As the name suggests, reseller hosting refers to the practice of purchasing wholesale web hosting space from larger hosting companies and selling it to smaller webmasters. In the process, the reseller makes a profit on his investment. In this write up, we look at the different aspects of reseller hosting that will enable you to make informed decisions about hiring the services of a reseller. Reseller hosting is not only about buying space from one vendor and selling it to end users for a profit. There are many resellers who act as agents of the parent company. These resellers do all the field work, set the advertisements up and get the leads coming. The leads make the final purchase directly from the parent vendor and the parent vendor gives a percentage commission to the reseller hosting agent responsible for the sale.
Usually, in order to ensure that the reseller hosting agent gets his cut in the deal, the end user may have to use “promo” codes while purchasing the hosting plan from the parent company. These codes are defined in a way that links them to a particular agent. The parent hosting company automatically credits the commission to the agent. Reseller hosting agents are responsible for advertising the services of the parent company. They achieve this in numerous ways. Agents use social networking platforms, blogs, affiliated networks and offline marketing tactics to draw leads to the parent company. Most reseller hosting agents invest a considerable amount in marketing the services of the parent company. Most reseller hosting agents are small players who do not have the funds to set up a hosting company of their own. However, reseller agents know the intricacies of hosting and marketing and combine their skills to generate sales for the parent company. Agents usually get lucrative commissions and end users may get some additional discounts if they purchase reseller hosting through agents.
Another way in which reseller hosting agents deal is by becoming clones of the parent company. Reseller hosting agents buy a chunk of space and sell this space through their websites/online outlets. Such reseller hosting agents are larger players and invest quite a lot in after sales service and support functions. You can imagine these reseller hosting agents as small block-level stores that sell commodities to people in the block after purchasing the same from larger stores like Wal-Mart at a discounted wholesale price. Reseller hosting agents that follow this business model are great for small webmasters who are looking for personalized support. Parent companies also benefit in the whole deal because they don’t have to invest in beefing up their support functions. Most parent companies hold the reseller hosting agent responsible for after sales service. This is clearly mentioned in the invoice. Thus, a reseller hosting agent procuring hosting space from the parent company at a low rate may have to invest in establishing a separate support/after sales department. The competition is cut-throat in the reseller hosting space. At the same time, the reseller hosting business remains one of the most lucrative online opportunities for people with the right skill sets.