicated than that but that should get you started. Good luck!

rolf

Member

Re: Sorry, been a while

Hey guys, sorry, I disappeared off the radar for a while.

Basically was moving, and combined with the most incompetent jackasses I've ever dealt with ('WELCOME TO LEBANON' being their effing catchphrase whenever they royally @#$# up things)

What happened to your enthusiasm about being here, in this great country, and all?

BTW I think Facebook ads might have it's place here, regarding your question.
Otherwise, events, and make friends with other designers/developers/artists, etc.

What exactly are you looking for? Maybe I can help or maybe we can work together. I never heard about cheap hosting in return for sign-ups (whatever that means...) and hosting is dirt cheap nowadays anyway. I am paying $5/month for unlimited space and unlimited domains hosting!

Last edited by rolf (April 15 2010)

pikatore

Member

Re: Sorry, been a while

My enthusiasm has waned, and as I learned more about the situation here, I began to realise that I needed to focus on myself. I'm not at the stage in my life where I can contribute to a political campaign while struggling to conduct business with people outside the country. It's beginning to affect my current standings with existing clients in London, Sydney and Wellington, and I'm pulling my hair out.

I need to get out of here and back on a connection that keeps up with me, or I'll sink.

Basically, regarding the hosting, if you want pure numbers, here's an example from a current designer who has slow business, so about 2 clients a month.

I give him some space and bandwidth (which to be honest is WAY above what you'd need anyway unless you're running a ridiculously successful site or a stock photo selling website etc), and he agrees to sign up 2 a month on 1 year length contracts.

He pays $4/month per hosting signup (domain rates are constant, so about 10 USD a year), but if he goes under the limit, I charge the normal rate, which is 6.95.

If he ever gets more than 5 in a month (which he is working towards), we call and discuss what the discount can then drop to.

Several firms back in England are signed up with me, on much larger signup rates, and the drop per host goes down to as little as 2.50 per month.

I'm currently doing it on a designer by designer basis, as this is targeted at designers who want to keep hosting costs down, and buy in bulk, in a sense.

It definitely pays to know a guy who operates a hosting business.

I could always hit the universities and grab the attention of studying designers, but I'd also want to make some meaningful connections with people who are actually in the industry here.

Last edited by pikatore (April 15 2010)

kareem_nasser

Member

Re: Sorry, been a while

I have someone on twitter who is a freelancer but he/she is in GB.
So i may help on twitter check this if you want:http://www.lebgeeks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=5709

rolf

Member

Re: Sorry, been a while

Well, I know some freelancers, some on this board, a bunch are not.
I think you already have a small audience on these forums, and if you want I can put you in touch with some people outside the forums. They, in turn, would know more people. By put in touch I mean I can communicate their email address or write a message on your behalf.
Dont know what else I can do. I dont think there is a formal channel for getting in touch here, personally I made all these "connections" by coincidence and word of mouth.

PS: If you worry too much about work, then you will "sink" too :)

Last edited by rolf (April 16 2010)

pikatore

Member

Re: Sorry, been a while

I'm at a disadvantage as I'm a westerner who can only speak english. If you can pass me along to as many designers as you know, it would be much appreciated. I will make it worth your while from a hosting standpoint if needed, we can work something out.

I'll make a new topic calling attention to all designers, I suppose that's the best way to start here.