| Or, you
can get some money by earning commissions
from a hosting company. This happens when
you refer potential customers to the
hosting company. If the customer signs up
with the company then you earn a small
recurring commission until the customer
uses the services. Most web hosting
companies try to outsource their services
to resellers as it helps them to extend
their business reach without the cost of
marketing and sales and also helps them
to concentrate on the business side of
things.
What can
be resold
As a
reseller you can decide what kinds of
services you can sell.
You can
provide shared, dedicated or co-location
web hosting or merchant accounts, store
fronts etc.
If you
go with hosting then it might be useful
to offer some other hosting related
services like domain names, search
engines etc.
Of
course, if you have problems selling
these value added services in the
beginning then you can sell them later.
The cost
and resources involved
The cost
of becoming a reseller and the equipment
and people required in order to be
successful depends on many factors.
If you
just plan to earn commission by referring
people to the hosting company by using
the Internet, then you do not have to put
up a lot of money, all you need is an
Internet ready PC and an Internet
connection.
For a
small start-up not a lot of money and
resources are required. You can purchase
a good reseller package from a hosting
company by paying them some money
upfront. All that is needed is a decent
computer that can manage the accounts of
customers and a good Internet connection.
It is
advisable to start small if you are very
new to the concept of web hosting and
reselling. Then you can expand as you go
on and start getting more and more
customers in which case offering domain
registration is also a very good way to
make profits.
If you
have the money and the experience then
you can go as far as buying all the
server equipment required, in which case
you will also be responsible for all the
server maintenance costs.
The
other option could be leasing a server as
this will be cheaper than buying the
server, but here as well you are
responsible for all the maintenance and
running costs of the server.
In the
above two cases you also need to make
sure that you have multiple connections
with the hosting company so there are no
complications in case a connection goes
down.
Upside
The best
thing about being a reseller is that you
do not require a lot of upfront
investment.
There is
no need to have a lot of technical
knowledge. Account management and
Internet skills are all that is required.
However, it would be really handy if you
have some sales and marketing experience
so you can interact with your customers
better.
The
hosting company generally provides and
maintains all the hardware and software.
You do
not need to hire a lot of IT staff to
provide support. Providing basic support
and leaving the more technical issues to
the parent company support staff can be
easily achieved.
Downside
Support
can sometimes be delayed, as you are
dependent on the parent company to handle
the technical aspects. If there is a
delay from their side then you along with
your customer are affected.
Sometimes
customers leave you if they find out that
you are a reseller and not a real hosting
company.
Tips for
marketing yourself
If you
are starting out on a small scale then
visiting message boards and posting your
services there is a good idea. A lot of
potential clientele with relatively small
hosting needs also frequent message
boards and outline their desired
services.
Having
contests is a great idea for bringing
awareness and interest about your
services.
Online
ad campaigns, signatures, and text links
are very helpful techniques.
Once you
have gotten a bigger budget then you can
go for Google ad words or PPC search
engines.
The best
strategy is to try out various
combinations of these approaches and work
out the best one for your needs.
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