Thoughts from ISPCON - Paul Engels' Idea

Back in the early days of dial-up, AOL had a ton of success with its starter kits - software packages, first on floppies, then on CDs - that helped users to understand what their Internet connection was, and how they could use it, even as it attached them to a particular Internet service provider.

So why couldn't that work with Web hosting, Engels asked, after he and the other panelists agreed that the kind of new customers many Web hosts are looking for don't necessarily know that what they're looking for is called "Web hosting."

Putting a physical package in a customer's hands, providing them with some evangelizing and a bit of education on what they might accomplish through their Web site - along with a site building tool and a hosting account with your company - would be the kind of thing that could create a loyal hosting customer out of a small business operator.

And wouldn't small computer repair shops, for instance, be an ideal place to distribute something like this?

Engels says he's been considering the strategy for a while. He has even developed some of the materials that could be packaged into the starter kit. But he hasn't been able to put them into use, of course, because Hostopia doesn't deal with end customers directly.

The most interesting part: he said Hostopia might be able to help out, by providing access to those already-developed materials, and potentially some financing, if somebody wanted to put that marketing idea into practice.

Surprisingly, I didn't see anybody run over to talk to him after the session. So who knows - the offer may still be on the table.

I didn't have a chance to talk to him about it, so I can't say for sure if it's still out there. But if it sounds as interesting to you as it does to me, it might be worth looking him up.

Tags: hostopia, paul engels, web host marketing