How does somebody turn a complaint into a feature?  Anybody out there, who runs a web hosting company, can tell you they hear complaints about this, that and the other, every single day.  When public opinion becomes SO strong, you might want to take the idea into consideration.

You do not have to drastically change the way you do business though.  If you are successful in one area of business, do not toss it aside to do something else that is more popular.  I got a question submitted to me the other day from Matt, which touches on this very topic.

Here is what Matt had to say:

I run a free hosting site, and I’ve been at it for 4 years, and we’ve got very high rating, and uptime, and server speed, but I’ve still got this problem where everyone expects our service to be a sort of scam or not very good because of the price. If I start charging for it, I have to say goodbye to a lot of people who I’ve been helping for a long time, and if I don’t, it seems to me there’s always this group of people who wont choose it. I mean, if you want to pay money for your hosting, I’ll gladly take donations, and I have many people who do donate. If you have time, because I know you’re very busy, could you give me your honest opinion of our service and what we need to do to appeal more to small businesses and community organizations?

How can a free host become successful?

People are always skeptical when it comes to getting something for nothing, so as long as you give free services – you’ll always have somebody out there dismissing your claims of success because they think you’re a fraud.  Thankfully, they might also think we never landed on the moon or one of the muppets assassinated JFK.  The fact of the matter is there will always be somebody out there to complain.

My question is, do you have to pick one business plan, free hosting versus paid hosting, or can you have your cake and eat it too?  I would suggest you keep your free hosting in place, it sounds successful, and you have happy customers – which is something many web hosts, free or not, can not claim.  As a secondary service, roll out a paid hosting solution that offers a few perks over the free version.  It could be in features, support or anything else you feel like you could offer a little more of to the people willing to pay for it. Then, once that is in place, start marketing your new paid hosting service to those customers you do have, and let them know that it is an option you are providing for them.

Some might bite at the proverbial worm you are tossing out there, and others may say no thanks.  Past that point you can sell your new paid hosting option to the masses using the free service as a way to get your foot in the door, as far as seeing how great your hosting setup is.  You might even sell it as you are so confident they will enjoy their hosting with you, you are willing to give it away for free.

Thanks to Matt for the question, and to check out his web site – or maybe send some more suggestions his way, be sure to check out ismywebsite.com.

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