Reselling web hosting is a potentially lucrative business with many advantages. Well, most importantly, you don’t have to worry about hardware. Partnering with a reputable web hosting business that owns their own datacenter (i.e. TurnKey Internet) will allow you to provide reliable services to your clients while you receive stellar support and 100% uptime. But providing the server space is only one small part of a successful reseller business. You have to market your business too, and that’s no small task. As a very wise CEO once told me, “Products don’t make a business. Sales and marketing make a business.” So how do you effectively market your reseller business without spending all your capital on advertising? Good question, self! Allow me to elucidate…

Press Releases

Press releases are a powerful tool for marketing your company. While press releases work best for real newsworthy items, even routine product announcements and promotions can benefit from a formal press release distributed through the right channels. The best part is that press releases don’t have to cost you anything more than the time it takes to write them.

• Advantages

  Bloggers, journalists and online news outlets are always on the lookout for new content. Getting your press release listed is great for exposure, and it builds your website’s backlinks, which is great for SEO. If your release contains newsworthy information that extends beyond the web hosting arena, you could get picked up by print publications. This is an excellent way to build your company’s credibility and to reach an audience that may not be keeping tabs on industry-only news.

• Distribution

  There are several traditional (and free) methods for distributing press releases, and a few more creative non-traditional ones. First, submit your release to all of the online news outlets you can find. This can be time consuming, as many of them require you to register before you can submit news, but the effort is worthwhile. It may be onerous the first time around, but if you save your registration information, subsequent releases will be easier and faster. Second, notify your clients of your releases via your email newsletter. If you don’t have a newsletter yet, you should get on that, and fast, because they are invaluable marketing tools (more on this below). Third, submit your release to all of your local newspapers and radio stations. It might sound old school, but getting listed in print or mentioned on the radio will be a real feather in your company’s cap.

• Keywords

  Load your press release with SEO-friendly keywords and phrases. The more specific your keywords and phrases are, the better, for example: there are millions of companies using the keywords “web hosting” but not nearly as many using the keywords “New York web hosting professionals.” If you target your demographic with your keywords, you’ll maximize traffic from that demographic. And try to remember the rule: one to two keywords per 100 words.

• Paid Releases

  There are several companies that offer to distribute your press releases for a fee. Typically, the fee is $50-$250 and includes submission to all the major search engines and news outlets online. We have found paid releases to be beneficial for truly newsworthy releases, especially those that involve a new product or service that we know people will be excited about. The bottom line here is sales. If we have a release we think will bring in sales, we’re willing to spend some money to make sure our customers see it.

Blogs

What I’m doing here… right now… and here… is writing a company blog. This blog increases traffic to TurnKey Internet because it is regularly updated, searchable, indexed content that keeps us at the top of search results. The more I talk about TurnKey Internet’s top-notch web hosting products and services, the more easily we will be found by customers searching for top-notch web hosting products and services. It’s simple. It works. Try it!

Specials

Specials, sales and coupons attract attention. Everyone wants a deal. Everyone wants to pay less for something that used to cost more. You can advertise your specials via all the social networks (in which you should already have an account for your company). You can also include specials and promotions on your blog, with keyword-filled content that highlights the amazing features included in your special. If your special is really…well… special, you can write up a press release.

Email Newsletters

You have undoubtedly heard about the marketing power of email newsletters. If you haven’t started one yet, check out TurnKeyNewsletter.com, our one-stop email newsletter shop. Newsletters are ideal tools for sending out company updates, promotions, specials, etc. They are also critical tools for building customer trust and loyalty. An active company that has a lot going on is a successful company—at least in the eyes of your customers. Finding the right email newsletter software can be a real challenge. Many of the better known products out there have major bugs that will hurt your company’s image (the opposite of what you’re going for, obviously). That is why we have just released our very own, superior, incredible, action-packed email newsletter software. Check it out here: http://turnkeynewsletter.com. Also, stay tuned for a whole entire blog post dedicated to this new must-have marketing tool.