Sell Web Hosting For Fun And Profit
|
The market is good for new Web hosting companies. According to Forrester Research, there is now "positive - if modest - growth for Web hosting and managed IT services, at both the enterprise and SMB levels."
This is an especially good business to be in if you are a web designer or IT consultant. It fits naturally with the business model of such small consulting firms. Why refer out or miss out on selling a service that most small businesses need? Hosting is an excellent source of monthly recurring revenue.
The hosting industry is one of the few profitable sectors of the Internet. As such, large corporations such Yahoo are offering Web hosting services. You, too, can join this highly profitable business and reap the financial awards -- but only if you do it right.
To build a successful Web hosting company, I offer the following two time-tested and proven rules: Focus on offering high-quality services in a two-tiered pricing schedule.
In addition, it is essential an automated infrastructure to create self-sufficient customers. For marketing, it is crucial to maximize intelligent marketing opportunities.
Automation will create a self-sufficient client-base and reduce your expenses down the road. In order to provide the best-possible service, you'll want a minimum of the following processes automated: order forms (for new customer account set up or existing customer updates), billing system, administration system, end-user control panel, and technical support interface.
Order Forms
The front end of your order form should serve an minimum of these four key functions: 1) verify domain information for registration purposes, 2) validate entered results, 3) process the customer's credit card or create an invoice, 4) enter the customer's information into billing database for future use.
The backend of the order form must process the domain registration (if customer needs to register one) and generate the Web hosting account.
Administration System
The administration system is necessary to manage ordered accounts. You may wish to manually add or remove new domains, change passwords, etc.
End-User Control Panel
The end-user control panel is necessary for allowing your customers to manage their accounts. At the very least, customers should be able to set up their own e-mail accounts, view Website statistics, and manage their files.
Billing System
An automated billing system is an absolute must! The billing system should e-mail invoices, charge credit cards, and suspend overdue accounts. The system should also allow the you to issue credit or discounts as needed.
Technical Support Interface
By technical support interface, I'm not referring to a system that merely generates trouble tickets. An effective tech-support interface automatically generates an FAQ-interface that customers can search before submitting trouble tickets. These interfaces can reduce technical support requests by a factor of 10!
Also, be sure that the company you go with offers the option of taking care of technical support on your behalf but branded with your brand. You can then focus your energy on your core competencies and growing your business.
Maximize intelligent marketing opportunities
You know what platform you want to use, you've figured out what packages to offer, and set up a tiered pricing schedule and automated systems. So how do you get the word out about your new hosting service?
Pay per Click
Pay per Click can potentially allow you to reach large numbers of customers. Although you don't pay to list your site, you do pay when a user clicks on your listing and connects to your site. How, then, do you get your site high on the results lists? You must engage in a bidding war over how much you're willing to pay for each person who clicks through to your site. The stakes have recently grown pretty high, so be careful about bidding too high. Just because someone clicks through to your Web hosting site, doesn't mean they'll convert into a new account. Also be sure to select targeted keywords not competing with everyone else for the same keywords. That is a very difficult game to win. Find your niche.
Hosting Directory Sites
There are numerous Web sites known as hosting directories -- that attract Web hosting customers. These hosting directories are an excellent place to advertise, but be selective in your placement. Many offer banner placement, spotlights, search enhancements, and other forms of advertisement. As a general rule keep in mind that banner ads are better for creating brand recognition than generating new accounts, so advertise based on your budget, not on your expectation of new clientele.
Leverage Your Current Client Base
If you run an established Web design firm, information portal, or domain registration service, you can immediately begin marketing to your current clients. A simple e-mail to your customer base can quickly generate a large number of accounts. There are permission-based email marketing services that work very well for earning more revenue from your current customers and gaining additional customers. Try a free trial of one or more of these services to find one that works well for your needs.
Offer New Products and Services
Keep in mind, once you acquire a solid customer base, you can consider developing new products and services to keep your customers happy and to generate additional revenue. But always remember: Quality is key!
About the Author
Dan Forootan founded EZ Publishing, Inc. in 1998. EZ Publishing's Backend Hosting solution provides you with the infrastructure needed to achieve the automation of providing hosting services, from the order forms to the billing system to the tech-support interface. EZ Publishing can even do the technical support for your clients on your behalf. EZ Publishing also offers the permission-based email marketing service. Send questions and comments about this article to articles@ezpublishing.com.
|
|
|
How Voip Has Helped Change Web Hosting
There is really no stopping VOIP (voice over internet protocol) and internet telephony in general. This technology has rapidly and relentlessly spread its' tentacles right across the net within a very short period of time and now stands as a clear threat to the old established phone companies around the world and the world of communications and telecommunications as we knew it. In the process VOIP has helped change web hosting in many ways.Mostly it has placed demands on web hosting that were previously just not there. VOIP requires a stable and extremely reliable link and excellent service from a web host to be able to work efficiently. The fact that the corporate world has quickly embraced VOIP, saving colossal fortunes in phone company bills and associated costs has meant ...(related: Web Hosting)
Web Hosts - Not All Are Created Equal
Many people think that all web hosts offer the same level of service within a certain price point. This could not be further from the truth. Fundamentally web hosting is web hosting but when you compare apples to apples you will find a broad range of differences that may or may not be a detriment to your business. Surprisingly the same web host provider that charges $5/month may have a direct competitor that charges $10/month for a comparable service plan. Below are 3 simple steps to help you determine what provider will best fit for your needs and where to find them.1. Determine Your Price PointLet's face it; the bottom line is usually at the top of the list, which is price. You can spend anywhere from a few dollars a month to a few hundred depending on your needs. Only you can determine your budge...(related: Web Hosting)
The Top 10 Essential Ingredients Of Every Linux Hosting Plan (package)
Any website comprises the following ? Domain name, Webspace, Webpages.Lets say, You have got your Domain Name (www.yourdomain.com). Its time to check for a good hosting service provider to have your files uploaded in the domain. If you are opting for Linux Based Hosting Plan, make sure you have the following included in your plans :1. Control Panel ? This is the nucleus of your website. In a Control Panel, popularly known as CP, you can literally do anything. The moment you signup for a Hosting Pack, you must be provided with a CP to manage your webspace.2. POP3 email Ids & Aliases - yourname@yourdomain.com is an example POP3 ID. You must be provided with ...(related: Web Hosting)
Top 6 Ways To Promote Your Web Hosting Business Part 2
Here are the following three methods that can help you improve your web hosting business. These three are targeted towards the service you provide:1. By offering some kind of special offers ...(related: Web Hosting)
Web Site Hosting ? An Easy Guide
Web Hosting ? Made Simple What is web hosting anyway? What do I get when I buy a web hosting solution?To make thing clear from start let's just say how it all works.Web pages basically consist of text and images. Generically, the information contained by these files is called content. The look of the web page is called design.In order to be accessible to online users, all these files must be stored on a web server. You can think of web servers as computers storing the files of tens or hundreds of web sites. These computers are all connected to the Internet through high-speed connection. When you access a web page, your browse...(related: Web Hosting)
How To Find Good Web Hosting For Your Site!
When building your first site the main things that you will probably think about is what types of content you will be adding to your site, how you are going to get visitors to your site and how you are going to generate good revenue from your site.Well, all of the things mentioned above are crucial things to consider, but then again, what's the point in thinking about them if yo...(related: Web Hosting)
What You Should Know About Your Web Host
Yesterday I received a nice email in my inbox, I read that short and interesting email, it was like 5 to 6 lines max, at the end was a link which I was asked to click on. I did exactly that. I wait for about 1 minute but no page downloaded. I t...(related: Web Hosting)
How To Choose The Web Site Hosting Service Thats Right For You
There are few things as critical to your e-business success as having a reliable web hosting service ...Here's How To Choose The Right Web Host To Guarantee Your Web site Stays Up And Running!Whether your focus is affiliate marketing or any other online business, now more than ever ? as the Internet grows by leaps and bounds ? the choice of a reliable Web site hosting provider is absolutely critical.Cheapest ... biggest ... smartest ... newest ... oldest ? with thousands of web site hosting companies vying for your attention, it's easy to get confused. And, heaven forbid, if you make the wrong choice, it could cost you dearly in time, effort and money. Transferring a site from one host to another host is nightmarish at best ? if it's even do-able. So ...How do you pick the B...(related: Web Hosting)
Reseller Hosting: The Good And The Bad!
Reseller webhosting can be a great way to earn some extra money on the side for your business or even a full time job once you get into it. Though this can be a great way to do business, it can come with some un-foreseen downsides, headaches and a whole lot more. Not to say that you can't be successful at it, but you must first take the steps to assure that down the road it doesn't ruin your business.An important part when dealing with reseller hosting is that some of the control has been taking out of your hands. This is important because you have to trust in the company you are doing business with and this limits to some things you can do. I speak from personal experience on this, the worst thing you can face when reselling hosting is having a great amount of downtime. ...(related: Web Hosting)
The Ups And Downs Of Dedicated Server Hosting
Getting your own dedicated server for your business is a great idea if you are interested in security, being the only business on the se...(related: Web Hosting)
Finding A Reliable Hosting Provider
The website hosting business is very competitive these days with hundreds of thousands of reliable hosting companies out there but what company is best for your needs and that will provide you with a reliable hosting service from customer support to the reliability of there web servers.The following is what is the most important aspects you need to consider when choosing a web hosting provider:1)Customer Service - Customer service is a very important aspect of any host if not the most important you will need to check there rel...(related: Web Hosting)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved.
| Web Hosting