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Reseller Hosting Defined |
by:
Asish Jain |
Reseller Defined:
The term Reseller according todictionary means to sell again i.e. to sellproduct or service topublic or toend user, especially asauthorized dealer, while making sure that you makeprofit onsale.
Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting is no different either,reseller buysWeb hosting package fromhosting company and tries to sell it independently. The profit forreseller lies in eitherdiscount or incommission s/he gets from sellingaccount.
For example: The reseller might purchasepackage whose features are valued at $onezerozero for $ninezero. So,reseller stands to make$onezero profit on sellingpackage to customers. Normally ascustomers increase, so doesprofit margin forreseller.
Or, you can get some money by earning commissions fromhosting company. This happens when you refer potential customers tohosting company. Ifcustomer signs up withcompany then you earnsmall recurring commission untilcustomer usesservices.
Most web hosting companies try to outsource their services to resellers as it helps them to extend their business reach withoutcost of marketing and sales and also helps them to concentrate onbusiness side of things.
What can be resold
Asreseller 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 inbeginning then you can sell them later.
The cost and resources involved
The cost of becomingreseller andequipment and people required in order to be successful depends on many factors.
If you just plan to earn commission by referring people tohosting company by usingInternet, then you do not have to put uplot of money, all you need isInternet ready PC andInternet connection.
Forsmall start-up notlot of money and resources are required. You can purchasegood reseller package fromhosting company by paying them some money upfront. All that is needed isdecent computer that can manageaccounts of customers andgood Internet connection.
It is advisable to start small if you are very new toconcept 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 alsovery good way to make profits.
If you havemoney andexperience then you can go as far as buying allserver equipment required, in which case you will also be responsible for allserver maintenance costs.
The other option could be leasingserver as this will be cheaper than buyingserver, but here as well you are responsible for allmaintenance and running costs ofserver.
Inabove two cases you also need to make sure that you have multiple connections withhosting company so there are no complications in caseconnection goes down.
Upside
The best thing about beingreseller is that you do not requirelot of upfront investment.
There is no need to havelot 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 allhardware and software.
You do not need to hirelot of IT staff to provide support. Providing basic support and leavingmore technical issues toparent company support staff can be easily achieved.
Downside
Support can sometimes be delayed, as you are dependent onparent company to handletechnical aspects. If there isdelay from their side then you along with your customer are affected.
Sometimes customers leave you if they find out that you arereseller and notreal hosting company.
Tips for marketing yourself
If you are starting out onsmall scale then visiting message boards and posting your services there isgood idea. A lot of potential clientele with relatively small hosting needs also frequent message boards and outline their desired services.
Having contests isgreat idea for bringing awareness and interest about your services.
Online ad campaigns, signatures, and text links are very helpful techniques.
Once you have gottenbigger 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 outbest one for your needs.
Aboutauthor:
By Ashish Jain
Msix.Net
http://www.msix.net
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