Reseller Web Hosting Defined

Reseller Web Hosting Defined

by: Asish Jain

Reseller Defined:

The term Reseller according to the dictionary means to sell

again i.e. to sell a product or service to the public or to an end

user, especially as an authorized dealer, while making sure that

you make a profit on the sale.

Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting is no different either, a reseller buys a Web

hosting package from a hosting company and tries to sell it

independently. The profit for the reseller lies in either the

discount or in the commission s/he gets from selling an account.

For example: The reseller might purchase a package whose

features are valued at $100 for $90. So, the reseller stands to

make a $10 profit on selling the package to customers. Normally

as the customers increase, so does the profit margin for the

reseller.

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.

About The Author

Ashish Jain

M6.Net

http://www.m6.net