Becoming a hosting reseller is not as difficult as you might think. Reseller hosting is the equivalent of retail in the web hosting world. Hosting resellers take bandwidth and hard drive space allocated to them through shared hosting or dedicate server agreements and then sell
that space in smaller portions to their own customers. The idea is to make a profit by reselling a product the investor bought at wholesale pricing, at a markup competitive industry-level price. Although the basic concept is fairly straightforward, it’s important to know a few things before you decide to become a hosting reseller.
Find Your Market
Finding your market is the first step to becoming a hosting reseller. Where will your client base come from? Do you already have an existing pool of clients or are you looking to start from scratch? Potential resellers with ties to industries such as marketing, IT, or entertainment, are most likely to have viable buyers for resold web hosting. Those who specialize in blogging and marketing could even pair their existing talents and services with their role as a reseller. For instance, a blogger could create content for a blog while actually hosting the blog itself for the end user.
You definitely have your work cut out for you, if you have no pre-existing clients. Don’t despair. Plenty of investors use reselling to build the foundation of new businesses. Since the internet is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future, there are always plenty of fresh opportunities. The most important thing for resellers without a pre-existing client base is to begin with a plan. Keeping your services flexible enough to accommodate a variety of clients is imperative to success, but marketing works best when targeted at a specific audience. These two policies must balance in order to be effective. Keep the door open, but make sure you know your target audience.
If you need to develop a new client list consider your existing connections, even if they are non-business related. For example, if you or a family member is a student, you can offer affordable hosting for student organizations, start-ups, and even student portfolio websites. Students can easily advertise on campus or take out ads in school-run publications.
Find Your Host
Choosing the best web hosting company is easier than finding clients. This is simply because the equation is reversed. You are the customer, and therefore businesses will actively look for you. However, it’s important to check and make sure the hosting company you are considering accepts reseller contracts. Many hosting companies offer specialized web hosting reseller plans.
Look for cheap web hosting services that offer the most bandwidth and hard drive space. Remember, even unlimited servers have restrictions. If you aren’t sure where to find information about how well a host manages its various clients, check lists of former clients. Even if former clients haven’t left reviews, you can easily visit any public websites and check to see how well they perform.
Working as a hosting reseller is an exciting opportunity for Twenty-First Century entrepreneurs. It doesn’t take much to invest in a shared server and begin reselling. With careful marketing and a cautious selection of servers, a new hosting reseller can earn returns on their initial investment almost immediately.
