Google began in a garage, Facebook was launched from a dorm room, and now every college sophomore is trying to think up the “The Next Big Thing” without paying too much attention to what that “thing” is actually going to be. We live in an age when individuals can start websites where they post lyrics to their favorite songs, then sell ad space on those sites when their traffic numbers start to spike. The internet is ours for the taking, right?
Wrong. The best way to build a profitable, lasting web-based business is never to take the easy route. Google’s founders spent years perfecting their algorithms, and Facebook wasn’t perfected overnight. As such, in order to break onto the internet marketing scene, it might just help you to do a bit of reselling first. But before you go off and start pursuing some investment capital, you have to know what’s it going to take to get there.
Step 1: Establishing your client base.
Say you launch a full-service social media management agency for business clients. You’re likely going to spend at least a year getting good at what you do, getting comfortable in your own skin, and building up a dependable staff before you can even think about expanding. When you’re considering SEO reselling — or any other kind of reselling, for that matter — you have to build up a reputable client base before anything else takes shape.
Step 2: Scoping out your options.
Start picking out some promising agencies very early on so you can study them from afar and see if their partnership would be beneficial to your company. Whether you’re opting for becoming an SEO, social media, or web design reseller, you’re going to need to look into potential wholesalers and what they can offer both you and your clients. When you feel good about a potential partner, it’s time to talk numbers.
Step 3: Shopping around for quotes.
You know what your company is worth, so get a quote from a few businesses you’re considering partnering with. Measure them against each other and, most importantly, your budget, in order to see if you’ll be able to work with the kind of service they’d be offering. Again, every SEO, social media, and web design reseller began taking these steps in order to ensure they weren’t getting in way over their heads.
Step 4: Partnering up with a wholesaler.
Here’s how it works. Your wholesaler will create the content for your clients. You’ll resell that content to your clients at a slightly higher rate in order to make a profit. You’ll likely sign a non-compete agreement with your wholesaler in order to ensure no client-stealing happens during your partnership. Then, when you think you’ve got the hang of it, you might just consider…
Step 5: Launching your own service.
Look, this isn’t the goal of every web-based service, but it’s a smart long-term move to think about. By watching from the sidelines, you’ll learn everything there is to know about being a web design reseller, or SEO reseller, or social media reseller, and so forth. When you feel confident enough, break away and start handling all those services in-house. It’s a smart investment in the solid future of your business.