Leveraging Social Communities for Successful Reseller Hosting
Posted on Tuesday, Jun 29, 2010 in "Random Stuff"
The web hosting industry represents an opportunity for many online business owners, not just through the service itself, but through the chance to capitalize on the amount of people that are buying new hosting accounts every day. Being an experienced webmaster has it’s advantages, one of them being that you’re in a position to offer advice to other novice webmasters. Your recommendations alone are powerful enough to influence the buying decision of prospective clients that are looking for reputable opinions.
Being a middle man in the hosting industry has it’s challenges, as it can be very difficult to create an image of self-sufficiency and professionalism, without revealing the true nature of your reselling business. The are however ways to create a social stigma that can aid in the development of a successful reseller hosting company.
Leveraging Forums
Perhaps the best way to build a reputation and solicit new customers is to become a valued member of multiple web hosting and webmaster forums. These forums are teeming with other online business owners, and are a perfect platform for the expansion of any online service-based company. Not only will you find plenty of prospective clients on these forums, but you’ll undoubtedly learn a few things from the senior members as well.
Becoming a senior member yourself also has it’s advantages, such as becoming a trusted and reputable source of information. Simply posting a link to your hosting site in your forum signature can bring several clients per day. Obviously the more forums you are a member of, the more visitors your hosting site will receive.
Leveraging the Local Business Market
Another way to gather clients is to utilize the local market. Studies have shown that 90 percent of local business owners would like to bring their business to the worldwide web, but simply don’t have the resources or knowledge to do so. This represents a largely untapped source of reseller clients that would jump at the opportunity to create an online presence. For example, you could offer a service in which you set up a website, run advertising and provide the hosting services in one inclusive package. This kind of all-in-one deal is an excellent way to generate interest in your company on a local level. Advertising in newspapers, phone books and local business directories are just a few of the ways you can begin soliciting local customers. You can even attend business meetups in your area and post ads in the local online classifieds.
Separating Yourself From the Rest
Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that in order to be successful you absolutely must be different than the rest. Even if this means offering plans that are not common or branding your control panel and content management system with a unique logo. Making your services different than the rest will give u a unique advantage over the competition. This is especially true in the web hosting industry which is one of the most competitive industries on the internet.
