People don't like free stuff anymore?

Being in the Sales and Customer Support fields in hosting for a number of years, I find it quite funny how free hosts are constantly neglected by people who want reliability in a paid host, and the mails and Live Chats of paid hosts are flooded with requests from sales prospects on a daily basis who want to get everything for free if possible. We should really think of a crossroad, where we can meet and exchange customers

 

The other thing to keep in mind is the web hosting industry is extremely saturated as well, to even get the word out could be difficult

 

That's the wrong way round. I was saying that a low price is not an important factor, you're saying that it is (because people want to pay very little). As Waqar said, above, low price does not always equal low quality, but people will always start with the assumption that it does, so if you're offering something cheap (or free), you need to overcome that assumption. Show them either that the free service is (almost) as good as a paid alternative or - in your case - that your product is worth more money.

Hosting is a total mess, even compared to freelance writing. There are SO many people offering it and SO many of them are just resellers/affiliates that it's really hard to find out who is best. The problem is compounded by fake reviews, paid 5-star ratings and everything else. IMHO, that's why so many people simply opt for a big name they recognise - I know I did. It may cost a little more or offer a little less for the same money, but I didn't have to spend 12 hours comparing and collating information.

Oh, and by the way, DP is notorious for insultingly low offers for stuff, especially for writing gigs - anyone can tell you that.

 

thank you

 

Yeah, after all these years of pounding the pavement, it may be time to just get back to a regular job.

 

Many people are scared of cheap or free hosting for good reason. A lot of hosts go broke then you cannot contact them, they are slow or do not work half the time, the server might have bugs,

I used to use all sorts of hosting that clients had then after wasting so many hours on hosting problems I won't do it anymore. Good hosting is nice put files on it and done.. My time is valuable.

I do always see people on this forum asking about cheaper or free hosting, so you should be able to find some clients.

 

Yes, "free" makes one wonder about quality and trustworthiness of service being offered. If there is a problem will you have the capital to fix it or provide customer service to help solve the problem? It is ideal to show that you are an expert in your field.

 

How did you advertise or present it to the potential prospects? There is a fine line between free stuff and crappy + free stuff.

 

Free web hosting? Don't do it. It's a headache and always attracts the wrong "customer"...