General

Reseller Web Hosting – Pros and Cons

Reseller web hosting is not for everyone but it is becoming more and more popular in the hosting and web design industry. Many web developers, marketers and web designers purchase reseller web hosting since it is a great way of offering their clients a complete package and making extra money. Reseller web hosting comes with both pros and cons - here are five points representing both sides.

The Pros

• The first, and probably most obvious, advantage with reseller web hosting is that it can be very profitable. The hosting itself is not expensive and when offering it with something extra, like web designing services, you will be able to sell it at a much higher price.
• If you want, you could stick your name or logo to everything you create, also called white labeling. Remember though that doing this can damage your credibility if done poorly. Running a branded hosting with flare and passion will successfully increase the strength of your brand.
• High costs, such as server maintenance, will still be the headache of the web host. All of the really technical issues will remain the job of the web host and they will not charge you anything extra for this. Customer support however, can either be the responsibility of you or the hosting provider – all depending on the type of reseller hosting you are offering.
• You will have more flexibility than say a shared hosting plan because one hosting account can manage all of your clients.
• Themes and user-interface of the control panel with which your clients will work can be changed and tweaked by you. This will not only be appreciated by your clients, it will also make your professional work more enjoyable.

The Cons

• If you ever were to change web host then you will notice that it is not as easy to do as with other forms of hosting. This will not only be inconvenient for you – your clients will be affected by this.
• You will have to place trust in the hosting provider. If they are having problems with their servers then all of your clients will have problem with their websites.
• When you run out of your portion of disk space or bandwidth then it will not be possible to increase it immediately; which could lose you a client or two.
• As with all businesses that become popular, the reseller industry is competitive. Do not count on making thousands at the beginning.. First you have to deliver an excellent product and understand the business, then market the product well.
• Investigate everything from the uptime to the quality of the customer service; your reputation depends entirely on host’s reliability. Also remember that there will be a lot of sunken costs at the beginning. The hosting itself may not be pricey, but you have to set aside money for marketing and advertising.

All in all, this kind of business is not for everyone. If you are in business that completes this type of hosting, expanding your business along the hosting lines is perfect.

People who tell you they make thousands every month and do nothing, are pretty much lying. Keep that in mind. Yet in a tough economy, the internet is sitting in its own world. Startups and new ideas are successful everyday; good tidings for us then. If you have technical know-how and enjoy web hosting, then reseller hosting would be a great business opportunity. Good luck and if you start a reseller business, be sure to post it here at ScrappyUpstarts!

Guest Author - David Walsh, of WebHostingSearch.com

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mixergy.com offers tactical interviews

I plan to continue to give Scrappy Upstarts REAL how-to info on all things small business and the web.

Andrew Warner’s blog at http://blog.mixergy.com/ is a great example.

Andrew does audio interviews with people instrumental in building web businesses.

They tend to focus on specific tactics small businesses can take. That to me is more important than the constant 30,000 foot level coverage we hear about “social media”, “twitter” etc.

His most recent interview with Chris Winfield who is the Co-Founder and President of 10e20, a search and social media marketing firm, offers some real how-tos for social media and your small business.

Thanks Andrew and Chris for actually giving real information not pontification.
Listen to the whole interview here. And more at mixergy.com

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Google Search data reveals a lot about 2009

There is a lot you can learn from digging into aggregate query data. Google knows a great deal about us as Bill Tancer’s book, “Click” revealed.It can also has the potential to be used as a yard stick for the future.

So using Google Insights Steve Rubel from AdAge was able to crunch some data and spot three internet trends (US only).

• We’re growing comfortable with social networks. Not surprisingly, social-network-related searches grew 178% in 2008. Historically the top searches in the category have reflected privacy concerns and last year was no different. The top keywords included “hide friends” (No. 7) and “hide comments” (No. 8). However, search volume on these keywords actually declined last year. This, perhaps, is the biggest indicator that as a nation we’re becoming more comfortable living on social networks.
• Blogging may be making a comeback. Searches related to blogging resources and services posted 64% growth in 2004. Then they basically flat-lined the next three years. However, in 2008 they climbed 24%. It’s highly likely that both the growth in 2004 and 2008 was fueled by elections. But my gut is that something deeper is going on here. Perhaps some see blogs as a powerful personal branding tool that can help them weather the recession. Searches for the keywords “personal brand” are also up significantly.
• The recession drove consumers to shop online. Perhaps surprisingly, shopping-related searches grew 50% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. Of course, between 2004 and 2007, search volume typically reached the same apex in December. But this year was different. Consumers were also looking for deals. Coupon-related searches grew 61% in fourth quarter. If consumers continue to find deals online, then the trend could stick.

Full article here.

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Peter Schiff has a time machine.

I am convinced after watching this.

I love that he was yelled at for predicting EXACTLY what we are seeing.

Thanks to Brian Jones for originally posting this.

More importantly, see Peter talking about 2009 last month, he was still getting yelled at!

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What Obama needs to do to create momentum

From a recent post at discussionleader.com: Memo to President-Elect Obama: 7 Moves to Create Momentum

Michael Watkins writes an open memo to President-elect Obama.

He begins by citing the “contrast effect” , which basically says we distort our perceptions of something’s performance based on immediate previous exposure, in other words, Obama may have an easier time changing things since things are so desperately in need of change.

Michael also cites 7 principles Obama, as a strong leader, should put into action after assuming the Presidency:

1. Organize to accelerate learning.
2. Establish your A-item priorities.
3. Define a compelling vision.
4. Get your new team in place fast.
5. Secure early wins, in the right ways.
6. Build a ruling coalition anchored in the “middle third.”
7. Leverage a balanced advice-and-counsel network.

To Obama: Your transition has to be the best the nation has ever seen.

Michael Watkins, is the same guy who wrote: “First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels”.

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Will the economic downturn drive an increase in online sales?

I started writing this thinking, “yeah, sure - uplifting news to follow. Not so much - looking at the November 2008 Monthly Retail Sales Comparison, I expected to see a clear uptick. I then headed over to emarketer.com and I was greeted with “2008 was not a good year for e-commerce.”

Granted we are looking at a 10% increase over 2007, but overall we are looking at a growth rate decline of about 20%.

I mean, all the earmarks are there for an upturn. At no time in history have consumers had more access to more choices in terms of product and price.

With e-commerce sites becoming easier and easier to search, browse and checkout one would expect to see that upturn in online sales.

The unfortunate news is, it has not happened. In 2007 we saw a 20% increase over 2006. This year we are seeing just a 10% increase over 2007. And we know the stakes are high for many of these retailers who are teetering on bankruptcy.

Happy New Year?

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MyCorporation.com - FREE Inc’s and LLC’s

Starting Monday, Dec. 1 through December 5th [UPDATE: Offer extended until Dec. 31] - MyCorporation.com is offering any Inc or LLC formation FREE. They are waiving their usual $149, but state mandated filing or publication fees and shipping charges will still apply.

Its a great discount - depending on your state you can legally form your business for less than $100.

MyCorporation is an Intuit Company - the same guys who make TurboTax. They cut through the paperwork and details and really make forming your business easy. Remember, the benefits of forming a corporation or LLC can include: protecting assets through liability protection , tax savings, reducing chances of a tax audit, and developing a professional identity with customers.

Use coupon code MYGIFT to get a FREE Inc. or LLC from MyCorporation.com

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Google SEO Starter Guide

Last week google released a very helpful 22 page SEO guide. Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.

The guide discusses everything from optimizing your page titles for better organic results to decoding the search results page. It spends a disproportionate amount of time discussing the value of creating fresh, unique content. Certainly that goes without saying. But it struck me as odd - if my content was so phenomenally unique and this alone assured perfect google attention - then why clutter my thoughts with all I need to do to optimize search, certainly I could just focus on being a genius pontificator. Alas this is not the case, I still need to be found, an judging by the lifeless works that come up with most of my searches, I think those of us that take time to craft our prose or discuss a topic thoughtfully should be more mindful of our SEO. Download the PDF here.

The guide does a great job of touching on all the important points including effective use of robot.txt file, site maps, and page structure.

It also mentions a webinar video back from this past June. The Google Trifecta - a great discussion on how to improve your site. The Trifecta Video is embedded below:

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Not so ironclad rules for starting a tech venture

In this month’s Inc. magazine, Joel Spolsky writes about his journey to creating stackoverflow.com, basically a programming community Q&A site with voting and editing - Digg for programmers.

It seems Joel normally has some ironclad rules he follows when developing sites and businesses, which include;

1. Vet programmers carefully
2. Put everyone in one office
3. Plan - create documents and diagrams
4. Intense bug tracking
5. Test
6. Create a software schedule
7. Think about monetization before launch

Joel explains how after briefly talking with programmer, Jeff Atwood, he basically abandoned all of these principles and still ended up with exactly what was planned (Caveat to rule 7, turns out this one is important to consider upfront - currently StackOverflow has no monetization model).

While Joel didn’t exactly follow his first rule, by thoroughly vetting his programmer he used his experience and instinct when he decided to move forward. And, in the end, partnering up with Jeff seemed to have made all the difference.

On the flip side, here is an article from last year where Joel documents how he broke all these rule and things went horribly wrong.

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Where should you put your resources?

As a scrappy upstart you have to consider what’s fundamentally necessary for your site and business to succeed, and what’s just fancy trimming. This certainly comes down to cost-control, but knowing what features to focus on that can be cost-effective and sales inducing is most important.

So fundamentally, what’s essential to your site? Solid page structure, effective navigation, and a point of contact - Simple enough. Now what elements are you convincing yourself are just “bells & whistles”? But may deserve a second look?

Flash intro animation?

.

Probably the most overdone feature of any web site, not needed, usually skipped save the money.

Often called “mystery meat navigation” and probably the worst violation of using dollars and time unwisely. Stick to the fundamentals of clear web navigation. What are they? Well, if your site has navigational features you’ve never experienced online before, then you’re probably doing something wrong. The fundamentals have been refined over a decade, stick to them and users will thank you.

On site Blog/news section?

An area that contains consistently updated content is always a good thing. It helps in SEO, it helps bring your users back, and it can even engage you in your own site. BUT if you don’t plan to commit to updating it weekly or more, then don’t bother.

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What’s with the web 2.5 thing?

That 2.5 badge at top means that hopefully some of the scrappy upstarts on this site will be what makes web 3.0 happen.

The inspiration for this site came form a recent Kevin Rose, the young founder of Digg, video blog post. Rose points out that the darlings of Web 2.0 like digg, were actually started very early on, in the last web cycle certainly before web 2.0 had been identified. They were able to gain traction and be seen as leaders by the time the web 2.0 nomenclature took.

Kevin believes starting up now before the “next big web 3.0 push” could make all the difference in what sites make it and what sites don’t.

Whatever comes next in terms of web 3.0 will probably be born out of these economic times and in this upstart web 2.5 world.

Require even more reassurance you’re on the right track with starting up in a down time? Take a look at Bill Graham’s article Why to Startup in a bad Economy.

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