If
executed properly, reselling Web hosting and related services can be a
low-maintenance, high-profit way to online success. Reseller programs
allow businesses to lease servers, connections and bandwidth from
established hosting firms, but brand the product as their own.
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Even
some of today's biggest hosting companies simply resell the products of
bigger companies because it cuts down on staffing and equipment
expenses in exchange for a reasonable fee.
Resellers
act independent of Web hosting companies, and are not treated as
employees. Most are paid on how many sign-ups they attract per month,
and are paid on a recurring basis for each client attracted who retains
your services (thereby retaining the services of the actual hosting
provider as well).
The
first step in becoming a reseller is determining exactly what services
you want to resell. Do you simply want to resell Web hosting? Most
aspects of a Web hosting operation can be resold, including connections
and backbones, servers and e-commerce storefronts. What type of
reseller you become depends on what you would like to outsource: many
hosting companies like to outsource as much as possible so they can
concentrate on running the business end of things, and sometimes bundle
in additional features a regular hosting company might not be able to
provide, like consulting or Web design services. Others, however, take
the "hands-on" approach and essentially co-locate servers, giving them
much more technical control over their company.
The
next step is to actually choose a reseller program. There are countless
programs out there; make sure to pick one from an established company
with a proven track record. While other companies may promise higher
yields, it's always worth it in the long run to choose an established
company, as they are the ones with the most experience and therefore
the most prepared to deal with issues that will surely arise during the
day-to-day operations of your business.
Beyond being a simple reseller
If
you're interested in running a complete, top-to-bottom hosting company,
servers are only half the battle. Aside from machines to host sites on,
you're going to need a number of other components.
One
of the most important of these components is connectivity. To run a
well-connected hosting company, you'll need a redundant connection to
an Internet backbone. Make sure to pick a provider with multiple
connections; if your provider's single connection goes down, so does
yours. With multiple backbone connections, you can be sure that your
client sites will be up and running virtually all the time.
Also
be sure to take the issue of software very seriously, because your
servers are going to need an operating system. Make sure you pick a
system tailored to your needs: every operating system has its pluses
and minuses.You'll also want to consider e-commerce, billing and
control panel software to offer your customers more and make your
company run smoothly.
And
finally, make sure you pick a reseller who offers solid technical
support. Unless you have certified system engineers on staff, you'll
need a helping hand every once in a while. Technical support will also
be key during the implementation of your company; if you're going to
connect to a major provider's backbone, you have to be able to know how
to do it.
Marketing your program
Once
you've established your company both offline and online, you'll want to
attract clients. When starting out, your best bets are individuals and
small businesses; people working on a smaller budget, much like
yourself. Most of these clients don't require intensive hosting
services; they have small sites and aren't overly concerned about
things like back-end issues. Remember, when you're starting small, you
don't want to get in over your head too quickly.
Larger
operations may want to think beyond smaller shared accounts and look
toward marketing high-end virtual packages and dedicated servers. Keep
in mind that this will take a great deal of technical expertise, and
should not be undertaken until you have an extensive background in the
technical world of Web hosting (unless you're ready to hire engineers).
Either way, once you've got a client - congratulations! You're
officially a Web hosting company. Good luck.
