The Internet is full of ways to make money. Some will sell off their skills as freelancers while others commit themselves to eCommerce. One method that can be quite lucrative is that of reseller hosting.
A reseller account is one that allows the webmaster to sell portions of web space and bandwidth to a number of clients. This can be done in several ways from offering low-cost solutions to customers or developing individual websites with the intention of selling them later. Many resellers will use this kind of hosting as an additional service to others they provide.
Here are three reasons why reselling website hosting is a great way to make money. With just a small monthly investment, there is a great deal of potential.
Reason #1: Very Low Overhead
When operating a website reseller program, the overhead expenses are quite nominal. From a business perspective, it’s one of the more efficient ways to sell goods online. Primarily, this is because there are no tangible products that need to be stocked in inventory.
The only real expenses that a reseller owner may experience include:
- The monthly fee of maintaining the reseller account.
- Marketing and advertising of the services.
- Optional third-party support or development assistance.
- Optional customer relations management such as online chat support.
In reality, the only fee that an owner would face is that of the monthly subscription for maintaining the account. Everything else is optional, although marketing would be of great benefit. After all, one cannot expect to sell web space if consumers don’t know it exists. This is why marketing of some kind needs to be a consideration.
Compared to a retail business, resellers have a distinct advantage. There is no need for a brick-and-mortar location because the servers are housed at the hosting provider. There is no real need for staff since the host maintains the hardware. And the only inventory is that of the available web space and bandwidth, which can be upgraded at any time.
Another aspect to consider is the lack of utilities. Those who resell web hosting are not faced with electricity or other bills that come with managing a property. All of these expenses are usually covered in the monthly fee to the provider. Essentially, anyone can become a web host without the heavy expenses that accompany the business.
Reason #2: Excellent Control Over Assets
As opposed to many other business opportunities on the Internet, resellers have excellent control over assets. In reality, it’s up to the business owner to allocate how much space and bandwidth is provided to customers. Although the server itself is owned and maintained by the provider, the reseller can partition out the digital real estate among customers.
A strategy is needed when assigning how much space is given for different plans the reseller wants to implement. Income is going to be determined by the number of clients that are accumulated. If the partitions are too large, there will be fewer clients on the one reselling account. However, making them too small may discourage attracting paying customers.
Some of the best reseller accounts come pre-loaded with cPanel. This platform gives operators a great deal of control over features each client can access. Features can be removed and added depending on the strategy behind the plans created by the site owner. For example, resellers can opt to offer a set number of email accounts, the use of PHP and 100s of other additions.
Many reseller programs also come with a “white label” format. This means that the reseller can brand the control panel with his or her own logo and use private name servers. The hosting provider is not mentioned anywhere. In reality, the business practices are up to the website owner. The hosting provider is nothing more than a lease holder for the servers.
One of the most important facets to reseller hosting is the capacity for upgrades. Should a reseller require additional space to accommodate a growing business, most hosting providers can make this happen without creating a new account. This can be greatly beneficial in the long run, and some larger plans may be less expensive to maintain per gigabyte of space and bandwidth.
Reason #3: An Easy Business Opportunity that Can Be Done From Home
Many people are looking for ways to make money from the comfort of their own home. A reselling program can do just that. Every aspect of operating a reseller account is done through the Internet. Owners would need nothing more than a computer and online access.
Because all of the resources are committed through the Internet, a reseller business can travel just as well as the owner. It’s one of the most versatile ways to make money online especially since there are no tangible assets that need to be moved around. Unlike an eCommerce site, there is no inventory to ship or pack should the business owner decide to move to a new city.
As a reseller account is great for mobility, some freelance professionals will use it as a way to boost offerings to real world clients. For instance, a content writer could offer private web hosting to a customer for a low cost as part of the contract. Another good example is how a wedding planning company can offer a website as part of their services that the happy couple can share with friends and family.
A reseller doesn’t merely have to be an individual as many companies can provide an expansion to the services they offer. All it takes is a bit of imagination and a way to incorporate hosting a website into the business dynamic.
In Conclusion…
Reseller hosting has great potential to make an owner quite a bit of money. From selling websites to starting a micro-host business, there are a number of ways these things can be quite lucrative. Carefully consider what being a reseller has to offer when looking to start an online business. In many ways, the overall costs to get started are lower than many other Internet-based venues.
