Friday, we released our all new Reseller Cloud Web Hosting packages to the public. Now, using the NameHero platform, you can white-label your own hosting service to your clients to earn a steady, recurring income.
I’ve been developing businesses online for nearly twenty years with the majority of them being subscription based. From a sports entertainment subscription website to an Internet marketing forum, it’s safe to say I know a thing or two about creating recurring revenue businesses that enjoy steady billing each month.
The first step in creating your business, is defining your target audience.
Chances are, you know at least five people that are in need of web hosting. Maybe it’s the local butcher down the street. Maybe your good friend has a small business and is trying to get more reach. Perhaps you are already have your own blog and are paying someone else to host it! Regardless of your situation, there is a great need for web hosting and we’ve designed our platform so you don’t have to be a techie to run it!
Since it’s essential to have web hosting to have a presence on the Internet, the industry is and always will be competitive. That’s why it’s essential to define the audience you’re going to cater too. By just offering “web hosting” you’re going to go against many others (some with very deep pockets) and find your marketing costs to be very high. However, if you laser target your audience, and get creative, it’s likely you’ll carve out your exact niche.
Start with your local audience
Going back to five people that you know in need of web hosting, how close do they live to you? Chances are they’re a co-worker, friend, or family member that you interact with on a personal basis daily. That’s where you should get started! If you offer them a good experience, they’re going to refer you to a friend, and word-of-mouth spreads like wildfire. The best marketing is accomplished with the best service. If you provide a customer a good experience, they’re going to do all the marketing for you.
Focus on the growing mobile market
The majority of online traffic now stems from mobile devices. The last study I read, it was over 60%! I only see this number increasing, as smartphones become more affordable and further penetrate less developed countries. This provides you a HUGE advantage. Using the NameHero platform, you can have a mobile-optimized website setup for your customers in under ten minutes. Now how many of your local butchers customer’s come in daily and offer to set him up with a mobile optimized website? Chances are, you’d be the first to ask, and you would get that business!
Price your service competitively
As you’re preparing your business plan, you obviously need to decide how you should price your services. If you’re going to start local, you can price a bit more than the large corporations, because you can offer personal one-on-one attention.
From my experience, I would rather have 10 customers paying me $99 a month than 100 customers paying me $9.99 a month. I focus on quality over quantity. That way, I’m able to offer a more personal experience and ensure I’m able to grow a relationship with all my clients.
So as you’re drafting up your business plan, start doing market analysis in your local area. Call around to different companies and ask how much they want to setup a mobile website for your local business. You may even want to act like your local butcher. Far too often, companies charge an arm and a leg, because people like your local butcher don’t understand how simple it is to get online. That’s where you can instantly gain the competitive advantage and begin penetrating your market.
Get a plan together
Since all of my ventures have been bootstrapped I’ve never had a “formal” business plan. However that doesn’t mean that I go into a business without a course of action. Before jumping in heads first, make sure to have a solid plan together, and write it down so you can stay on track.
Over the next several days I’m going to continue the Web Hosting 101 series and discuss how you can start you business from A to Z.
Ryan Gray is the founder and CEO of NameHero, one of the fastest growing independent web hosts in the United States. Ryan has been working online since 1998 and has over two-decades experience in Internet Entrepreneurship.
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