Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month!

179 replies
Hi,

I've been lurking here for a few months now and thought I would throw up a quick money making case study me and a friend have been working on.

Because the customers are acquired offline I'm 100% certain that I can discuss this and others replicate it without worrying about saturation. In comparitive the Warrior Forum is a small place so we can share as many ideas, tips, tricks and money savers on this method as we like without treading on other peoples business.

On with the show..

Summary of idea
Advertise a free website, a free com domain name (for 1 year) and professional e-mail and in return they use your monthly hosting plan.

How much are we making
After 6 months we are making $6116 per month (you need to exclude around $1000 for offline marketing costs and the reseller hosting account).

If we carry on expanding our customer base at this rate in 12 months we will have a monthly recurring income of $12232. We're aiming for anything over $10k per month.

Time spent per day
We spend around 3 hours per day doing sales and creating these websites for new clients. If we stopped accepting new clients we would need to only spend 30 minutes a day checking that everything is running smoothly.

Our offline marketing is outsourced so we don't need to leave the office.

Getting customers
We use cheap plain white A4 sheets with large black text in a fancy professional font saying

Free website!

Get your own website today - personal or business.

More people are joining the web everyday, take advantage!

Call 0101010101010

E-mail: mail@domain.com
Or visit: domain
You want to put these where your desired clientele will see them but you don't want any hassle from the local authorities. I suggest college campuses (the meeting areas, foyers etc..), sports centres, village notice boards etc..

There is also the business card idea - this is where you order a few thousand business cards, get some plastic holders and place them in certain shops, community centres and any other places that could have business cards on the side. The advantage of the business cards is that they will actually take them home and be able to remember the contact details.

You need a phone number (we use Skype which also allows us to make unlimited calls per month for a really cheap fee).

And a domain name and e-mail account. For this you need the cheapest reseller account you can find that also has a reputation for reliabilty (we use ResellerZoom which cost us around $6.00 per month when we first got going).

As for the domain, something simple that an average member of the public would understand and always a com i.e. getawebsite, paulswebsites, superwebsites, yourwebsite etc.. could work best. Maybe even something 'designs' i.e. paulsdesigns., superdesignsor 'paulonline'.. have a think!

Now, after putting the adverts up you're pretty much guaranteed to get a few people either do the following

- call you up
- view your website
- email you

What are you offering them
When they get in touch you are offering them the free web design, and a free domain, they then have there web site hosted on your reseller account.

The $6.00 reseller account we mentioned earlier can easily host 100 websites. The type of people you're attracting won't get many hits and won't use much webspace (you obviously outline all these specifics in the terms and conditions so that it doesn't bite you!).

Ideally you want them to call you. When they call explain that this is a special offer and they can get started as soon as tomorrow.

Explain that they can have com, ask them if they're interested in a personal website or business website and give them examples of .com's they could use (They love this bit).

Then state that for January only you're offering free professional e-mail that is hosted by Google and can be checked anywhere with Internet access, and even on a mobile phone. This service can easily be set up for free with Google Apps.

The potential customer will be excited but wonder about the catch, you need to make it sound minor, just say "and when you're happy with your design and your domain name we host it for you for just 11 bucks a month - that includes everything even your e-mail and a few e-mail accounts for work collegues if need be". Try and make the offer sound like it's for this month only.

You can obviously try different price plans.

Now ask them to go to a specific page on your website i.e. /start

This has the following input fields and options:

- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- E-mail
- What would you like your domain name to be?
(Note: this must be a .com, these are the most used and most professional)
- Is your site personal or business?
- Do you agree to the following terms?
(you terms need to be clear and consise and cover your back)

Then have a submit form that takes them to a 10 day free trial followed by the $11 a month recurring billing. Setting this up in PayPal is a breeze.

The best thing to do is walk them through this 'start' process page over the phone so that you can explain the 10 days is for you to get the website up to there standards.

One of my other friends now sends a contract to them by mail, gets them to sign it and send it back. I'm not sure if this is needed.

Once that is all processed you now need to work on the site.

Just create an account in WHM, then install Wordpress with Fantastico, find a theme, go to settings and put a page as front page, then perhaps use the blog as an 'updates' or 'news' feature. Ask for any info off your client, ask them to email text and images etc..

Now make a page on your site /therename and have a welcome text intro, now give the link to there site and also add quick 3 minute Camtasia video that videos you goe to there site, logging in, edits some texts on some pages, perhaps adds an image and updates the blog and then logs out and checks the changes. We also install a simple stats package and show them how to log in and check that out via another Camtasia video.

Ask them if they are happy with how the design is. If they are then say you will upload the site properly, register the domain and set up there professional e-mail on the 10th day. This way you get the money for the domain name if they decide they don't want to go ahead (and unfortunately it does happen).

Once everything is set up they should be happy to continue paying your set fee every month. If they ask to cancel say they lose control of the domain name which is stated in the agreement and will not be able access to there email. You can be harsh with your terms and conditions but you really should just refund whenever asked.

They SHOULD be happy with your service so whenever they get in touch ask them to recommend a friend. You can even put your site url on the footer text.

Your website. This should be a quick sales page explaining the offer, I have actually just forwarded it to the /start bit but perhaps a quick sales page would work better?

As for the figures.. We charge $11 per month. My friend runs everything and I just set up the websites for him.

The customer stats
Day 10 - 9 customers
Day 20 - 45 customers
Day 30 - 89 customers
Day 40 - 147 customers
Day 50 - 259 customers
Day 60 - 300 customers
Day 70 - 440 customers
Day 80 - 501 customers
Day 90 - 556 customers

Average of 6 signed up customers every day.

Any opinions/advice would be greatly recieved!

The great thing about this MODEL is that we are NOT in competition with each other. We can help each other GETTING THE SALES and KEEPING THE CUSTOMER HAPPY and MAKING MAXIMUM REVENUE by SHARING cost cutting info!Also, if anyone wants a full look into our business get in touch.
#$6116 #brings #case #marketing #month #offline #study
  • Profile picture of the author Richard N Adams
    Wow, thanks for sharing that - great info! I'll be honest - I'm both surprised and impressed by the number of customers you have already recruited.

    Richard
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  • I am more interested in how your marketing is outsourced. You didnt explain that part. Can you give a little detail on how the marketing is outsourced?
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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    A4 advertisments + Business cards. Tons of them. And not just in my local city.

    Outsourcing was originally done by my younger brother, then we put an advertisment in a neaby city for a part time 1 day a week job. We had TONS of applicants and created a list of people that looked reliable, trustworthy, had transport and PayPal for ease of payment.

    We also operate a bonus if someone from that city signs up but I don't have time to go into that.
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    Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
    Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
    I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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  • Profile picture of the author JL Melvin
    Thanks for sharing - nothing like another idea to stimulate the thinking!

    Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author Yogini
    Jay,

    Do you create a logo and make a few wp posts as well for them as part of the initial setup? It's an interesting business idea.

    Debbie
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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    If it's a personal site they don't need a logo. If it's a business then they usually have one already.

    As for the Wordpress question. We install it in 20 seconds through Fantastico in cPanel, spend 3 minutes looking for a free theme, upload the theme (1 minute), then create a page and specifiy it as the front page in Wordpress admin panel. Then create a 'news' or 'updates' category and have that category as the 'default' when they add new info, this can either be on a seperate page or listed down the sidebar. Theres other stuff as well such as a contact form plugin. SEO tweaks (may as well do them).

    Overall it takes about 10 minutes per site and another 30 minutes sorting out there problems.
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    Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
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    I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      Are most of your sites personal or business sites?
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      "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
      ~ Zig Ziglar
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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    35% personal.
    65% business.

    Although we only started asking if the website was for personal or business reasons last month. We're trying to get some statistics together before we consider a different payment plan for business customers. While on the subject of business customers we got them signed up to a mailing list (aWeber) and sent them a free eBook on marketing that we wrote - we're currently considering a paid product but still undecided on this one. What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't have to end at just $11 per month per customer.
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    Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
    Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
    I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

      35% personal.
      65% business.

      Although we only started asking if the website was for personal or business reasons last month. We're trying to get some statistics together before we consider a different payment plan for business customers. While on the subject of business customers we got them signed up to a mailing list (aWeber) and sent them a free eBook on marketing that we wrote - we're currently considering a paid product but still undecided on this one. What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't have to end at just $11 per month per customer.

      You read my mind.

      Down the road, you may even want to put together a full blown course geared toward helping offline business owners get better at marketing their business online. A comprehensive physical course could easily fetch $197 - $497. You could eliminate the ebook all together or else use it as a lead in (what to do) product and promote the full course (how to do) within the ebook.

      Also, do you have any referral programs in place?
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      "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
      ~ Zig Ziglar
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    • Profile picture of the author Nick Garcia
      I have a question. When you say 'professional email' and you mention Google, is that basically just setting up a free gmail again?

      And did you consult a lawyer when writing your contracts or terms and conditions? If not, how did you make sure there were no loop holes? How did you make sure they were acceptable?

      Also, if anyone knows how I could find out about local laws and regulations involving posting signs on the side of the road, let me know! I see signs all over the place when I drive around, but I wasn't sure if there were restrictions or not. If anyone knows Orlando, FL off the top of their head, feel free to post!

      Other than that, Jay, thanks for the idea. I may end up giving it a shot with a good friend of mine. Thanks for the idea!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    Congratulations on your success with this strategy. Getting that many offline clients and creating a steady recurring income from them is impressive.

    The only problem I see is the customer service headaches that come with hosting. If you could find a way to outsource customer support or charge more for it, that would be ideal.
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    • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
      Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

      The only problem I see is the customer service headaches that come with hosting. If you could find a way to outsource customer support or charge more for it, that would be ideal.
      Thanks. ResellerZoom offer end user support on the advanced packages but we prefer to do it ourselves. It really does take less than 30 minutes a day - and we have all the ready made templates for common problems a click away. I guess we could hire someone to come in every morning for 1 hour if it got really work intensive.

      Originally Posted by Lance K View Post

      Also, do you have any referral programs in place
      Well we have a bonus scheme for the employee we hired in a different city. That's about it. We don't want to complicate things to be honest - just want a workable marketing plan that is expandable and a streamline sales process.

      I have a question. When you say 'professional email' and you mention Google, is that basically just setting up a free gmail again? And did you consult a lawyer when writing your contracts or terms and conditions? If not, how did you make sure there were no loop holes? How did you make sure they were acceptable?
      We use Google Apps which offers hosted e-mail (therename@theredomain.com). My friend contacted a lawyer but they said we need a specific one that understands new technology etc.. we really have spent a good few hours looking over everything and had no complaints. Just refund people straight away 100% if they ask and that usually keeps you out of trouble!
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      Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
      Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
      I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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    • Profile picture of the author Stephen Luc
      Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

      Congratulations on your success with this strategy. Getting that many offline clients and creating a steady recurring income from them is impressive.

      The only problem I see is the customer service headaches that come with hosting. If you could find a way to outsource customer support or charge more for it, that would be ideal.
      Thanks for sharing Jay. Yeah I agree with Ron here. This type of business is very profitable, because a lot of local businesses are not as updated in the website area as we are online. I used to do this for a while and it was indeed profitable. If you have the time and don't mind customer's calling you at midnight when your web host's server goes down, then that shouldn't be an issue. I got out of this due to the support, but offline businesses are generally in your face 24/7.

      A few things to add is yes, if you can outsource the support and make sure that your host backs up all the data of your customer's sites, and you have legal documents on your site; because if your host accidentally loses the files like the one I was on, you will not have problems.

      Overall I think once you get passed all of this you have yourself a good formula. Small towns are great because they're often not updated at all.
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      TutorialMixer.com - 190+ Wordpress Private Label Videos + Monthly Masterminds.

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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    I'm not making a WSO. I just wanted to share an idea that other people cannot saturate. I live in a small city in England and I'm fairly certain there isn't anyone from where I live reading this - plus only 1% actually take action. If I get any tips from this then I've also gained
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    Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
    Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
    I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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    • Profile picture of the author MaskedMarketer
      Jay,

      Thanks for the specifics on this post. Very creative and people flock to the word "free". like the "Freecreditreport.com" commercial, if you're familiar with it- Its not free at all, but good marketing tactics.

      And your offline method can be applied with other affiliate/cpa offers....
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
      Hello,

      Do you update their websites also or give them some sort of instruction on how to do so?

      Also, do you have an example of one of the pages that you have put up? I'm just trying to wrap my head around building almost 600 websites in 60 days.

      This thread has definitely given me a couple of ideas. Thanks for posting it.

      Jeremy
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      • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
        Originally Posted by Jeremy Kelsall View Post

        Hello,

        Do you update their websites also or give them some sort of instruction on how to do so?

        Also, do you have an example of one of the pages that you have put up? I'm just trying to wrap my head around building almost 600 websites in 60 days.

        This thread has definitely given me a couple of ideas. Thanks for posting it.

        Jeremy
        Hey Jeremy,

        As stated in the original post I get them going but won't make additional updates down the line. The sites run on Wordpress and I give them a username and password. Along with this I have a Camtasia video that explains how to login to the Wordpress admin panel, how to change there password, how to edit the pages they have on the site, how to add additional images, and how to add new 'blog' posts which I sometimes rename 'updates' or in the case of one today 'New paintings'. The video instructions have saved me hours of time.

        It is 600 websites in 90 days which is 6 websites a day, and occasionally my friend will do a day here and there or a website every few days. Once you've done one you get efficient. I could create a Camstasia tutorial video and outsource this process every morning I guess but I like adding little tweaks to some depending on the niche.
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        Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
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        I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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      • Profile picture of the author Nathan Hangen
        Great tips...thanks for sharing.

        I think you could be making much more, and the headaches of dealing with that many customers scares me, but I like what you are thinking.

        People get all wrapped up about making money online, but the truth is that starting a business on or off the internet is very easy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vijay M
      Thank you for the details.

      1)Do you absorb the cost of registering the .com domain?
      2)If yes, do you register it in your name or the clients name?
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    • Profile picture of the author Spark
      Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

      I'm not making a WSO. I just wanted to share an idea that other people cannot saturate. I live in a small city in England and I'm fairly certain there isn't anyone from where I live reading this - plus only 1% actually take action. If I get any tips from this then I've also gained
      This is really true... people been saying that they will go ahead and try but when they found topic like - Offline Gold! See me earn $2039 per day using this method!!

      Bang, everything back to square 1...sometime giving too much info like this is bad as well since most people don really try to take action..just read...[This including me..haha]

      Anyway i love your idea, all the best!
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    • Profile picture of the author jacquic
      Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

      I'm not making a WSO. I just wanted to share an idea that other people cannot saturate. I live in a small city in England and I'm fairly certain there isn't anyone from where I live reading this - plus only 1% actually take action. If I get any tips from this then I've also gained
      Which small city?
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  • Profile picture of the author JustDean
    Hey Jay
    GREAT post!! Thanks for sharing that, i am sure your hard work will pay off soon enough
    Dean
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  • Profile picture of the author matthewd
    Congrats... that's a lot a of work for such a low price though. But it definitely sounds like it will pay off when you get to the point of having a ton of customers.
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    • Profile picture of the author MaskedMarketer
      Originally Posted by matthewd View Post

      Congrats... that's a lot a of work for such a low price though. But it definitely sounds like it will pay off when you get to the point of having a ton of customers.
      Its not a lot of work because it can be automated and outsourced.

      And price doesn't sound low- it sounds affordable and competitive for what they are doing.
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      • Profile picture of the author matthewd
        Originally Posted by MaskedMarketer View Post

        Its not a lot of work because it can be automated and outsourced.

        And price doesn't sound low- it sounds affordable and competitive for what they are doing.
        I still think managing the creation of 556 sites is a lot of work.

        And FREE sites is low.

        I am not saying his model is bad... just saying he could easily make a lot more off of it. But he already said he pitches on the back-end, so that's great.

        Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

        This is why we're considering a hike in prices for business users but once you have the customers the money is fairly easy. I've spent about 10 minutes replying to e-mails today and one of them was on my iPhone.
        Oh ya, I was just referring to the initial work being a lot. I assumed there would be more than 10 minutes of customer support work though, so congrats on that!
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    • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
      Originally Posted by matthewd View Post

      Congrats... that's a lot a of work for such a low price though. But it definitely sounds like it will pay off when you get to the point of having a ton of customers.
      This is why we're considering a hike in prices for business users but once you have the customers the money is fairly easy. I've spent about 10 minutes replying to e-mails today and one of them was on my iPhone.

      Originally Posted by Jenn Dize View Post

      Wow, thanks for sharing this. Can you share a sample site with us? I'm curious to see how you're able to do this so fast too I'm pretty fast, but not that fast, lol.
      I don't think it would be a good idea to show a customers site but I'll try and find the time to record a quick Camtasia video outlining what I do soon.

      Originally Posted by MaskedMarketer View Post

      Its not a lot of work because it can be automated and outsourced.

      And price doesn't sound low- it sounds affordable and competitive for what they are doing.
      Thanks! Yeap, all about automation and trusted outsourcing these days.
      Signature
      Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
      Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
      I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
        Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

        I don't think it would be a good idea to show a customers site but I'll try and find the time to record a quick Camtasia video outlining what I do soon.
        If they are business websites, I highly doubt anyone would mind
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  • Profile picture of the author thatgirlJ
    Wow, thanks for sharing this. Can you share a sample site with us? I'm curious to see how you're able to do this so fast too I'm pretty fast, but not that fast, lol.
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    • Originally Posted by Jenn Dize View Post

      Wow, thanks for sharing this. Can you share a sample site with us? I'm curious to see how you're able to do this so fast too I'm pretty fast, but not that fast, lol.
      I would be interested, too. Obviously, we arent going to steal your ofline customers, especially the personal sites. It would just be nice to see how the static page looks and how it works with the post pages.

      Thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
        Originally Posted by shkad14 View Post

        I would be interested, too. Obviously, we arent going to steal your ofline customers, especially the personal sites. It would just be nice to see how the static page looks and how it works with the post pages.

        Thanks
        Hey, I've already stated I will record a video at some point.
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        Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
        Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
        I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Thanks, OP. I know someone who might be interested in this.

    On the $20 per month reseller plan, ResellerZoom offers free anonymous tech support. If I were going this route, I'd use that plan and let RZ handle the tech support.
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    • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
      Originally Posted by Jeff Hope View Post

      Great plan, and very similar to what I've been putting together myself.
      Keep us updated!

      Originally Posted by Jeff Hope View Post

      Do you make all the settings (permalinks, etc) for your customers?
      Adjusting these settings takes less than 3 minutes. I always put the permalinks feature on and I always add the 'forward to friend' and 'contact form' plugins.

      Originally Posted by Jeff Hope View Post

      Do you install plugins for them - either custom or a standard set?
      I have the plugins I use ready in folder, it's just a case of uploading them and activating them which really doesn't take very long.

      Originally Posted by Jeff Hope View Post

      I understand why you'd use Wordpress to build these sites. However, the one big downside is when Wordpress has a new release. Updating 500+ Wordpress installations (+ occasional plugin updates) could prove overwhelming time wise. Do you have a plan in place for this?
      They don't nessecerily need to be updated all the time unless there is a security problem. We've got a tech guy ready that can update them all to 2.7 but we see no need at the moment - the ones that have been installed with Wordpress 2.7 have an automatic update feature (both WP and the plugins).

      And for the record, this is pretty much the same as any standard hosting account, they can do all of this themselves and have our video tutorials to help them.

      Everything is backed up by us and the reseller company and we also give our customers a video on how to back up the websites themselves just in case there are problems.

      And, of course, we've covered ourselves in the terms and conditions just in case.
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      Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
      Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
      I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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    • Profile picture of the author Izesta
      Originally Posted by Jeff Hope View Post

      Jay,

      Great plan, and very similar to what I've been putting together myself. Thanks for posting your ideas.

      I do have a couple of questions if you don't mind:

      - Do you make all the settings (permalinks, etc) for your customers?

      - Do you install plugins for them - either custom or a standard set?

      - I understand why you'd use Wordpress to build these sites. However, the one big downside is when Wordpress has a new release. Updating 500+ Wordpress installations (+ occasional plugin updates) could prove overwhelming time wise. Do you have a plan in place for this?

      Thank you,
      Jeff

      I think the model has much merit. I am working on something similar also just for businesses. But monthly cost will be much more.

      Jeff, I like your point about updating Wordpress. I plan to use Wordpress and I had not even thought about updating a ton of sites. Will have to have a plan for that. :-)

      Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    Hey,

    Yeah, I posted about that earlier. You give them access to an e-mail addresses and they have a team in India (I think) that will handle all your technical queries.

    We could use this but the customers we sign up really beginners and these people that are outsourced won't handle the customers with as much care as me and my friend.

    So we just spend the 30 minutes a day answering them ourselves - one advantage of this is that sales opportunities will come up i.e. last week someone asked about selling some of there businesses products online, we got them a quote for a small ecommerce solution and a small marketing drive and made money that way.
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    Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
    Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
    I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jenna Paulson
    Great Post.

    Did you do this in the UK or US?

    How did you determine if the people you paid to leaflet etc did the job etc?

    Jenna
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    • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
      Originally Posted by Jenna Paulson View Post

      Did you do this in the UK or US?

      How did you determine if the people you paid to leaflet etc did the job etc?
      Hey,

      It's being done in the UK. The person we hired covered a different area and if someone signed up for the area he covered we would give him the bonus - it's actually a little bit more complicated than this but thats the basics. If he didn't do the job then we would of lost out - but like I mentioned we got tons of applicants and found the best one

      We didn't really expect it to be a success but to test it really didn't cost that much and it has helped. Although I have noticed towards the last month we've been getting more from word of mouth. 1 person tells someone, they tell 2 people, they tell 1 person and it soon adds up! 600 isn't a huge number when you consider 16 million households have Internet access in the UK.
      Signature
      Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
      Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
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      • Profile picture of the author Nathan Hangen
        Hey, are you gonig to do a video?
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        • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
          Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen View Post

          Hey, are you gonig to do a video?
          On Monday perhaps - it's 8:00 PM here in the UK
          Signature
          Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
          Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
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  • Profile picture of the author bert81
    Wow, thanks for that. Great idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

    How much are we making
    After 6 months we are making $6116 per month (you need to exclude around $1000 for offline marketing costs and the reseller hosting account). [/I]
    So, your marketing cost to pay handbill placers and printing cost is only $1K a month and your reseller acct is just a small additional amount? Those are the only costs?

    I have to tell you, this sounds like a great idea. There are also a lot of ways this could be expanded pretty easily, imo. Thanks much for sharing this.
    ______
    Bruce
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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    Hey,

    Yeah, the only outgoings are the handbill placers, the printing costs and the reseller accounts. I've been advised to move onto a server but I don't want to complicate things. The only other cost is Skype - I'm on the phone quite a bit - which I hated at first but now I quite enjoy.
    Signature
    Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
    Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
    I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Sherman
    Dude, what are you trying to sell?

    Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

    The customer stats
    Day 10 - 9 customers
    Day 20 - 45 customers
    Day 30 - 89 customers
    Day 40 - 147 customers
    Day 50 - 259 customers
    Day 60 - 300 customers
    Day 70 - 440 customers
    Day 80 - 501 customers
    Day 90 - 556 customers
    "Hmm," I say to myself, "six new sign ups a day seems reasonable."

    But earlier, at Black Hat World.
    Originally Posted by jaymartins

    Day 10 - 3 customers
    Day 20 - 10 customers
    Day 30 - 35 customers
    Day 40 - 67 customers
    Day 50 - 93 customers
    Day 60 - 145 customers
    Day 70 - 177 customers
    Day 80 - 211 customers
    Day 90 - 268 customers
    So are you just full of it? If not, why the discrepancy in numbers?
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    • Profile picture of the author RichOnlineCEO
      Originally Posted by Dan Sherman View Post

      Dude, what are you trying to sell?



      "Hmm," I say to myself, "six new sign ups a day seems reasonable."

      But earlier, at Black Hat World


      So are you just full of it? If not, why the discrepancy in numbers?
      Whats in it for him to lie?
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      • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
        Well...

        Originally Posted by RichOnlineCEO View Post

        Whats in it for him to lie?
        I think the more important question is, why did he post 2 different sets of numbers?
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      • Profile picture of the author Jenna Paulson
        I like the idea of this, but i can see the problems down the line with updating or changing the site around, even if you said the customer would have to pay more for this. I would expect people want a customized site for peanuts.

        They may just get frustrated and cancel the hosting ac, as they just dont need the site or see benefit from it.

        Also, its 2009 not 2000, so people can blog for free at blogger etc, so why pay $10 a month?
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      • Profile picture of the author Timothy Wright
        [DELETED]
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        • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
          Just as far as the business idea goes, I wouldn't even try to sell
          hosting for $11 a month when quality hosts are charging about
          a quarter that for unlimited domains.
          You're overlooking something important:

          This offer is going to people who are not savvy about the web (if they were, they'd already have a web site) and who wouldn't have a clue what the going rate is for web hosting.

          If you come across as credible and the offer is affordable, you'll make sales even if your rate is ten times the going rate.

          Marcia Yudkin
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          Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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      • Profile picture of the author jmidas
        Jay, nice work. Congratulations on finding an effective way to build a business for yourself.

        Question on the domains you register:

        1)Do you absorb the cost of registering the .com domain? It looks like you may be in the hole 10-15 dollars for each free sign up until they pay 1 or 2 months? Also, how many (what %) don't convert to paying after day 10?

        2)When you register the domain, do you register it in your name or the clients name?
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        • Profile picture of the author khtm
          Originally Posted by jmidas View Post

          2)When you register the domain, do you register it in your name or the clients name?
          This question was asked twice but the OP never replied. Does anybody have any thoughts? Maybe Preben?
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          • Profile picture of the author MrYossu
            Originally Posted by khtm View Post

            This question was asked twice but the OP never replied. Does anybody have any thoughts? Maybe Preben?
            I always register the domains in my own name. That way I have total control. I can release the domain name to the client if I want to, but they can't take it from me without asking.

            Hope this helps
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      • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
        Gotta say your advertising methods and results go against my experience. I have tested a similar offer in 2 local universities (1 of 2,000 students and 1 of 15,000) and had a very poor results. I previously tried marketing other products with little or no result.
        You talk about community boards and sports centres. Well certainly in my town you need permission from the local council to use these places unless you want fining. And in my experience they don't allow any advertising.
        You talk about placing business cards in shops - what deal do you cut with the shop?

        Confused

        Rich
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      • Profile picture of the author angelica0109
        That's pretty much big to earn in a month.Offline marketing is one of the hardest strategy because you will try to make money by yourself.Starting from the very little things and step by step to the top.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Durham
        Awesome. Might be alot of work in the short haul, but I do alot of work in the short haul anyway! It's easy to see how you could begin outsourcing 100% within a year.

        I like this business plan. Doesn't sound like Rocket Science... nor a flash in the pan... some things go big but then fade off later. With the cheap monthly price I can see customers not falling off every 5 minutes.

        Also I think you are smart to use paypal because credit cards eventually expire, change, get cancelled... then you have to chase down your customers for another card number, also there's "chargebacks...

        With a 20k investment you could hire a fulltime telemarketer to answer the phone all day and make sales for an entire YEAR!

        For another 20K you could hire a data entry person to sit and create the sites all day long.

        Question: Are there any draw backs to this other than low income in the first few months?

        Within 6-10 months they are both paying for themselves and giving you a fulltime paycheck, within 12-18 months you could be making 100k per year profit off of their efforts. Without all the "guesswork" and unpredictable peaks and valleys involved with IM.

        Another Question:

        Would offline classified advertisements work with this idea, as opposed to a live person handing out flyers?

        Thanks for inspiring.

        Ps. I see how you would probably make another 50k per year after the first year just by outsourcing the bigger project opportunities that inevitably arise here and there, which don't fit into the regular free site biz model.

        Great Post. I have thought about similiar biz models but didn't like the idea of a "slow income" at the start. After making good money for a couple of years but never getting a break from work...these 'slow starting, steady growth models' are starting to look real good!
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    • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
      Originally Posted by Dan Sherman View Post

      So are you just full of it? If not, why the discrepancy in numbers?
      I rushed the original post - those on the other site are my friends (I say friend but he is actually in on this 50:50) figures for this venture. You guys don't miss a thing do you. I was actually going to totally re-write the original post but didn't have the time. I've actually been helping various people via PM on here and this has taken up a lot of my time.

      As for an example of my site - give me a second - I started the thread on FRIDAY, it is now MONDAY! I don't know about you but I don't work on weekends.

      Originally Posted by Jenna Paulson View Post

      They may just get frustrated and cancel the hosting ac, as they just dont need the site or see benefit from it.

      Also, its 2009 not 2000, so people can blog for free at blogger etc, so why pay $10 a month?
      Each site is on Wordpress and has a few tweaks for SEO - so they should be seeing benefits. They also get professional e-mail which as you may know is useful. If they want to cancel they can but it's a lot more hassle for them to arrange all this themselves. The 'blogger' comment is so stupid I shouldn't have to explain it - go on the street and ask 10 people if they know about 'blogger' - I know here in the UK less than 1 in 10 would know of it - plus I'd even reconsider my choice on a business if they used a free blogging service and Hotmail e-mail account.

      If you want to take something from my post then do it, you're welcome. But if people are going to pick it apart and try and find ulterior motives then you're most probably wasting your time - work on your business, help others and enjoy life!
      Signature
      Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
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      • Profile picture of the author Timothy Wright
        Originally Posted by JayMartins View Post

        I rushed the original post - those on the other site are my friends (I say friend but he is actually in on this 50:50) figures for this venture. You guys don't miss a thing do you. I was actually going to totally re-write the original post but didn't have the time. I've actually been helping various people via PM on here and this has taken up a lot of my time.

        As for an example of my site - give me a second - I started the thread on FRIDAY, it is now MONDAY! I don't know about you but I don't work on weekends.


        If you want to take something from my post then do it, you're welcome. But if people are going to pick it apart and try and find ulterior motives then you're most probably wasting your time - work on your business, help others and enjoy life!


        So which of the posts reflects the real numbers? Is it your WF or Black Hat World post?
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        • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
          Originally Posted by Genesis View Post

          So which of the posts reflects the real numbers? Is it your WF or Black Hat World post?
          This one is total. BHW is my colleagues.

          Regarding PayPal - you're correct, using them is a huge risk. We've tried to get new customers onto a 'standing order' - they sign a quick form, take it to bank and then the money is taken straight from there bank account every month automatically - but not many people like this method.
          Signature
          Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
          Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
          I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      But earlier, at Black Hat World.
      Of course Allan's new script makes an interesting, but non existent, link out of that!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author michael_nguyen
    Hi there JayMartins, How do you handle the paypal transactions ?
    How do you monitor whos paid or not ? Is there such a thing on paypal
    that tells you whos unsubscribed ?

    Thanks
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author lkovalev
    Sounds like you have the whole thing figured out. Good Luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    I just checked out BHW to see his other post. It is very strange that the numbers quoted should be so completely different???????
    _____
    Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author Ideefixe
      JayMartins fundamental idea can be implemented and/or built off. Maybe he overexadurated, big deal. His ideas alone are very interesting and straight to the point, ie, they are valuable (even if they haven't been fully executed.) I don't care if the numbers are different, I just want him to keep sharing - so don't piss him off.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
    I thought I smelled something a little fishy when he wouldn't show an example of a site...
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    • Profile picture of the author michael074
      Originally Posted by Jeremy Kelsall View Post

      I thought I smelled something a little fishy when he wouldn't show an example of a site...
      Perhaps, Jeremy, that's an indication of YOUR mindset and not the OP's

      Regards,

      Mike.
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      • Profile picture of the author EmmaJames
        Hey guys...

        You know his numbers really don't bother
        me because I'm looking for information that
        I can put into play myself.

        I could see myself working the kinks out
        of this one idea and turning a profit, and
        that's what's most important to me.

        Sure he could be just talking about something
        he "heard" or "read" somewhere else, but IF I
        can do something with it...no harm no foul.

        Plus I got the idea for free!

        And for those of us who live in the United States
        you could join your local chamber of commerce, go
        to the meetings and rub noses with other business
        owners and casually promote your service...

        This way you won't have to break the bank
        looking for clients...

        Just a little food for thought...
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      • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
        Well, I haven't launched this project yet, but I think they will remain customers as long as it is of value to them.

        If you frequently send them some great content, and continue to provide excellent serivce, they WILL remain customers.

        However, I think that people will most likely pay yearly in my plan. To avoid having to pay something every month (Many Norwegians are sceptical about doing that)
        They would rather pay yearly, as well as get one month for free.

        Not only that, but it will give us a great flow of pretty instant cash, so it will bring the income of a full-time job immediately, as well as it will *most likely* do it in one year as well.

        And I already HAVE made plans on how to get them back in if they quit. It also involves upkeep. E.g. Reminding them to build content on their website, and increase the value.

        I hope that sums it up
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        • Profile picture of the author Chuck Staff
          Okay.

          So, let's say Jay's original post was exactly as it first appeared. Just a Warrior posting the results of his business experience.

          No WSO planned. No ulterior motive.

          Just suppose....

          He types his post and freely shares info that many others have sold (and I have bought) as a WSO and, so far, has asked nothing in return. Just the exchange of ideas. (I thought that's what the WF was all about.)

          Just suppose....

          And, suddenly, all the naysayers and those who always see the glass as half-empty rather than half-full launch their assault... (I've never even been to the Black Hat Forum but, apparently, a few posters spend a waaaaay too much time there...)

          Just suppose....

          Could you blame him if he said, "Screw this!" and disappeared from the thread?

          That's what I'd do.

          Yo! Jay! If you're lurking out there...

          Thanks for the thread, dude. Thanks for sharing. A lot of good food for thought. I'll chew on the ideas you shared with us, benefit from the discussion it evoked, use what I think is good and leave behind what doesn't work for me.

          In the long run, I'll be better than before because of what you've offered.

          Thanks again.

          Chuck
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
    haha

    Something else kind of funny/disturbing...

    I just ran a Google on his name and BHW and the info that he posted here was posted there by a completely different person....

    The kicker is, JayMartins replied in the thread and even thanked the guy I think lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Silvester
    Hey Bev,

    This Strategy sounds awfully familiar!

    Take Care,

    Michael Silvester
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  • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Buchinski
    Just as far as the business idea goes, I wouldn't even try to sell
    hosting for $11 a month when quality hosts are charging about
    a quarter that for unlimited domains. (eg hostpc.com) I suppose
    offering something for free is a good way to get people's attention
    but before committing to that kind of expense I would certainly
    research hosting a bit. I can't see a stampede of people who don't
    do that wanting to get in on the bargain.

    But I do have to admit it sounded good at first.
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  • Profile picture of the author michael_nguyen
    Hi there JayMartins, How do you handle the paypal transactions ?
    How do you monitor whos paid or not ? Is there such a thing on paypal
    that tells you whos unsubscribed ?

    Thanks
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author Scot Standke
      Originally Posted by michael_nguyen View Post

      Hi there JayMartins, How do you handle the paypal transactions ?
      How do you monitor whos paid or not ? Is there such a thing on paypal
      that tells you whos unsubscribed ?

      Thanks
      Michael,

      PayPal sends you a notification every time someone sends you a payment,
      every time someone signs up for a subscription and every time someone
      cancels a subscription.

      Scot
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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    Hey Michael,

    PayPal deals with the majority of them and they send an e-mail for new subscriptions and canceled subscriptions. We have all the date they started there subscription, and all there other details, in an Excel spreadsheet - not ideal but with a spreadsheet for each day and only on average 20 payments to manually check each day (plus some new additions added) it doesn't take much work.
    Signature
    Case Study: Offline marketing brings in $6116 every month
    Successful Membership Website / Offline Money / Custom Wordpress / Squeeze Pages
    I charge very cheap rates by PayPal if you need any of the above. Just PM me and we can talk.
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  • Profile picture of the author michael_nguyen
    Thanks Scot and Jay for replies.
    Any advice on dealing with paypal ? We've all heard of stories where paypal seem to suspend account when constant money is coming in.
    Do you on the 10th day order the domain ? That takes about 2 days to propgate right ? so really they get the website in the 12th day ?

    Damn why am I even thinking about this lol paralysis by analysis.
    I think I'll have a try, this business model is a piece of cake ! thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    This concept sounds really good in theory, but if you are dealing with newbies who have to learn wordpress to post any content, I think that dealing with questions on how to do stuff would be overwhelming.

    A camtasia video alone is not going to teach them all the ins and outs of wordpress. Even if each client had one question per week about how to do something on their site, that would be 550 questions per week. And if they had one question per day? forget about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author michael_nguyen
    I read a suggestion sometime ago, such as notifying paypal before hand etc
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Sherman
    Your colleague who uses the same name? I don't buy it.

    As for those asking what's in it for him to lie... Think about how many times you've seen someone new come to the warrior forum, post a fantastic story of success that seems totally achievable for anyone reading, and quickly follow up with a WSO. They build up hype, and leave with a tidy bundle of cash in their pocket in short order.

    I've only been registered here for a few short months, but I've already seen it happen several times. If that's not Jay Martins, and I'm making an example out of the wrong guy, I apologize. I just get tired of seeing people get taken for a ride.
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    • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
      Originally Posted by Dan Sherman View Post

      Your colleague who uses the same name? I don't buy it.

      As for those asking what's in it for him to lie... Think about how many times you've seen someone new come to the warrior forum, post a fantastic story of success that seems totally achievable for anyone reading, and quickly follow up with a WSO. They build up hype, and leave with a tidy bundle of cash in their pocket in short order.

      I've only been registered here for a few short months, but I've already seen it happen several times. If that's not Jay Martins, and I'm making an example out of the wrong guy, I apologize. I just get tired of seeing people get taken for a ride.
      Then don't buy the WSO! Just take what the guy lays out and
      use it. A plan like this takes work and problem-solving ability... and
      a way to float the costs for awhile and handle all sorts of minor
      hassles... but as far as I can tell it looks feasible, and pretty
      darn fair to the end user as well.

      It's been said "If you want to dine with kings, serve the masses"
      and this is a great example of a simple mass-market offer and how
      to position the business for long-term continuity income. It's very
      similar to what cel-phone companies do... a proven model for losing
      money on customer acquisition and making it on failure-to-cancel.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Hewitt
    Hey Jay I saw your post about the offline biz and I love the concept.Also I am looking for someone to produce a squeeze page for me .Do you have any I could look at to get an feel for your work?Thanks-Scott
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  • Profile picture of the author rhondaklewis
    Do you have the video yet. I am more of a visual learner then being able to comprehend what I read. I would have to read it at least 5 times or more.
    Rhonda
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by rhondaklewis View Post

      Do you have the video yet. I am more of a visual learner then being able to comprehend what I read. I would have to read it at least 5 times or more.
      Rhonda
      I would recommend reading it 5 times more then :p
      After all, it looks like it might take some time to get the video.

      I think it will work well if you carefully plan what should be included in the websites you make.

      So if you plan on changing permalinks,installing a few plugins, and customizing a bit, I think it would be smart to create a "recipe".

      Steps 1-8 for creating a website. Then everyone will get the same, and it will get burned into your memory so you can do it faster and faster.
      Eventually you might create a script to do this for you which = extremely fast website creation.

      I also think I will be able to get almost 1,000 customers within a month if I try.


      Now I don't care about "the numbers" people are nagging about here, as this technique works fine by itself already.

      My only addition would be some sort of referral competition.
      So for people who are new to this, and are struggling to get customers, do this:

      1.Install some sort of affiliate/referral/membership script on your website with a members area, and functional tracking.

      2.Get 20-50 customers. - So you will have a powerful affiliate force, as well as you will be able to weed out bugs etc. from your system by this time

      Now comes the fun part...

      3. Arrange a referral contest! - 1.st prize: ipod nano 16gb, or an iphone or something similar.
      2.nd - something cool as well.
      3rd-5th: Completely free website. ( Even free hosting)
      6th-10th: A "make money online" ebooks with affiliate links in :rolleyes:

      Rules: To be able to win the 1st and second prize, you will need to refer at least 10 customers.
      To even qualify for the contest itself, you will need 2 referrals.

      4. Set a time limit for the competition. E.g. 1-2 months, or until you have 1000 customers. - Whichever comes first.

      5. Create ready-made emails, facebook messages etc. - Create MANY of them, so all they will have to do is cut'n paste. ( Remember, they aren't used to the whole affiliate thing)

      6. The last thing to do, is email them. ( You have them in a list, right?)

      Tell them that you only have 20-50 customers by now, and the ipod will be EASY to get - as long as you start out early. Now show them your affiliate material, and they will start promoting you!
      Then, each time you get a new client, remind them of the competition, and how easy it is to win.

      Now you can get as many customers you want! - for only a few houndred dollars (It's fast too!)

      I hope this will be useful to everyone who actually try out this business model.

      - Preben Frenning

      P.S. Did I smell WSO?:p
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  • Profile picture of the author SlickSki
    I was about to say nice one. Looks like you're in the money but now it appears there's a massive exaggeration going on. Oh well!
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by SlickSki View Post

      I was about to say nice one. Looks like you're in the money but now it appears there's a massive exaggeration going on. Oh well!
      Did you mean my referral competition?

      I'm sorry, but that is 100% doable. - Provided you are able to create that many websites in such little time.

      Just imagine half of your customers have 300+ friends on facebook and really want an ipod nano...

      I think it will be easy to get that amount of customers.
      And John also states that word of mouth generates many of thier customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author visitsingapore
    Well..Cpanel is indeed easy to install, but you must be having a full dedicated server.

    I thought some reseller hosting does not provide the WHM for you to install?

    With WHM, you can access the root account to install other software too
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    • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
      Originally Posted by visitsingapore View Post

      Well..Cpanel is indeed easy to install, but you must be having a full dedicated server.

      I thought some reseller hosting does not provide the WHM for you to install?

      With WHM, you can access the root account to install other software too

      that's the beauty of resellerzoom.com...you get WHM with every reseller account. And each domain you host on your reseller account has cPanel
      I have one and I manage numerous blogs on it.

      this thread has given me some great ideas. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author drkellogs
    LOL...

    600 customers who are COMPLETE newbies at the Internet and **ONLY** 30 mins of customer service a day for his hosting / reseller business.

    THAT is some funny shit.
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    • Profile picture of the author Eric Stanley
      Originally Posted by drkellogs View Post

      LOL...

      600 customers who are COMPLETE newbies at the Internet and **ONLY** 30 mins of customer service a day for his hosting / reseller business.

      THAT is some funny shit.

      Agreed. Out of 600 assumed websites, not one example? I understand 'not working on the weekends,' but taking 2.5 seconds to post a URL of one of the 600 sites is a bit alarming. Either you're trolling or subtly plugging ResellerZoom.
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      • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
        Originally Posted by xlfutur1 View Post

        This concept sounds really good in theory, but if you are dealing with newbies who have to learn wordpress to post any content, I think that dealing with questions on how to do stuff would be overwhelming.

        A camtasia video alone is not going to teach them all the ins and outs of wordpress. Even if each client had one question per week about how to do something on their site, that would be 550 questions per week. And if they had one question per day? forget about it.
        well, i got a domain for my 10 year old, installed wordpress on it, and made a template for him.. i spent a few minutes showing him how to post, and he's been managing it just fine for several months now..

        he's figured out how to add new categories, embed his favorite youtube videos, embed flash games, and even has iframed some stuff in. I didnt' show him ANY of this.


        Originally Posted by Eric Stanley View Post

        Agreed. Out of 600 assumed websites, not one example? I understand 'not working on the weekends,' but taking 2.5 seconds to post a URL of one of the 600 sites is a bit alarming. Either you're trolling or subtly plugging ResellerZoom.
        well, let's be honest - hardly ANYONE here ever show's sites. This includes the offline guys not showing their customer sites.

        BTW, yahoo still charges $20 a month for hosting a single domain. I have a client who has 4 sites with them, paying that 20 bucks per month for each one!
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    That is totally doable if you consider a few factors.

    1. Probably very few of them uses their website daily.
    2. If they state something about support in their terms, it might reduce it by a lot.
    3. They might have a lot of "FAQ" videos to reduce support times.

    But it sounds very little for 600 customers anyways.
    When I start, I will definately outsource support to the Phillipines or something. - Even though I live in Norway =P
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  • Profile picture of the author negropay
    The idea is a great one but will only be useful to those who want work both online and offline .

    Some internet marketers really want to stick to working offline only as a deliberate strategy. A wonderful idea any way .Thanks for the free tips
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  • Profile picture of the author StealthA00
    Yes, thank you for this post. Very inspiring. Last night, I was out having drinks with friends -- met a local business owner and talked to him about the advantages of a smart website -- and he became my 4th offline customer.

    I wanted to ask you one question,

    You said you are using free themes. Do you find these free themes at wordpress.org? Or a combination of places?

    I ask, because I'd feel funny selling a website based off of a free theme -- I imagine you leave the theme's credits in the Footer? This is what bothers me about using free themes for clients -- having to leave the theme designer's contact info.
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by StealthA00 View Post

      Yes, thank you for this post. Very inspiring. Last night, I was out having drinks with friends -- met a local business owner and talked to him about the advantages of a smart website -- and he became my 4th offline customer.

      I wanted to ask you one question,

      You said you are using free themes. Do you find these free themes at wordpress.org? Or a combination of places?

      I ask, because I'd feel funny selling a website based off of a free theme -- I imagine you leave the theme's credits in the Footer? This is what bothers me about using free themes for clients -- having to leave the theme designer's contact info.
      Don't worry about that. You charge way too little to design a custom template etc.for them.
      PLUS, you customize it anyways. If you need themes, just type in "wordpress themes" in google, and you'll get plenty ;o)

      And if it really bothers you to use free templates, simply search for "cheap wp templates" etc. and purchase them. I have seen several websites selling themes, and I'm sure some of them will allow you to remove the link to their website for some price.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheila
    Love the concept. Quick. Easy. To-the point. Thanks for the post.
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  • Profile picture of the author michaelzenga
    That is a really slick idea.
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    • Profile picture of the author w123
      This is a neat business strategy with some good tips from others! Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author daj
    Funny how the JayMartins guy never came back to show proof of anything, and all of you give him praise. This idea sounds great, but I have doubts the numbers listed, would ever be that high in practice, unless you do a lot of advertising!

    I also feel it's false advertising to tell someone in an advertisement, they can, "Get a free website today", but when they call or email you, you pitch them the $11 a month for hosting plan.

    I feel a better way to go about it, is to be honest with the potential customer, and have them pay the whole year upfront since it's still rather cheap for them. "Get a free website, and free support if you buy hosting for $120 a year (no other fees!)". I like that pitch a lot better. I personally don't like paying monthly payments on anything.
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    • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
      before i defend the original poster too much, I would like to say that I also think the conflicting numbers ARE questionable..

      Originally Posted by daj View Post

      I also feel it's false advertising to tell someone in an advertisement, they can, "Get a free website today", but when they call or email you, you pitch them the $11 a month for hosting plan.
      I don't really have a problem with that... any website will require hosting. As a matter of fact, the only people I have ever heard complain about this sort of approach was IM'ers..

      Originally Posted by daj View Post

      I feel a better way to go about it, is to be honest with the potential customer, and have them pay the whole year upfront since it's still rather cheap for them. "Get free hosting, a free website, and free support for $120 a year (no other fees!)". I like that pitch a lot better. I personally don't like paying monthly payments on anything.
      umm, $120 isn't free.. and the small recurring monthly payment is a great model to consider if you can limit any support expectations. As anyone who's tried affiliate sales for web hosting can tell you - hardly nobody signs up for the full year of hosting if they have the monthly option.
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      • Profile picture of the author daj
        Originally Posted by jasonl70 View Post

        umm, $120 isn't free.. and the small recurring monthly payment is a great model to consider if you can limit any support expectations. As anyone who's tried affiliate sales for web hosting can tell you - hardly nobody signs up for the full year of hosting if they have the monthly option.
        I messed up on that part, and change the phrase.
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      • Profile picture of the author David Neale
        Originally Posted by jasonl70 View Post

        As anyone who's tried affiliate sales for web hosting can tell you - hardly nobody signs up for the full year of hosting if they have the monthly option.
        I've been in the hosting business for 15 years. MOST business clients will take the yearly option at discount. $10 per month ($120) or $99 up front.

        I do this for cash flow reasons (and my rates are much higher than these)
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    • Profile picture of the author Chris Lockwood
      Originally Posted by daj View Post

      I also feel it's false advertising to tell someone in an advertisement, they can, "Get a free website today", but when they call or email you, you pitch them the $11 a month for hosting plan.
      You gotta be joking. He's not charging them to build the site, but for the hosting, which they're going to have to pay someone for anyway... and my hosting companies have never built a free site for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author metaphors
    My question to the OP is regarding what was said about refunds if the setup is free and hosting is paid monthly then exactly what do you refund money for the previous month? all that they have paid so far?
    Please advise.
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    Hey, this isn't scamming.
    When advertising your service, you offer free webdesign. Hosting and other costs will of course be on top of that.

    The beauty of this, is that many people will call you to get a free website, with a 100% free website in mind. They probably don't expect to pay any hosting as well. But when you talk to them, they will realize that "of course hosting costs money".
    So they will look like fools if they really thought someone would pay for a domain AND design their website 100% for free, and thereby order your package.

    Sneaky, but effective ;o)
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    • Profile picture of the author Izesta
      Originally Posted by Preben Frenning View Post

      Hey, this isn't scamming.
      When advertising your service, you offer free webdesign. Hosting and other costs will of course be on top of that.

      The beauty of this, is that many people will call you to get a free website, with a 100% free website in mind. They probably don't expect to pay any hosting as well. But when you talk to them, they will realize that "of course hosting costs money".
      So they will look like fools if they really thought someone would pay for a domain AND design their website 100% for free, and thereby order your package.

      Sneaky, but effective ;o)

      Precisely people. :-)

      We all know FREE can't be really free.

      Even if a car dealer were to give away a FREE car, you can't possibly think you're gonna get FREE gas too?? C'mon.
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    You won't have to upgrade all of the wordpress blogs.
    Just install the "upgrade Wordpress" plugin, and make a video about how to use it ;o)

    And if you state that you only offer "limited" support in your TOS, you won't have a problem with that.

    Explain that support might be slow, and recommend a few forums and helpful resources instead

    Good luck,

    Preben
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  • Profile picture of the author WebScript
    Hey Jay,

    This is a great post!
    Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

    I have tried offline marketing many times ... for me, it always ends badly.

    My problem is I can never close the sale. You can have the best product or service that EVERYONE needs ... but it all comes down to 'convincing' the customer to give you some of their money.

    Of course, the sales focus should be on what people want, not what they need, and hopefully there should not be too much 'convincing' involved. But, in any case, I have not had success with it.

    Perhaps I need to partner with someone who has experience and success with sales, and I need to focus on the technical side of things ... that could work.

    Kevin
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by WebScript View Post

      Hey Jay,

      This is a great post!
      Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

      I have tried offline marketing many times ... for me, it always ends badly.

      My problem is I can never close the sale. You can have the best product or service that EVERYONE needs ... but it all comes down to 'convincing' the customer to give you some of their money.

      Of course, the sales focus should be on what people want, not what they need, and hopefully there should not be too much 'convincing' involved. But, in any case, I have not had success with it.

      Perhaps I need to partner with someone who has experience and success with sales, and I need to focus on the technical side of things ... that could work.

      Kevin
      I wrote a blogpost about the other offline cash cow thread. (Which is gone now?)
      You should check it out at The Easy Way To Offline Riches | The iMarketing Blog!
      I have written a lot of sales tips, and closing tips over there.
      They are meant for bigger clients, but I'm sure you will find some useful info about selling offline

      Cheers!
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    If I were to hire somebody to make me a website, free support and ongoing maintenance is not usually part of the package.

    The OP is talking about building them a website - once - for free, if they use his hosting. The customers monthly bill is for hosting, not the website.

    As I pointed out, I have a client who paid someone to make 4 lead generation sites for them. It was a 1 time bill from the web developer. Those sites are hosted with yahoo - which charges $20 per month for each domain. That doesn't mean my client get's any support or maintence for those sites.
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by jasonl70 View Post

      If I were to hire somebody to make me a website, free support and ongoing maintenance is not usually part of the package.

      The OP is talking about building them a website - once - for free, if they use his hosting. The customers monthly bill is for hosting, not the website.

      As I pointed out, I have a client who paid someone to make 4 lead generation sites for them. It was a 1 time bill from the web developer. Those sites are hosted with yahoo - which charges $20 per month for each domain. That doesn't mean my client get's any support or maintence for those sites.
      Yeah, they are supposed to be "set and forget" sites. And to make it easier for the customers, you should also create faq videos whenever it's needed.

      And if you gather all clients in your favourite autoresponder, you can email them polls, offers,competitions, learning video's etc. - Which will lead to more sales, happier customers, and more money As well as it will be a lot less support requests.
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  • Profile picture of the author iw433
    Nice idea. All you need is a good upsell.
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  • Profile picture of the author Simon74
    Great post congrat.
    thanks for sharing.

    Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    Where did this whole thing of "prove it" come from when someone posts a way to generate income?

    If you don't believe it will work, don't do it. The OP wasn't trying to sell anything, just relate a "I did it - you can too!" story. Maybe it wasn't true. So what? There are some viable ideas in the post, and others in the discussion. Take what you need and leave the rest.

    Posting URL's he's done? That would be incredibly stupid. First thing you know, some half-wit from here would be on the phone to the business saying "Did you really get that for just 11 chops a month? Did you know you can do it for half that?"
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    • Profile picture of the author RainDrop
      I think this is a great idea! Thanks for posting it, I am going to try it. I already have a really good idea of the people and local 'target markets' to offer this to.
      I know plenty of people who have a nice new computer, are paying $50 bucks a month for high speed internet and have no 'technical' knowledge. Basically, all they know how to do is chat, watch you tube vids and play games. I think many of them would like to have a website to 'show off' to others. And a lot of people have told me that they 'heard' that you can make money online if you have a website and wish they knew how.
      I think these groups of people are the ones that would definitely benefit from this scenerio. Everyone has a starting point and climbs up the learning ladder at a different time and pace. This is one way to get them out there and help them start the learning curve in the right direction.
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      • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
        Originally Posted by RainDrop View Post

        I think this is a great idea! Thanks for posting it, I am going to try it. I already have a really good idea of the people and local 'target markets' to offer this to.
        I know plenty of people who have a nice new computer, are paying $50 bucks a month for high speed internet and have no 'technical' knowledge. Basically, all they know how to do is chat, watch you tube vids and play games. I think many of them would like to have a website to 'show off' to others. And a lot of people have told me that they 'heard' that you can make money online if you have a website and wish they knew how.
        I think these groups of people are the ones that would definitely benefit from this scenerio. Everyone has a starting point and climbs up the learning ladder at a different time and pace. This is one way to get them out there and help them start the learning curve in the right direction.
        How about targeting places where they already "show off"? Facebook? Free blogging sites? etc.

        I'm going to target Norways biggest free blogging website. I'll make a free blog to promote my biz, and maybe even get a few of our celebrity bloggers who blogs there for free, to get their own website for free, and promote me further

        P.S. I have made a blog dedicated to this project with updates etc. It's not much yet, but there will be really soon You can check it out here: http://freewebsiteriches.net/blog/
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by SteveJohnson View Post

      Where did this whole thing of "prove it" come from when someone posts a way to generate income?
      Right on! One thing I hate is a "hater". I know I make a fulltime living on line but I haven't been dorky enough to take pictures of my bank statements... just to prove to a bunch of haters that I deserve to be recognized as valuable by them...

      This is especially bad when a guy isn't trying to sell anything to anyone but rather just contribute to everyone elses sense of hope...

      Rationalists are suspicious of EVERYONE, I feel sorry for them. They just can't believe that sometimes people contribute out of goodness with no other motive!

      Maybe he's just offending their alter egos by proving that you don't have to be that smart to do this... alot of people get off on this superiority thing and can't stand it when someone else gets a little credit for a good idea.

      I have noticed that "some" of these haters have been thanked hundreds of times, but have only thanked others a 'sad few' times...I think that indicates alot about their character dispositions. They like to be considered valuable by others but don't consider the value offered by others very often. Prob most of their 'thanks' go to people who can help them climb the ladder.

      Consider the source.
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    • Profile picture of the author Chris W. Sutton
      Preben,

      I just wanted to point out a couple of things to you...

      1. Never justify or try to prove what you are saying. Go for it. Do it. Get it done. If you have people who don't believe you, who cares? There will always be naysayers and don't get caught up with them. I don't even bother answering them.

      2. Never justify or try to prove what you are saying. Go for it. Do it. Get it done. If you have people who don't believe you, who cares? There will always be naysayers and don't get caught up with them. I don't even bother answering them.

      3. Never justify or try to prove what you are saying. Go for it. Do it. Get it done. If you have people who don't believe you, who cares? There will always be naysayers and don't get caught up with them. I don't even bother answering them.

      4. Never justify or try to prove what you are saying. Go for it. Do it. Get it done. If you have people who don't believe you, who cares? There will always be naysayers and don't get caught up with them. I don't even bother answering them.

      Keep your enthusiasm. Enjoy what you do and do it well. I have no doubt you will be successful in whatever you do.

      Good luck in all you do!
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  • Profile picture of the author Samuel Lee
    Thank you for the share Jay, I'm very surprised and impressed by the number of customers you have already recruited with your method. Outsourcing by offiline sources is unusual and something I wouldn't have thought of at first!
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    • Profile picture of the author TimCastleman
      Guys stop waiting for proof. Just start doing it. No one is going to throw a money making system in your lap. Action is going to get you results and checks.

      Like this lovely lady:

      Hey Tim, it's Stacy Fox. I just wanted to let you know that I landed my first offline client today. It was getting the company into Google's local maps - but they're considering a full SEO package now. Thanks for all of the help.

      Get off your butt and start making some money.
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    For the record, I'm going all-in on this one in the summer, and I've got it all planned out.
    I might even make a complete package of what I do if it works, and start a franchise!

    Seriously, selling free webdesign will be like stealing candy from a kid. Everyone can do it. - And everyone can do it FOR you as well.

    If I can do this great by myself, and create a system so easy that anyone can do it, the possibility of starting a franchise is great! By giving the right people a good system and great instructions, this can get big! And if I can sell them the system, and charge 10% commission from all of the resellers in other cities, then we'll be talking about CRAZY residual income!

    My oh my, this is so simple, yet it has so much potential. Who cares about proof if you know you can do this yourself? Seriously folks, the system is laid out. If you really need a step-by-step plan, with every detail included I can run a WSO when I get there.
    If not, then start doing it right now!

    Take a few hours to set up a paypal recurring billing system, and write a decent ad.
    Hang it up somewhere, and create a website while you wait for customers! (You can take orders by phone in the meantime)

    We're talking about A FEW HOURS. Do it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gary And Billy
      Originally Posted by Preben Frenning View Post

      For the record, I'm going all-in on this one in the summer, and I've got it all planned out.
      I might even make a complete package of what I do if it works, and start a franchise!

      Seriously, selling free webdesign will be like stealing candy from a kid. Everyone can do it. - And everyone can do it FOR you as well.

      If I can do this great by myself, and create a system so easy that anyone can do it, the possibility of starting a franchise is great! By giving the right people a good system and great instructions, this can get big! And if I can sell them the system, and charge 10% commission from all of the resellers in other cities, then we'll be talking about CRAZY residual income!

      My oh my, this is so simple, yet it has so much potential. Who cares about proof if you know you can do this yourself? Seriously folks, the system is laid out. If you really need a step-by-step plan, with every detail included I can run a WSO when I get there.
      If not, then start doing it right now!

      Take a few hours to set up a paypal recurring billing system, and write a decent ad.
      Hang it up somewhere, and create a website while you wait for customers! (You can take orders by phone in the meantime)

      We're talking about A FEW HOURS. Do it.
      Preben

      Good luck with this. I would love to see you succeed with it.

      I thought that Jays idea was a very good one and has certainly got light bulbs flashing in my head since I saw this thread 20 minutes ago.

      However, I have been just as impressed with your additional posts and enthusiasm for this project.

      Go for it!! Please keep me informed with how you are doing. Will you be recording your progress on a blog?

      Best wishes and much success to you Preben.

      Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author Allegro
    guys... those that cry "scam" because of the different numbers: the numbers on the black hat board are roughly half of the ones he posted here. The guy who posted there is supposed to be his partner who is in it 50:50. Jay posts here about his company, maybe the other guy posts about his PERSONAL gain from the business? Just some food for thought, though.
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    • Profile picture of the author akyak
      sounds great, and by all means give it a try...
      would just be nice to have some example URL's for people to view and guage the amount of effort involved with the design side of things.
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  • Profile picture of the author Diver's
    gosh..i must say thank you to you Jay! got to duplicate this model
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    • would love to see a website to see how much effort is put into designing the site! do know if this has been said before, How about drawing them in give them an affiliate link to hosting company, tell them to get hosting so that you can transfer the site,,,,, those 500 + people would have been over $50,000 dollars,
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      • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
        Originally Posted by exmark05@yahoo.com View Post

        would love to see a website to see how much effort is put into designing the site! do know if this has been said before, How about drawing them in give them an affiliate link to hosting company, tell them to get hosting so that you can transfer the site,,,,, those 500 + people would have been over $50,000 dollars,
        Then you won't be able to charge them for "hosting" anymore - Hence removing the "recurringness" of the entire plan.
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      • Profile picture of the author Micheal Perkins
        Originally Posted by exmark05@yahoo.com View Post

        would love to see a website to see how much effort is put into designing the site! do know if this has been said before, How about drawing them in give them an affiliate link to hosting company, tell them to get hosting so that you can transfer the site,,,,, those 500 + people would have been over $50,000 dollars,

        This part gave me an idea. Every website you make can have a link back to your site in the footer. Go into the footer code of every template and change the part that says "This site designed by XXX", and change it to whatever you want it to say with a link to your site.

        You could have it say "Get A Free Website", or "Site Hosted By XXX", or whatever you want. Then every site you make carries a link to your site which we all knows helps your SEO, and it also works like a free viral marketing ad.

        Mike

        PS - Jay did you ever make the video? I'd love to see it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    Thank you for your kind words!

    I'm glad someone eventually picked up what I was saying!
    Initially, I hadn't planned to record the results on my blog, but your post inspired me.
    Perhaps I might start a new blog aside of it, with results and events all from the beginning, and eventually sell the entire system in the end if it works out great?
    - In that case I'll give you a free sample ;o)

    I'll keep you informed when I get to business. And thanks again. Motivating is what is was =)
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    • Profile picture of the author Gary And Billy
      Originally Posted by Preben Frenning View Post

      Thank you for your kind words!

      I'm glad someone eventually picked up what I was saying!
      Initially, I hadn't planned to record the results on my blog, but your post inspired me.
      Perhaps I might start a new blog aside of it, with results and events all from the beginning, and eventually sell the entire system in the end if it works out great?
      - In that case I'll give you a free sample ;o)

      I'll keep you informed when I get to business. And thanks again. Motivating is what is was =)
      Hi Preben

      Thats great news about the potential blog. I will be following with interest.

      Wishing you lots of luck (but I am sure you won't need it as you seem very motivated) and I hope it will be a great success...and not just for the free sample LOL.

      Best wishes

      Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author Voasi
    What are good offline marketing strategies for this?

    I've started to do custom mailings to various verticals/niches this week to see if we get any bites, but that doesn't really "hit the masses". As the OP said, he was averaging about 6 new signups a day and to do that, you're going to need to put your advertisement in a venue that gets noticed.
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  • Profile picture of the author dotcomdesigns
    I'm not convinced about the numbers quoted. I think they are optimistic to say the least. I looked into running something similar here in the UK last year. I just couldn't see a way to get enough people locally signed up to this.

    The first problem is the general public. Do they want personal websites? Students are all on Facebook or some other social network and will certainly know how to start their own blog or site if needed. In the rare cases they don't, they'll know a man who can!

    As for the general members of public do they want a personal site? Stand in a shopping mall handing out flyers telling everyone you will build them a website and include the domain name for free and all they have to pay for is the hosting fee each month and 9/10 will say, 'what the hell do I want a site for?' or 'I already have one thanks'. Of course you can try and convince them to open money making sites, work from home opportunities etc but I'm not sure there's much market there.

    When I looked into it the only viable option was to target local businesses that weren't online already. I really think there's a market there. But I decided against because I wasn't confident enough to take on the responsibility of running another persons business online. It's not something that can be done lightly and you have to take professional legal advice before setting up.

    One thing I did do last year was post on the eBay forums offering to help the sellers on there to start their own sites using CubeCart. eBay pulled my post within a couple of hours but I got inundated with enquiries and ended up making 6 sites for free and hosting them on my reseller account temporarily. I ended up being emailed daily by all the owners can you do this, can you do that, can you change this, how do I do that, and so on. It was a real headache and I pulled the plug on it.

    But boy did I learn a lot from it!

    I'm going ahead with this again as I'm more experienced and more confident to run sites and hosting for businesses now. It's not something to jump into lightly and you really need to do some research and get proper legal advice. As with anything it will take a lot of hard work and investment but the potential is certainly there.

    Phil
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  • Goes to show there is always a good new idea out there. Maybe I should rethink my own reseller account.
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  • Profile picture of the author ken_p
    wow, this is really great. I am just wondering, if you are doing this on your own? or you got a team with you? and how do you guys share the profit?
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  • Profile picture of the author DavirWarner
    After reading the post, the first question that came to my mind - how do you tackle so many customer at once?
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  • Profile picture of the author dotcomdesigns
    I'm going to do this on my own. I really don't anticipate the level of interest as quoted by the opening poster because I'm not going to advertise extensively just yet. Plus I'm not going flat out looking for customers. I'm going to take on people/businesses in small numbers that I can handle easily enough.

    I've just been asked to put a site up for a local nursery (kindergarten). My child used to go there and they remembered I could 'do websites'! They're a charity so wanted something really cheap. I've built them a site using Wordpress very quickly. I've got to spend a couple of hours showing them how to login and add posts. I'm doing this for free and provided a domain name. But they have to use my hosting service (£5 a month) and promise to recommend me to friends and relatives!

    It's a start!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author foz72
    This is a good post and it can vouch for it to a certain degree as its pretty much the same service i provide although i do build complete websites for business. I also charge for the hosting and although this isnt much it does all add up ip you can build up the numbers to a certain level.

    thanks for sharing anyhow!
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  • Profile picture of the author Voasi
    I think advertising in your local paper is a good way. Print advertising is really cheap, considering they're losing AD dollars to the internet. The OP did say he spent $1k a month on advertising, which isn't "cheap" but isn't a lot of money either.

    I don't think putting up flyers is exactly the way to "hit the masses" as I don't see how it could - at least locally. But I do think flyering people's cars and doing stuff like that have an impact. Plus, it's going to have a domino affect too. Once it starts rolling, more and more people are going to tell friends, family, colleagues, etc. about your website and the clients will grow viral (word of mouth).
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    This is one of those things that seems like a good idea until you start to look into it.

    First off, a simple search on Google will find a lot of places that will host your website and throw in a domain name for a lot less than $11 p/m. The cheapest I could find was £1.79 (around $2.68 USD at the current exchange rate). Granted you don't get a lot for your money, but it's just the sort of thing someone starting out with limited traffic would need.

    I remain to be convinced that a simple WP blog template with no content is going to be enough to satisfy people -- unless of course you're selling a backend copywriting service or web design service, but then a lot of potential customers will bail out as it's not exactly a "free" website.

    Maybe I'm just an ol' sceptic, but it seems like there's a lot the OP is leaving out here.

    Just my two pence worth!
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    I'm impressed by the negativity and how sceptical people have become to this idea. - Considering it's the warriorforum.

    I'm going all-in on this now, and have just made a partner to create the sites.
    I'm hoping to have everything up and running in a week, so I can start getting customers.

    And I wanted to add a few notes here...

    1. Is there a market for this? YES! A NORWEGIAN free blog site, gets 800 new free blogs signed up every day. 800! And this is Norway, and there are also several websites providing the same service.
    I am 100% sure at least a few of these people will love to get a professional blog they own, as well as can make money from. - The website they get for free have adsense ads in the free sites, and it costs about 100$/year to remove this, as well as I'm sure it's expensive to get your own domain as well.

    2. When doing offline marketing, remember to implement online strategies.
    For example: If you have posters in schools, have a landing page/tracking link. "Yourwebsite.com/schooloffer" Then you will know how the school posters perform, compared to others. (You can have exactly the same offer, but a different code)

    3. You can add a link with different anchor text in the footer of every website you make. This will help you get better search engine rankings, as well as traffic. THEN you teach your customers (Using video etc.) how to build autority to their website.
    This will again give you LOADS of authority links, as well as your customers are extremely satisfied with having an authority site.

    There are plenty more tips & tricks, but I'll tell them later if interested. Just shoot me a PM or respond ;o)
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    • Profile picture of the author appr
      Originally Posted by Preben Frenning View Post

      There are plenty more tips & tricks, but I'll tell them later if interested. Just shoot me a PM or respond ;o)
      Hi, Preben,

      I'm interested in more tips and tricks.

      Thanks,
      Joan
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      • Profile picture of the author appr
        Jay,

        Thanks for the great idea!

        Joan
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  • Profile picture of the author Fairlinks
    Sound good for a try
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave Z
    I like this post very much, some people have to understand that all of you here know 10.000% more about IM then any brick and mortar business owner.

    Do some research yourself go to 10 small and medium size business owners with a website and ask them if they know what a auto-responder or a backlink is, i will take any bet that 9 out of 10 dont have a clue of what you are talking about.

    Seriously you can make 5x that amount amount of money that the OP posted with 25% of the amount of clients, think outside the box, offer them a SEO package, offer them a twitter and myspace account etc, if you make them a view sales they will stick with you for ever.

    I would not take personal sites though, that seems to me like a hughe hassle, but their is a ton of money to be made in local businesses and IM.

    Think about it.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Dave Z View Post

      Do some research yourself go to 10 small and medium size business owners with a website and ask them if they know what a auto-responder or a backlink is, i will take any bet that 9 out of 10 dont have a clue of what you are talking about.
      Dave, you're probably right on this statistic, and if you are successful at this you probably already know what I'm about to say. But I'm going to post it anyway for the folks who may not know...

      You have to be very careful when you start asking questions like "Do you know what an autoresponder or a backlink is?" It's very easy to sound like you're talking down to the person. Even if that's not your intent, the perception will raise a wall that doesn't need to be there.

      Better to couch it like, "Are you familiar with the term [whatever]? The way I use it, it means..."

      Most business owners may not be tech weenies (a term of affection), but if they've been in business any length of time, they are NOT stupid. And they won't take kindly to some smartass walking in and talking to them like they were born yesterday.

      For most business owners, anything you talk to them about is just another potential business tool. For example, if you're an SEO geek (another term of affection), the a listing on the first page of Google may be like the Holy Grail. To Joe Baitshop, it's just another business tool - if it works like you promise. If not, it's just another hole for him to pour money into...
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    @Dave Z - One thing to remember if you do so, is that very few, small brick and mortar businesses are motivated to take the time needed to for example have a twitter account. You will need to analyse thier needs, and tailor a solution after that.

    @kadensnga - Don't worry about slow startup income - Give them an option to pay for the entire year immediately, and get 1 month for free! That's what I'm going to do at least. Then you can cover your costs immediately after just a few customers.

    This might make you lose the feeling of recurring income though - At least for a year!

    Nice reminder about expiring credit cards! - I will take that into consideration.

    There are also many other ways you can maximize income potential:

    1. You can offer marketing services to companies.
    2. You can arrange seminars and workshops for your customers.
    3. You can sell them additional learning video's.
    4. The possibilities are endless... Starting your own article directory, and get them all to submit articles there? - 50/50 adsense income, and you get a big article directory
    Let them pay money to make you money and everyone's happy.

    @appr - Any spesific area you want tips about?
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    • Profile picture of the author LibertyUnc
      I actually just started doing this a week or two ago, though my target market and offer is a bit different.

      So far, the results are promising. As I'm targeting businesses, I offer a bit more up front for free and charge quite a bit more for monthly hosting after the first month.

      What many people fail to notice is that:
      • Most people have no idea how to setup / run their own site...and by doing it for them and giving them the basics via automation (such as video), you can indeed get a lot of people interested regardless of the number of free or lower cost places to get the same.
      • Businesses put out massive amounts of money on advertising/marketing. If you can put an seo optimized site together for them and prove that it is bringing in new clients, they have no problem paying a bit more than average for hosting...and when you forward them PPA offers that will help them cut costs, they will make use of them and be thankful for your excellent service.
      Unlike those of us doing IM, most offline business owners have all of their time tied up running their business. They often don't have any idea about online marketing, seo, ppa, or anything else along those lines...and if you can give them better roi via your site and hosting than they get from a one week $800 radio spot....do you seriously think they won't go with you instead?

      This stuff is pure gold for those willing to do it.

      The only hard part is getting two seconds of a business owners time...and the right initial offer can take care of that. After you get a few up and running, referrals and word of mouth will help break down the local floodgates.
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    @Micheal Perkins - Like I mentioned above, you can add your link in the footer template of every website you make, and THEN make a few learning video's about how to build autority to your website. Your customers will be grateful, and the footer backlinks you get, will have an higher impact on your rankings

    This concept is all about maximizing the potential of everything you do. I believe the concept alone is simple and doable, yet if you give it some extra thought, plan it even better, and implement all of the good tips in this thread...Then it's not just "a new decent business plan", it can make you rich! (Or at least get you started...)

    I believe most people will be able to do this, and I have dedicated a blog to prove my success an progression with it.

    - Preben
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    • Profile picture of the author Micheal Perkins
      Originally Posted by Preben Frenning View Post

      @Micheal Perkins - Like I mentioned above, you can add your link in the footer template of every website you make, and THEN make a few learning video's about how to build autority to your website. Your customers will be grateful, and the footer backlinks you get, will have an higher impact on your rankings
      Sorry. I must have missed that part. :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Steel
    That both very powerful and motivational - thanks and congrats...

    js
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  • Profile picture of the author maco
    What a great idea. Thanks for sharing it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Shane Hale
    Awesome idea and very plausible, There are tons of people out there that are offline and have no clue the difference between a web page or web hosting. Just let them know up front the catch and the costs to build a web page and they would be sold. I look at it as you can pay 100 + upfront for web design and then hosting or you can just pay hosting for a web site of your choice. Brilliant idea which can be tweaked in so many different ways!
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  • Profile picture of the author robinter
    Great story, good luck with your offline business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
    @Chris W. Sutton

    Thank you for motivationg words, and for your belief in me.
    As for not proving people wrong, I can't help it. - It keeps me alive
    Really, I think it's fun. If someone half-heartedly tries to pop my weels, it's always fun to give them a few blazing arguments!

    Anyways, I'm DO'ing like never before! I have teamed up with a Norwegian guy who lives from his blog, and we're building a full.time business around this right at this moment. I had expected a launch this week, but it's delayed to next week due to some payment processor problems etc. But I'll keep everyone informed! - I have even created a blog dedicated to this concept, with updates, issues, questions etc. Although I haven't been massively promoting it yet, nor building it up quite as much.

    BUT like @Spark is saying, people tend to rush of to the next "2k a day offline without leaving your house" products, very few take action. - Which is why I'm going to keep them up to date with my progress, as well as making a complete package for them in the end. If I make it well that is. But I'm planning on making a complete business-in-a-box like few people have seen. Not just a business. A BUSINESS. Really. Something they can be proud at, as well as they know there are very few like them on the internet, and probably no-one will see their exact same website anywhere else, due to offline, local promotion.

    Anyways, thanks for the motivation. I hope you all get inspired =)

    Best regards,
    Preben
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  • Profile picture of the author sarafina
    I like this idea. I`m in the midst of developing another offline project. I think focusing on business owners is key. Somebody who wants a personal site is probably more inclined to just get a free blogger blog.

    As a suggestion: You could let the client pick a free template OR have a number of free templates that they can choose from. I can see how this would totally complement my budding offline business!
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  • Profile picture of the author Izesta
    On the "contract" issue, I do believe client needs to sign a TOS agreement. I am working on it now for my own business. It will basically be a rehash of similar agreements - modified to fit what I'm doing. I need a TOS if for no other reason than to have statement about non-liability for uptime less than 100% - other than a refund of service fees for that period. It's a useless guarantee but that's what GoDaddy and all the others say.

    I don't know if Jay was a bit deceitful or not. If he was, it was a good deceit. Lots learned from this post. Thanks Jay.

    There is nothing wrong with putting forth an idea on the forum. No law says we have to do and prove it first. And even if it was proven, doesn't mean everyone else will pull it off. Much is up to us.

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  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    Not that this method can't work, but after reading this post a few months ago, I placed some ads on Craigslist in various niches in my town (fairly large) and emailed a number of businesses that were advertising there.

    Bottom line....There was very little, if any, response for the free website with small monthly hosting fee. If there was, I could have built the respondents a website that would have cost hundreds or even thousands from a web design firm.

    I admit, I didn't do any offline flyers, but there was so little response from online ads and emails that I'm hesitant to even go through the time and trouble of doing it.

    Why don't people want something for free that would cost alot more elsewhere? Who knows...but its probably because of the perception of "free", especially when it comes to an entire website design.

    I would suggest finding one person who does want a free website, then doing an endorsed testimonial letter that touts your abilities to other prospects. But if you are going to do that, you might as well charge a regular but reasonable fee and then add hosting. Doing all of it for free just brings people's guards up. i.e. sounds too good to be true.
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by xlfutur1 View Post

      Not that this method can't work, but after reading this post a few months ago, I placed some ads on Craigslist in various niches in my town (fairly large) and emailed a number of businesses that were advertising there.

      Bottom line....There was very little, if any, response for the free website with small monthly hosting fee. If there was, I could have built the respondents a website that would have cost hundreds or even thousands from a web design firm.

      I admit, I didn't do any offline flyers, but there was so little response from online ads and emails that I'm hesitant to even go through the time and trouble of doing it.

      Why don't people want something for free that would cost alot more elsewhere? Who knows...but its probably because of the perception of "free", especially when it comes to an entire website design.

      I would suggest finding one person who does want a free website, then doing an endorsed testimonial letter that touts your abilities to other prospects. But if you are going to do that, you might as well charge a regular but reasonable fee and then add hosting. Doing all of it for free just brings people's guards up. i.e. sounds too good to be true.
      The easiest way to automaticly get testimonials is to just make a "quiz" you email all customers when they have gotten their site.

      Then, on the last question have a checkbox which is already crossed out, that says: "It is okay for me if you use my comments on your website, with my name on it, and a link to my website".

      They can uncheck it if they like, as well as you don't have to use their comments if it's not good. (But of course, you can make the quiz pretty smart... For example: "What where you most satisfied with, when doing business with us?")

      There are many possibilities!

      Originally Posted by Izesta

      Jeff, I like your point about updating Wordpress. I plan to use Wordpress and I had not even thought about updating a ton of sites. Will have to have a plan for that. :-)
      Simple! Just install the "Update Wordpress" Plugin and make a learning video for your customers about how to use it

      Originally Posted by sarafina

      As a suggestion: You could let the client pick a free template OR have a number of free templates that they can choose from. I can see how this would totally complement my budding offline business!
      I have a great idea related to this... We all know offline business owners have little time to spare. Especially regarding "Uninteresting" things like making a website.

      So I'm thinking... A quiz? Starting with for example "Do you want a blog or a static website?"

      Then, you can ask if they want shopping cart etc. and mention that it costs extra, and how much.

      If you combine this with many templates, and include a picture and perhaps a demo. (at least in the result)

      Then when the quiz is done, if made properly, it will show them how their website will look. And if you, on top of that, back it up with a guarantee of being able to make the website within a week, I'm sure it would convert like crazy! (Of course, it depends on your customers, and their ability to provide you with the content they want on their website - You can also charge extra for adding the content)

      It was actually a business owner who suggested this to me, and I love the idea! It will also make it extremely simple for you to make the website as well.

      This is what business owners wants to know:
      1. WHEN will I get my website?
      2. HOW MUCH will it cost?
      3. WHAT do I get for that price?
      4. Can I get x? ( A shopping cart for example)
      5. WHY should I use THIS service, when there are so many else?

      If you are able to answer all of these questions on your website, or mention it on the phone, you will definitely get many new business customers. But the most important is, THEY DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME FOR THIS! Always keep that in mind when dealing with business owners.

      I hope you got inspired by this

      Regards,
      Preben
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      • Profile picture of the author Lothar Evers
        Preben,
        it is great to see you so enthusiastic.
        Like in many other marketing ideas it will crucial to standardize and initiate a scalable project.
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        • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
          Originally Posted by decologne View Post

          Preben,
          it is great to see you so enthusiastic.
          Like in many other marketing ideas it will crucial to standardize and initiate a scalable project.
          Thanks, and heck yeah!

          After all, I'm going to live of THIS. Nothing else at the moment, so I better be enthusiastic!

          Perhaps I'll even write a little report about "Going from enthusiastic to success".
          After all, It won't help a tad if you are enthusiastic and have the best idea EVER, but don't succeed in completing it. Then it's better with a completed bad idea.

          Originally Posted by Vondre Whaley

          ...To be perfecty honest, even with targeting small businesses, this would be very hard to pull off because the promise of just hosting a simple blog isn't going to do it.

          I run a similar concept, but I offer services that will generate leads for the business, which means profits....
          This is supposed to be "semi"-general public, as in anyone interested in having a website - Which is A LOT.
          And you can always make a static wordpress blog. I plan on doing this a lot, and then, like you say, sell marketing services on top of it all. (For example have a set fee for managing an autoresponder, an hourly fee for consultation, a fee for adding content for them etc.)

          I don't think businesses are really that interested in the learning video's, or to learn how to use their site at all. I'm sure they would pay extra for marketing, adding content, and managing their autoresponder. As well as you can sell offline marketing materials as well. (Templates for listbuilding etc.)

          @DukeNasty - So true. There IS a reason why there is so much to learn about internet marketing, and so many different fields - It isn't easy.
          Getting people to give you their money somehow IS NOT EASY. Thet's why you will have to leverage your efforts, and get your customers to refer others for you for free, by selling a service they like.

          Originally Posted by khtm

          This question was asked twice but the OP never replied. Does anybody have any thoughts? Maybe Preben?
          I actually haven't thought much about this yet, but after a few minutes thinking, I have a plan:
          First, I register a namecheap account for my business.
          Then, I'll register their domain there, using the clients details, but paying for it myself. THEN I'll set up contact and payment details for the client, so namecheap can bill them the next time the domain has to be paid. (If that is possible? I think so...)

          As for updates from me:
          1. I have recently purchased a dedicated phone. (To avoid late support calls on a saturday, as I like to party :p)
          2. I'm setting up a home office right now, which will hopefully boost my productivity, as well as it will work great for consultant services and meetings etc. (On the marketing part of the business)
          3. Fixed some bugs on the website, as well as adding a bit more content.
          4. I have made a shared to-do list (Using a wp plugin) with the things that need to be done before we are perfectly ready for a massive launch.
          5. I have talked with a woman who's working and studying in a business school, who might be able to fix poster space etc. over there. (There are many entrepeneurs etc. and many of the most likely need a website! There are several houndreds of students there as well )

          So I'm getting closer. The most important things left is content on the website, a working membership area WITH video's, and a payment system. The support forum can be made later, as we don't need to mention it on the website yet, as well as there won't be much required support in the early days.

          THEN I can start marketing and selling it, which is where the fun is!

          P.S. We're also offering our clients to pay yearly, making them skip 1 mont's payment as well, which will bring us an instant cashflow

          - Preben
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      • Profile picture of the author MrYossu
        Originally Posted by Preben Frenning View Post

        So I'm thinking... A quiz? Starting with for example "Do you want a blog or a static website?"
        Business owner: "What's a blog? What does static mean? Listen, I just want a web site!"

        Bottom line: Business owners know little and care less about the technicalities of what we do. You must phrase your questions in English, and in a way that directly addresses their requirements and perceived benefits.

        For example "Do you need to be able to change your web site every week, or is it going to stay pretty much the same?" is basically the question as you asked, but in a language that the business owner understands.

        Hope this helps
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        • Originally Posted by MrYossu View Post

          Business owner: "What's a blog? What does static mean? Listen, I just want a web site!"

          Bottom line: Business owners know little and care less about the technicalities of what we do. You must phrase your questions in English, and in a way that directly addresses their requirements and perceived benefits.

          For example "Do you need to be able to change your web site every week, or is it going to stay pretty much the same?" is basically the question as you asked, but in a language that the business owner understands.

          Hope this helps

          I think that's a really valid point. Internet marketers (like experts in any field) have a tendency to forget how little people who don't think about this stuff everyday know. Even I find myself talking too technical, and I've still got a lot to learn. I would say write up the survey and then go over it with a fine-toothed comb to dumb it down wherever possible.
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          • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
            Originally Posted by dru-man View Post

            I think that's a really valid point. Internet marketers (like experts in any field) have a tendency to forget how little people who don't think about this stuff everyday know. Even I find myself talking too technical, and I've still got a lot to learn. I would say write up the survey and then go over it with a fine-toothed comb to dumb it down wherever possible.
            Or just ask any brick'n mortar business owner you know to take a look at it and see if they understand it.
            That usually works best, and it's definitely the easiest.

            And for the record it was an example, as I'm NOT going to put that way in my quiz. The point was just to show what kind of questions you will need to ask to get them closer to buying.

            Originally Posted by MrYossu

            Business owner: "What's a blog? What does static mean? Listen, I just want a web site!"

            Bottom line: Business owners know little and care less about the technicalities of what we do. You must phrase your questions in English, and in a way that directly addresses their requirements and perceived benefits.

            For example "Do you need to be able to change your web site every week, or is it going to stay pretty much the same?" is basically the question as you asked, but in a language that the business owner understands.

            Hope this helps
            I will have to put it in plain Norwegian :p
            Seriously, I would never ask it that way. Even I didn't know the difference when I first started out. Why would anyone who can barely read their email do so?
            If you explain it the way you did, AND included examples, that would probably be the best. But it's a good point anyways. Keep it as simple as possible. Pretend you are talking to a 3 years old girl, and they MIGHT understand it :rolleyes:
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    • Profile picture of the author Izesta
      Originally Posted by xlfutur1 View Post

      Not that this method can't work, but after reading this post a few months ago, I placed some ads on Craigslist in various niches in my town (fairly large) and emailed a number of businesses that were advertising there.

      Bottom line....There was very little, if any, response for the free website with small monthly hosting fee. If there was, I could have built the respondents a website that would have cost hundreds or even thousands from a web design firm.

      I admit, I didn't do any offline flyers, but there was so little response from online ads and emails that I'm hesitant to even go through the time and trouble of doing it.

      Why don't people want something for free that would cost alot more elsewhere? Who knows...but its probably because of the perception of "free", especially when it comes to an entire website design.

      I would suggest finding one person who does want a free website, then doing an endorsed testimonial letter that touts your abilities to other prospects. But if you are going to do that, you might as well charge a regular but reasonable fee and then add hosting. Doing all of it for free just brings people's guards up. i.e. sounds too good to be true.

      I had thought about Craigslist. Unless a different spin can be spun, "FREE" might be met with high suspicion - both on Craigslist and anywhere else. So much craziness going on, people really have their guard up. Like you state, it would be better to find a few people the old-fashioned way and then branch out with referrals from there.

      For certain, this concept takes a few brains to get it right. We all should just get together ina webinar.
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      • Profile picture of the author Izesta
        Originally Posted by jmidas
        2)When you register the domain, do you register it in your name or the clients name?

        Here's what I plan to do:

        Domain will be registered in the client's name, but the contact info on record will be to an email address that only I can access. I want to maintain control. If everything is working like magic and the client is dependent on me, then client has to pay.

        Other points of view?
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    • Profile picture of the author DukeNasty
      Originally Posted by xlfutur1 View Post

      Not that this method can't work, but after reading this post a few months ago, I placed some ads on Craigslist in various niches in my town (fairly large) and emailed a number of businesses that were advertising there.

      Bottom line....There was very little, if any, response for the free website with small monthly hosting fee. If there was, I could have built the respondents a website that would have cost hundreds or even thousands from a web design firm.

      I admit, I didn't do any offline flyers, but there was so little response from online ads and emails that I'm hesitant to even go through the time and trouble of doing it.

      Why don't people want something for free that would cost alot more elsewhere? Who knows...but its probably because of the perception of "free", especially when it comes to an entire website design.

      I would suggest finding one person who does want a free website, then doing an endorsed testimonial letter that touts your abilities to other prospects. But if you are going to do that, you might as well charge a regular but reasonable fee and then add hosting. Doing all of it for free just brings people's guards up. i.e. sounds too good to be true.

      No disrespect, but if slapping up a few ads and sending out a few emails was all that was necessary to build a business, anyone could do it. Businesses allocate huge portions of their revenue to marekting/advertising. Why? Because it is HARD to generate business. I previously owned a business that generated around $5 million in revenue (we got crushed by the financial market debacle). I can promise you that our marketing efforts were much more (even from day one) than the cursory attempt you have given this method.

      Again, no disrespect, but is posting a few ads and sending out a few emails what you would call the beginning of a marketing funnel? Are small businesses even looking at CraigsList to find a reputable website designer? I am sure a few are, but attempting one iteration of a method without great success does not deem it a failure.

      E.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMChick
    LOL. Waiting...

    Good catch on the duplicate post thingie.

    Maybe the OP's 'reply' button disappeared?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

      Of course Allan's new script makes an interesting, but non existent, link out of that!!!
      For a minute there I thought someone bought bluefart world. LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author Vondre Whaley
    Although the original poster of this thread has seemed to disapear, he has mentioned a strategy that has been used by many companies to build a successful business.

    As stated by many previous warriors, this will not work with targeting the general public, especially with sites like Facebook.com and Twitter.com. To be perfecty honest, even with targeting small businesses, this would be very hard to pull off because the promise of just hosting a simple blog isn't going to do it.

    I run a similar concept, but I offer services that will generate leads for the business, which means profits.

    If you can show a business how you will generate leads, you can make a killing.

    Add your own twist to this idea and you can secretly earn a small fortune.

    Good Success!

    Vondre'
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  • Profile picture of the author MicahF7
    Hey man! Nice post.... Sounds kind of fun!

    The only question I have right now is.... How long have people been staying with you guys and paying?

    Ir I guess because it is only your 3rd month... Do you have an idea of how many of the people that were with you on the first month are still with you on the 3rd month?

    Thanks a lot!

    Micah Rush


    <><
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Micah, I still have my first client. They pay by the year, and just upped for the tenth year.

      I won't say this is normal, but if you do a good job and make good on what you promise to do, business owners can be very loyal. Partly because they want to keep getting results, partly because it's easier to stick than change, partly because staying with you validates their judgment in going with you in the first place.

      Originally Posted by MicahF7 View Post

      Hey man! Nice post.... Sounds kind of fun!

      The only question I have right now is.... How long have people been staying with you guys and paying?

      Ir I guess because it is only your 3rd month... Do you have an idea of how many of the people that were with you on the first month are still with you on the 3rd month?

      Thanks a lot!

      Micah Rush


      <><
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  • Profile picture of the author MicahF7
    Thanks for the reply John.

    What about you Preben?

    What about you Jay?
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  • Profile picture of the author azland55
    I now know why I like this forum. When you get posts like this sharing this type of information with everyone instead of just keeping this info for themselves.

    They just know they can help people make some money and it will not interfere with their own marketing.

    Nice one
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  • Profile picture of the author Kenster
    At the end of the day, its not anything new he is doing here but he went out of his way to create a very informative post on this method. Instead of just bashing, why doesnt everybody just give the method a try and see what happens. I have personally done this a while back (a bit of a twist but same general idea) and it works great.

    If you purchase an ad in your newspaper with a FREE WEBSITE AD you can get a hundred orders in 24 hours, so the numbers are certainly achievable. As mentioned, the difficult part is the site creation and maintenance, not getting the orders.

    So those of you who are struggling, just give the method a shot and then criticize if you see fit...my bet is that you will see it works fine!


    Rant of the Day...sorry

    Ken
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    • Profile picture of the author David Neale
      Originally Posted by Kenster View Post

      If you purchase an ad in your newspaper with a FREE WEBSITE AD you can get a hundred orders in 24 hours, so the numbers are certainly achievable. Ken
      Have you actually tried this? Hundreds? I would be shocked if I got 10!
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      • Profile picture of the author Kenster
        Originally Posted by David Neale View Post

        Have you actually tried this? Hundreds? I would be shocked if I got 10!

        Yes, try it. Not sure what the ad prices are like in your area but you should be able to negotiate a good price. Now put an ad in the paper and see what you get.

        If you get a huge response like you should then just go with it and then figure out how to fulfill haha.
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  • Profile picture of the author HighLayer
    Good job, thank you for sharing it with the community.
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  • Profile picture of the author billionareHuman
    um $11 dollars a month? how's that going to cover your time (back and forth phone calls) and updates to websites which is going to happen!

    I guess it's a good business model if you're relying on the fact that MOST people will not contact you each month, so you're making $11 of those people for doing nothing.

    556 customers month. Let' say you only have to deal with 15% of them each month so thats about

    83 customers divided by a 20 month work week, that's 4 clients per day you need to talk to and perhaps update sites for, doable yes. In the mean time you have made (556-83=473 * $11) $5203 from the rest for doing nothing. That's quite good.


    However if you have more customers and have to deal with more customer service and website updates then your gonna have to employ some more staff.

    This does look like a scalable business model.

    Plus for business clients you can charge more.
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  • Profile picture of the author billionareHuman
    The beauty of this, is that many people will call you to get a free website, with a 100% free website in mind. They probably don't expect to pay any hosting as well. But when you talk to them, they will realize that "of course hosting costs money".
    So they will look like fools if they really thought someone would pay for a domain AND design their website 100% for free, and thereby order your package.

    Sneaky, but effective ;o)
    I just read that! Is that how you want to make people feel? good luck with your businesses!
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  • Profile picture of the author webkc
    Thanks for your "fresh food for thoughts".

    Many internet marketers like myself never seem to pay attention to the offline business world while struggling to compete with dozens of people in the same niche online.

    Its such and inspiring story to hear that you are making way over 6k per month in such a short period of time.

    I know of someone who is very successful at building authority sites (now at over 1 million visitors per month collectively) but it took them like 2 years to reach over 5k per month, and that is with very hard work (eg> 40 hrs a week).

    Wondered if you had any big headaches with customers, as I would assume with growing customer base, you might as well at some point consider outsourcing customer service?
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