Well I have some cash in hand and I would like to start a web hosting business, I have examined all the risk and cost. The question now is, where do I get clients?
I think the more important thing is to think about your positioning. There's just so many different hosting companies out there that even with the best client generation strategies you'll have trouble getting any. What's the angle your company will be taking?
well that was my idea too to start online work is bulid a web hosting company so i will tell you was i was plan to do 1- get a good reseller from good company there are more host companies in web give us this is choose so when i want to choose for my reseller i should be sure that the server will work well that for me to keep my clients in my home lol 2- seo i was want to used google adwords & facebook ads too to make me get traffic fast then got a clients fast too 3- talk with websites owners i was search and found that the ppl like to work with them friends so i will make a friendship with web owners for talk them supports 4- good prices it maybe make you get too much rich if you choose your right prices 5- more than 1 host plan there are some like to have host for month and one for 3,6 months or year you should keep that at your mind 6- wish you all luck
Amido listed a lot of good ways. Another is to actively participate in forums. Try to genuinely help people out, answer their questions and leave you link in your signature.
rank your domain 1st page in google for web hosting and you will get more clients then from forum posting.... there are more strategies I think you need to put more thought into it as it's doesn't sound so easy. I have been in the related business to web hosting for nearly 2 years and I think I can also start a web hosting business in the near future, and altough it's not hard process it does require other stuff, for example the most thing i'm worried about it customer care and that is a good thing to outsource to companies that manage your servers. You also need to create a good image for your host business, a short catchy domain that will probably cost $1-2k with good front design (that can cost $3-10k) and attractive design is just 1 step, but you also need presences, affiliate base and so forth....
My friend some pertinent post with backlinks from Relevant forums with High PR Ranking will help to Achieve the Google 1st page Ranking you Talk about ..Share some of those strategies-LOL- Of course some On Page SEO Would be very helpful,But don't underestimate those MANUAL Forum post to achieve that first page Ranking....I Have Achieved That 1st page ranking Quite a few times FOR VERY POPULAR KEYWORDS..Especially Using those .EDU bACKERS
As mentioned above the problem is hosting is cheap these days. I even own a hosting company which gives free hosting. It took a long time and alot of money to get alot of people to join my hosting and that was for free.
If I were you, I would target numerous web design firms and try to partner up with them. Have them build your website, and give them deals on hosting if they host their clients with you. If you are able to secure "partnerships" like this with about 10 design firms you could easily start to spread your name around by taking a little pay cut in order to satisfy partnership agreements. Additionally, you could offer free hosting in return for an honest review on numerous forums, etc. Basically the biggest step will be to build a foundation of customers. Once you have a foundation, if you actually provide great service, they will do the work for you and refer others to you.
Competition, and subsequently advertising costs, are very high in the web hosting industry. Consider the deep pockets of 1and1, Godaddy, Netsol, etc. I've always recommended that prospective web hosts start geographically local -- contact local businesses and maybe mention how you can reduce their hosting costs by hosting with your business.
To compete in web hosting industry you will need following: 1) 24x7x365 knowledgeable support staff including some tier 3 administrators 2) automated billing software 3) excellent web site 4) Hardware infrastructure once you have all this expect at least $200 cost for acquiring single customer (that is what big guys pay). If you don't have all above that, trust me don't take hosting business seriously or you will loose all your time and efforts, its not worth it. If you just want to do side income, signup for reseller program and try to market your company in your local area as web design company. How do i know all this, I work in hosting industry, its dead, only big guys like hostgator, godaddy kind have 95% market share, rest are resellers. Cloud and data center market is totally different game and is for professionals.