Internet Newbie Diary

Look in the mirror.

Do you look like a horse? Do I? Don’t answer that question (!)

I was talking about opportunity seekers and how we’re prime targets for the dreams sellers. And as promised, I’m going to expand on some of the ways we’re drawn in to spend our money.

There are no secrets here. None of these ideas are new, or only used on the Internet, or only used for opportunity seekers. But, it’s important to put them in perspective because once you do that, you can take a step back and clearly assess an opportunity on merit instead of hype.

The carrot

Horses love carrots. Dangle one in front of their noses and they’ll keep moving forward hoping to get a bite.

How many websites do you visit where they are screaming about having a six-figure income?

Or displaying pictures of themselves with a flashy new sports car?

Let me ask you this. If you were starving, would you want someone to sit down in front of you and eat a big juicy steak?

Would that steak motivate you or just make you more hungry?

Motivation is good. I want to make six-figures a year. In fact, you can sign me up for the six-figures a month plan.

But right now, that steak just makes me more hungry. And that’s exactly where the dream sellers want you. Hungry. Starving in fact.

The hungrier you are, the more willing you’ll be to try the next ‘big’ thing.

To gamble on the best tool, secret method, never-before-revealed, underground, insiders-only, just-released, incredible, amazing, gotta have, you-won’t-believe it, backroom opportunity.

Now I could tell you I make six-figures a year. Throw up a photograph of a Ferrari. A big house with a fabulous pool. Throw in a beach vista with a few palm trees and a couple strolling along the beach. And how would you know if it was real or not?

The next time you’re considering a purchase, ask yourself what the carrot is.

Will the carrot nourish you or just keep you moving forward hoping to get a bite.

Are you motivated or are you starving?

And keep in mind that asses love carrots too.

This is a follow-up to my posts on How to choose a hosting service, Hosts to consider - Part One, and Hosts to Consider - Part Two.

Two final notes on hosting

One:

I was going to include a company I dealt with in the beginning that offered everything, including the kitchen sink, in their web hosting package. It was at a premium price, but adding all the tools and services together, it seemed like a good deal.

The reason I did not is because I found the support lacking and in the end, you will have more flexibility and access to better tools if you get all your services by the piece vs. bundled.

(By the way, it was because of the experience above — signing up with the wrong web host first time around — that I ended up doing so much research and coming up with the two companies mentioned in my previous posts.)

Two:

Call them up. Call each company you are considering doing business with and ask them questions. See how quickly they respond to your call. How do you find their customer service? Are they friendly, knowledgeable? Do they take the time they need to answer your questions? Aside from the regular questions, you might want to choose one item in their ‘services’ list that you don’t understand and see if they can explain it to you.

Remember, this is a ‘sales’ call, you are trying to make a buying decision and if they are not helpful and friendly with you now, it can only go downhill once you’re a customer.

Does this sound like overkill? Maybe, but choosing the right host is important. Choosing the wrong host can mean having to move your website, paying more than you really need to, possibly losing your files if there’s a crash, and just losing time doing things a second-time when you already have enough to do.

This follows up on Part One and is the second one of the lot I researched that rose to the top.

IX Web Hosting

This company offers email/ticket support 24/7 but their live chat and toll-free telephone support is not available 24/7. They have a control panel demo, so you can see how things will work and a promo video that provides a quick synopsis of their service.

Pro: They have a 30 day guarantee (see the ‘Our Promise to You’ link in the upper left hand side of the hosting page. The live chat is very helpful and the tech I spoke to was knowledgeable and pleasant (and you can ‘save’ the live chat dialogue to refer to later). They have a web hosting user manual that provides a good overview.

Con: They do not offer shorter sign-up times. If you do sign-up with them, and don’t like their service you can ask for a refund within their 30 day guarantee period. Live chat and telephone access not available 24/7.

I have a couple of more things to say about hosting. Watch for that in an upcoming post.