Looking for an extra hustle these days? If you’ve been surfing around the internet, you’ve probably heard of reseller hosting and affiliate programs. And there’s no doubt about it, if done right, you can make some serious cash from these ventures. Although both concepts have similar goals and core elements, the execution or dynamics of both are completely different. As a reseller, you sell a product or service under your brand name.
As an affiliate, you send leads or business opportunities to other brands for the opportunity to earn commissions.
What is Reseller hosting?
A reseller, as the name implies, is someone who purchases goods (usually in bulk) or offers services with the intention of selling them to their own customers, not originally theirs.
In its most basic sense, you buy goods or services from the original business at a lower price and sell them with a markup to make a profit. While anyone can become a reseller of any product or service, making significant profits through this method can take time to build your network and many sales pitches. Finding a great source for what you resell is also a huge advantage, especially if you’ve already built a good working relationship.
Say you want to start a web hosting company, for instance. You put in all the planning and things you need to get a decent business off the ground. But then you realize that to do this you will need a lot of capital and many other things.
In reseller hosting plans, you get the opportunity to buy bulk hosting. Not only does this give you a lot of hosting space that you can share with your future clients. At the same time, you also get access to many different tools that would otherwise cost you a lot to acquire on your own. As a startup, this is not ideal, especially for a side hustle.
Also, a huge benefit of being a reseller is that you can brand everything under your own business. That’s why a reseller hosting program doesn’t really force you to do anything completely different, because the way of doing business is the same as a traditional one.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Reseller
With a resale business, your startup costs are relatively low, since you don’t have to invest in most of the things that would otherwise be required to get it off the ground. As a reseller, you don’t have to worry about things like manufacturing. You just have to think about how to get a steady flow of customers and orders.
Reselling should facilitate your business growth. You can keep a consistent flow of goods and services, as long as your source itself does not experience any problems.
One of the disadvantages of reselling though is that you don’t have complete control over the products or services you’re going to render, since you don’t handle many aspects of the business flow. When it comes to quality, you depend on your source.
Also, there is the possibility of not being able to resell at a competitive price. So, don’t expect to get a staggering amount of profit in advance. Reselling may seem easy, but depending on the profit you want to make, you need to put in a lot of work.
What is an affiliate program?
If reselling seems like too much work for you, you might want to try becoming an affiliate. While being a reseller allows you to run your own business, as an affiliate you are essentially acting as a sales representative for the business you are affiliated with. How do you become an affiliate? Join an affiliate network in the location you want to be in. You will be given a link unique to you with a tracking code to embed on your website, content, etc.
When someone clicks your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you make a commission. Affiliate programs work because it usually puts all actors involved in a win-win situation.
This is a great way for businesses to get a steady stream of leads and sales, and at the same time, allows small businesses to earn from those sales. The most widely used affiliate program is Amazon.
Advantages and disadvantages of an affiliate program
With an affiliate program, how you earn is pretty clear and simple. With this side hustle, you can earn passive income and it is quite easy to start. You also won’t have many responsibilities, so it’s less work than being a reseller.
But of course, just being an affiliate, you only earn in commissions which, to be honest, may not be much depending on the products or services you are linking to. Sales here are also not guaranteed.
Which is better for you?
So where do you stand on the reseller hosting vs. affiliate debate? I think it is clear by now what suits you best:
If you want to start a brick-and-mortar business, be in control of your profits, and be willing to work, become a reseller. If you just need a side hustle or extra passive income, become an affiliate.
