Learn the ins and outs of a great side hustle.
Last Updated: Thursday June 22, 2023
So you want to start your own reseller hosting business?
We don't blame you! Reseller hosting is a great way to make passive income and has a very low barrier to entry.
In this article, we assume that you have limited technical knowledge but are enthusiastic about learning and acquiring new skills.
Let's get started!
Reseller hosting is a type of web hosting where you purchase web hosting from a larger hosting provider and then resell it to your customers. You don't own the servers or the infrastructure but act as a middleman between your customers and the hosting provider.
Reseller hosting is a good option for people who want to start their own web hosting business without investing in hardware and infrastructure. It's also a good option for web designers and developers who want to offer hosting services to their clients.
Reselling hosting does not require a significant amount of technical knowledge, but any technical experience you have will increase your earning potential.
It is highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with cPanel, basic HTML, and fundamental computing skills, such as managing archive files, before you get started.
Other than that, all you need is the motivation to find new customers and the time to provide them with excellent customer service.
Good news... you already did! At Hawk Host we offer excellent reseller hosting plans at a great price.
That said you can use any hosting provider of your choosing to get started. We suggest keeping the following in mind.
In this section, I will use Hawk Host's Bronze plan to determine plan costs. Here are the details:
Let's take a closer look at each of the plan features.
This is the monthly price you will be charged. Fortunately, with Hawk Host (and all reputable hosts), this price will not change from month to month.
Bandwidth is the amount of data transferred between a server and its users in a given month. It is important to note that while most hosting plans advertise unlimited bandwidth, this is typically limited to a reasonable amount that is not explicitly stated.
This is the total storage space you can use on your account. These are typically hard limits, meaning you cannot exceed them without upgrading to a higher-tier plan.
As mentioned earlier, this is the maximum amount of customer accounts you can create. You can host up to 25 websites or domains on this plan.
it is important to scan your hosting provider's reseller page to find all of the features that are offered. This will allow you to highlight the features that are most relevant to your target audience and to create a marketing message that is tailored to their needs.
For Hawk Host you would find that you could offer memcached servers, one click installers, unlimited SSL certificates, daily backups, and proactive malware scanning at no additional cost to you.
With these details in mind I would create plans like the following:
Because all of these plans share the same core features, you need to be creative in order to convince users to upgrade to a higher tier. Here are a few ideas:
These profits are based on monthly payments. I recommend offering a significant discount for annual payments. A good starting point would be to offer two months free if customers prepay for an entire year.
Yearly Prepaid (2 months free)Annual plans offer a guaranteed profit, but they come at a slight cost. Monthly plans are more flexible, but there is a risk that customers will cancel after a few months. By offering an annual plan, you can lock in customers for a year, which can help to boost your profits.
All of your clients should be set to have their plans auto renewed regardless of plan length.
While this article does not cover the basics of website creation, I highly recommend that you learn them. Even if you use a free website builder like Weebly, understanding the basics of how websites work will give you a significant advantage.
If this isn't for you, then you can use a service like Fiverr to hire someone to create a website in the $50-$1500 range.
Use your social media accounts to connect with potential clients in your local area. Join local groups and post relevant content at least every two weeks to keep your business top-of-mind.
Highlight your local ownership and operation as a selling point. People are more likely to support local businesses, even if the prices are slightly higher.
This method involves offering to build websites for local businesses. If you don't have the skills or resources to do this yourself, you can hire someone else to do it for you. Otherwise just skip this method.
You should approach the potential clients directly at their business, be friendly and try to get in contact with whoever is in charge.
It's a great idea to research their competition first so that you can show your potential client how they stand out in search results.
Local events and festivals can be a great source of leads. However, business owners are likely to be busy, so it's important to keep your pitch brief and to the point.
Consider having business cards with a promotional discount on the back to hand out at events. Business cards may be old-school, but they're still a cost-effective way to stay top of mind with potential clients.
This topic is more advanced than what we're covering in this guide, but we'll briefly discuss the basics. This section is only relevant if you have a website for your business. If you don't have a website, feel free to skip this.
It can be frustrating to spend money on online advertising that doesn't convert into paying customers. To avoid this, it's best to wait until you have a foundation of paying customers before you start advertising online. This way, you'll be paying for your ads with profits, rather than directly from your pocket.
In keyword advertising, advertisers compete by placing bids on specific keywords in order to have their ads displayed at the top of search results for those keywords.
Google Ads and Bing Ads are two popular platforms for online advertising. They offer free ad credits to new users, which can help you get started without spending any money.
High-volume keywords like "web hosting" are very competitive, so you're unlikely to be able to compete profitably. You're likelier to succeed by bidding on more specific keywords, such as "website hosting in {YOUR CITY}."
Display advertising is a type of online advertising that uses images, videos, or other visual content to promote a website or product. Unlike keyword advertising, which appears in search engine results pages (SERPs), display ads are typically displayed on websites or social media platforms.
Display ads are typically less expensive than keyword ads but may generate fewer conversions. However, they can be a great way to keep your brand top of mind and reach a wider audience.
Display advertising allows you to target your ads to specific audiences. You can choose to show your ads to people who visit certain websites, live in certain areas, or are of a certain age group.
Customers will remember if you were responsive to their needs, but they will never forget if you left them hanging. Strive to be as responsive as possible to your customers so that they have a positive experience and are more likely to stay with you and even recommend you to friends.
To ensure that you receive your customers' requests, create contacts in your phone with their email addresses and phone numbers. This will make it easy for you to stay in touch with them and respond to their inquiries promptly.
Although your hosting provider may offer automated backups, it is still important to manually back up your clients' websites and databases at least once a month. This will provide an additional layer of protection in case of a disaster.
It's important to remember that building a client base takes time and effort. I recommend dedicating several hours a week for at least three months to see if this is a good fit for you before giving up.
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