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How do I start to sell hosting?
Before answering this question, we must clarify some points:
• The Hosting is not a gold mine in which you invest little money and time, and running on autopilot, you become rich in less than a year. Take off that idea from your head if you have one. This will lead to failure. This is expensive, arduous, and sometimes disappointing work, but it is rewarding when you go through the correct lane. Remember ... "Patience is bitter tree root and sweet fruit."
• You need to have time to invest. Capital is necessary, but the ability to fully exploit the resources you possess is also necessary. This can help you save a few dollars more than you will need.
• You will provide a service. Never forget that. Many are tired of how we treat mobile phone companies or Internet providers. It seems they do not care about the customer, who, after all, is the company's engine. Never lose sight of this: No customers, no business. Treat them like gold because, in fact, they are.
• I Think three or four times before embarking. Consider whether you have time, knowledge, money, desire, etc.
I already clarified, most importantly, let us continue:
1) Know
So simple and yet so important. How will you sell something you do not know what it is? Learn as much as you can. Read a lot, and pay close attention. Hosting is a multi-disciplinary entrepreneurship. You need to know many things. Namely:
•I have some knowledge of server administration More than anything related to hosting)g. You can leave the administration to another person or the same company that will initially provide your space, but can not fail to know how your system. A thorough knowledge Control panel is necessary, eg.)
• Know business administration. Customer Management (Communication, Billing), etc ..
• Knowledge of the tax and legal system of their country. This is important. We can avoid many conflicts later.
• Basic knowledge of web design (HTML, at least) is always welcome. Essential operation of DreamWeaver or any web editor.
2) Create a business plan
Important.
A business plan translates intentions into a document you have with your future business. Examples:
• A market that will point
• How am I going to enter the initial funds?
• What will be my method of promotion?
• What is the purpose of my company?
• Plans for the short, medium, and long term
• Planning costs
• Etc
A well-armed business plan can be the difference between success and failure.
There are many articles online that explain this in detail. Maybe in the future, I create one, but for now, take this as an introduction and expand it.
3) Make a market study.
Now you know what you need to know. It has all that information and ideas and is ready to begin. How to follow, then? Well, it's time to analyze where you stand.
Already know to market points? Will you sell hosting at close range or target a specific market (e.g., Hosting for forums)? Who are your closest competitors? What do they have in common, and do their sites differ? What does the buying the service you offer? What can differentiate you from the rest? Do you provide any specific service you do not have? If so, why?
For me, studying the market means studying the competition and seeing how to adapt your business plan to the market demands you want to insert. A question that can help you is why would someone buy me one and not another.
4) Create the structure of your company
It is essential to base or structure your business before starting his image.
First of all, a name and its respective domain are required. In this respect, one can speak much, but I'll summarize a few points:
• Unless point to the local market, the domain must be xxx
• Avoid signs (e.g., a script. "-")
• I tried the name, which is easy to spell, remember, and pronounce.
• The name has to explain what you offer.
• Do not set on the first name that comes to mind. Please write it down and compare it with other names. Brainstorming could help.
Preparing the technical stuff once you have the name and domain would be best.
First, Where will you have your bills?
Today, two options exist: Reseller (Reseller) or VP.S.
A reseller account is a common hosting service, with the difference that it has more resources than normal hosting and a panel to create new hosting accounts with separate resources (i.e., its own control panel, a certain amount of bandwidth, disk space, email accounts, etc.).
The advantage is that you need to resell knowledge in server administration, and someone else does it for you. In turn, it is the cheapest way to start because, for a few dollars, you can have your company and walk alternative.
On the other hand, the downside is that it is limited to reselling and will eventually have to migrate to a dedicated server or VPS.
On the other hand, a VPS is a partition of a dedicated server. This way, you can run multiple instances (each with different resources, different panels, etc.) on a single server.
Regarding cost/quality, this option is best. Some knowledge is required, and the investment is older, but aside from sites working best, you can withstand certain sites with an account reseller. It may not be because the host to which you buy hosting does not allow (e.g., a site with Videos passed to Flash via FFMPEG with abundant views, although they may work on a reseller account, you may come a time when it is a problem), etc.
If you can afford a VPS (economic and labor cost), it is the best option. Otherwise, it is best to start with a reseller account.
Perhaps I stretched myself slightly on this subject. The truth is that the "technical" part requires more detail, but to some extent, it is something that you can change later. The first steps are essential, but many are perhaps irreversible. I prefer to stress those steps. This does not mean that the server selection is a minor detail because it is not; it is one of its pillars.
Second billing. How will it charge its customers?
Today, a hosting company without a payment script is an "outdated" company.
A billing script to help with complex tasks saves time and gives you a professional look.
There are several systems that can help, but they are not very expensive and powerful (such as ClientExec, WHMCS, ModernBill, WHMAutoPilot, etc ..)
How will you make the payments?
ECommerce equals credit cards.
If you do not accept credit cards, you are very likely to fail. Credit cards are convenient for both customers and sellers.
This is a significant issue. The options are few and sometimes are not the best.
We must seize PayPal if you can use it. Paypal is an alternative that should always be considered: Their fees are low (less than 3%), free, and have no monthly costs; most have a PayPal account, and if not, they can use your card without registering, etc.
If not, 2CheckOut is the other option. It requires a $50 more 5.5% down payment and $0.45 per transaction. It has a pretty solid system with many options behind it.
There are other options depending on the country.
If you work in your country, find out by local payment systems. For example, in Argentina, accepting Easy Pay is an excellent choice, and companies like CuentaDigital provide that service simply and effectively. The same goes for credit cards. You may have a more practical option to accept them.
If you live or have access to data from the United States, the combination + Merchant Account Payment Gateway is the best choice. With this option, you pay at your site, the payment is a payment gateway where it is processed and the funds to your bank account directly. The downside is that it must reside in the US or Europe. I do not know a company in South America that provides a similar service. Can you help me with this?
Western Union, Xoom, or other companies based on sending money can be an alternative for some users. No serves base its payment gateway in this system, but to offer an alternative.
At this point in the guide, I need not tell you that you need at least a bank account, do I?
5) Support
Before coming to the website and corporate identity, we have one more detail: Support.
Perfect, the user purchased a hosting plan with you and already received the first payment! Now what? The after-sales service must be equal to or better than the pre-sales service.
It is necessary to provide as many possible methods.
First of all, think about buying a support table. There are many scripts (even free) that will be very useful. This link has a list of my authorship, where you will find both free and help desk payments and a description of each one.
Then, what methods of support are offered? This is important.
A hypothetical situation: Someone decides to start a website at 4 AM in your local time. They search for and find web hosting. They buy the hosting and automatically have an account. Now, one problem: The user does not know where to start!
Go to his page, and there is only a contact form. Send the email and the answer will arrive the next day, at that time the user already lost interest in the site may or frowns to your company.
Solution: Provide self-help methods.
What's this? Simple. They are manual or online help that can be found at all times.
So, let's split the support into personal and non-personal. In the former, personal contact between the seller and the customer is involved, while the latter is not.
Method of Personal Support:
• Email or Ticket
• Live Chat (Live Chat, Messenger and MSN, IRC)
• Phone
• Depending on the case, a personal meeting
• Discussion Forums
Methods are not personal.
• Database
• FAQ
• Video Tutorials
• Trigger problems (troubleshooter)
• Downloads
• Manual PDF
There has to be an offer for everyone, but it is ideal to have at least two personal methods and three non-personal methods.
This ensures you receive fewer tickets, but in turn, the user is happy to find the information you need when you need it, and after all, that's what matters.
6) Your identity
Look professional. This simplifies this aspect.
Your online identity is your face to your potential customers; as in a job interview, it usually looks like matter. However much otherwise stated, this is like. Many people leave a site just by their appearance or load time. Do not miss potential customers for design done in a hurry. Take the time to do it and plan it.
Hire a company web designer if necessary, but a comfortable, simple, and professional design is vital.
Your website needs to reflect the seriousness and simplicity of its service. This pseudo-metaphysical concept is partly one of the pillars of Web 2.0 and is what makes commercial sites today different.
I do not elaborate much on this point because it depends on personal taste but remember; identity is all you will see in your potential client until you hire or contact them.
Write your documents and sub-pages of your company. Be consistent and straightforward.
This is the end of the guide, which will hopefully serve to start this beautiful but difficult undertaking.
Obviously, not everything hosting itself is, but it is an excellent guide to knowing how to start, what to do, and what not to do.
Now, it's up to you to support your marketing campaign, their associations, etc.
I hope you liked the article!
Before answering this question, we must clarify some points:
• The Hosting is not a gold mine in which you invest little money and time, and running on autopilot, you become rich in less than a year. Take off that idea from your head if you have one. This will lead to failure. This is expensive, arduous, and sometimes disappointing work, but it is rewarding when you go through the correct lane. Remember ... "Patience is bitter tree root and sweet fruit."
• You need to have time to invest. Capital is necessary, but the ability to fully exploit the resources you possess is also necessary. This can help you save a few dollars more than you will need.
• You will provide a service. Never forget that. Many are tired of how we treat mobile phone companies or Internet providers. It seems they do not care about the customer, who, after all, is the company's engine. Never lose sight of this: No customers, no business. Treat them like gold because, in fact, they are.
• I Think three or four times before embarking. Consider whether you have time, knowledge, money, desire, etc.
I already clarified, most importantly, let us continue:
1) Know
So simple and yet so important. How will you sell something you do not know what it is? Learn as much as you can. Read a lot, and pay close attention. Hosting is a multi-disciplinary entrepreneurship. You need to know many things. Namely:
•I have some knowledge of server administration More than anything related to hosting)g. You can leave the administration to another person or the same company that will initially provide your space, but can not fail to know how your system. A thorough knowledge Control panel is necessary, eg.)
• Know business administration. Customer Management (Communication, Billing), etc ..
• Knowledge of the tax and legal system of their country. This is important. We can avoid many conflicts later.
• Basic knowledge of web design (HTML, at least) is always welcome. Essential operation of DreamWeaver or any web editor.
2) Create a business plan
Important.
A business plan translates intentions into a document you have with your future business. Examples:
• A market that will point
• How am I going to enter the initial funds?
• What will be my method of promotion?
• What is the purpose of my company?
• Plans for the short, medium, and long term
• Planning costs
• Etc
A well-armed business plan can be the difference between success and failure.
There are many articles online that explain this in detail. Maybe in the future, I create one, but for now, take this as an introduction and expand it.
3) Make a market study.
Now you know what you need to know. It has all that information and ideas and is ready to begin. How to follow, then? Well, it's time to analyze where you stand.
Already know to market points? Will you sell hosting at close range or target a specific market (e.g., Hosting for forums)? Who are your closest competitors? What do they have in common, and do their sites differ? What does the buying the service you offer? What can differentiate you from the rest? Do you provide any specific service you do not have? If so, why?
For me, studying the market means studying the competition and seeing how to adapt your business plan to the market demands you want to insert. A question that can help you is why would someone buy me one and not another.
4) Create the structure of your company
It is essential to base or structure your business before starting his image.
First of all, a name and its respective domain are required. In this respect, one can speak much, but I'll summarize a few points:
• Unless point to the local market, the domain must be xxx
• Avoid signs (e.g., a script. "-")
• I tried the name, which is easy to spell, remember, and pronounce.
• The name has to explain what you offer.
• Do not set on the first name that comes to mind. Please write it down and compare it with other names. Brainstorming could help.
Preparing the technical stuff once you have the name and domain would be best.
First, Where will you have your bills?
Today, two options exist: Reseller (Reseller) or VP.S.
A reseller account is a common hosting service, with the difference that it has more resources than normal hosting and a panel to create new hosting accounts with separate resources (i.e., its own control panel, a certain amount of bandwidth, disk space, email accounts, etc.).
The advantage is that you need to resell knowledge in server administration, and someone else does it for you. In turn, it is the cheapest way to start because, for a few dollars, you can have your company and walk alternative.
On the other hand, the downside is that it is limited to reselling and will eventually have to migrate to a dedicated server or VPS.
On the other hand, a VPS is a partition of a dedicated server. This way, you can run multiple instances (each with different resources, different panels, etc.) on a single server.
Regarding cost/quality, this option is best. Some knowledge is required, and the investment is older, but aside from sites working best, you can withstand certain sites with an account reseller. It may not be because the host to which you buy hosting does not allow (e.g., a site with Videos passed to Flash via FFMPEG with abundant views, although they may work on a reseller account, you may come a time when it is a problem), etc.
If you can afford a VPS (economic and labor cost), it is the best option. Otherwise, it is best to start with a reseller account.
Perhaps I stretched myself slightly on this subject. The truth is that the "technical" part requires more detail, but to some extent, it is something that you can change later. The first steps are essential, but many are perhaps irreversible. I prefer to stress those steps. This does not mean that the server selection is a minor detail because it is not; it is one of its pillars.
Second billing. How will it charge its customers?
Today, a hosting company without a payment script is an "outdated" company.
A billing script to help with complex tasks saves time and gives you a professional look.
There are several systems that can help, but they are not very expensive and powerful (such as ClientExec, WHMCS, ModernBill, WHMAutoPilot, etc ..)
How will you make the payments?
ECommerce equals credit cards.
If you do not accept credit cards, you are very likely to fail. Credit cards are convenient for both customers and sellers.
This is a significant issue. The options are few and sometimes are not the best.
We must seize PayPal if you can use it. Paypal is an alternative that should always be considered: Their fees are low (less than 3%), free, and have no monthly costs; most have a PayPal account, and if not, they can use your card without registering, etc.
If not, 2CheckOut is the other option. It requires a $50 more 5.5% down payment and $0.45 per transaction. It has a pretty solid system with many options behind it.
There are other options depending on the country.
If you work in your country, find out by local payment systems. For example, in Argentina, accepting Easy Pay is an excellent choice, and companies like CuentaDigital provide that service simply and effectively. The same goes for credit cards. You may have a more practical option to accept them.
If you live or have access to data from the United States, the combination + Merchant Account Payment Gateway is the best choice. With this option, you pay at your site, the payment is a payment gateway where it is processed and the funds to your bank account directly. The downside is that it must reside in the US or Europe. I do not know a company in South America that provides a similar service. Can you help me with this?
Western Union, Xoom, or other companies based on sending money can be an alternative for some users. No serves base its payment gateway in this system, but to offer an alternative.
At this point in the guide, I need not tell you that you need at least a bank account, do I?
5) Support
Before coming to the website and corporate identity, we have one more detail: Support.
Perfect, the user purchased a hosting plan with you and already received the first payment! Now what? The after-sales service must be equal to or better than the pre-sales service.
It is necessary to provide as many possible methods.
First of all, think about buying a support table. There are many scripts (even free) that will be very useful. This link has a list of my authorship, where you will find both free and help desk payments and a description of each one.
Then, what methods of support are offered? This is important.
A hypothetical situation: Someone decides to start a website at 4 AM in your local time. They search for and find web hosting. They buy the hosting and automatically have an account. Now, one problem: The user does not know where to start!
Go to his page, and there is only a contact form. Send the email and the answer will arrive the next day, at that time the user already lost interest in the site may or frowns to your company.
Solution: Provide self-help methods.
What's this? Simple. They are manual or online help that can be found at all times.
So, let's split the support into personal and non-personal. In the former, personal contact between the seller and the customer is involved, while the latter is not.
Method of Personal Support:
• Email or Ticket
• Live Chat (Live Chat, Messenger and MSN, IRC)
• Phone
• Depending on the case, a personal meeting
• Discussion Forums
Methods are not personal.
• Database
• FAQ
• Video Tutorials
• Trigger problems (troubleshooter)
• Downloads
• Manual PDF
There has to be an offer for everyone, but it is ideal to have at least two personal methods and three non-personal methods.
This ensures you receive fewer tickets, but in turn, the user is happy to find the information you need when you need it, and after all, that's what matters.
6) Your identity
Look professional. This simplifies this aspect.
Your online identity is your face to your potential customers; as in a job interview, it usually looks like matter. However much otherwise stated, this is like. Many people leave a site just by their appearance or load time. Do not miss potential customers for design done in a hurry. Take the time to do it and plan it.
Hire a company web designer if necessary, but a comfortable, simple, and professional design is vital.
Your website needs to reflect the seriousness and simplicity of its service. This pseudo-metaphysical concept is partly one of the pillars of Web 2.0 and is what makes commercial sites today different.
I do not elaborate much on this point because it depends on personal taste but remember; identity is all you will see in your potential client until you hire or contact them.
Write your documents and sub-pages of your company. Be consistent and straightforward.
This is the end of the guide, which will hopefully serve to start this beautiful but difficult undertaking.
Obviously, not everything hosting itself is, but it is an excellent guide to knowing how to start, what to do, and what not to do.
Now, it's up to you to support your marketing campaign, their associations, etc.
I hope you liked the article!