It was July 2008, when I launched KaiserWebs.com- my personal web hosting site. At first I have no idea if I can really make money from it.I just keep on reading and asking people online how to market this kind of business. And now, the income of my Web Hosting is already a part of my budget. I am earning more than a half on my full-time job[8 hours/day]. I will share to you how I set up my web hosting business.
You can now set up a web hosting company without ever having to bother buying cPanel licenses or setting up a server. You can just purchase reseller hosting from many hosts, just as you would if you were buying web hosting. This costs around $30 a month. Just $30 a month to start your own host!
You get a domain name most of the time (Read the features list as it will be listed there if you do get a free domain) and you are set up to sell. Then you simply go out and promote your hosting!
To get customers, first of all you need a great deal. Although this may sound weird sell your first hosting for LESS than it costs you. Then people will link to you, building your authority. After that has occurred you can raise the prices to match professional hosting companies like Host Gator.
To promote quickly consider posting at a well known webmaster forum, Digital Point. Many people are looking for a good deal. Also prepare to give some reviews as these people demand reviews. Make sure to limit the amount of free review copies you give out to a maximum of 3. Also make sure they have 100+ posts and at least 10 iTrader as you get many people who take the review copy and leave. However web hosting isn’t like a e-book. Just ban the user! This should then get the ball rolling and you can get a lot of sales.
People at Digital Point are used to being scammed by hosts and so will question you a lot with questions such as “How long have you had this domain?” and other things. Don’t lye as these people know in a instant if you are lying!
Once you can cover your expenses and make a profit you could consider advertising on Google AdWords or similar. This is optional but can increase your sales quickly. Also you could upgrade to a better reseller package to get ready for more growth in sales and thus clients and space!
Another thing to consider if you have deep pockets is affiliate programs. You pay people to send customers to you. However the web hosting affiliate programs offer $65 or more per sale! That is a problem unless you can keep users with you for around a year at $6 a month.
The web hosting market is very saturated so be prepared to work a lot to get customers. There are more and more web hosts day by day! Also people are less likely to pay resellers than people who own the servers, as if something goes wrong it takes longer to fix if you are a reseller.
Finally I advise that you offer a good plan as no one will go for a smaller plan when a bigger plan is available at the same price. So make sure to offer a good, and reasonable amount of space and bandwidth as this increases sales!
A colocation center can be leased from Peer 1 web hosting.
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Hi,
thank for a good advice.
It is an interesting idea for a business and surely worth having a look into.
I have never really though something like was possible – always thought you need servers etc. to offer such services.
Thanks a lot,
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I didn’t realize it was such an easy business to get into.
@Dave yeah setting up a web hosting business is really easy then you next step is finding clients which need more time and effort
Your too bold enough to try big deal of opportunity. I congratulate you for having such courage on conquering unfamiliar territory.
thats some very good advice,id like to venture but i wouldnt mind some more info.thanks
Thanks for this advice.
I will plan to set up a web hosting business eventhough I don’t have enough knowledge about web development.
Internet & Mobile Marketing Summit 2009
Thanx for such valuable information, i think its worth trying your fortune with such low cost initial setup.
Good post kaiser, but as you said its saturated , so it requires lotta hard work, i think it’s just not a piece of cake for anyone
I own my own webhosting company and setting up the servers and peripherals is a damn slight easier than getting customers to buy anything from you