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How to Find a Dependable Web Host
by: Lois S.
Your new website is ready to upload, and now you need a web host. Or perhaps you already have a web host, but uptime and support are lacking. Of the thousands of web hosts to choose from, how do you find one that you can depend on? Know what can go wrong and what to watch out for, and research prospective web hosts carefully.

What can go wrong with web hosting

Too much downtime

Problems happen, and even when they don’t, server maintenance results in a minimal amount of downtime. A dependable web host not only maintains servers well, but also monitors the servers and fixes problems immediately. With the type of web host you want to avoid, however, your site may be down for days.

Features that don’t work

When your email doesn’t work, your business shuts down. Problems with databases and other features can also slow down or stop your business. Most web hosts understand this, but some don’t place a high priority on keeping not only your site online but everything working as well.

Poor support

Dependable web hosts answer tech support questions within hours. Other web hosts, however, have been known to take days. And when those responses come, sometimes they’re canned responses that don’t address the issue.

Poor communication

Support people with good communication skills help keep problems from becoming bigger problems. Being told, “Everything looks fine here, so the problem is solved,” leads to frustration. So is having your site shut down because it used too many resources rather than the web host contacting you about the problem first.

Billing problems

Even after you cancel your account, problems may continue. Some less-than-dependable web hosts don’t honor their refund policy. Others don’t stop automatic billing after the account is cancelled.

What to watch out for

When you see the following at web host websites, consider them red flags to warn you of possible problems.

Unsustainable pricing

If the pricing looks too good to be true, it probably is. Is it enough to pay for server maintenance and tech support? You get what you pay for.

Unlimited bandwidth

Nothing is really unlimited. If you sign up for an account offering unlimited bandwidth and then use a lot of bandwidth, expect to have the plug pulled on your site. The web host may find another explanation for discontinuing your account, but “unlimited” typically means “as long as you don’t use a lot.”

An unprofessional-looking website

Consider how much effort the web host put into providing a usable website with informative content. Does it give you confidence in the web host, or is it full of unsubstantiated statements and grammar and spelling mistakes? A web host doesn’t need to be a spelling expert, of course. But if the company hasn’t put much effort into telling you about their services, will they be conscientious about meeting clients’ needs?

How to research web hosts

Finding web hosts is easy enough. Search engines can take you to the websites of thousands of web hosts. But after you’ve narrowed down your list by features and price, how do you find out which web hosts are dependable?

Read web host package details and TOS

If the hosting packages offer huge amounts of disk space and bandwidth for very low prices, consider yourself warned. Don’t expect the company to have enough money for maintenance and support.

If you want to be sure that you can get a refund if you want one, check what the Terms of Service (TOS) says about refunds.

Read the web host forum

What is the ambience in the forum? Are clients’ questions answered satisfactorily? Don’t be concerned if you see problems; instead, be concerned if you don’t see any problems. Some web hosts remove posts that don’t show their company in a positive light. If posts about problems remain in the forum, you can observe how the host handles problems.

Read web host reviews

Client feedback at the web host’s site may or may not be valid. It’s possible for hosts to make up feedback, and some have even copied feedback from other sites. Look for feedback with links to the clients’ sites, and check via Whois Source to see if the particular web host actually hosts that site.

Numerous forums allow people to post web host reviews. When you read reviews, consider the poster’s credibility. Some people bash their hosts just because they’re unhappy about something. If the host posts in response to a problem, observe how the host tries to resolve it.

Check the company background

The “About Us” or “Company Background” page at the web host’s site should answer these questions.

How long has the company been in business? A new company may be excellent, but it’s good to keep in mind that a lot of businesses fail within the first year.



Does the company publish a privacy policy? Does this policy clearly protect clients’ privacy?



Where are the servers located? Ideally, they should be in a datacenter, and not in someone’s basement.



What are the server uptime statistics? If the web host doesn’t publish a link to a server uptime monitor, ask for a link to one. Uptime of about 99.7 percent or higher is generally considered good.



Does the company publish an address? You may never need it, but when you’re placing your company website in another company’s hands, you want to know that the company is legitimate and accessible.





Email pre-sales questions

Answers to your pre-sales questions tell you a lot about the web host. You’ll see how fast the company responds and how well they communicate. Ask questions about any of the above points as well as questions specific to your needs.



~~~~~



Finding a dependable web host takes time, but dealing with problems and moving your site takes more time. The time spent looking for a dependable web host is a worthwhile investment.


About the author:
About the author: Lois S. is a Technical Executive Writer for Website Source, Inc. http://www.websitesource.com. Her established writing skills coupled with experience in the website hosting industry have provided internet professionals with marketing, product and service ideas for many years.


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Tips to Build Your Email Address Database

WHY BUILD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS DATABASE?

Gaining your customers' email addresses will:

  • Provide an additional channel for reaching your customers
  • Increase the ROI of your marketing investments
  • Significantly reduce your customer acquisition and marketing costs
  • Allow you to easily measure the impact of your marketing campaigns
  • Increase your customer participation and retention rates

With ongoing postal and telemarketing pressures impacting marketing budgets for many organizations this year, email marketing could become the "silver lining " for many marketers.   But how do you create a successful email marketing campaign if you do not have a substantial email database?  That question may be one of the largest Internet related challenges facing companies this year.

Research shows that the majority of organizations have email addresses for less than 10% of their postal files.  So how do you level the playing field and start to add quality permission - based email addresses to your database?

Here are some tips that you can use to cost effectively build your email address database and increase your customer participation and retention rates: 


START TO ASK FOR IT!  

Every communication or touch point with a customer should start or end with a request for an email address.   By utilizing the four points below, you should be able to add email addresses for 5% to 10% of your postal file over the course of one year.

1.  Direct Mail Collection

Think about how much time and money you spent for copy and design on your last new direct mail piece.  Most companies have started to ask their customers for their email address information within these mailings.  This is a great step forward. However, companies need to look at one major improvement if they want to increase their email address collection rates. 

To date, most requests for email address information have been pushed, shoved or jammed into whatever white space remains.  It should be no surprise that the success rate has been less than stellar.

To improve on these efforts, you need to provide your members with a reason to release their email addresses to you.  E-newsletters, purchase confirmations, petitions, and special discounts and offers are but a few of the benefits that will encourage your members to come on board.

2.  Web Page Collection

Many companies have an email address collection function in place via the web.  To improve your sign-up rates, add text below the email request box that informs your visitors of the special email benefits that they will receive (i.e. e-newsletters, purchase confirmations, delivery updates, etc.) upon registering.  You can also utilize a pop-up link to inform users of these special benefits.

Finally, your email address request function should be available on your home page. Don't make your users go and look for it.  Every click away from your home page reduces the chances of your users taking an action and providing you with their email address information.

3.  Existing Email Database Collection

Don't forget to ask the members of your existing customer base for email addresses of their friends, family and associates.  Viral marketing is a powerful tool to use and is extremely cost effective!  You could ask them either to provide you with additional addresses or simply to pass on your newsletter, email specific offers, or other information to others they feel have similar interests.

4.  Telemarketing Collection

Don't assume that your telemarketing agents are asking for email addresses from potential customers.  Ensure that your agents have an updated script, which outlines the previously described benefits to potential customers of providing their email addresses.

The suggestions above are a great start!  Yet they really should be viewed as a secondary plan for building your email database.  To exponentially and expeditiously grow your email database, please read on!


EMAIL APPENDING  

Utilizing an email appending service enables you to add email addresses for up to 25% of your postal file, all within 3-4 weeks.

Email Appending - is the process of adding an individual's email address to that individual's postal record in side your existing database.  This is accomplished by matching the postal database against a third party, permission based database of postal and email address information.

Best Practices - Email Appending is not a prospecting tool. The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) and its interactive arm AIM (Association of Interactive Marketing) have guidelines in place that dictate that email appending only be used to append email addresses to your existing opt-in postal record house file.

The Process - Your opt-in postal file is securely transferred to an email appending provider, who will do an initial gross email address match of your file against its opt-in database of postal and email address records.  Your appending provider will then send these matches a permission-based message prepared by you.  All bounces and opt-out requests will be removed from the list.  At that point a valid permission-based email address file of your customers will be delivered back to you. 

Cost - Less than the price of a postal stamp!


IN SUMMARY

The first step of any successful email marketing effort is to build a permission-based email address list of your customers.  The simplest, quickest and most cost-effective way to do this is through email appending, which will enable you to add email addresses for up to 25% of your postal file.  Secondary efforts of email address collection via focused direct mail, web, viral and telemarketing practices are also important and will enable you to add email addresses for an additional 5% to 10% of your base on an annual basis.

Best of luck in building your email address database.  As many companies have already learned, the ROI and cost savings to be achieved will far exceed your expectations.

Bill Kaplan
CEO
FreshAddress, Inc.

FreshAddress, Inc., The Email Address ExpertsTM, provides a comprehensive suite of industry leading database and email deliverability services to help companies increase their e-commerce revenues.  For more information on how we can help "Build and Update" your email list, visit http://freshaddress.com/biz or email biz@freshaddress.com.



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