If running your website is starting to feel like a full-time job, you may want to consider bringing in some money. There are numerous ways of doing that, from joining an affiliate program to using paid ads. In addition, reseller hosting can be a particularly valuable option.
Offering reseller hosting to your clients is an excellent way to generate a secondary source of income. Of course, you’ll need a number of key resources in order to make your reseller business a success – including a credible host and strong customer service skills.
In this post, we’ll explain what reseller hosting is. We’ll then highlight some of the things you’ll need to implement it effectively. Let’s get started!
What Reseller Hosting Is (And Why It Can Be Valuable)
When you're working as a web developer or designer, your outgoing costs can soon start to add up. There are plugins to buy, programs to install, and new technologies to learn. As a result, it often becomes essential to find a way to generate a secondary stream of income.
You have several available options, but reseller hosting can be especially profitable. Put simply, reseller hosting is when you ‘rent’ server space from a hosting provider, and then sell it to your own customers. You pay a fixed monthly fee for the space, and can in turn charge your clients whatever you like.
As a result, this revenue stream can be easily slotted into an existing business. That makes it an ideal solution for anyone with a strong client base, particularly if you create or work on those clients' websites. You can offer hosting as a separate add-on, or make it a part of your development, design, or maintenance package.
This will make your clients' lives a little easier, and enables you to offer them more value with little additional effort required. Plus, it lets you establish a source of recurring income. The extra money in your pocket each month can then be put towards improving other areas of your business.
3 Things You’ll Need to Make Your Reseller Hosting Business a Success
There's no doubt that reseller hosting is an attractive option. However, you’ll need to put a few things in order before you can get started. Let’s look at the three most vital components in any successful reseller hosting business.
1. A Reliable Hosting Provider
As a developer or designer, you’re probably already aware of just how important your chosen hosting provider is. It will directly impact the way you operate, and help to determine the tools you can use. The same applies when you're starting up a reseller hosting business.
As we’ve already discussed, you'll need to start by purchasing a reseller hosting plan. This should include all of the features required to make your business a success. For example, here at Hosting.com, we throw in a WHM control panel, one-click installs, billing solutions, and other key features. This means you have everything you'll need to get started.
Your chosen provider will also need to offer bundled plans. These are hosting plans that can be used for a lot of different sites, so you can serve as many clients as possible:
Finally, your provider will need to be highly reliable, or your reseller hosting is likely to reflect poorly on your larger business. Carrying out extensive research into your options at this stage (and making an investment in a quality host), can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
2. The Ability to Provide Strong Customer Service
When people have issues with a service, their first port of call will usually be the person or company that provides the service. If you decide to start a reseller hosting business, you’ll need to make sure you can keep up with customer queries.
If you keep the advice above in mind, and opt for a quality web host, you may find that access to 24/7/365 support is included in your base plan. This will greatly reduce the level of strain on you, as you can point your clients towards dedicated support channels to get help.
Still, you'll want to make sure you have a solid strategy in place for handling queries as they arise. Remember that responsiveness is key – try not to leave people waiting on your reply. You could also set up a dedicated social media channel for support requests, or implement an email management tool.
3. A Solid Marketing Strategy to Promote Your Business
As with any business, if you don’t tell people about it, they can’t engage with it. With that in mind, it’s vital to establish a strong marketing strategy that will get your reseller hosting business out there.
Of course, the most direct way of doing this is through your existing website. After all, it's likely that you have a well-established audience made up of previous and current clients. Simply make it clear on your site that you now offer web hosting in addition to your existing services.
You can also try using well-placed graphics and eye-catching calls to action where possible, and updating older content to include information about your new service. This way, anyone who visits your site will be made aware of your venture into reseller hosting.
In addition, it's a smart idea to send out marketing emails to your client contact list. These emails should contain all the essential details about your new service, and make it clear why your approach is ahead of the competition. Then, you can point clients in the right direction to sign up.
Conclusion
If you run a web design or development business, or offer website maintenance packages, reseller hosting could be the perfect addition to your business. It enables you to provide a more varied service to your clients, and can even help supplement your existing income.
In this post, we identified the three things you’ll need if you want to make your reseller hosting business a success. Let’s recap them now:
-
A reliable host, and a reseller plan packed with features.
-
The ability to provide high-quality customer service.
-
A strong marketing strategy to promote your new business.
Image credit: Pixabay.
