Site Build Lovers I'd Like Your Assistance and Honest Opinions

[TomWilson]

I sent the following message to Site Build It owner Ken Envoy today after not receiving a reply from anyone from my first inquiry last Thursday morning. So I'm posting it here in hopes you all might give me your feedback from a user's point of view.

"I asked questions on Thursday 5/28/09 to help determine if your system is best for a web site I am planning on launching. However with this slow of a response for someone considering investing in Site Build It and the fact that I cannot find a phone number I can call to ask my questions makes me even more hesitant.

I currently blog via Blogger on a topic I love. It happens to be following Jesus outside of religious institutionalism in the real world. I currently write in my blog on a once per week schedule and have an average of 10 visitors per day for the past 9 months. Whether or not I ever make a dime I will continue to blog or write articles in some online format on this topic nevertheless I would like to monetize the blog and significantly increase traffic.

I came across your web site and then I talked with another person I know who is a Site Build Itl customers and what strikes me is that it appears you and I have the same no hype and other bs business ethics. I cannot say that for any of the other similar services I have found on the web.

However, my keyword research has not demonstrated a great market, but as I said whether I make a dime or not I will continue, because the feedback I get tells me the things I write are valuable to the people who do read it. I've have considered a hosted wordpress blog and using it for both blogging and via various plugins have part of it function like a website as well as utilize some of the various seo other plugins IM’ers utilize.

One of the things that makes me hesitate about going with Site Build It is in all honesty the price would be a very significant investment for me, due to my current income. However at the same time I'm so impressed with your product and feel it might be my only chance to at possibly learning everything I need to know to have a successfully money making web site. I have tried to learn from others I've found on the web and I have spent ours doing keyword research and not only for this blog. Also on altogether different topics (such as saving and making money) I am also interested in building niche web sites on which would be purely for the purpose of making money, but I have the impression so far that I suck at keyword research.

Any way with all of that said do you think Site Sell is for me or would you mind offering other suggestions."

[RebeccaL]

Tom, Wordpress is all you need. Cheap hosting, a domain name for $9 and install wordpress via Cpanel is the way to go.

I can help you get it set up and running if you like. Just PM me. I won't charge you to install it and get some basic plugins configured.

I don't like seeing people spending money that they don't have to.

[bgmacaw]

For a blog like the one you described Blogger is a fine platform to use. It's free and reliable. If you like using Blogger stick with it. Don't switch to something else just for improving search traffic. Google on 'make money online' to understand why. There are some possible reasons to switch but they don't have anything to do with search traffic.

As for Site Build It, it would have been a great system in 1999-2001. Today, it's a bit outdated and overpriced. Unlimited shared hosting accounts cost about 1/2 to 1/3 of that price and you can obtain arguably better keyword and SEO advice for free as well.

[Susanrh]

Hi Tom, I can't add anything to what has already been said but if it helps you make up your mind. I had a Site Build it site for twelve months and though there is a lot of information available with it, I found it laborious to set up and get to grips with, and when it came to renew my subscription it was difficult to justify the expense. I have since discovered Wordpress and with a couple of cheap WSOs have found it a much quicker and easier system to use and I think especially suitable for what you want especially since you already have experience of blogging.
You can get all the info you need here at a fraction of the cost, and with cheap hosting and free wordpress it's got to be the way to go.
Good Luck
Susan

[MyVIP]

I agree with Susan. I had a SBI site and did not renew. I definitely think overall it does what it says but for me personally, the builder just didn't work for me.

They offer a lot of information but that's part of the problem. You could spend weeks going through all the material and learning how to navigate it all and remember where everything is.

In my opinion, spending an hour or so a day on the Warrior forum you will learn a lot more and all for free.

[TomWilson]

RebeccaL, bgmacaw, Susanrh, MyVIP: Thank you all for you answers!


Getting more traffic to my existing blog and Seo is not the only reason why I'm interested in switching to word press and not even the fact that it is far more customizable. I also want to do it, because I do want all those things, but more importantly I want to also start other purely make money sites.

The main reason I was considering site sell is the support as so far even though I have for instance followed Richard Leggs Keyword Search methods to a tee so far I have the impression I'm not intuitive enough if that is the write word for it and therefore suck at Keyword Research. I was hoping that with the support that site build it offers I could overcome it.

However the truth is I also previously invested in IMC's Insider Secrets and after 3 weeks of following them step by step again I found I sucked at just the basic Keyword research and for that I was not trying to monetize my existing blog. Plus I have to admit there constantly trying to up sell me just felt manipulative and when they did that I kept remembering the bs, before I committed to invest in Insider Secretes where their web site kept telling me that I had till a certain date to purchase to get the special price, but every time I went back to the site the price changed. So I ended up asking for an recieving a refund, because if I use a system I want to beleive it and the company that owns it enough that I could offer it in good conscious to others.

With Site Build I at least thought that we the lack of manipulation and exageration on their Site and there similar ethics to my own if it worked for me I could become passionate affilliate of their program. However it is now Monday at 5:50 P.M. and they still have not replied to my original email or the one shown above.

So I think I'm probably going to have to go the word press option and then purhaps after I build some purely make money sites with that are actually successful, perhaps start my own no BS, manipulation, and exageration IM marketing course.

But first I want to start with a Blog and web site based on the same topic my current one is on, because that is what I love.

Tom Wilson

[BrendaLR]

To all, I'm a very happy SBI! owner who gets 2,000 visitors per day at my Ghostsandstories.com site. I'm not sure, but it does not look like many people here get that much traffic, although I'm sure you know a lot more than I do technically about sitebuilding.

And that's the thing about SBI!. I focus on building my business, they give me the tools and take care of a lot of the underlying stuff that I don't want to worry about.

The BlockBuilder is a training tool that you are supposed to drop and move on to any sitebuilder you like. It's clunky like training wheels on a bike are clunky. Still, it's amazing how many SBIers stick with it even as their site grows to hundreds of pages. Others move on to an HTML editor they were using before or pick up an open source editor, whatever they like.

SBI! is not out of date. They are consistently first to react to important new market trends and release updates and improvements.

There are a lot of old myths in this thread that are incorrect.

I guess it boils down to this. If you're making good money online, you don't need it. If you're not and if you've been trying, then try it. If $299 seems pricey, then try the free route and try to
figure it out. If you can't succeed with the "free and learn from all over route," then go with SBI!. But if you can afford $299 and are ready to commit to the process and work differently, then
I can't imagine a better investment for your money.

And you won't find a happier group of customers than in the forums. There is no way that kind of spirit comes from people who are not meeting their goals.

Sincerely,

Brenda

[robinincarolina]

Well I just purchased it Sunday but have not started it yet. Thanks Brenda for the positive post. I was getting a bit scared there. I know a lady that has been using it and has had great success with it. You can also promote it I think and the renewal will pay for itself. I did the summer sandal special and got 2 sites and sold one of them so I saved $100.00 bucks.

[BrendaLR]

Hi Robinincarolina!

In actuality, I've only paid once.

My first site paid for itself every year after that, plus has several offspring, too. I just funnel my website income into an account and use it to cover my website expenses.

If I hadn't started with SBI, I'm sure I would have been out much more then the initial $299. That's how I look at it.

[Black Hat Cat]

To all, I'm a very happy SBI! owner who gets 2,000 visitors per day at my Ghostsandstories.com site. I'm not sure, but it does not look like many people here get that much traffic, although I'm sure you know a lot more than I do technically about sitebuilding.

That's great, but you're not getting that traffic because you built your site using SBI, you're getting it because you're doing what is necessary to generate that much traffic. You could do the same thing by reading Ken's free SBI guidebook, and spending less than $50 on tools, domains and hosting.....tools, by the way, that you can use over and over and over again, unlike SBI where you have to buy the same tools over and over again. That's like buying a new copy of Dreamweaver every time you build a new site.

I'd give myself a $300 raise and dump SBI if it were me. But some people don't mind wasting money. More power to them.

[BrendaLR]

BlueFartCat

Excuse me, are you an SBIer?

Because I don't agree with you and don't know where you're getting your information from.

There are tools that are all inclusive. Take, for example the Brainstormer. That alone would cost $300 a year. It's included. Compare that with a year subscription at Wordtracker.

What about all the work that is done automatically for you? This is tedious, mind numbing stuff and that is done automatically.

The SBIer focuses on their business - and remember, that's what we're talking about, building a business - and the rest is done behind the lines. What if you were an insurance agent and you wanted to generate free leads for your insurance business? Or what if you were a real estate agent specializing in a certain type of property in a certain city? Wouldn't a free lead generating machine be worth the $300 a year? That is what SBI is all about.

I guess you have to look at it from whether you're just going to have a site that sits there and site that makes money. If it's making money, then the $300 is not objectionable. $300 a year for a business expense is awful cheap, actually.

I guess if you know how to do everything, and have the time to do it, and don't feel that having that convenience, plus all the other gazillion modules that come with it, for free, then I guess I'd agree.

But I don't, and that's why SBI is for me.

It probably isn't for you.

[WilliamM]

Tom,

I presently have 4 SBI sites and plan to invest in more.

My first site (started in 2003) hit the $10K mark last month is on route to do $12K this month (I did over $12000 my first year). It has a little over 500 pages and receives over 2500 unique visitors a month.

I highly recommend SBI. It includes hosting, keyword research tool, site building tool, automatic search engine submission and re-submission, newsletter capability, etc., etc., etc.

I agree that it can be "laborious" but building a business requires work. The SBI mascot is the tortoise not the hare. I think they do it that way on purpose so you will invest time to really understand each step before moving on to the next. Too often, people buy something and try to make it work instantly. When that doesn't happen, they move on.

I don't know why you did not get a response to your question because my experience with customer service has been great.

While I only have rave reviews for SBI, I don't think it is the only way to build sites. I also use Wordpress for a few of my websites. If you are just getting started, I think SBI is a great system to start and grow your business. I think the only way you can go wrong with SBI is either to do nothing or not follow their proven system.

William

[bgmacaw]

Understand the nature of the SBI Beast...

SiteSell Review

Is Site Sell, Site BuildIt A Scam?

Site Build it - Don't Buy It

GroupThink

[RoyChan]

SBI! is really good for those who are just starting out, or someone who does not have a systematic way of generating income online.

SBI! has the following strength. Once you get it and have the capability of generating simple html sites. You should be able to do all those via wordpress with a cheap hosting.

- Keyword research and keywords optimised pages
- Unique Selling Proposition
- Undestanding of preselling/ selling
- Content creation and linking to appropriate affiliate programs for monetarization
- Conversion and clickthrough
- the needs of your potential visitor
- the ability of following up with the visitors

So, the point is, what do you want to deliver to your potential customers? and why should they buy from YOU, instead of your competitors?

The reason why so many people seemed to have earned $$ with SBI! was because they focused on the specific USP instead of the so-called technology. Technology is meatless. only YOU are the point of focus.

In my opinion, if you know how to use Wordpress and can afford an autoresponder account like aweber or getresponse, and if you know how to use the free research tools like Google Adwords, eBay, Amazon... you don't need SBI!

SBI! provide you a platform which guides you through the process of brainstorming your strength and website format and structures. Regarding to the way of building a website, I don't think it's very user-friendly. Xsitepro is ten times easier, which however does not provide you the tool to do keyword research. If you are planning to do more than 1 site, you are better off trying to learn the basics of wordpress and generate some simple and easy to read webpages, and you don't need SBI! However, if you have some passion onto certain topics and believe that you will stick with this particular passion (which will be your site focus), then you may consider SBI!, as you will be building a really strong content site, and you won't have much time to learn another platform. For that, I recommend SBI!

Before you make any decision, I encourage you to take all the FREE lessons by Sitesell. For day 2-4, don't worry about the tool which was mentioned in their tutorial, because you can simply do so by using Google External Keywords tool, which was not yet available when the Sitesell videos were published.

The key is understanding the basics of earning money on the web. The functionality of SBI! can be obtained for free - if you are keen. Not everyone thinks $299 for a site a year a good deal, no matter how much money it could potentially generate for you.

But at the end of the day, what VALUE are you bringing to your visitors. That's the key. Site Build It is just a tool.

[BrendaLR]

Hi Everybody

Regarding those reviews, I guess people will have to decide on their own why thousands and thousands of SBIers use SBI!, love it and get results. What else can I say? Check out the product yourself. There is a money-back guarantee so you have nothing to lose.

Also, there is a lot more to SBI than knowing one's USP. There is a ton of free information as I see you have discovered, Netpro7. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

But SBI goes way beyond the free information they offer so generously.

Again, one would have to see for himself.

Have a great day, everybody!

Brenda

[zen_affiliate]

LOL, that brenda6post sure told Black Hat "where the cat died"!
I went and looked over SBI and for the annual, obviously recurring fees, you could get hosting for unlimited domains, with joomla, drupal, wordpress(and more), a slew of tools(some paid, some free), some directory listings & some articles written.
One doesn't need overpriced scripts, apps & AWOL support to get traffic and make money. You need some guile, some style, some passion for what you're doing and real information(as opposed to some sales propoganda intended to relieve you of your money).

[RoyChan]

Originally Posted by BrendaLR

Hi Everybody

Regarding those reviews, I guess people will have to decide on their own why thousands and thousands of SBIers use SBI!, love it and get results. What else can I say? Check out the product yourself. There is a money-back guarantee so you have nothing to lose.

Also, there is a lot more to SBI than knowing one's USP. There is a ton of free information as I see you have discovered, Netpro7. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

But SBI goes way beyond the free information they offer so generously.

Again, one would have to see for himself.

Have a great day, everybody!

Brenda

I did not discover what SBI has to cover. I was actually a SBIer for 3 years, before I decided to pitch it, because of the inflexibility of creating the site and modifying the template. Of course I only touched on the tip of the iceberg, as I can't mention everything SBI was in a single post. Hope you understand.

[jasonvthomas]

I would say a simple hosting account and wordpress can do a lot for you. You dont need an SBI account. Do have a look at my signature, if you need help with building a website to profit

[ColinD]

Hello Tom

I don't know if you're still watching this thread, but if you are, could I share my little bit with you.

Whenever I talk to people offline about Site Build It!, I use the analogy of independent business and a franchise...

This has turned out to be one of the best ways for me to explain to people (especially offline) what SBI! is. I'd like to share some of what I say to folks offline, if that's ok. Then I'd like to mention a few things about Site Build It!

I ran my own corporation for 5 years, and in my experience as an independent business person you're on your own. There is a lot of trial and error, usually expensive lessons that are learned (both in terms of time and money). There is very little - if any - support, and mostly if the independent entrepreneur wants support it means taking out the check book

A franchise on the other hand has training, it's a proven business model, and there is support from the franchisor (the top franchises). Bottom line, the business person is not alone.

Right off, I want to say that SBI! is not for everyone - there is a system and structure, and for anyone who does not like working within a structured environment, this is not a good fit.

It's your wish to monetize your blog and increase traffic... one of the modules in SBI! is called Monetize It! - this offers some great strategies on monetizing a site, plus there are over 100 articles on a wide variety of monetizing, many of which offer techniques that actual SBIers have and are using with their sites.

Keyword research. I know how you feel, Tom Site Build It! has the Brainstormer module (recently upgraded to version 3) which is totally awesome! There's not enough space here for me to share what can be done with this module. In addition there is the Niche Choose It! module. Keyword research need not be a pain in the wazoo, with these tools.

"the feedback I get tells me the things I write are valuable to the people who do read it."

This is exactly what Site Build It! is about. You have a passion for something, Tom. You build a content rich site, and using the tools available to you, success comes along, without even being invited

A lot of people talk about the price of Site Build It! Thinking of the $299 in terms of hosting a web site, not even I could justify the price. But, if you consider paying $299 for your own online business, then it's a whole different picture. As I mentioned at the start of this post, think of SBI! in terms of it being a franchise - without the monthly royalty fees being paid.

"possibly learning everything I need to know to have a successfully money making web site"

Again, Tom, there's not enough space here (and I'm tight on time ) to go into depth on what SBI! actually offers... I can mention there is the Action Guide (written and video), there is over 300 articles on practically every aspect of starting and running an online business (many written by people who have actually done, or are doing it), the Site Build It! forums, and SiteSell Support. Think of the independent business person vs the franchisee.

I hope this helps clarify some points about Site Build It!

May you experience only the best that can be.

Colin

[warfore]

This thread is also going on at the Web Design forum. I copied my post there and provided it here...

I agree with all of the good words said about Site Build It. Great tools, great forum, lots of support, etc. It is a great program for those completely new to being a webmaster. It was my introduction to HTML and CSS.

After a time, however, I found that I wanted more flexibility in managing my own site. I wanted to know how to do alot of things that SBI insulated you from needing to know. The preachy style of Ken Evoy also started to wear on me over time. I eventually moved my site to Bluehost.

SBI is a great teacher and if you need alot of handholding then it is highly recommended but if you are the type that needs to strip it down to nuts and bolts you may want to explore some other avenues

[ny_mariposa]

I think SBI still has a lot to offer in terms of guidance when building your website from start to finish. The formula is easy to follow and it does work if done correctly.

However, I was quite disappointed in the lack of customer service and support. Response times are slow and when looking for support, they make it painfully obvious that they don't want bothered by you.

I moved my site off of their servers after the first year because I felt the renewal rate was too much for a site that was almost on autopilot.

[nostih]

Another Happy SBI user. I use it for my offline business. The thing aabout SBI is it taught me more than I give my self credit for. I find myself using SBI to gage the quality of other information.

SBI does have a great system. Does it require BAM? Yes. What is BAM? Read the SBI action guide and find out.

Mind you I am NO DESIGNER. I needed a template to follow. Click on my name(signature) to see my SBI site. I am going to upgrade to a more professional design after I redo the homepage. I need to give the page more clarity.

[pam0518]

Hello everyone

I use SBI as well and I do like it. I am sure I could get out there and use cheaper solutions, but SBI works for me because of the different tools it offers. I agree with Brenda in a lot of her comments, especially some of the tools like the keyword reseach tool which is much cheaper than subscribing to keyword services.

I like the people on SBI and there seems to be a number of people making money, but I also come on warrior to find out what other people are talking about. I searched for Site Build it today to see what other warriors thought of it. It seems a mixed review. Of course sbi has its own forum but the majority of the people in there are singing its praises, that is why I searched on here.

I am glad though that I am not the only warrior who is a SBI site owner. I think what it boils down to is what you are looking for. If you are well educated in HTMl and other styles of website building, as well as marketing your site, analyzing your own pages for quality SEO, etc., than you might not even consider site build it, perhaps you do not need it or the tools it offers, however, if you are looking at a long term project not a mini site and you think the tools might help well then it is something to consider.

Pam

[StuartL]

I don't get why people don't like SBI. If you work it, it is an organic traffic machine. If you generate lots of traffic, you get to monetise it. Simple as that really...

I work in an online business that gets about one million page views per month. The business is staffed by a wide-range of online entrepreneurial types - and my SBI sites get about as many page views as all of my colleagues put together. Sure, their sites are prettier than mine - but I earn more money.

So whats better? Pretty or money?

I know which I choose...

[callseller]

SBI is a great system. It's strength is the push for unique content and it is great for those who can write.

It has a wonderful support forum with all the help you can want.

It is not for everyone.