SBI! is a scam!
That was the comment left on one of my YouTube videos a few days ago, but it wasn’t really a surprise. It’s not the first time I’ve heard the scam cries regarding SBI!.
This person heard about the $10,000 prize Ken Evoy, President of SiteSell.com, awarded to a lucky winner.
So his comment warned others there was a prize out for videos like mine. I guess he thought my video was created for the sake of entering the contest.
Sorry, Mr. Anonymous-YouTube-commentor, some of us actually use the product and love it. And while I make it no secret I belong to SiteSell’s affiliate program, I still believe in the product and endorse it because I used it to create my site, Flat Stomach Exercises.
Why Site Build It! Cannot Be a Scam
Every now and then I’ll get a comment on my YouTube channel from someone saying Site Build It! is a scam because it didn’t work for them, or they believe it’s overpriced.
I guess I must have a different definition of scam than some of these people. In my opinion, a scam is product or service that doesn’t deliver what is promised. Or the company overcharges for the value provided.
Never does SiteSell promise you’ll make money if you use their product. Nor do they guarantee it’s easy to make money online.
The only thing they DO promise is that you will get valuable tutorials and tools to build your site that will set you on the path of success. This is true no matter which web host you use.
You have to understand, however, that your success largely depends on YOU and your own efforts. Building a successful website takes work, patience, learning, creativity and motivation.
Site Build It! provides you all the tools you need for $299/yr (a website builder, newsletter manager, autoresponder, search engine ranking help, traffic reports, tutorials, a topic brainstorming tool, etc.) but YOU still have to bring your own brains and motivation to complete the process.
And here’s a message for those of you who may be turned off by the price of $299/year…
First of all, almost everyone knows that you can easily get a web host for under $10/month. But cheap web hosts are not in the business of actually helping you build traffic and make money. They simply host your site and the rest is up to you to figure out.
Websites don’t just attract traffic when you launch them. It requires effective pre-planning and an understanding for how Internet marketing works. Cheap web hosts don’t teach you anything about this, but SBI! does. As a customer myself I can tell you THAT’s largely what you’re paying for.
If you were to purchase all the tools that SBI! provides separately you’d be paying much more than $299/year so I definitely wanted to clarify that for people who wonder why the price is so much higher. Site Build It! is NOT just a regular web host. It’s a system of tools and tutorials that teaches you how to build a heavily trafficked website.
And with the 30-day money back guarantee, the product is completely risk free. If it’s not for you, just ask for your money back within the first 30 days. I promise they’ll give it to you.
If they don’t, just let me know and I’ll get on the phone to SiteSell’s creator, Dr. Ken Evoy. (Yes, I really do have his phone number.) But I know that’s not going to be necessary because they have always honored their guarantee.
So before you write something off as a scam, just make sure you do your homework and ask the proper questions before making assumptions.
Be Careful Who You Listen To
In the past few years, some negative reviews about Site Build It! have popped up. The reviews typically contain negative and false information about Site Build It!.
The authors don’t own SBI! so the articles are typically laced with lies and assumptions. The real agenda is to discredit SBI! so they can turn around and promote their own product. Sneaky, huh?
It’s easy to get sucked into a sea of negative comments. So if you need any clarification about how SBI! works, feel free to ask me in the comments below or get the truth and official reply from the Site Build It! scam website. They do a great job of summing up the motives behind these negative reviews.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion about a product, but I have no respect for people who make up lies about a company or their product for their own personal gain.
Is SBI! for Everyone?
No, it’s not. And I would never proclaim anyone that uses it is going to have automatic success.
There is work involved, lots of reading and definitely a good amount of patience and motivation required… just like any other business or money making venture. I just felt the need to clarify the scam statements because it’s so easy to lump SBI! into all the other get-rich-quick programs on the net.
And I wouldn’t blame people for being skeptical because there are a lot of scams out here — especially when it comes to making money online.
Having said that, SBI! does have its flaws. Their design templates aren’t nearly as good as WordPress in my opinion and there are no plugins that allow you to add different functionality the way WordPress allows you to.
In fact, I wrote a post about what I think SiteSell should do in the future.
Why Buy SBI! Today When There’s WordPress?
One reason I continue to promote SBI! in a WordPress-dominated era is overall package they provide. You just won’t find any online training like it. Period.
I can’t lie. WordPress has the better templates hands down, but SBI!’s overall system is better because of the complete education.
As easy as WordPress is to use, it doesn’t mean your success is going to come any easier.
Just because you can put up a site in two minutes, install a few plugins and slap on 20 social media buttons doesn’t mean you are going to have a successful business.
No matter if you use SBI! or WordPress, you have to learn how to market your site (beyond Google) if you want to succeed, and no other company online actually has a system of tools in one place like SBI! does.
Times Have Changed
Just know that the Net has changed a lot since I bought SBI! in 2005 and getting traffic from Google (no matter what platform you use) takes a lot more work. So please don’t go into this expecting to write a couple of pages and start generating mounds of traffic.
This is going to take time and work. How long will depend on your work ethic, the topic you choose and so much more.
I remember not touching my site for months and the traffic would stay the same or even increase. That won’t work today.
Making money online is hard work, but it’s still doable with the right training. That’s one of the reasons I recommend SBI! — it does provide unparalleled guidance that no other company really does today.
Watch a demo of me using my SBI! account.
I’ve done my website with SBI, and although I haven’t made money, it’s not because I haven’t been able to build traffic–an average of about 150-200 a day–but because I chose a political goal, not a monetary one. I wanted to show-case a book, and I’ve at least brought the idea of it to a couple hundred thousand in the last seven months, many more in the last year.
In fact, right now, I’m trying to figure out how to subscribe to two more sites, before the Valentine special is over.
Hi Lisa,
I tried to build my site on SBI for three months. I learned a lot about building a website, but their format does not work well for all websites. I have switched over to using a web designer and am paying for SEO, which is much more expensive. The problem with SBI, is in the slow process of monetization. My site is totally product driven and the information is proprietary, so I was wasting my efforts and would be giving away the farm, before I ever monetized.
I am not a customer of SBI. I have done allot of research on it and believe it is NOT a scam! It is funny how the people who bash it are not customers. It is just like parenting. The people who think they know it all about parenting have NO children.
I was a customer and I am highly dissatisfied with my purchase.
I currently have a blog in the martial arts field. It is doing ok with around 150 visitors a day. I have a few ideas for specific niches within the this field and am thinking of getting SBI to create the websites. Im just not sure weather it would be worth it or not. Please could you let me know if its is worth it giving advantages and disadvantages of it. Many Thanks.
Markos,
Since you already have a blog with traffic, what I would do is use Site Build It! to create another site related to your blog and use that site to draw additional traffic to your blog and vice versa.
Question is it really worth the 299.00 for the price, i’m trying to open an online store. What do you suggest?
I’ve been researching on-line business for a whil;e and SBI! does keep popping up. People keep saying it’s not easy but I’m not getting specifics on what exactly is not easy. Is it the work involved in writing content or something else?
Thanks
Hi Michelle,
It’s the work involved of building useful content and learning how to market so you get enough traffic to succeed. I think most would agree traffic generating is the most challenging.
Hi Lisa,
Like Douglas above, Feb. 14, 2008, I too am passionate about politics and economics, particularly relating to current issues, foreign and domestic, but unsure of an approach or angle that would draw substantial long-term traffic and profitability.
I agree with Brenda! Love the analogy!
It IS like those thinking they KNOW the best about Parenting, but have NO children.
Some go by word of mouth, or see an SBIer struggling and assume that all SBIers do.
SBI is an amazing tool – you have to know how to use it and implement it well.
The forums from SBI make it so much more amazing, in that all the support and time and help that other successful SBIers give you, is worth the $299 in itself.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your useful information. I’m searching a lot in order to create my own site for offering translation services.
Can you give some idea about how to start?
Thank you so much.
Dear Lisa,
You seem to like this program a lot. What kind of websites have you created with it?
William, my site http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com is an SBI! site. Check the Alexa rank.
I also been doing a lot of research about SBI and I’m agree that it is NOT a scam!
I have a blog and I’m planning to use Site Build It! to create another site related to the same niche, and at the same time what had motivated me were the searches engines tools.
One question, $299 for one year and after that?
Yes, Alfonso it’s $299 per year.
hi lisa. in the demo video of sbi! you made you had keyword statistics of the keywords you typed in. how would you which one to choose.is it the one that has the most demand and low supply competition with the highest paid keyword?
kind regards
julian
Hi Lisa, I’ve been reading a lot about SBI on their website. It’s actually rekindled my long time dream of building my own online legal information business, which will be specific to Australia for starters. How workable is SBI in Australia?
Hi Bucky,
Location doesn’t matter. As long as you have internet access, that’s all you need. Everything is browser-based.
Hi Lisa,
I’m pretty much sold on SBI and hopefully soon I’ll be a paying customer (once I’ve learnt the ropes a bit more ie business plan and internet/social marketing + completely figured out my niche) but I have one question; Once I have a site with SBI can I change the design with Dreamweaver? I understand that SBI will point me towards making money, but I want a unique site suitable for my content. Any ideas?
Thanks!! Great site BTW
Juan
I haven’t heard of the scam yet but I would likely stumble upon it. You wouldn’t be trusting anyone who ask for your emails or passwords or bank accounts and the like. You must not really trust those people anyways I thank the post for informing me about the scam
Hi lisa. I see sbi! has a keyword tool but google adwords also has one.
Is the sbi! keyword tool better than google’ keyword tool or is there a difference.
let me know please.
dominique
Hi Dominique,
SBI! uses The AdWords tool along with their own proprietary tools that you won’t get anywhere else for free. So it’s a combination.
Your excersie site is a very nice website with personalised video, makes it unique. Do use SBI but wordpress is another CMS that is easy to use. Any comparisions. What are your thoughts. Thanks
sorry do not use SBI only WP.
Alan, Site Build It! and WP can’t be compared if you ask me. WordPress is for blogs. Site Build It! is for websites. While I love WordPress (I’m using it for this blog), it doesn’t give you the education and training about how to build traffic. So many people throw up a blogger or wordpress blog (because it’s free and easy) but they haven’t a clue of how to drive traffic. SBI! teaches you how to do just that with their tutorials.
Now, SBI! has some ways to go when it comes to certain hosting features. They don’t allow MySQL so you cannot install a WP blog on your domain so I’m waiting for that development. However, when it comes to the solid education that so many newcomers are lacking, absolutely NOTHING comes to close to SBI!. And I can say that because I have used both SBI! and WP.
Hii Lisa..
SBI seems nice to me..By the way may I know how long mostly at least we get succeed pull huge traffic using SBI.. 1 month…2 month or over 6 month?
Hi Zaharey
That depends and is very hard to say. It took me 3-6 months. It has taken others a couple of years. Some never get traffic. So much depends on your hard work and creativity too. SBI! is the engine, but you fuel it and determine how far you’ll go with it.
Hi Lisa,
Just a note of appreciation for the thorough explanation in your video. It gave me lots to think about. It was a good tool in addition to all the explanation given in the SBI site. I’m just about ready to buy it.
I agree as a fellow SBIer it is really magical. I am making a website on how to make website with SBI.
I am a spanish speaker, Live in Mexico.
Does SBI works for Latin America as well? Can I suit everything into Spanish only?
ANy site in Spanish created with SBI?
I’m looking up information on SiteBuildIt! because I’ve been debating on whether or not to use it to make my anime review blog. From what I’ve seen and read, I feel confident in purchasing it for my blog.
TheAndySan,
SBI! is NOT best for blogs so make sure you do your research.
Hi Lisa,
I watched half of your video demo and it might just be me but it looked like everything that you was demonstrating was out of order and looked kind of confusing. I now realize that this is not a scam because of the reviews that i’ve looked at so far on other sites. I just came up with an Idea the other today and I seriously think it will work but I am curious how much traffic do you get daily? because traffic I think is everybodys biggest issue. I also thought is if I didn’t get SiteBuild it, I would problay get my friend to build the site for me and have one of the Affiliate program networks promote my site. For instance, (SAS) Shareasale or Clickbank. Your response is greatly appreciated.
Hi Damien,
My site gets between 4500 and 5000 visitors per day. It took about a year and a half to get consistent traffic from Google and the other major engines. I think you might be a little confused on ShareASale, Clickbank, etc. so make sure you do your research. These companies DO NOT promote your site. They offer products that you can promote on your site and you earn a commission for everything you refer.
Hi Lisa, I briefly read through the first page of your blog and the responses.
For the price of 299, SBI only allows hosting for a single domain? Any additional domains for websites based on SBI would have to be purchased at the same price additionally?
Does SBI allow transfer of domain names for existing domains being hosted on other webhost?
Hosting and SBI aside, it took you around 18 months to generate avg of 4.5 to 5k daily visitors to your side, given your tier links and e-sales, how much profit is the site generating for you monthly to be curious?
jaskiew
Jaskiew,
Yes, it’s only one site for the $299. You have to pay for each individual site.
Yes, you can transfer your existing domains from other hosts free of charge.
I don’t like to disclose my income specifics, but it’s in the 4-figures per month.
Does SBI allow you to transfer your domain to another webhost?
Yes, you can transfer it away to another registrar.
Hi Lisa,
Being fellow SBI I thought to answer Jaskiew few important elements or might be misconceptions before he decides. Hope you’ll not mind this.
The price of SBI is deceptive. People get frenzied looking at $299, but actually if it is hosted outside the price comes more. Making or designing a website is not a great deal these days what matters is organic traffic.
Just a pen picture of the SBI advantages and disadvantages.
SBI includes autoresponders which is about $20 per month, this itself is $240 pa. Hosting cheapest is $50 to $60.
This makes the price equal to SBI. Now what else SBI offers?
Niche finder tool/keyword research tool, website builder, on page SEO, off page SEO, the best part is step by step video training. One can learn more than one can imagine. This to me is the best part.
Actually it’s difficult to type and express what SBI offers…one has to experience this.
Disadvantage:
Better not be biassed towards SBI looking at Lisa’s site as she probably did own SBi website designed herself…..and if SBI provides a narrow 750px, overused 2 column template which is not really attractive (atleast to me). It’s preferable that either you are aware of CSS and HTML a bit to be honest or take the help of fellow SBIers (including me) to get you a professional 3 column template.
Wish you the best,
Saikat
Saikat,
I appreciate your comments and they are definitely welcome here. It’s always good to get feedback from other SBIers. And I agree…. It’s best to learn CSS and HTML and create your own design. That’s what I did for my SBI! site. I am not a fan of the standard 2 column templates they provide either.
I sell on a online mall. I have wanted to also get my own website. To grow I need to advertise more and if I spend more money I would like to promote my site not the mall. My site would sell vintage one of a kind products. I have about 2000 different items (some same mfg just different patterns). Most of the time I see sites selling just a few items with different sizes and colors or they sell services. Can site build it be a good fit? I plan on keeping the mall store also.
Hi Violet,
I’d use a regular web host for that kind of site and setup an ecommerce shopping cart. Most regular web hosting companies (GoDaddy, Hostgator, etc.) have ecommerce systems you can incorporate into your site.
Thanks I have a host in mind but wanted to make sure I was going the right way and SBI sounded interesting. They have all the ecommerce I need. Shopping cart and Shipping Tables etc. The cost is right and they are a old (for the internet) and respected internet company. I have put in a lot of time and work and now want to take the next step. Keep up the good work for some of us (I am almost eighty) have had to learn by reading blogs like yours. Thanks for your blog and all the good information.
Hi Violet,
Taking cues from Lisa, I pitch in again. As per my honest experience with SBI. I’ll not recommend any ecommerce website to be built out of SBI. SBI is the best for information type websites.
However, saying this I also add that SBI offers one premium service of web development which costs about $1500, this can be a better option for building your ecommerce website with mall where you dont have much tensions of web designing ourself.
I guess you’ll need to use sometime or the other SQL database setup to keep your 2000 items. So far I was not able to make out how to make a SQL data base in SBI system. SBI system is good for only html websites not php.
Saying all this I’d also add that you can use the SBI system to make your online mall store where you can put each item image and then link them to anohter page where the shopping cart can be set up. SBI definitely supports this.
Lisa do you agree with my comments?
Hi Violet,
Sidetrack and OOT abit from SBI, I do not know how much your 2000 items generate profit wise but have you considered Yahoo Store with Andy Jerkin’s Yahoo Store Builder? If you are serious, the program is quite a good bargain. But it still does require a bit of work on your part. You still need to build your site, source your products and promote your store. However, the Yahoo Store system simplifies this considerably and the tips provided by Andy will help optimize your time efficiently and effectively to create a successful eCommerce store online.
Thank you Saikat for the additional considerations.
Thou i have not personally tried SBI, after reading and looking at the basic setup example, i agree that it is very suitable for information based websites rather than a comprehensive e-commerce or merchant site.
I intend to take on several projects.
One of them is to work more on my non profit music group which is located with http://www.trancerepublic.com or http://www.trancerepublic.sg. Its currently running on Joomla Bridge with hack. I need to figure out how i can change it to a very informative based site which also allows certain CMS functions, members login and also keeping the forum and also some e-selling.
There are also a few possible projects for various local business, for example, children’s educational centre, pest control company, events company, swimming and water sports activities etc.
Ultimately, i still will have to try out SBI to decide it’s pros and cons for various sites and biz.
Yes, you really have to try it to see it’s for you. Remember, there is a 30-day money back guarantee that they faithfully honor.
Thanks for the info, Lisa. Just curious, does SBI provide sources for (legal) content. I’m thinking of putting up an academic website and it would be helpful to copy and paste this kind of info rather than writing it all myself.
Hi Will
Never do that. All content from other sources is copyrighted by them and it’s always best to write your own content. Not to mention the search engines won’t bring you traffic if your content is a duplicate of info already out there.
One more question, Lisa. What time of time commitment does SBI require? I realize there’s a lot of reading required and it takes several months to see results. What I’m wondering is if this is the kind of thing where you can work another job and do your website in spare time. What is the minimum number of hours per week you’d need to devote to this?
Depends on what kind of results you want. When I bought SBI! I was still working a 9 to 5 at the time. I would estimate I spent 10-15 hours per week on my site. But of course it’s going to vary from person to person. Depends on your niche, how you work, how well you pick up on things, etc. Keep in mind I already had a successful site prior to buying SBI! so I was familiar with a lot of the information. My success came faster than probably 90% of most customers.
I already have a website and on my own was able to get to page two on a google search of architectural salvage. I’m still consider site build it for a second website and see how they compare with one also driving traffic to the other. It would be a great micro experiment, but I’m waiting for a small chunk of time to implement it. The money seems reasonable and anyone who thinks a successful business can happen without expenditures is mistaken.
I really want to start up a website and have done a lot of research on SBI! but it seems really expensive. they said $299/per year does that mean every year you have a website with SBI! you have to pay $299?
Yes, it is $299 per year but keep in mind once you start making money it begins to pay for itself. My site now makes 4 figures per month so the $299 is hardly anything for the worth of my site now. When you build a website for money you are starting a business. Most businesses cost thousands of dollars to start so if you think of it as an investment, $299/year for a business start-up is unheard of in the OFFline world.
Building a Site Build It! site can be the best way to confidently make money online over a long term. The ability to target specific leads with your niche site means you are more likely to have those leads converted into paying and repeat customers.
Hi lisa
I have run thru all the comments quickly and understand that SBI is great product. Could I ask you a quick question, how long it took you to build substantial traffic to your flat stomach site? Does it start coming in initial months or it takes time to build up?
Thanks
Ricky
Lisa-
You are refreshingly amazing! Not only are you a great writer you’re a pretty good speaker too. Have you thought about speaking as a side gig?
You’d be great at it.
One more question: I have a site (and ebook) aimed at helping married men (or men in committed unions) improve their relationships. Both (url and ebook) are titled ‘Let Her Cheat.’ My goal was to just sell the ebook but now I want the site to be more informative.
Do you suggest SBI or a basic website?
Will
Lisa:
I really enjoyed your video explaining SBI info. Several questions, if you don’t mind. I have an existing website hosted by I Power Web which runs around $100 per year, plus I have an Aweber Autoresponder account which runs about $240 per year, plus PayPal for whatever % of goods I sell.
1. I want to continue selling digital downloadable items on my site. Does SBI charge extra to set up a shopping cart/purchase ability? Or is it included in the $299 per year fee?
2. Does it include an auto responder capability?
Lisa:
I need your sage advice. I’m a writer and I want to build a website that showcases thought provoking articles on life issues, politics, pop culture and the like. Also, my wife and I have ideas for several inspirational children’s books. In addition, my wife happens to be a first-rate dog trainer. So, I have a variety of avenues in which to pursue a website.
However, my articles will be the immediate product; those other things to follow at a later time. Should I simply start a regular blog, or should I go ahead and get SBI! and revise my website as it matures? I don’t believe the 30 day guarantee would do me much good at this point.
Ricky, it is going to vary based on your niche, how well you bring in traffic, your motivation and efforts. Really hard to estimate. Tough question.
Kathi,
SBI! does have an autoresponder. It’s not as robust as AWeber (in terms of segmenting your list, targeting, etc.) but it does function as a typical autoresponder.
As far as a shopping cart capability, SBI! discontinued their Store Build It! product which was extra but if I were you, I would just incorporate PayPal into your SBI! site which is free and easy.
Hi Brian,
I always suggest SBI! for newbies who can afford it simply because of the all-in-one education that you won’t get anywhere else. But what concerns me is that it seems you are trying to do too much at once with one site. Whether or not you choose SBI! or not, make sure you focus your site or blog on ONE, focused topic. It will be hard to get traffic if you don’t. And of course SBI! explains all this as you’re going through the process.
Lisa: Wow! Thanks for the quick reply. I think I’m going to sign up for this through you To make the change, how do I get all my contacts on my email lists from Aweber to SBI? Can I import them somehow? I’d be interested in interviewing you on one of my upcoming DISCOVERING YOUR LIFE’S WORK online radio shows. Please let me know if you would be interested.
Thank you again for your help.
Oh I forgot about the actual list. Yes, you will need to export your email addresses out of AWeber to your computer (Excel file) first but you should email SBI!’s support because I believe in order to import those addresses and send out your emails through SBI! your subscribers need to re-confirm their addresses since this is a new host. But please email SBI!’s support. I am not 100% sure on that.
I must say. Even though I use SBI!, I still use AWeber because their autoresponder feature is much more robust than SBI!’s. So if it’s in your budget you may want to think about keeping your subscription to AWeber. As I mentioned you won’t be able to segment or target your list like you can with AWeber. Just some food for thought.
I’ll let you know about the radio interview. Thanks!!
You have writen a great article on it. This is an interesting piece of software. I have heard so much about it but never thought of actually buying it. I havent bought it because it is expensive and its a subscription rather than a stand alone software. But its worth buying if one makes lots of sites. Its easy to use therefore good for novices.
Dear Dr.Singh,
First of all please be aware that Site Build It is not really a software but a powerful system. About your point on expensive it is not really. You need to understand why you want a website…is it just for the sake of having a website or for a purpose? If it is for a professional purpose you need to have lot many auxilaiary tools like keyword research, profitability analysis, on page SEO, and autoresponders. I made an analysis on the cost benefit analysis of SBI vis a vis external self made one. I included this analysis somewhere in my website also. In short you buy a web hosting for $60 per annum and an autoresponder for atleast $20 per month or $240 p.a which makes it $300…still do you think it is costly?
Why autoresponders? This is required ofcourse if you are an serious web preneur and mean professional business.
On the other side SBI is not suitable for those having intent to make multiple websites mostly for Google Adsense but to be honest with you al these websites looks nice when build but gets lost in the information highway. It is always advisable to concentrate on a few websites with a powerful niche to help you in the long run.
Personally I’ve learnt more from SBI than any other crap out there in internet. To me the video action guide is the best part one can get and learn. The direction and focus is so concentrated that it is hard to fail if someone does everything as being guided.
My own SBI website is just 3 months live, it already a Google PR1, ranking 5,36,000 on Alexa and gets around 200 visitors a day. I’m sure this will improve as time goes on. So I have full faith on SBI system.
Best wishes,
Saikat Ganguly
Wish all a very very happy and prosperous new year 2009. Hoping the economic downturn eases soon.
Saikat
Saikat, you make such a good point. A lot of people write off SBI! as a scam because they hear about the price and instantly compare it to a traditional web host. Of course there are cheaper web hosts out there but they do not come close to what SBI! offers in terms of the EDUCATION on Internet marketing and how to actually make sales. SBI! is not just a web host. It’s a system of tools and a complete training system.
Anyone can throw up multiple sites for $3/month but are those sites ranked high in Google and making money? What’s funny is people complain about the $299 price but starting a business OFFLINE for such a low price would be unheard of. So it’s all in how you look at it.
Glad it’s working for you! Happy New Year to you as well!
Thanks Lisa, as always you had always been my inspiration and role model after I came to know about you subsequent to joining SBI.
Warm regards,
Saikat
What will happen if you stop paying their subscription. Why not use wordpress?
WordPress and Site Build It! can’t even be compared. WordPress is a blogging platform. SBI! is a website building system. Blogs are not always the best solution for a site because of how the content is structured. And as I said before, with SBI! you get the TRAINING on how to build traffic. You don’t get that with WordPress, Blogger, GoDaddy or most other website and blog hosts out here.
Speaking of blogging, you might want to read Ken Evoy’s write-up about blogging http://website.sitesell.com/blogorbuild
hi lisa
i live in ireland
can register for irish only domain (.ie).
is it posible in sbi?
Hi jhon,
I’m not sure. You’ll have to email their support to find out.
Lisa,
I would like to start a review website…….categoried by professions and tourism, etc……used in all 50 states. I would need a paypal or some sort
of way to receive payments from advertisers. So, I think we’re talking about an introductory homepage, and then eventually tons of back pages. Almost like a ‘Craigslist’. Do you think I should start in Site Build It? I’ve taken a basic HTML course, and am gonna do a CSS course.
Or, do you think an SBI professional should design a good front page for me, and then I could do the back pages? I know there are different options, just wondering if any ‘jump out’ at you?
Hi again, Lisa. Just now I was looking through your other websites. THANK YOU for coaching us newbies!!! in all your videos, etc. ~ I see that you also recommend Editor and Dreamweaver in desigining sites. Could you help me understand how you ‘dance’ between them and SBI?
I work for a graphics company and my boss raves about Dreamweaver. But the site that I have in mind is not graphics-heavy. ~~ Also, if we buy SBI through an affiliate, what is the difference between that and buying SBI from SiteSell? Again, THANKS!!!!!
Hi Dottie
My recommendation is usually the “do-it-yourself” method. Especially since your layout doesn’t sound very complex. If you are serious about learning and using Dreamweaver then what I would recommend is learning how to use that program first and then following SBI!’s guidelines for transitioning your site out of the block-by-block builder (their default) and into your own design like I now have with my SBI! site.
I don’t normally suggest people fool with their own design right away because you need to focus on building traffic in the beginning but it sounds like you have some experience with HTML so maybe you’ll want to tackle this in the beginning.
What I did was create my entire layout in Dreamweaver from scratch and then I followed the instructions on SBI! for uploading my pages to their servers. So any time I make an edit I open DW and save the file to my PC and then re-upload to SBI!.
If you don’t use Dreamweaver then you can use SBI!’s built-in templates but keep in mind they are very limited and your design/layout options are sort of limited. I used these templates my first 2 years and branched out to my own custom design later.
As far as buying from an affiliate, there’s no difference for you. It just means someone like myself (the affiliate) gets a commission when you buy and if you go directly to SiteSell to buy, they get the entire profit themselves.
Thanks, Lisa, that gives me a lot to think about!
This is my first exposure to this opportunity and am seriously considering using SBI. I have a couple of websites already running, but one is on google pages and one is through the school where I work. I’m guessing from your information that a google page will not be accepted, but I hope I will be able to easily move my information, links, etc. to another page when I create the new domain name/site. I’ll have to check with the school to see if they will allow adsense, but it’s certainly a great way to attract a lot of students. I get tons of hits on that one.
SBI! is not a scam. My Aunt and my Mom both have a SBI! site right now and I have owned one in the past. My aunt is very successful and my Mom is doing great so far. I would reccomend SBI! to anyone looking to start a website (whether you have experience or not). It’s not a get rich quick scheme…you need to commit to a good amount of time. It took me several months to start making a little money. It took my Aunt several months, but she now makes a killer living.
Wow, thanks for sharing Brian!!
Hi,
Nice to read another site build it success story. I’ve been reading a lot about site build it and I believe that it is not a scam, unfortunately I don’t have enough money to purchase one yet. But I will and I am promoting it so I can get 50% off
And the affiliate program is also superb!
I created a lens about it, check it out if you have time
http://www.squidoo.com/sitebuilditscam
I am also the owner of two SBI sites and my wife owns one. I have just renewed one of the sites http://www.best-barbados-vacation-packages.com after the first year and although I am not at the stage where I am seriously monetizing I am please with the process.
I am currently using a customize SBI template a choice I made consciously. I am capable of doing my own template since I know enough HTML but I decided to go with the Block Builder.
In the pass I have built my own sites and hosted them on the traditional hosting platforms, one site was moderately successful earning close to $7,500 during 2007.
I am saying all of this not to boost but to make the point that going forward I would not choose any other system but SBI to build my online business.
$299.00 works out to approximately 81 cents a day, in my humble opinion that’s a real bargain.
This company re-wrote the definition of over-delivering on service.
Hi Lisa,
I want you to know that I am going to add this page to my favorites. You have really given me a lot to think about.
I am in the process of creating a niche online directory and membership site. I also will be charging advertisers using PayPal. My question is whether or not I can simply use SBI as a landing page and what that will do for the ranking of my directory since they will be on separate hosts.
It sound like SBI is mostly good for the training and tools which is a value but I want to make sure I have all of the information. From this blog it does not seem like I will be able to build the type of website I need this just SBI.
Hi Susan
I don’t have all the details for the kind of site you want (other than a directory), but just from what I’ve read I can tell you that starting out creating a directory is usually a bad idea for most people simply because it’s hard to generate enough traffic to a directory due to how people tend to surf the web.
Hopefully you are also planning to add content/articles to the site as well because that will help you drive targeted traffic via the search engines.
But I guess if you can use SBI! or not will depend on how you plan to build the directory. If you are going to manually build it with HTML then yes, you can use SBI! but if you are going to use some kind of script to make your directory more dynamic (PHP, etc.) then, no you cannot.
So how you plan to build it is what makes the difference. You can use PayPal with SBI with no problem.
I want you to be my mentor……..
I am a young AA Woman with three young boys and I have been doing allot or research over the last few years on affiliate marketing hoping to be able to provide a better life for my kids. I have put up a few sites in the past that have generated some income for me but not enough. I decided to take my time and figure out my niche.
I thought of a how to on affiliate marketing but you are right it is saturated. I do give some advice on my MySpace page to people that are newer than I am but I don’t have any affiliate links there just a “lets learn together” type of thing. I am starting to build a pretty good network of people that are responding to my post in some of the groups I have joined and I have started to point them to your site. Do you have any eBooks that we could share a sale on? I wish I was at your level.
As far as my directory site, I do plan to have blogs and articles to drive traffic and make it a resource to my visitors. I found software that I can use as a PHP template for the directory portion that will allow my users to create a profile and I would have to host it on a separate server since SBI is not compatible. Just not sure what comes first “the chicken or the egg”.
I also wanted to find out how using SBI as my landing page for my directory would affect its ranking. If I build my landing page with the SBI software and link the site map links to my directory pages, does it get the high ranking also. The other thing I was disappointed about is the fact that the $299 only covers one website. I used Homestead.com in the past and it provides unlimited websites with lots of templates for like $30/month, but of course none of the tools and training that SBI does. I also heard that it is hard to get high ranking if your site is hosted by Homestead. Do you know anything about this?
Bottom line, I am not sure what would be the best move for me. Is it worth it to start with SBI even if I can only have one site there or should I use Homestead again so that I can have multiple websites? I am thinking that if I put up more than one landing page and link to my directory that will generate more traffic to the directory.
I hope this is not too long.
Susan,
SBI! is definitely not right for your type of site. Remember, sites don’t rank high just because they use SBI!. They tend to do better because customers get the education of how to build a heavily trafficked site and that’s through good, themed content. So it will do you no good to use SBI! just for your landing page if you aren’t going to be able to build content around your directory that will satisfy the search engines. If you simply must use PHP then it’s best to use a host that supports it.
Site Build It is not a scam. However, there are some things I wish I knew before getting involved. There are restrictions I think should have been outlined before purchasing. The standard excuse is that one can always use some other web page designer and upload. This is a cop-out.
I am convinced about the emphasis on designing/developing your site for traffic. But I think the 10 day outline is misleading. I think you are mislead as to how much work is really involved, and the time commitment involved. That is until you purchase and get involved. Then you hear that message over and over again. Obviously this is because they do not want to scare anyone away. But loose the 10 day thing please. As I said I believe the work is necessary, but I wish I was forewarned. I studied/evaluated SiteBuildIt but just didn’t come across these issues. I didn’t find the right sites I guess.
There is far to much to read. Yes you want a lot of help and guidance, but you have to read through way, way, too much low value material. It’s EXTREMELY time consuming. It is frustrating. It impedes your progress, a lot. This also makes it difficult to find the right kind of help you need from the forums. If any area really needs improvement in SBI this is it.
Pop up windows are almost essential to the nature of my site and there is no good solution. Another item difficult to find help on. Mislead.
Very restricted on the use of any scripting languages. Didn’t expect that.
Limitations on the number of times you can run certain routines, like in brainstorming. Not forewarned, but tolerable.
Sever limitations on the size of Images. A surprise. Killed one of my site ideas.
Limitations on the site look and feel. Yes, again you can upload. But before purchasing your given the wrong impression for sure. This is misleading. SBI sites all have the same look and feel. Mislead in marketing.
The Bock generator is very very basic. It could be enhanced with more options so you do not have to insert HTML. Overrated.
I believe SBI would be viewed much more favorably if they addressed some of these issues. Although a lot of work is necessary, there is a good deal of avoidable struggling when using SBI.
I still think using SBI was a good choice. I will endeavor to make it work. It can be improved.
Dear Andy,
I think your thoughts about SBI is not really a good assessment and judgement.
1) SBI never says or hides the quantum of work involved. It rather says its not a ‘get rich quick’ or lazy scheme rather its like a one year MBA course where you study and put up your project and pass out with flying colors at the end of the year. Yes, this is the time one must give to build a solid online business foundation.
2) About images SBI recommends not to have more than 100KB in a page as it slows down the page loading speed which actually distracts human visitors which in turns effect the SEO.
3) About putting any extended tools like pop up window I’m not sure how you assumed this as I myself put one in my homepage. I also had peelaway ads, but removed now as too many javascripts does affect your SEO negetively.
4) I agree with your B&B issue which is really worn out and oudated 2 column template. One should either know HTML, CSS a bit to have their own template or engage someone like me to help them. Yes, this is something I’m extremely critical about SBI and I think this wish of many being heard and soon 3 column CSS template will be rolled out from SBI.
5) There are some limitations of creating database. Membership sites or full fledged ecommerce websites are not the best to be with SBI.
Best wishes,
Saikat
Andy,
Well first of all I’m glad you’re committed to making it work. Once you’ve made your way through the reading, it gets better.
There’s always room for improvement and speaking of that be sure you also add your suggestions to the SBI! forums in the appropriate section. One thing I can say about SiteSell is that they listen to the feedback of their customers and deliver as best they can.
If you want to talk restrictions, let’s go back to 2000 when SBI! first launched when you couldn’t upload PDFs, add javascript or upload your own HTML. You HAD to use those templates they provided. In fact, it’s a big reason why I waited until 2005 to buy it. And you think that Block builder is basic now. Whew!! You should have seen it before. LOL So putting things into perspective, SiteSell has improved the system IMMENSELY because of customer feedback and what’s even more amazing is with the addition of the enhanced MailOut manager, sitemap creation and submission services, favicon creator, and all these newer tools, the price has always stayed the same.
So yes, there is definite room for improvement with the tools and I agree with you on a lot of that, but they have come a looooooooooooooong way!!
Hopefully the addition of better CSS templates is next on the list. I think that’s a very common request among customers so let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Hang in there, Andy!
Hmm, you mention…
“let’s go back to 2000 when SBI! first launched when you couldn’t upload PDFs, add javascript or upload your own HTML. You HAD to use those templates they provided. In fact, it’s a big reason why I waited until 2005 to buy it. And you think that Block builder is basic now. Whew!! You should have seen it before. LOL So putting things into perspective, SiteSell has improved the system IMMENSELY because of customer feedback and what’s even more amazing is with the addition of the enhanced MailOut manager, sitemap creation and submission services, favicon creator, and all these newer tools, the price has always stayed the same.”
The price has stayed the same… even though basic things are added all the time. So if in 2000, if you couldn’t do even basic stuff then, why did you have to pay $299? Wasn’t it a rip-off then? I always thought that prices fall, not rise.
Awaiting your answer.
It depends on the business model of the company. I don’t think prices always fall. But what I DO know is SBI! keeps adding new features. For example, they are now offering their PHP option that lets people comment on your static pages (like a blog). This used to be $99/yr and now it’s tied into the $299 price. So I guess I look at it from a different angle. They keep adding stuff and could have raised the prices but they didn’t. So the value just keeps increasing. So it’s all in how you look at it.
I stand by my assessments. It was not my intent to give a complete, balanced assessment of SBI. I agree I didn’t talk about all the good things of SBI. They certainly out-weight any current issues.
It’s good to here there have been significant improvements. I look forward to seeing more.
Saikat, I’m not talking about a home page popup. I see popups as essential to the site I am building. I am building a religious site and reference Bible verses many times on all my pages. I don’t want to include all that text. All I want to do is have a simple popup when one mouses over or clicks on a reference. Can’t do it with BB.
All I can do now is include the text or present a page with the heading but without navigation bars. Later I will have to switch to coding the popups and uploading my pages. All because of this simple thing. It’s as if someone thinks popups are a bad thing. I think they are perfect for my site’s needs.
Because of this and other BB limitations I am certain I will have to switch to coding my own pages and uploading before long. ***This is not what I expected when signing on. I definitely was lead to believe otherwise. *** The lack of scripting was a big surprise too. When I do this, will I be able to analyze my pages?? I’ll probably use DreamWeaver.
Lisa, the question I will be looking to answer is that when I switch to Dreamweaver will I be getting $299/yr worth of benefits from SBI?
I keep looking for a better solutions.
Lisa, I am very glad to have found your 2createaWebsite site.
Andy
Andy, when you switch to Dreamweaver you still have access to all the SBI! tools, it’s really just another way of updating your site instead of using the block by block builder. You’ll total control over your entire layout and there will be no template limitations like you have now. Everything else is still the same.
Dear Andy,
I wished you’d have actively participated in the SBI forums definitely you’d have got your answer.
SBI system is pretty robust to support DHTML and JAVA scripts. Yes, I agree that the B&B dont really support that. But you can upload your own HTML if you want those.
Refer this website test page I built…see the scrolling images or the interactive map and hover the mouse on them. I think you are looking at something similar. This is 100% SBI website. http://www.national-park-lodge-guide.com/index1.html, also click on the ‘home’ page to see how this is looking in the present BB. I’m sure now you’ll get your answer.
Remember SBI is not a web designing tool or software but a collection of system tools and a systemaic education for your overall website success.
I’m experiementing with lot of DHML scipts and so far all have been successful on SBI system.
Best wishes,
Saikat
Dear Lisa, thank you for the opportunity to get some feel of the SBI by allowing all the comments here to be viewed. I will try to use some of the products you recommend by buying from here as it seem to be what i want. i am thinking of starting a couple of sites one at a time. Will maybe start with the SBI and then another one with different host.
Dear Saikat, i clicked on your site out of curiosity and was blown away by the beautiful parks pictures
hope to use your site to actually visit some day.
I have no experience in website building and i am thinking of purchasing the SBI as it seems to have the guidance i need. May i ask you if your site is the same two column templates people were discussing here, or you used some other templates for your current http://www.national-park-lodge-guide.com/index1.html site?
Hey i like that your site projects a “clear and reliable” kinda feel. If i will be able to achieve that and provide people quality information about a big city i currently reside in, it would be cool.
I wonder if SBI marketing and SEO tools only work for the US market though, or will other countries be able to find my website too?
Also your site is great for local travel too, but in my case if i build a site in English (based on English keywords) it will not be suitable for my local market customers, will i be able to generate income i wonder?
Any comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
I own an SBI site and have just now gotten my home page together. SBI is not for anyone who wants a fast-cheap-and-easy way to make money. Those who complain about the cost, time involved, and work needed to put up a site are great for us SBIers; it keeps the slackers out of the top rankings, leaving more room for us. Generally those who claim something is a scam without even having had any experiences with it are not worth the time to argue with. I’ve also had problems with the quality of the reading material. I think my problem is that the material is dumbed down so that most people can get a site up and going. For me this was like trying to walk through quick sand. Additionally, there is so much of it and it’s so spread out that it takes time to find something that you remember seeing but can’t remember where. Copying is out of the question; it would take cases of paper and rivers of ink to hard copy that massive amount of information. All in all it is worth the headaches. I’m learning and growing from the experience and anything can be accomplished with perseverance.
JR,
Such a great point about people who’ve never bought it calling it a scam. I don’t have a problem with customers or former customers criticizing SBI! because they have experienced the product. Plus, it’s good for the SiteSell team to get this kind of feedback so they can continue to improve.
My pet peeve is those who judge it solely based on the price. Sure, you can get a TON of the tools SBI! offers for free and use a cheaper host. But are you going to get the education? No. Are you going to get all the tools in one place? No. Are you going to get the support of the SBI! forum community where dozens of successful SBIers are there to help out? No.
Sites don’t just become successful because you launch them. If that was the case then I would tell everyone to go to a cheap host. But everyone learns differently and some people need the kind of environment SBI! provides. Other people can do just fine with a cheap web host.
You need to learn how to market and promote a site. No cheap host is going to give you specific guidance on this. If you want to be an affiliate, you need to learn how to write effectively — a skill highly underrated out here and SBI!l offers help with that.
Bottom line… I wouldn’t continue to pay $300 per year for something if I didn’t think it was worth it.
The amount of reading is probably the most common complaint and I agree it can be a bit cumbersome, especially if you’re brand new to all this. But at the same point, it is all information you need to learn to become successful. Perhaps maybe there’s a better way of breaking it down and splitting it up. I know the SiteSell team is always working on ways to re-organize and streamline the Action Guide.
Great post, JR.
Hi,
For me it is not clear if i must host my sites with SBI.
I have already 2 dedicated servers, so i want to use SBI as a tool and upload the pages to my servers.
I don’t know for sure but is SBI only working in combination with their own hosting facilities?
thnx,
Andre
Saikat,
Yes, that’s exactly what I would like to do with the mouse-over. Thanks. But I’m not going to develop my site outside of BB and upload for quite awhile. I’ll use BB to get most of my content done first. And then approach the popups as an enhancement.
Cheers!
Andy
Hi Lisa,
i just wants to thank you for all the information you provide and the honest feed back . I’ve always been in the food business and then I got into Sales which has been really tough !! I’ve always had a passion for cooking and I do miss it but opening a Restaurant is really risky these days.
So about two months ago, I started looking online maybe to open an Online Business. What I found were a bunch of SCAMS!! Then one day I came across your Website on Youtube and from that day I’ve been on your website quite frequently !! I’ve started to get my old recipes together and at the same time have researched what’s new and popular. I work 55 hours a week at my regular job and have put about 10 to 15 hours a week for my website material !!
When you’re opening your own business, THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS !!! If you look at every successful Business there is alot of hard work involved . The beauty of opening an Online Business is that you are your OWN BOSS, and when you start making alot of money you CAN MOVE ANYWHERE YOU WANT !
I have not purchased Site build it but, it seems to be the Real Deal . I’m gathering alot of information about building a website and to be quite honest it is really intimidating for someone with no computer knowledge like me . If there’s anyway you can contact me that would really be appreciated !!! Thanks
Lisa,
A friend of mine puts out an online magazine through blogspot (humormillmag.blogspot.com). He has asked me to help him generate more traffic and advertising for him. I’m wondering whether we should work with what he’s got on blogspot or if using SBI offers some advantages.
Hi BK,
Well you wouldn’t be able to use your blogspot blog with SBI! you’d have to start over from scratch with a website.
Hi Lisa,
I have read most of the comments above and agree that SBI is a tool with much value. I have started a site photowa.com.au which showcases some of the pictures I have taken around Western Australia. My question is, for a hobby based site with a specific limited audience, is the $299 worth the investment. If you could take a quick peek and offer your advice.
Regards and thanks for the article
Rich
Hi Lisa,
My mom and I are going traveling for two years starting this coming june. Some of the places we are going to are east and north Africa, India, the Middle East(the safer parts) and Europe. We were thinking of creating a site which links local, indigenous artisans and their work to buyers. Another idea we had was to blog our journey, but obviously SBI! isn’t a blogging site.We have enough money to create a site right now, and to fund half our trip. Would you recommend SBI! for the first site? What are some good blogger sites we could use, too?
Thanks a bunch!
Hi all
Does this work with Mac?
Thanks
Shane
Sure does. Everything is run online from http://login.sitesell.com so your computer type doesn’t matter.
i am planning to bulid a website….i am looking for a company to host my site…please help regarding this.
Lisa,
I find your website extremely helpful and motivating. The information you provide is clear and to the point. Every time I search the web for and answer I find myself returning to your site.
Now I have 2 questions regarding SBI. Is it possible to optimize your site for both English and Spanish? I live in Argentina, and English is my second language. I would like to display the site in both languages. And secondely, would that count as one or two domains?
Thanks for your help!
hello lisa,
I want to find out if SBI can build a news blog website, similar to digg.com or others. Does SBI only use for content static websites or is there some dynamism in the sites it can build.
Thanks
Hi Nick
It’s really best for content sites. Not dynamic.
thanks much
do you have any idea what software is good to create like a news blog site. apart from wordpress
Hi Lisa
I tried SBI for a month then canned it.
But it has many, many strengths. The main one being the focus on internet marketing. Building keyword focused content.
I learnt more about internet marketing there than anywhere else on the net.
But.
$299 a year ongoing for each site is high, very high.
The niche discovery software is clunky and confusing and so is the site building software
Even worse – Readers outside USA and UK take note.
SBI only supports .com and .co.uk and .net etc.
It does not permit other country domains. So if you are looking for a local business site (which SBI promotes itself as) outside USA or UK – forget it.
It is commercial suicide to use .com for a local business in virtually every country. Go searching and you will see.
Cheers
Tim
Dear Lisa:
I’m with Tim. Entirely. I too learned so much about building keyword focused content and internet marketing but their softare set up and instruction manual really sucks. Many, many links did not work, it was put together clumsily and while I’m no slouch in the computer area, I would never recommend SBI to anyone. It was awful. I gave it 100′s of hours and finally threw in the white towel. It was expensive, and only at the end of signing up did I find that in the U.S. the price is not $299, but more, due to conversion rate from the Canadian dollar. God bless everyone who was able to make it work. I’m not one of them.
Sorry Tim and Kathi. As I’ve always said, it’s not for everyone but there are a lot of success stories out there too. That’s why I encourage people to get started as soon as they buy it and take advantage of that 30 day money back guarantee if needed. Well I hope you both have found something that works for you.
Thank you Lisa. And I just love your website. I check it nearly everyday. You are such an amazing teacher. I wish you would design a program like SBI and teach it in your own way. I’d be signing up immediately! Keep up the good work.
Love,
Kathi
I wrote here in Jan. and have enjoyed visiting here off and on since then. I have also did some research on the cost of setting up a GOOD web site without SBI. On the low side it’s more than $700. If you want a quality site it will put you back into the tens of thousands (this is according to the posters on web developer forums and blogs). I will post some sites that give examples of the information I have came across during my research (if that’s OK). If this is against the rules here then I’m sorry and you can remove the links.
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-REAL-Cost-of-Building-and-Maintaining-a-
Commercial-Website&id=92574
http://www.avantiwebdesign.com/website-costs.htm
http://www.ehow.com/facts_4811810_cost-building-commercial-website.html
http://www.handzon.com/sitemaker_pricing.html
This last one is the pricing of the various services offered by a LOW COST hosting company. The “Plus” package is over $300 and doesn’t come close to what SBI offers.
I concur with JR’s remarks. I was quoted from 7K-15K for an idea that I have. I figure that whether I use SiteBuildIt in its entirety or not, spending $300 just for the INFO that it gives will make it very worthwhile. I took a $99 web-site building class on-line from my local community college – the program is offered nationwide thru cc’s and is called Ed2Go. It gave me a fabulous basic understanding of HTML and websites. I intend to take the next course which deals with Cascading Style Sheets, whatever they are, lol. ~~~ JR, I am also remembering that you can have an SBI professional do your website for you for increments of about $1500 up to under $4000, which seems like a deal.
My reason for all this searching is that I like SBI,
but I don’t want the typical SBI image. It’s great for a lot of small businesses, but I think I need something a little more than that. ~~~ Lisa, you’ve done a great job of growing beyond that, though your beginning website is still quite fine. How do you advise a new SBI’er to use SBI, but get less of a traditional SBI presentation?
P.S. Also, Hewlitt-Packard (HP) offers free courses on-line; all you have to do is Google something like “HP” and “courses”. I think if someone just wants areally basic understanding of HTML, this might do it. I’m not sure how hugely great it is, but for free, it probably will be positive because it will at least be informative.
It’s about a 6-week course and you need to do homework, which isn’t a bad thing!, plus there is online interaction with an instructor….so, it’s the real deal.
Hi Lisa! I would like to build a website in French with SBI!, do you think it is possible?
Have you read this article on SBI?
Lester, I’ve read tons of articles like this about SBI!. Let’s face it. People who have created highly successful sites with cheaper web hosting of course are going to tell you that you don’t need SBI! because they clearly became successful without it. But I still believe some people need it based on how they learn or need to learn. Some people do need the hand-holding and value the tools and advice SBI! has. Other people can do just fine without it. So I think it really boils down to what is important to you.
If saving money and learning a lot more technical knowledge about building and marketing sites is what you want to do then by all means use a standard web host. But if you would prefer to learn in a more structured way, have access to all the tools you need and don’t mind paying extra then go with SBI!.
And I totally understand the author’s frustrations because most of the reviews of SBI! are overwhelmingly positive (like mine) and there is an affiliate commission tied behind it (like mine). I never try to hide the fact that I am an affiliate for SBI! but I also own the product and know the value. I am cheap and certainly wouldn’t keep paying $300 every year if I didn’t think it was valuable. lol
And as far as “no real reviews” (according to the author), I hope this author watched my last video where I talked about the improvements SBI! needs to make (allow PHP, get updated templates, etc.) SBI! is far from perfect or the best solution for everyone. But it is the best for a lot of people. You can’t ignore
http://case-studies.sitesell.com
$300 a site a year when you can do the same thing for a lot, lot less, isn’t a scam? Okay, so it’s just way overpriced.
A lot less, yes, but without the guidance. If what you’ve done works for you that’s awesome. Again, it’s all about what you value and some people value the help and step-by-step approach. I value everyone’s opinion but until you use it and actually understand what you’re getting for the price then you should be careful about judging. I don’t know any $5 hosts that give you a ready-made mailing list manager, complete with autoresponders and reports for your mailings. (AWeber charges $19/month for that service alone) SBI! is $25/month and gives you so much more. If you look at SBI! as a $300 web host then, yes it is overpriced but when you break it down to what you’re getting, calling it a web host is an insult.
Good answer, Lisa. You’ve made it even clearer.
How about an autoresponder you host yourself as good if not better than aweber with reports and multimedia? No more monthly fees.
Guidance is free if you go to the right people. Do I need to list them?
Want personal guidance? It’s less than 300 a year.
How about a $8 reseller account?
What else?
If it works for you, keep working it. But does it work because it works or because you sell to noobs?
You got it, Wayne. My audience is mostly first-time website builders, many of them who want to deal with as little technical work as possible. Based on my experience with talking and mentoring beginners, I highly doubt most of them would want to go through the work of building their own secure autoresponder. So a big part of the fee is having all the tools in one place without having to deal with coding/uploading scripts, etc.
I was talking to a lady this afternoon who went the cheaper route with her first 3 websites. The first 2 she tried niche sites (didn’t cost her but $6/month to host both of the sites). The 3rd time she tried Blogger (free). None of her sites made money because she admitted she didn’t take the time to learn about marketing. Six months ago she bought SBI!. She now makes money with AdSense and Clickbank and she credits the success to having more of a structured learning environment vs. signing up with a $6 host and being left on her own.
Did she HAVE to use SBI! to get that kind of success? Of course not and I would never say it’s the only option. But the point was that she was the type of person that likes to have structured learning so she valued SBI!’s guidance and having access to the TNT Headquarters, keyword research tools, SE ranking reports, tutorials, form builders (with CAPTCHA), link trackers, etc. all under one roof. This worked for HER. This is not going to be everyone’s story. So as I said early, it all comes down to what you value.
If you know you can learn everything on your own and don’t feel you need the “coach in your ear” approach, then SBI! would be of little value to you. But some people need a different type of guidance so they find value in the SBI! system.
I’m never going to be able to convince someone like yourself, who didn’t need SBI!, that this product is a great value. And I totally understand where you’re coming from. But I cannot ignore the numerous people on my forum who rave about it (without affiliate links, I might add) and realize the value of it because it helped them overcome some technical barriers they had with the “do-it-yourself” approach.
I have a friend who owns SBI! and I was explaining to her what she would have had to do to get a contact form with CAPTCHA on her site if she didn’t have SBI!. She wanted no part of my explanation. lol She said if she didn’t have SBI! then she just wouldn’t have a CAPTCHA form. So it’s little things like that that some people value.
I bet you can probably create secure CAPTCHA forms yourself or don’t mind googling and learning how. However there are some people who would rather not have to deal with these technical details and focus on building their content. That’s sort of what SBI! does. It does things like create your XML sitemaps, builds your contact forms with CAPTCHA, setups and manages your mailing list so you can focus on building content.
Again… SBI! is NOT for everyone but many people value it. Especially newbies who tried the DIY method and became overwhelmed.
Let me chime in. Wayne, I just bought SBI! 8 days ago so my site isn’t up yet. I almost didn’t buy it because I read a lot of posts like yours from skeptics who had created successful sites without something like sbi. I’ve learned one thing. I have to see for myself. I kept getting influenced by people who didn’t own it and I quickly learned they are only making assumptions based on the price. And usually they are programmers/coders who are “smarter than thou” and think everyone can pick up things as easy as they can. (No offense if that’s you)
As lisa said, some of us do value having a system of tools right under our noses without having to go to google to figure out everything from creating google sitemaps to providing mailing managers. How many $3 hosts give you instructions on how to do that… much less provide the tools for you.
I’ve tried godaddy, bluehost, hostgator and all the other cheap hosts out there and I was lost. I guess I’m not as smart as you. But now that I have SBI! I see what I missing… guidance! And I absolutely love their forums. And you know what… I’m kind of glad I went to the cheaper hosts first because now that I see what I get with SBI! I see why it’s a great value. I probably would have thought it was a scam too and judged it by the price.
And as far as building an autoresponder myself…. yeah right. No thank you and I probably speak for a lot of noobs on that one. I am not turned off by lisa’s recommendation and we all know she’s an affiliate. She doesn’t try to hide it. She even said it’s not for everyone and I agree. It isn’t for everyone. But so far it seems to be for me. And if it’s not guess what…. I’ll just ask for a refund.
And $25/month is not a lot to ask for investing in an online business. Sure, you learned how to do it for much less. Good for you. And lisa I have no idea what a CAPTCHA is or if I need it so I hope sbi helps me with that as you said it does!!! lol I’m still on day 3 of the action guide and haven’t gotten to CAPTCHA yet.
And I’m so sick and tired of the “you-can-get-everything-SBI-provides-for-cheap” argument. It’s getting old. We all know that if you want to learn how to code/program you can do almost anything you want to out here… and much of it for free! But I could care less about creating my own autoresponder. Why do that when I can buy a system that has one and a bunch of other stuff????? I love Site Central ’cause all my tools are there. I don’t mind paying for convenience.
One thing about SBI! is the amount of reading can get overwhelming but I want to learn the right way this time so I’ll deal with it.
I want to say one last thing Wayne. Building a successful site is not just about “putting up a site”. It’s about learning how to write, promote and connect with your audience. There are a lot of people who can code their a## off but cannot write or market to save their life. And that’s what you really need to learn how to do if you want to make money. I wanted the complete package. I was horrible at the marketing part so that’s why I got sbi.
And congrats to you for being able to do it without site build it. I wish you much more success but don’t poo-poo on those of us who value it.
And lisa congrats on your sbi site. I see your alexa rank is now 85,000. Way to go. I’m going to be like you one day.
I appreciate your honesty and admitting sbi is not for everyone.
I’ve been following this discussion and it’s very interesting. I have to be honest. I felt a lot like Wayne regarding SBI and when I saw Lisa’s article I rolled my eyes. But I am a programmer. I can do almost anything I want with code and probably wouldn’t find the value in SBI! because I can already do that stuff.
But just because I can code doesn’t mean I’m good at making money online. Being able to put up a site does not guarantee it will make money so what Lisa and the others are saying is you are getting advice in all areas and have many of the tools you’d have to otherwise get elsewhere.
Could you get this for free online? Sure but it comes down to a matter of what you value as lisa said. Wayne, you don’t value the tools because you would rather do that on your own and save the dough. Same here. But many people like JT above don’t want to fool with PHP scripts and installing CAPTCHA. For us, it’s a piece of cake. But for some people they’d rather pay to have it done. Essentially that’s what you’re doing with SBI!. You’re paying (outsourcing) for the technical pieces while you can focus on content and marketing. I see that now. Would I buy SBI? Probably not. I honestly don’t see the value based on my needs and experience. I need help with the traffic piece but would rather learn on my own. But that’s just me.
I really admire you Lisa for not letting the anti sbi comments get to you. Most people would get defensive but seeing how you are handling things here is actually what made me stop and read what you had to say. Very refreshing to see this for a change.
Most of the people who trash SBI are programmers who’ve never owned it. They assume it’s a $300 template builder when it’s waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than that. Lisa’s comment above (#116) is probably one of the best explanations I’ve read and really makes it clear what you’re getting for your money. (Especially the example about using CAPTCHA).
And who cares if she’s an affiliate? She uses the product, her site makes money (probably more than most people bashing sbi) and she’s honest about it not being for everyone. I never understand these people who go around bashing sbi. It’s one thing if you’ve used it but don’t just make assumptions when you don’t have all the facts. We all learn in different ways and place value on different things. Who the hell wants to sit and create their own autoresponder?????? Not me!!
I’m sick of all these know-it-all programmers trying to expose people and slam these site builders when they have no idea what it’s really about. I’d love to know what their income is compared to some of the sbi customers.
And BJ, do you know why Lisa doesn’t ever get defensive? She doesn’t have to. She has nothing to defend and she has class.
Lisa,
i’ve been researching SBI the last few weeks and i’ve even talked to an SBI advisor but i would like your opinion on this.
My plan is to build an e-commerce store selling health products. i don’t mind the tortoise approach i have time to do this.
The thing is from what i’ve read they want you to have a niche market/product (eg vintage 1919 car parts, pics from the top of Mt Everest,how to wrestle alligators ..you get my point!) which i can understand because it means less competition, it’s just stuff i could care less about and i’m stubborn on what i want to sell. Would going through with SBI be worth it for me. I don’t want to be told what to sell. I have no problem writing content on my products to increase traffic, it’s just not a niche market and i personally see potential in it.
I need a viable system to teach me the basics but also setup an online store..will SBI be good for this??
thanks
Hi A.G.
I actually think you can develop a niche website based on your idea. You say you will be selling health products. Do you also have information on these products that you can share? So let’s say your store is selling herbal teas. You could build content-rich articles on the healthy benefits different herbal teas so you can draw in search engine traffic from keywords people may be searching for. You will be able to use Brainstorm It! to see what kinds of searches are done in your niche to help give you ideas.
So when you think about the products you will be selling, think of potential topics you can discuss that relate to what you are offering. Let’s say you were selling meditation DVD’s. You could create meditation-advice.com (just an example) and build helpful articles about how to meditate, relax, etc. Once you draw in traffic from your content, you will also be building potential customers for your store.
So I think it could work but I would highly suggest you brainstorm on a niche to write about rather than just trying to open a stand-alone store.
thanks Lisa,
I should have been more specific i want to sell nutritional supplements (protein powders,vitamins etc…) I have a lot of experience using a lot of these kinds of products and i have no problem writing content/ articles on exercising, supplements to drive traffic to my site.
Yet, my goal isn’t to be an author, i’m trying to create a profitable online business.
My problem is I have no experience with building sites and no knowledge how to drive traffic to it.
So my question to you is do you think SBI is a viable method to use for me to be successful?
Do they have the software to build an e-commerce site (shopping cart, payment methods, etc…)?
I understand what you’re saying about not wanting to be an author, but whether you use SBI! or not, it is still best to take the approach I described above. Store sites are so much more challenging when it comes to building traffic. It’s critical you implement the niche strategy.
SBI! used to have a product called Store Build It! that you could buy as an add-on. It has been discontinued so they no longer have e-commerce systems. You can integrate PayPal into your site and there are instructions on that but they do not have any shopping cart systems you can add-on like they used to.
This is always a tough question because I think SBI! is great for the education you will get on marketing your site, but you may not get what you want when it comes to integrating a shopping cart… unless you want to keep it simple and use PayPal.
You might want to call their support line and speak to Judd. He can give you more specific advice as I am not as familiar with the shopping cart solutions since I don’t have a store on my site.
Lisa,
I have a few more questions..
1) who legally owns the website once its created?
2) Do you have to give a percentage of your sales to anybody connected to SBI?
3) Are you obligated to promote SBI on your website?
4) I read something in the forums about someone inquiring who their team leader was? what’s that about?
smells like some sort of hierarchy, is SBI some sort of multi-level organization?
I’m just looking for tools to help build a succesful INDEPENDENT online business , I don’t want to be tied or connected in an AMWAY like fashion to something where i have to recruit people under me. Is that what SBI is about???
1. You own the domain. It is in your name so even if you decide to cancel SBI! you can take your domain wherever you’d like.
2. No. SBI! acts just like any other web host in that respect. Just like if you were to go to GoDaddy and host your site you wouldn’t have to give them any of your revenue. Same with SBI!.
3. Not at all. It’s your choice whether or not you want to join the affiliate program.
4. The team lead was referring to the affiliate program. Again you can choose whether or not you want to be involved or not. So let’s say you joined the affiliate program through my link. Any time you referred someone to SBI! then I would get a commission because I am your team lead.
I repeat. You are never obligated to promote SBI!. Their affiliate program is just like any other one where you earn a commission if you get someone to buy it. But if you choose not to promote it then that’s up to you and you are not going to be hassled. The affiliate program is completely separate from the Site Build It! process.
I am an affiliate and I never even speak to my team lead. Nor is it MLM where you have to recruit people to recruit people. It’s mainly just an accounting term so everyone gets proper credit.
Well Lisa i appreciate your prompt and professional responses.
Overall, do you think SBI would work for me?
To summarize my goal is to sell supplements and build my own business through sales and revenue through advertising. If i have to write content to bring in traffic i will do that in order to maximize my product sales and advertising revenues. But as i said before i have no intentions of being a blogger or getting into the whole facebook/twitter/myspace aspect of the internet.
I’m looking at it strictly as a tool to ultimately build a very profitable business .
What do you think?
Let’s put it like this. SBI! will work for almost any ecommerce site if YOU follow their advice and guidance. So short answer, yes. Long answer… Just be mindful of the challenges I mentioned with promoting an online store whether you use SBI! or not.
SBI! is going to give you the help and guidance you need. It’s going to be up to you to follow through and use your own creativity when it comes to marketing. SBI! is not just going to market your site for you. My biggest concern with anyone who wants to create an online store is developing traffic. It is going to be more challenging than the average affiliate site due to how people surf the web and how the search engines rank pages.
So developing content around your niche is going to be KEY. If you do that well and market your site then you can succeed. And you should also be open to even spending money on advertising. It’s not a necessity but is always an option. You don’t have to use facbook, myspace and twitter but you are going to have to find relevant places to market your store. SBI! will provide help and give suggestions. I would never say you will definitely succeed or you will definitely fail.
But I can say it is a good option if you go into understanding what I just explained. This is about as best I can do without having my own experience with promoting an online store website. If you want to see an example of an SBI! site with a store, see http://www.jugglenow.com
thanks for your e-time, Lisa..you’ve been helpful
Hi Lisa,
I am a nooby myself and I am considering investing in SBI. I have to say though that although you are an affiliate etc.. I do believe you are impartial and really am happy that I found your site. Do you know of any other types of systems, etc that offer similar services then SBI. I want to create an online business and have spent so much time researching, so far your site helps me out the most. Also, Do I have to stick with SBI every year, or just sign up for one and then once I learned it all I can migrate to a cheaper host?
Thank you!
Danny
Hi Danny,
SBI! is the only system I’ve really tried and researched. There are others out there like XSitePro and Wealthy Affiliate but I don’t know much about them.
To answer your 2nd question, you do not have to stick with them. You can move your domain to another host.
Wow, you must be one of the top SBI affiliates out there! You have great stuffs about SBI. I first saw you on a YouTube video about SBI. And yeah, I’ve read those comments saying SBI is a scam. I was thinking if these people have actually tried it or they just want to mock SBI because they can’t afford it or something. lol. For a moment there I had a second thought. But yeah, when I saw your vid and sites, I was sure that SBI has a great service and from now on, I’ll promote it more. Well yeh, I’m also a SiteSell affiliate and would love to get one soon when I can afford it. Oh well. Just dropping by here to say thanks for all the insights and stuffs. I’ve been visiting your sites and they’re awesome! :]
Can you tell me how its autoresponder like? What’s your experience with it? I mean, is it an AR like aweber where you can follow up and create series of messages or it’s just an e-zine published monthly? Just wondering.
Toodles,
Feiyie
The reason SBI! gets so much negative feedback from people (and it’s usually NON customers) is that people look at the price and assume it’s a $300/year GoDaddy-like host with a few templates. If that’s all it was then I would agree it’s a rip off/scam. As I explained above it’s much more than that.
I don’t have a problem with customers or ex-customers saying negative things about SBI!, but I do have a problem with people making assumptions and attempting to expose SBI! when they don’t have all the facts about what you really get for your money.
As far as your question, you can create series of messages with the autoresponder or you can create a monthly/weekly newsletter. Now you don’t get the demographic segmenting like you get with AWeber but you do get the basic mailout and autoresponder features with reports on your open-rate, unsubscribes, etc.
Lisa,
i notice that a lot of SBI sites have dashes in between their domain name words (best-childrens-books.com).
why is that? it looks a bit cheesy…
is that to optimize search engine rankings or something?
Also have they updated their templates? because a lot of the websites look very basic and amateurish. I’m not sure if they would be effective for an e-commerce site
Yeah, I’m pretty sure these are non customers and they don’t know it’s actually cheaper because SBI already provides all the tools and stuffs. I mean, there are people who still needs other certain tools to build a successful online business. Am I right? And yes, one of the stuffs you mentioned is that other webhosts only build/ host your site while SBI helps you build a business.
Oh well, thanks very much for the answer. Because let’s say I get a webhost for like $7 a month plus $19.95 for aWeber, the whole price is more than $300 per year. SBI is really the best. The moment I have that $300, I’ll probably get one.
Toodles.
Hi a.g.
That is what SBI! suggests to help the search engines read your domain name and pick up your targeted keywords. That was something that was highly recommended a few years ago for search engine optimization, but it’s not really as much of a necessity now. So you do not have to choose a hyphenated domain if you don’t want to.
Hey Lisa,
i was reading some inof about marketing… specifically concerning link tracking and link cloaking. Does SBI also offer these as part of their suite of tools?
There is a tool called Link Tracker and it allows you to setup tracking links. It comes in handy when linking to affiliate sites. So for example
flat-stomach-exercises.com/truth redirects to one of my affiliate links and I can track the clicks.
Lisa,
Looking back to your earlier days with SBI, is there anything you would have done differently? Any tips , suggestions for someone considering using it?
–thx
Take your time and FOLLOW the Action Guide. Be prepared. There is going to be a lot of reading and you are going to be tempted to skip through the guide because you may think you already have an idea. Resist the temptation.
The people I know who are doing well with SBI! are the ones who took their time. The ones who rushed through are still at square one. It’s going to be so tempting to just get your site up but if you ignore the brainstorming and preliminary advice you could make some mistakes. And a big chunk of the SBI! fee is that preliminary/brainstorming help.
Lisa and actually AG, thanks for your questions and comments here, I have many similar questions that AG has already asked so I am happy to know so much already. I have a question, does sitesell actually help one to learn how to PROPERLY create a website and not just for search engine purposes but actually create a website that will be appealing to your end users? the reason i ask is although I see at this point a lot of value with Sitesell, I noticed that their sites don’t look to good at all, and I personally am interested in investing in some form of education where at the end, I will not only know the basics of website building but also how to effectively and efficiently create an online business.
Danny, if I had one suggestion for improvement with SBI! it’s those darn templates. I couldn’t agree more but the latest SBI! Express issue announced the unveiling of new, up-to-date 3-column templates (in a couple of months) with CSS to help people build a more modern-looking website without having to learn how to code.
You don’t have to go with those templates they provide. As you can see by my site, http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com, I have my own custom design which I did from scratch in Dreamweaver. But to answer your question, there is not a lot of advice on coding/programming. You either have to use the templates or go on your own as I did. But the good news is those 3 column templates are on the way for those who do not want to design their own custom templates as I did.
is the action guide free?? I just googled it and there it was with all 10 days available to look through…
I’m confused… if it’s available free then what is the $300 dollars for???
All the tools I mentioned above. The action guide is the instruction manual that helps you use the tools and guides you how to build your site, but you can actually preview it here http://actionguide.sitesell.com
i dont belive you !
Hi Lisa!
You are an awesome teacher and your “2createawebsite” site is full of useful information. That was how I originally found out about SBI. I’m considering purchasing the program but I’m a little confused. I thought that the $299 was for the purchase of a system where multiple sites could be created. But the more that I read about SBI, it appears that the $299 is the cost per site? If you have 3 site ideas, would that cost $900?
Thanks Lisa!
Yes, it is for only one site.
Lisa,
I first heard about SBI through your website. I started a small home based gift basket business. I want to put up a website showing my designs. I’m going to need a shopping cart along with paypal for my online store. Do think SBI isthe right program for me. I’m a beginner at this and will need someone to hold my hand through the process of setting up my website.
Thanks for your help,
Brenda
P.S. I love your website.
Lisa:
Finally, a balanced presentation on an idea!
Not often that one can find a mature and respectful approach like yours.
I’m impressed with how you have given me so much information on SBI. Wish I would have found your info. at a much earlier date.
I’m closing in on SBI.
Thanks,
Chuck
I’m brand new to this and was wondering if sitebuildit! is 300$ per site does that basically mean I would be paying for just one site?If so,how many other sites would sitebuildit! host for me and how much would it cost for the hosting if I made them/or bought them from a webmaster and just needed the tools?lets say I had ten sites some e-commerce and some on different types of content all linked togethor how much would sitebuildit! charge to host my sites,and how much would it cost every time I added a new site that sitebuildit! did not build?
Hi red,
SBI! is $299 per site. But if you had other sites not hosted with SBI! you could definitely link them to your SBI! website and apply what you learned to these sites. Some people buy SBI! for one site and then use the brainstorming tools and other advice for their non SBI! sites.
This last post got me to thinking about I wanted to discuss with you.
I paid $363.26 after the U.S. conversion from Canadian funds, (which ticked me off initially). Later, I got to thinking that if I wanted to start another site… It’s going to cost me $726.52!
If I’m not making at least that much in profits from these sites I won’t be able to use SBI for more than the one site.
I was wondering, why couldn’t they charge less per year for those who have already used the tools and services during the initial start-up…a sort of “maintenance fee”.
I’m seriously thinking of taking my next website and hosting it elsewhere, which frankly, I would rather not have to do.
Oh well…just a thought. Thanks for letting me bend your ear,
JR
makes no sence to me ,$300.00 dosent seem to be a lotof money if your in the business to make money. im sure alot off guys have spent more than that on a girl and not got what they heard others had got. if you research the prod. you like what you find,you pay for it. dont like it dont pay,prettysimple?
Exactamundo, Robert. Some people look at SBI! as an overpriced GoDaddy. If you look at it like that (which is wrong) then yes, it is waaaaay overpriced. But as I always say, comparing SBI! to a $5/month web host is an insult to both the product and SiteSell.
If you want a cheap host and don’t mind the DIY (do it yourself) method, by all means go with GoDaddy. But if you want a system of tools and the training to learn how to build a long-term e-business then $300/yr is not a lot to invest in a small business. Imagine trying to start an offline business for that amount of money? So it’s all about perspective and understanding what you are really getting when you pay for it.
A lot of people coming here to complain are people who have bought into the “mini site system” which is where you create a bunch of mini websites and/or blogs and make money by mastering SEO, etc. That’s certainly an option, but not a business model I am particularly interested in for long-term success. But if that works for people then that’s great!
I agree with robert. Some of us piss away $300 in a week and dont even realized it until we balanced our check books or debit cards. So whats the big deal i’m getting my info & research together now that way when the time comes for me to invest in SBI i’ll be ready. AS for the product itself i think it is great, just to hire a webmaster along would kill my pocket book. One of the questions people have to ask themselves is,”what is it i’m in love with, and how can i turn this into a profit”. If your trying to create a site like someone else then it probably wouldnt work. Certainly if you love something bad enuff, then you shouldnt have a problem going through the process no matter what the price. Lets say i made $2000 yr. off my site, certainly paying $300 yr. to Sbi shouldnt be a problem, if you love what your’re doing.
We have SbI with our reseller hosting company.
http://www.leapbrowser.net. It comes with our hosting package. But, I do not find it as easy to use as someof the others like (dare I say It) web easy 7. As far as marketing goes.
On easter 2009, (last weekend) I build http://www.different-search-engine.com with web easy (tried sbi, didn’t like it)
and by friday 4/17/09 it is #4 on both google and yahoo for the term (what else) different search engine. This is a site with no backlinks, no marketing, and no pagerank and there it sites at #4. SO i am coming to beleive that seo, in some cases will not work for every website no matter what you do, and seo for others is the ticket to the masses. No matter how much martketing sbi teaches you for some sites it will never happen.
You apparently failed to reread my previous posts. I know the value of SBI. I happen to own one. I have some ideas rolling around in my head, and was willing to discuss them with you. Instead of a discussion I get flamed the ol’ SBI way. I’ve read hundreds of posts in the SBI forum as well as on other forums. There are many people who are not making enough money to pay for the yearly renewal. If these people give any inkling of anti-SBI thinking, they are immediately reprimanded. His Holiness, Ken Evoy, went so far as to put a stop to the discussion…so much for empathy.
I ‘m happy that you and others are able to “piss away” $300 in a week. If you know someone who would do this, let me know…I’ll send him/her my email address so it can be sent to me.
Some of us are feeling the effects of lay-offs and unemployment. I work part time now, and make a little over $800 per month. My rent eats over half of this. By the end of the month I’m borrowing money from friends. I wanted to be able to at least make ends meet, so I forced myself to cough-up the $363.26. I am working the plan and building my site, and will probably renew. How dare someone make the suggestion that “paying $300 yr. to SBI shouldn’t be a problem”. Maybe not for you, but some of us are liv’n on a prayer.
All I did was to come here with some ideas as to what might help to allow some of us to afford to wait out the “hump” stage, and maybe start another site.
I was going to “think out loud” here again, but I’m not willing to be chastised again. This will be my last post here.
JR
JR, sorry you felt chastised. That certainly wasn’t my intent and I’m pretty sure the others here too. I can imagine your frustrations with this terrible economy. Feel free to send me an email if you have questions, but will understand if not. Take care.
JR,
I agree with you 100% that not everyone earns $300 from SBI website to make enough for renual.
Leapbrowzer,
The term where you are ranking 4th in Google or Yahoo has no search volume found this means that though you can rank for any crazy keyword combination but no one seraches it (except you may be these days), you have ranked for your domain name which you made with the same crazy keyword you mentioned.
Sorry for being bit straight …but I mean it!
JR
I am lookin at our site build it that comes with our web hosting packages (for under $5 a month) at http://www.leapbrowser.net, part of http://www.leapbrowser.com. Is there something I am missing about this program. I keep hearing $300 a site. i do not see it be worth that much especially if you can’t make $300 back after using it. I tried it, didn’t like it as much as other programs so we Don’t use it, even though it comes with our packages. I know that don’t sound right but that is the way it is.
secret
Different-search-engine.com is an experiment, that worked. the goal was to do what everyone craves, #1 page on all the major search engines, whether or not you search for the term I do not know but I know when I look for a different search engine, what other keyword are you going to use. There are 246,000,000 results for the keyword phrase, we are #4, everywhere. There are tons of websites that use the exact domain type phrase and varitations of, none of them are ranked even if this is a search that no one looks for, which I believe that to be impossible. It is a phrase that google and yahoo will not let you advetise for. That is enough for me. you may of missed the point that most seo is in your domain name. the rest is in the proper writing of your pages. Like a book. Please visit our network of sites if you wish to learn more about this vital information as we see it. Not to take awy from the subject. i am still looking at sbi and wondering WHy?
I strongly agree with a few other comments above about SBI and the “look” of the sites created. From the introductory info and by reviewing top 1% sites, one would think that solely the SBI tool is what was used to create the sites they brag about. But I guess after I sign up and pay, I will then find out that those great sites were created by people having additional experience in HTML or CSS or they paid a third party for creative design.
I do find that very misleading. After all, the primary reason for SBI is to develop websites – with relative ease for a newbie – sites like the tons of sites bragged about.
Even with a 30-day guarantee, I could waste an awful lot of time and work only to find I really cannot do what I saw. At a minimum, show and brag about successful sites created solely with the 2-column template software.
That’s my 7 cents. Can’t see promoting the SBI affiliate – Seems more than saturated.
Lisa, I do love your work. Just fabulous.
Having built two sites on SBI I can speak from experience. Scam is a pretty strong word and not fair to SBI. Having said that, I did not have success with SBI. I followed the action guide but it simply did not pan out for me. I did get my money’s worth in education though. I have since moved on. My advice if you are new to the web is to buy a few top rated books at Amazon about web design, SEO, and web marketing and build your website with WordPress hosted at HostGator.
Rickie Carter’s last blog post..Attitude Magic
Lisa… I want to do affiliate marketing and adsense… and I would like to use a lot of user generated content.
Q: DO I need a web site or could I do it with a Blog?
Thanx
You can actually do it with either. Go to my YouTube channel and watch my video on blog vs. website.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq1wqtteb3I
Thanks Lisa. If I build a Blog… can I purchase the Searchit! tool seperate? (a la carte) Any idea what just the Searchit! Tool costs? I have been reading the Affiliate Masters Course.. loaded with good information.
I am interested in building an SBI! site as a portal to my existing site. Can anyone give me a little insight as to how this works?
Thanks,
Brad
hi Lisa,i am thinking of setting up a site that advises people on why,how and where to get this product..my site won’t actually sell anything so how do i get it to generate an income and is SBI the program to start this off
Hi,
How many sites can you make with one SBI account?
Hello Lisa
Ive been wondering for some time whether to buy site build it. The price is a bit high and im not a newbie so I wont need an action guide, but I like the idea of having all the nesessary tools in front of me.
To be honest I want to check out the keyword tool mostly as I can use it for other projects aswell:) and I know that if I pay $299 year I will work harder to make sure I see a return on my investment. The same cant be said if I pay $50 year for hosting.
The only thing I cant ignore is that all the site build it websites Ive seen look so ugly. The authors seem so proud of their old school 2 column template sites and I always wonder why. The only one that looks nice is your flat stomach site. All the rest look ancient, like they were designed in the year 1990 or something.
Some people say its not about the web design its only traffic thats important, but I disagree, whats wrong with having a nicely designed site that recieves a decent amount of traffic? Its better than having a ugly looking site that recieves a decent amount of traffic. A nicely designed site looks more professional and thats how I would want my readers to view me so in that aspect a websites design is important. So I dont understand why site build its webpage builder is lacking certain features.
I also wanted to know if its hard to upload and edit your own html pages.
whatever program you use to build your site. LOOK first at the domain name, if you want traffic of any kind. Then get social, join as many as you can. and post, post, post.
http://www.leapbrowser.com
LeapBrowser’s last blog post..Archives
I am a site build it user. I’ve built most of my sites from scratch but decided to give Site BuildIt a try. What a breeze it was. It allowed me to focus more on content than worrying about browser placement. I would highly recommend it.
Dr. J. Kyle Howard’s last blog post..Jun 7, Success Coaching – Question of the month archive
Hi Lisa and all,
I have noticed a couple of points about SBI that could be perceived as just a tad iffy, I am not trying to down grade SBI I am just pointing a couple of things out.
The sales copy puts cheap hosting down saying that it is a bad investment but I disagree because my hosting costs me $60 for a whole year which is not too cheap but a long way from $299. I do not consider myself to be an expert but I am not doing too bad with my blog it does not have a page rank yet but I built it when Google was recalculating it’s PR ranking so will not see any ranking if at all until they do that again which I am lead to believe is about every 3 months. Google should be recalculating it’s PR ranking again soon so I will have a better idea of how well it is doing quite soon. I am getting between 50-70 unique visitors a day and making a little money almost everyday from Google Adsense that I am sure will pay the cost of the site by the end of the year with domain name as well.
I have had no problems with this hosting so cannot comment on how good support is. I had hosting with Third Sphere for three years and did very badly with them and they where costing me more than SBI for p*%s poor speed and performance. Their hosting was garbage so I would not recommend them to anyone but I would recommend the hosting I am with because my blog gets an A rating when I test it with YSlow, it is fast and efficient. Just because web hosting is cheap it does not mean it’s crap but there is plenty out there and cost means nothing except to your pocket plus I must admit I spent 3 whole days researching a lot of hosting sites because I wasn’t getting ripped again if I could help it. The moral of this part of the story is take as long as you like doing your research but make sure you do it. As good old George Washington said (failure to prepare is to prepare to fail).
Another couple of points I want to make are I think I have read and listened to the whole sales pitch on SBI and I cannot find any reference as to how much hosting space you get or bandwidth. I am not saying it is not there because there is a lot of information and I might have missed it but it is not as I would expect it to be right in my face as I consider it to be important along with every other hosting service provider online.
Just one more point I would not recommend godaddy for domain names or hosting, read the small print there is way too much of it plus I feel they mislead you at every opportunity and are grossly over rated.
I am seriously considering SBI but I would like to know more about quantity of server space and bandwidth.
Could you please give me more details about the autoresponder, can I set up multiple lists, is there any limit on the number of follow ups, can I send out broadcasts, can I import lists, does it automatically provide double opt in, does it provide an easy opt out in your emails?
I wish you all the very best, God bless and much success, Gareth.
.-= Gareth´s last blog … The creative artists creative process. =-.
nice
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the information you are spreading… i am basically from India.. i am new to your site and impressed well.. thanks again
i am planning to go for SBI, but few concern..
i am already having a website regarding online jobs, i bought domian name through google apps and nw i am using googls apps mail.
I am wondering if I switch to SBI the same domain what i have already, what would happen to my google apps mail id?
still i will have access to mails? or i need switch to SBI mail?
please respond if you have time…
Thanks a lot….. i really wanna switch to SBI…
Shaon,
You mentioned that you have a job site. I presume that when you have websites which are database driven and php based(mostly) then SBI is not really the place. SBI can nly support pure html pages. Blogs and forum can be hosted externally with an external hoster(SBI recommends bluehost).
So if your website is database driven where you need to store resumes and jobs then SBI is not the answer.
Hi Saikat,
Thanks for your reply. My website is a simple information website about online jobs and freelance jobs, no database driven or php.
by migrating to SBI; i am looking that if I can edit my content whenever i want and i need to have adsense and some other affiliate programs.
I need to have more visitors; please let me know if SBI would help me on these?
Shaon,
If you are thinking for a simple information based website then SBI definitely can be a good bet. But why?
No.1- This provides a fantastic tutorial on how to get the best site concept and perfect monetization. You can learn more than you think.
No.2 – I like the keyword research tool for brainstorming.
No.3 – I like the on-page SEO validation whenever u upload a page.
No.4 – There are many more…….
But what I don’t like:
No.1 – It’s over used, unattractive, yester years, narrow 2 column templates. If you don’t like this…no problem, but you must know how to upload your own templates. My website is SBI driven but I did my own template and so I help many fellow SBIers with the same (this ofcourse gives me some business).
SBI recently came out with a CSS driven 3 column template but it is yet to get many takers.
No.2 – It don’t support database and php based applications. You need to invest in external hosting to have some of the facilities like blogs, forums, auto link builders, message boards and php driven various useful marketing scripts.
No.3 – This is my personal opinion which I developed recently that there had been a cartel of old SBIers who try to impose skewed rules in the SBI forums.
The Bottom Line:
Goods are in excess of the evils in SBI…but be prepared to pay the price of simplicity.
Another important thing is that it is better that you research your propsed theme before jumping into SBI as you might understand that the theme you selected ‘jobs’ can be havily saturated and your new website has every possibility to get lost on the information highway, irrespective of being build with SBI. SBI by itself dont ensure you traffic, but it helps you to understand how to make a successful website.
I have seen in the forums that there are tons of website which dont get good traffic and the owners are in loss.
I can do some research and tell you that a new website powered by WordPress can be a better and cheap option to start with. $299 is not a small money at least to Indian context.
If you need any more frank and fair suggestion or any help to understand better you are welcome to contact me from my website from the link with my name in this post.
lisa,
I’m thinking about investing in SBI! My passions are cooking, writing (romantica, poetry) and metaphysics. Would SBI! be the best avenue? I don’t mind a lot of reading, presistant work, and I have desire to succeed.
Thanks for any help.
Hi Summer,
In my opinion, SBI! is great for anyone who wants to generate an income from a content affiliate website and has the desire to learn using a coach-in-your-ear format. Just understand there is a LOT of reading but it’s a great option for first time website builders.
Hi Saikat,
Thank you for your time. now my concern is that what would happen to my google apps mail and google analytics if I switch to SBI?
Regards
Shaon
Shaon,
I’m not sure if I got your doubt right. SBI do have a functional autoresponder system included, which you can repoint to your own personal mail if you want to get any contact info.
About analytics you need to copy the code and insert into the tags. These will come much later…
First you need to decide on your theme and do some prior research to find if your niche is too many ‘biggie’ free, so u get some space to be on the first page.
hi lisa , i have learned and read a little about Ken Evoy way back 2004, infact i registered there and received emails from him, i think my email was [email protected] that time. But i did not read more about ken’s sitebuildit since i was interested more in SEO, i have 2 or 3 websites ranking top but my adsense earnings did not much with the traffic.
Just this week i came across with a site talking about – increasing crt that he keeps on mentioning the word pre-selling and persuasive writing.
Yesterday i search more on pre-selling then i came across 2 websites , the website-squad.com/pre-selling.html and internet-marketing-tutor.com/artofpreselling.html.
These two people are talking about Ken evoy and SBI – i was shocked that after 5 years i will have visit and download ken evoy’s building a business tips on PDF format.
I already finished two PDF the make your words sell and my your content presell.
I’ve visited your http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com/ and indeed you are preselling and monetizing from adsense.
It’s amazing to think that after 5 years ill be reading ken evoy once again.
.-= John Paul Paquibot´s last blog … chance to tell someone my biggest mistake =-.
No way a scam, far from it i was a sceptic. Alot of fakers out there and Ken and his company is NO WAY one of them.
The info in SBI is free over the net but its worth Gold so buy it and build a website.
Put the effort in and if you fail, try, try again.
Hi,
I am planning to get in to SBI… I have norticed that they have launched new vrsion as elearning 12 week program; could you please anyone suggest on that, you experince?
I should go for normal 299$ plan or 12 weeks elearning couse 598$ (798$- 200#rebate)?
Regards
Shaon
Now I’m really confused? What do you get in the 12 week E-learning that you don’t get in the $299 plan?
I thought for $299 you got everything you need to study and build a site?
With e-learning, it’s a total classroom-like experience. You have an instructor, sessions, homework and you get more one on one help. So your rate for success is much higher.
Hi Lisa & Co.,
I’m a (let’s say) beginner in making money with a website, even though I’m not a novice. Someone who already has a domain name and a theme (related to project management) asked me to take over the site and make money with it. My questions for you are: Could SBI help me in this endeavor? If Yes, I need to transfer that domain to SBI? and, After how many months, in average, could a website built by the SBI model start making some cash?
Thank you for your time,
Hi Adrian,
You can transfer but I cannot answer the “how many months” question because that largely depends on how well you execute and follow the guide. For some it’s a couple of months, for others it’s a year or more, and some never make anything. It all comes down to execution and how well you follow the guide. But you can definitely transfer your site to them.
Hi, i’m new to this game and was wondering if SBI was for me? I have an idea for a business but don’t no if it’s the kinda thing you can start to make a business, i know that doesn’t make much sense so could you please email me so i can talk it through with ya.Thank you
David,
England
Hi Liber8tor,
Yes, even I thought $299 for everything in SBI…, But recently they have launched a new version for $ 578 (after rebate) with more options and they promise the success.. and one more version is there.. above $1000 i guess.. where SBI will do everything for you, you just need to collect money.. They have the details in their home page…
Hey Lisa,
would like to know, whats your thought on this..
Hi Shaon
I can only speak on the $299 version because it’s what I have. I have not tried e-learning or the other option but I was invited on a conference call with some of the SiteSell staff before they launched e-learning and let me tell you that what they do is amazing and it seems to really be worth the price. SiteSell overdelivers in every area, so I have no doubt you’ll get what you pay for.
Hi Liber8ton,
Please go through SBI home page and read about their new version.. you will get all the information… I think beginners should go with $ 299 plan…
Hi Lisa,
Thanks a lot for your reply. I have gone through many of the sample site what you have provided in your blog and many SBI success sites; but my concern is that, non of them are from India and why there is no SBI site from India? I know people in India doing good in affiliate marketing, but still there is no SBI site.
I was just wondering if there is any particular reason for that…
Are you sure about that? There are over 100,000 Site Build It! customers (that’s what Ken Evoy told me one time.) So I find it hard to believe that there are no customers from India. Just wondering what makes you think that? The sample sites are only a small percentage of their customers.
Also, unless it’s a payment processing issue, I’m not really sure where you’re from really matters. If you can create a compelling website that appeals to a large group of people (no matter their ethnic background) you can succeed.
Hi Lisa,
I have seen many many SBI sites but non of them are from India, may be there are very less as Saikat mentioned $299 is not that little money for Indians. However I am planning to switch to SBI, I think from 2nd year onwards the fees would be $299 only for e-learning course as well.
Thank you .. Hope I will do well with SBI…
Hi Lisa,
A quick query…
Can I have youtube videos in SBI site? coz the nitch I am going to have required more videos.
Yes you can. I have them on mine.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your time. I am just wondering if there is any way if I can see SBI site directory, I would like to refer SBI sites on Car accessories. I hve gone through most of the sites they have given in HUNDRED examples in their e-leraning page, but couldn’t find any nitch on car or car accessories. Could you please help me on that.
Hi Shaon, try http://website.sitesell.com/results Don’t know if they have any car accessory sites, though.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks a lot, I found 8 websites on car/automobile accessories related… I guess if we use SBI built templates, “Pwered by site bulit it” would come at the bottom otherwise it wont?
You don’t have to have that “Powered link” at the bottom. Many people opt to have that there because you earn a commission if someone buys SBI! as a result of clicking on that link. It’s part of their optional affiliate program. No matter what host you use, you can add what you want to your page.
Lisa,
What memory, hard drive, etc. would I need for SBI? The one I have may be too old and I’d have to purchase a newer one. Thanks.
SBI! is all browser-based. So it has nothing to do with your computer. Everything you need to do is online.
very informative site you have lisa.
thanks!
Hello Lisa,
I have been reading and watching your videos for about 2 months now, and I am very interested in taking the first step into SBI! I have always had a nac for computers and electronics, and I am very quick to learn new things. I already know Visual Basic, and basic HTML programming. My only drawback is, im not sure what I would want to make my site about. My biggest interest is fixing, upgrading, and building computers. Is there a large enough target audience for this to be a successful site, with pictures, videos, and step by step instructions? I already know of a few affiliate marketers I could use. Besides this idea, I really dont know what to make a site about. What is your suggestions?
~Terrence
Hi Terrence, I believe there is enough, but that’s one of the main reasons to buy SBI!. They just upgraded their brainstorming feature (v3) with new tools to help you narrow your topic and determining its potential and profitability. There are also extensive exercises that you will be taken thru to help you determine/narrow your topic even before you begin using the tools. So after going thru the brainstorming phase you may decide on a slightly different topic or to keep this one. That’ll be something you’ll have to determine and it’s part of the SBI! process.
There will always be a need for help sites on computers… especially problem-solving related ones. So it sounds like a good idea. But don’t rack your brain over it before buying SBI! because a big part of the price is the actual brainstorming process that you are asking me about now.
Hi Lisa,
Followed your blogs and youtube videos for about 2 months. Thanks for your input and information.
Finally purchased the SBI $399 special (SBI + 1 extra for additional $100) about a month ago. The “10″ day plan is really detailed and thorough. I am just on day “3″, but each day gets a little easier. I like the fact that it will not let me do certain things until I have completed certain steps. I also like the fact that you can follow the video with a printed copy. It has already caused me to rethink some ideas and websites that I thought would be great … Combine the videos, tools, forums, hosting and domain registration and the $299 is a small price to pay. I have not gotten to the actual website design, but when that time comes I am sure there will be a solution for me …
*** Roosevelt ***
Hi Lisa,
Me and my friend is planning to buy a SBI site, he is really mad about car, car accessories and anything about luxury cars, he is a regular writer for few local news paper auto editions and recently he had a tv show as well. But, he is just doesn’t know anything about online marketing and all the online stuffs. I know well about internet marketing and I am mad about internet, I am very much interested to have a SBI site on my interest i.e online entrepreneur consultant where I can promote SBI (I can see great chance for SBI in India) and few other stuffs, not really “money making opportunities on internet” (or does it fall in that?) Now we are confused where to start, whether with my online nich or car reviews? We should get normal $ 299 SBI or e-learning SBI?
This would be highly obliged if you could suggest on this.
Shaon,
Just few things for you to consider.
No.(1) If you are planning a website predominantly for the Indian consumers or market then SBI might not be the best option. As the SBI server IP address is based in Canada. So Google might not give your website a local status (Google India) or come up on top of google.co.in searches. The best would be to go for .in domains from India based hosting providers.
No.(2) If you are planning for eCommerce oriented website to sell car accessories etc. then also SBI might not be the best option to have a database driven website. You need external hosting to support this.
Research and think if your theme can be competive if you want to make this website with international appeal.
Lisa, correct me if I am wrong.
Regards,
Saikat
Hi Saikat,
Thanks for your suggestions; However I am not looking for car accessory e-commerce site, I am looking something like http://www.4x4offroads.com/, this is a SBI site but I guess its not SBI template. Hope I can do this with SBI as my friend can write a lots of content about car.
Regarding my online business niche, I think I can go with “Thesis” wordpress theme (I guess you will not suggest me to go for SBI as it is very competitive niche) or can you please suggest any other option, where I can promote SBI, Thesis, many other e-books and I would like to have free live training session for newbies as well.
Looking forwared for your advice
Shaon,
I saw the website you mentioned. If you see the website the webmaster is pretty advanced. He used external hosting coupled with SBI. Notice that he is having a marketplace page and also a forum page which is in the subdirectory pointed which means that he hosted this outside SBI but did a subdomain mapping. The external hositng costs about $72/year if you’re going for a two year plan. This is something for advance players.
Please dont get me wrong here. I am not discouraging you….but just that giving you my own experience.
If you dont have much knowledge or you are just starting then keep a target of at least one to two years of solid learning and research to come to this level (provided you have the knack and passion).
A Sidebar:
The website you are planning is for you or your friend? If this will be purchased by your ‘friend’ from your affiliate link.:) Please make sure that you do an offline purchase (see the SBI 5 pillar club for more details on how to do this).
.-= Saikat´s last blog … How tomake a website-Free Web Design, Development Video Tutorial, Services,Softwares, ebooks =-.
Hi Saikat,
Thanks for the information, however we are not going to have forum or market place in the beginning and not very soon. We may have only free blog in the beginning and RSS and autoresponder are already there with SBI. My friend can write a lot about car and he required daily updation as well.
Yes, I think he can buy SBI from my affiliate link, I am sorry I didn’t get that “you do an offline purchase”, could you please clarify.
aint got a clue about web building!
just dont want to get ripped off,not affraid of hard work etc computers are not my game just want to generate more income.
Hi you all. Is anyone interested in sharing SBI with me for $199.50. Right now they are running a special that you can get a second site for $100.00. The first is $299. I asked SBI and they will allow me to share with a friend. If interested please email me.
Thanks, Warren
Lisa, i need your help. My friend has a website that he has had for years but it hasnt taken off like he has hoped.. Its in the Adult film industry. He wants me to take over to redo his website, do you think SBI would be a good tool for uploading videos and selling dvds or would something like dreamweaver be better since his website has been up for years? I believe SBI works but i am not sure if it will work for Adult websites… what do you think?
thanks for your time lisa,
Joseph
Hi Warren,
I would be interested for this; please let me know more details like I will be getting my own login id etc…
Shaon
Shaon,
I’m trying to figure out how to respond to you without blasting out my email and number to everyone.
Hi Warren,
I am not sure if I can provide my email id here; however you can reach my website by clicking on my name above.
Hi, Warren,
Is there any news regarding SBI second site you were mentioning?
Before I posted I did not realize how hard this was going to be to split the fee. I decided it’s just too much trouble for me at the moment.
Thanks for the interest.
I have called two the three times. Customer Service can not answer my Q/As. They said someone will call me back. I just wonder if there support tech staff will be calling be back when I have a issue or problem. The product looks great, but no customer service to help you when you need it??????
John, I felt the same with the customer service does not live up to their claims. I can be blunt and say SBI is scam but Lisa is Real … she has filled in the gap that SBI can not fulfill. Thank you Lisa for contributing your greatness.
I’m now a new SBI member. I’m going through their 10 day video course that will take me more like 60 days. So much to learn and research. I thought I had a great idea for a website but after going through day 1 and 2 of the course it wasn’t, that along saved me 6 months of my life.
John, try emailing them instead of phoning. You should get a respose sooner.
Lisa,
Please can you try and reach Mr Ken Evoy for me? I want to purchase SITEBUILDIT! but it is unable to process my payment. I want to find out if his site accepts mastercard payments from nigeria? If he doesn’t what do i do to get the product. The lines are not going neither is the email address. pls help me
They accept PayPal. Are you able to pay with PayPal?
Hi Lisa,
Recently found your site and have found it very informative.
In particular, I appreciate your honest answers regarding SBI. In return, I would like to purchase it through your site, but cannot see where I should do this?
Keep up the great work!
Thanks Tony. Any link on my site or blog will give me the credit or you can go to http://website.sitesell.com/order Thank you!!
How can SBI be a scam? If website hosting averages $100 per year and an auto-responder averages $200 per year, SBI seems to be quite a bargain.
But where would I find on SBI’s site that an auto-responder is really included? As soon as I find such verification, I’ll sign-up.
Jeff, I think some people use the word “scam” to describe products that they feel are overpriced. A scam is when you are misled or you pay for something and do not receive what you paid for. SBI! is neither.
I completely agree it’s a great deal but I understand not everyone shares that opinion. If you go to http://sitesell.com/tools/ and click “Trust Building Tools” you will see the Autoresponder.
I am happy with the tools available and the service at Sitesell… Site Build It is great value for your money these guys really over deliver,
In my opinion it isn’t a scam!
.-= Fay´s last blog … Sep 16, Dora The Explorer Party One She Will Never Forget =-.
Anybody here got a good tip on how to promote sbi? Not any luck at this moment. I really love to buy sbi but I currently don’t have the money. If you are successful in selling sitesell products. Could you share your techniques here? Thanks!
Hi JP,
The best advice I can give you is to own it and promote it using your own success. I used to be the affiliate manager for SiteSell. And when I looked at the top 25 affiliates for SiteSell, all of them owned the product. Almost everyone who did not own it had trouble promoting it. It makes sense. If you want someone to believe a $300 product is as good as you say it is, nothing better then to show it in action and use it yourself. Actually, that’s a rule of thumb for any affiliate program.
Thanx for the info. I had been wondering about that.
I’m on day 6 of SBI building my website. SBI offers soooo much information on how to succeed that I get overwhelmed. Hope I can complete my site by 2010. SBI has the tools to build your website but I will use Dreamweaver for mine. I have some creative ideas for my Site and so will need custom features. I’m very please with the quality of service offered. I’m now learning dreamweaver to start with the home page.
Lisa,
To quote something you said,
“In my opinion, a scam is product or service that doesn’t deliver what is promised. Or the company overcharges for the value provided.”
I am in no way stating that SBI is a scam, however I was not told that I would be SBI reliant in after the course.
Yes, SBI Provides tools, however SBI has not taught me how to build a business without using SBI.
I took the course because I thought I was going to learn how to “BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS USING THE INTERNET” Well I learn how to build a business using the internet using sbi. So I found the course description highly misleading.
Also my instructor had not even completed a website or sold any items when he was himself teaching our class.
So all in all I purchased the product, have seen how it could be useful however seemed to have purchased it under false promises and am not impressed.
I personally do not think sbi is a scam however I think that they should not be teaching courses under false pretenses.
First of all I am very impressed with your webstes and videos. You have a lot of knowledge about this subject and I think its cool that you help people. I am about to by site build it. I have a cool idea for a website, and I can’t wait to get started.
I just want to know with site build it will it enable people to upload their own videos on to my website and have a ranking system similar to youtube?
Now I dont want to be the next youtube I would just like to have a similar feature on my site.
Hello Lisa et all.
I am new to a lot of this, and I have a few quick questions.
1) Is all of the educational content stored online? Or can you receive hard copy documents, or at least pdf downloadable documents. My problem is I work on cruise ships and with limited internet access, it may be tough to read all of the educational info on SBI.
2) About the brainstorming tool – how many times can you use it? Did I read that it was limited? What happens if you go over your limit and you still haven’t found the best idea yet?
3) All in after 1 year, is there any additional costs that I am unaware of. Call me a skeptic, but I am ok with 300, but I don’t want to have to spend much more.
Thanks in advance for the help everyone. And hey, if you are going on a cruise, let me know.
Hi Lisa – can you tell me if SBI and WordPress are compatible? I am setting up some sites using WordPress Thesis and am trying to understand if SBI is possible to use with these sites.
Thanks! Wendy
Wendy,
I own an SBI site and I believe I can answer your question.
The answer is no. While SBI does sort of have a blog feature that you can add, it is not meant as a blogging website. You cannot incorporate anything WordPress with SBI.
You can set up another domain and link to your blog from your SBI site, but you cannot just add a WordPress blog to your SBI site unfortunately.
I hope this clears things up a little!
Thanks AlbertoPL, that definitely answers my question.
I appreciate it. Wendy
.-= Wendy´s last blog … This new mom is sleeping again =-.
Hi Wendy,
Myself also a SBIer. Let me answer your question. My answer is YES and also NO. (The answer of Alberto is partially correct but sure dont give you the right picture).
When I say YES, I say that definitely Blog can be hosted with SBI but in the sub directory. Not only Blog you can have any php, asp or any other technology hosted on your subdomain….
When I say subdomain…I mean that this is hosted outside SBI but still gets all the good features of SBI. Let me take the example of my website:
See my own domain is http://www.how2makeawebsite.com/ which is SBI domain and hosted. Now if you refer to one of my subdomain link:
http://free-flash-website-builder.how2makeawebsite.com I hosted the complete script for this on my subdomain outside SBI but did domain mapping to SBI.
This process is reasonably simple and I think I am using this to the full extent.
WordPress Blog is the easiest thing to do. SBI goes well with Bluehost which provides this excellent domain mapping and since Bluehost have Simplescripts to install WP and 37 more scripts in just few scripts….no DB installl nothing.
When I said NO, that is to make you aware that this is an additional investment (but desireable) for someone. This don’t come by default with SBI in $299. However, the SBI manual direction is superb and you can install if you have some patience and unerstanding of the hosting control panel.
Wish you all the best.
Saikat
.-= Saikat´s last blog … How to make a website-Free Web Design, Development Video Tutorial, Services, Softwares, ebooks =-.
Lisa,
people say about “Site Build It” that you can not sell your website nor does the domain you register with them belong to you. Is that true? I love both your websites and I believe in what you say. Let’s say you wanted to sell your flat-stomach-exercise site today? Could you do that?
Thanks so much! J
Hey Lisa,
.
I am new to all of this. I wrote earlier but somehow you must have not gotten my message
I am thinking about buying Site Built It. My question is if I can sell my website down the road if I would like to. I wanna know just in case. Not that I want to sell it, but you never know. Could you let me know? Thanks a lot and keep up the good work. I am a huge fan!!! J
Hi,
I will be buying a SBI site soon, this is related to car test reviews etc… my friend is very much expert in this and he would be providing all the materials, reports, videos etc…
My concern is that; we are from India and he is having test drive experience in Indian market (imported cars) and middle east countries. So, what would be the scope of getting international (US, UK) visitors and make them more involved since we we dont have much information (genuine) about international market.
Hi Lisa,
God Bless you and the value you put on the net. I found your website builder tutorials excellent! I started a blog with wordpress and websitepalace 1 yr ago. I get about 300 visitors a month. I blog sporadically, some times heavy, then not at all. I want to make a marketing advertising tutorial web site. And eventually be a consultant for small business looking to break onto the web by getting access to the first page of search engines. I have been a quality engineer most of my professional career, though my hobbies are fishing and option trading. I started selling online ads through a 3rd party and I like it. I like the psychology of it. I don’t think I am a good sales person although I can be diligent. Also, I think I am getting better and like the challenge. I just don’t know if my finances will hold up. My personality is one that can jump around if not reigned in.
I saw the annsieg stuff and was intrigued, I also came across this site builder, I think it would be good training for me. However, I am struggling with current finances, yet I think the $1 day for site builder is bargain, and can swing it for a while (how long to cover my expenses will it take). When will it gets me several hundred visitors or customers a month. I want to know what I can do and not lose the value of it, if something happens down the road.
By the way, I saw the alexia ratings (for your Flat stomach site), and you are doing great, 33,000 in the US!
Also my wife homeschools, we have a few chickens. Is my idea good or do you think I should pick a different topic. I appreciate your help! Thank You! Blake
.-= Blake´s last blog … Apple stock Going Up. (AAPL), Profit up 40% =-.
i have two SBI sites that i am transferring to WordPress in the next few months. Can you recommend a couple of people that could transfer the content from SBI to WordPress for me?
I have done a lot of research on Site Built It and am impressed with the step by step process. I have recommended it to people locally who ask me about working from home online, but I always tell them to be prepared to work. The content that SBI owners put into their websites is amazing which is another reason why they are successful.
Justyna,
Transferring or selling a SBI website is no big deal with SBI. It’s nothing near complicated as you’ve heard.
Blake,
When you go through the SBI process, one of the process called ‘brainstorming’ this enables you to arrive at the best theme/niche which best suits you. The brainstorming tool is not a magic software but helps channelizing your thought process at the right direction.
Jenny,
Unfortunately, this activity of transferring SBI to WP need to be done either by you or someone who have SBI experience and can’t be done by any designers out there. Though this forum is not to sell our services but we do provide lot of services for SBIers…if you want you might visit our website http://www.how2makeawebsite.com/ to contact us with details about your requirement.
.-= Saikat´s last blog … How tomake a website-Free Web Design, Development Video Tutorial, Services,Softwares, ebooks =-.
hi Lisa I am based in the UK and hope to rent out a holiday apartment on the coast . I want to generate business by getting people to come and stay mainly from the UK and but possibly Europe as well .Is SBI the right tool for me ? I have no experience of making websites but I would like to include my own photos of the location and the apartment can I do that on SBI I have plenty of time to devote to the website .Is the website in English only or will it translate for European customers ? Can you confirm it is a yearly financial commitment to SBI ?
Thanks
I am using a different web host right now and I am moderately happy with them. I find that the pages take a while to load, but they are so cheap that they were hard to turn down. I’m only making about $1.00 per day right now, but I am going to look into SBI when my average goes up to about $5.00 per day. I have only been doing this for a month and I have 10 websites running so hopefully that will be within the next month or two. Thanks for the info!
I agree it’s not a scam, but is it necessary..?
I am a professional web developer and some friends just purchased SBI, so I looked into it. Mind you, I’m looking at it from the perspective of someone who knows what to do and how to do it, but I have real doubts about the price-to-value returned by the SBI packages.
First, I haven’t found a client site that has an acceptable page design. Millions of dollars and thousands of hours have gone into real, scientific research on page layouts and user ergonomics, and the SBI sites all have an antiquated and depricated layout that badly locates the most significant information on your pages.
Second, while Google ads generate cash – which begs the question of whether those making cash are making cash from their business or from the click-through links – why would any business want to host links that takes people away from THEIR site to someone else’s website? And it’s bush league…
Third, what good is an Alexa ranking if you aren’t in the top 100 of non-paying listings in a Google search? I don’t search for sites by their Alexa rankings, do you? That’s a WBP (worthless bit of puffery).
Fourth, I can’t find any information on SBI’s pages to tell me what kind of a host server they get. Is it Linix/Unix? Is it Windows? The client sites are all using HTML and JavaScript – and some parts of Flat-Stomach-Exercises will nto work for people with moderate or higher security settings in their browser because those security setting block JavaScript. Can I use PHP or ASP or ASP.Net to overcome this? I haven’t yet found a programmed web page in a SBI client website.
Fifth, SBI’s site-building software does not create valid mark-up for the web pages. Running Flat-Stomach-Exercises through a standard online validator (http://validator.w3.org) returns 127 errors! The best way to drop in the search results for your site is to have HTML errors!
Sixth, there’s nothing in the package that can’t be learned elsewhere, through a simple trawling of the internet. Almost all hosts have customer forums where you can learn just as much as you can through SBI’s forums.
So overall, if you want to pay to have free information available in one central location, don’t want to take the time to learn about good web design, don’t want to learn any of the other free or commercial development environments, are happy with a long list of links that take users AWAY from your website, and are satisfied with page errors, SBI is a decent package – and it’s not a scam.
Again, I disclaim and admit that my thoughts are tainted by my knowledge of how to do all of this – and a lot more – without needing a package like SBI, but frankly, I just don’t see how it’s worth $300 USD for the results you get.
Best of luck to y’all.
Hi TR
No, it’s not necessary for everyone. Just those who appreciate the extra bit of hand-holding when it comes to understanding how to market.
The design templates are terrible, I agree. Fortunately they are in the process of launching some very nice looking, current designs. Yay!
I’m not sure I agree with your Alexa analysis. I believe my 2createawebsite.com site is about 20,000 and I get over 13,000 visits per day. My SBI! is somewhere around 90,000 and I get about 7,000 visits per day. You’re right. No one searches by Alexa, but it still is a great tool to use to compare sites and get a decent idea for how much traffic a site gets. That’s all.
Yes my SBI! has validation errors but that’s no fault of SBI. I went on my own and created my own design instead of using their builder so the validation was on me, not SBI!.
And I totally agree there is nothing that you can’t learn elsewhere, but many value having all the tools in one place and I have several friends that I’ve personally referred to SBI! and we’re still friends.
They knew they could go to a cheaper host, but they love it and understand the value.
SBI! is not for everyone, but it is for some. The key is discovering if it’s right for you.
Hi,
I started reading a lot of forums and feedbacks about Site Build It and obvioulsy, the more people the more opinions you hear.
What i agree on (not purchased a Site Build It yet) is that if you have a passion, work and dedication, it is hard to say that it is a scam.
I want to ask if the Site Build It will allow visitors of my website to submit some content (pictures, links, and so on)?
If not, what is the best choice to go if I want this kind of content and communication with users of my webpage?
I won’t have a lot of time maintaining the site nor money to keep a moderator, so forum type site is a NO for me.
Thank you.
Good news Vadim, they just announced that their Content 2.0 feature is now free. This allows your static pages to behave like blogs so your visitors can leave comments. I don’t believe you can upload pics tho.
I a surely delited that SBI came along because it has shed light on people who have no experience setting up a web site or web sites. They have made it possible for many people to stay at home with their families. Of course it will not be an over night success. SBI has numerous educational and valuable videos for you to watch. It takes you by the hand towards your goal of setting up a website with traffic. So the price you pay to join SBI is nothing compared to the information that has its weight in gold. I have made it my goal to help build or improve my other websites. I know that SBI has been a well kept secret, but I hope people don’t turn away the web page when the see SBI.
Thank you SBI
Edward Villamar “edwardallxclub”
“Success on the internet comes only once in a life time.”
Hi Lisa,
I am a 14 year old boy who is fascinated with web design, and all the opportunities the internet provides. That being said, I’m just starting to learn about websites and how to make them. I really want to make my own functional website, and make money off of it. I’m not really looking to make a whole bunch of money as if its a career, but just make a little bit of money as baby steps, because I would like to study web design in college, and maybe persue a career in the field of web design. Once again, I am a beginer to all of this, and i really don’t know how to make a website, or design a website, or publish a website.
So my question is, will Site Build It! make creating a website simple, even for somebody like me?
Corey
Hi Corey
Yes, they have a series of templates you can choose from and are in the process of releasing much more current design templates as well. You literally choose a template and insert text. But if you want to go outside the basic templates you can design your site on your own like I did with http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com
Hi Lisa, can you build customer review based websites with SiteBuildIt? Ie does it have options that enable your customers to create accounts and post reviews etc? Many Thanks
No, it’s really best to use a regular host and install a script.
Hello Lisa,
Very impressed by your “2 Create A Website” website. Knew very little before spending three hours reading on your site tonight. Now, at least I know the basics and, more importantly, know what I don’t know (need to learn).
Been taking steps to begin selling “Original/Politically Incorrect” T-shirts and other related items (I know, a flooded market). Not doing it to get rich, just believe in what they say. However, understand it will take considerable time/capital investment (no problem) and would rather make a few bucks.
Considering “Site Build It” as base to start from versus hooking up with a very experienced E-Commerce website facilitator who wants part of the action. In no real hurry, somewhat slow to comprehend, but, once I get it, pretty good at execution/implementation.
Do you think SBI might be right for me?
Best Wishes/Blessings for this Holiday Season
and,
Merry Christmas (the least politically incorrect greeting I can think of).
Richard
SBI! will be great for helping you discover strategies for promoting your store. Stores can be somewhat more challenging to promote due to the fact search engines don’t typically rank them well (lack of focused content). So yes, I do believe it can help you with strategy. Just keep in mind, most SBI sites are content/affiliate marketing sites so much of the training/advice is focused there. But you can still use it for a site like this.
There are some thin if the legitimate work as a line there. Most are sites and marketing study for the site owner rich, not you. The only thing is true legitimacy Ebay, selling things you already own….
onlineuniversalwork
Hi Lisa,
I am interested in SBI, I have checked our your site ..
http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com
I am keen to know if SBI builds your site? I too would like a site like yours
Many Thanks
Hi Peter
SBI! does have templates to help you setup your site easily but my site was custom built by me in Dreamweaver. I actually designed that myself.
Please how relevant will SBI be for a prospective customer in UK?
thanks
$299 sounds great, I checked out your site just briefly and I am amazed at how many pages you can have. I just started with OHN(online hosting network) and I am only allowed 4 pages and I have already paid $300 and if I want more emails sent out I will have to pay more. Wish I had heard of site build it first. You live and you learn I guess.
Great post! SBI is great for newbies … I personally own 2 SBI sites and the video action guide has taught me most of what I know about building a website online and internet marketing.
.-= S. Griffin @ Affiliate Internet Marketing´s last blog … Quick Tip for Frustrated Newbies =-.
Thank you for your tutorials. They’ve given me a lot to think about and have really sparked my imagination!
However…
Tried to purchase Site Build It and my card was blocked. When I called my bank to inquire about the transaction, they told me that VISA has the company flagged as a suspected fraud site and that it was VISA who refused the transaction.
Did anyone else run into this or other problems? I’m curious why VISA would suspect them if they hadn’t been cued in by something we may not be aware of.
Hi Rick
This has to be some kind of mistake. I used to work for SIteSell and have some inside contacts there so I will contact them and get back to you.
Hi Rick,
I heard back from the folks at SiteSell. The problem appears to be the transaction itself, not the SiteSell company. I would check with your bank because there is probably some kind of algorithm that is causing the transaction to appear fraudulent and fail. As a long time customer and affiliate, I can assure you that SiteSell is legit.
If you cannot clear this up with your bank, then you can also pay with PayPal. SiteSell offers multiple ways to pay. Let us know how it goes.
well u know in life nothing is easy evey one is looking for easy money on the net infact its like making reall money
just its ur time and its ur place the rest need hard work well u can do it if u really work hard thanks for the help
.-= ozETV´s last blog … Girls only Click the TEXT IN YELLOW to Get Free Sample =-.
Hi, Lisa!
I am a Site Build It owner and have been since 2006. Loved the product, service, tools, etc so much, I started another site in early 2008.
I can tell you honestly that there is nothing that I’ve purchased that has made as much of a difference in my life as SBI has. It’s the real deal, folks. The only people I do not recommend it for are the people who are allergic to work!
hi, not so surprise that a lot of people think that sbi is a scam ,i dont think they,are felt this people cry scam,scam are does people who doesn’t wait long enough to know the system that are crying foul.
lets take lisa site for example is her site any fraud, nope,her site has been on for more than 4yrs and she is still making more success with it…….
If SBI requires work, most people won’t stick with it long enough to see results. It seems to be a good product, but I’m still skeptical. But if it’s working for some then great.
Hi Lisa
I am considering SBI
Bit of a beginner too by the way.
I aim to promote products (many different types) on my site as an affiliate owner using hoplinks etc.
I advertise using newspaper ads etc.
Does SBI allow me to drive clients to individual pages on SBI even though using just the onbe domain name?
Your video is very informative
thanks
Ste
Hi. i checked out SBI. i heard of another @ http://www.hostfare.com they claim to be the only site builder with complete SEO tools as an option.
Anybody heard of them or did a free trial?
cheers
Listen SBI is a package deal like no other. If I had only ONE concept that I knew could succeed and was narrow and niche enough yet also had the traffic and income earning potential – then a SBI site would have been where I stayed.
Their forums, link building advantages and SEO advantages are TOPS and you get there further and faster with EXACTLY what you need more than enyone else in the business – all their tools in an all-in-one package alone is worth their weight in gold.
BUT – you MUST do EXACTLY as they say, to succeed, Deviate out of stubbornness, and you will surely fail. If you can follow directions and stay the course for whatever you undertake, go SBI. If you’re a rebel, go with a WordPress blog. I must be more a rebel at this point in time.
SBI is more consistent than a WordPress blog, and all the updates, plugins, theme quirks and other stuff that goes with learning and building up WP.
However, SBI sites do have some limitations that actual WP type blogs do not, and if you have several ideas and like the WP 2.0 look and feel, stick with WP. SBI sites are getting better and better though. It’s up to you, BOTH work well!
.-= Michael Erik´s last blog … Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-21 =-.
Hi Lisa,
If there’s a 30-day-money-back-guarantee, (having not used the product myself), I don’t see what anyone has to lose by testing it out. If it works then keep developing it, if you feel it’s not for you then get a refund.
Certainly if you are a beginner to website design and/or web marketing SBI! seems like something to try out.
Online success comes as a result of consistent hard work, “unless you’re that 1 in 100 million who wins the online sweepstakes”, said the man with the grey beard who never won a dime.
Daniel
Thank you for clarifying. I have been contemplating signing up for SBI but was not too sure because there are so many dishonest persons doing business on the internet. I will definitely sign up in a few weeks. Regards.
.-= Dehavilland Moss´s last blog … One hang over recipe =-.
Most people have to understand a tool such as sitebuilder allows you to quickly create a web site without any technical knowledge so you can focus more on running your business, creating content. There is not set-and-forget-it tool on the web that would lead you to success. You have to get involved and just take advantage of the automation offered by the tool of your choice.
.-= Curvy Girl´s last blog … A Person’s Size Does Not Determine Health or Self-Worth =-.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for all the info. Site build it sounds amazing and I intend to purchase it as soon as I decide which site idea would be best since you only get one per purchase. I am really leaning toward a lost/found pet site since I had a friend recently lose his dog. I noticed though, that many of the sites i visited were not updated for many months. Does this mean they are not succesful sites, or just non-succesful site owners? Also, do you know if Site Build It is capable of creating a site where users could post their info, ie; location, type of pet, color size, possibly pic, owner contact info, etc. I noticed most I went to had drop down menus making it very user friendly…any thoughts?
Thanks, and congrats on your many succeses! Hard work does pay off!
Wouldnt it be easier to just find out which turnkey site building option gives the highest rankings first of all to new sites, and just build a site with them?
In 2010, it’s not about the engines giving preferences to hosting. The quick success / turnkey days are over. It’s about learning to build a popular website no matter what host you choose. SBI! happens to provide you with the education to build a really good, SEO friendly site that works for the long haul. SBI! gives you the education but the rest is up to you and hard work!
Agreed Lisa. Those days of quick success are long gone with the dotcom bust. If you have to start a serious online business, you need to realize though the potential for success is tremendous, you have to work hard because you are competing now with the entire world.
.-= Blog Design Center´s last blog … Creating A New Blog Post in WordPress =-.
I’ve just come across one of your works on site building and info marketing. very detailed work and richly illuminating. the world needs more people like you to rekindle fresh idea in her people.
I have a business through a networking marketing company. I wanted to create a website through SBI and then provide a link to guide visitors to the actual site to purchase the botanically based product from the network marketing company. I will also advise on other herbs that can be bought elsewhere or grown. The site through SBI would be focused on health and wellness and good nutrition. But I have questions:
1. based on your experience will my attachment to a network marketing company create distrust with my visitors. I am passionate about good nutrition and I need a website that will allow me to feed that passion. I can’t feed that purpose of educating people about proper diet/wellness products through the networ marketing company
2. Are there additional costs if I want to add more features on SBI?
3. Do I actually own the site created through SBI?
4. What’s the difference between hostfare.com and SBI?
5. Can you please contact me via my email address so that I can ask you questions pertaining to myself as I value your input based on the way you present knowledge and information on this site. I am so lost but I am eager to begin my online business.
Thanks
Hi Meli,
1. If the company you are promoting is reputable and you believe in it, then it will be crucial for you to show that it’s really working for you. A lot of people automatically distrust MLM/networking programs so you can gain trust through useful content and your own testimonials.
2. The only additional cost is now free. It’s a Content 2.0 module you can add on to make your site function more like a blog (with comments). It used to be $99/yr, now it comes with SBI!.
3. You own the content and domain. SBI! is merely the host. The domain is in YOUR name.
4. I know nothing about hostfare but the difference between SBI! and any regular host is that they provide training for how to market and drive traffic to your site. It is literally like getting an online training course. I’ve used a lot of hosts in my day and seen nothing like what SBI does.
Feel free to contact me using the form on this blog if you have more questions.
Reporting in and letting the group know were I’am with SBI. I am finally building my website, which is Day-6 of the course. I am using Dreamweaver instead of SBI’s block by block builder. Because of this it took me much LONGER to get my site up. Plus I work full time and have a family. So much to learn with DW in using templates, editable regions and repeating regions and more. The time spent now should save me much more time later. I have a master page that sets the header, nav bar and footer sections. Presently, I get 9 visits a day. I will post here and there of my progress. My site is: everythingpies.com. Feel free to visit and suggest any helpful criticism. Right now my goal is to keep it simple and add more content. Later I can make it pretty. Goal is to have 100 pages by Fall of 2010 with user login capabilities. I am still learning so it’s slow, but I have a good vision where I am going
Warren,
I like the picture on your site. It looks really yummy. If you would like to check out my site at http://www.cooking-creatively.com and we could do a value exchange. My partner and I don’t make pies so I believe your site would compliment ours. Take a look at it and let me know what you think. I’ll place a link to your site on one of our dessert pages. I believe I started in Sept. and brought my partner on in Jan. we’re still growing and building content. Following the action guide is a MUST. We’re doing it slowly and also having fun. I love SBI! All the best to you.
.-= Charlene´s last blog … May 17, One of many desserts. This Light Mousse of Chocolate and Strawberry =-.
Hi Charlene,
You have put a lot in your site in such a short time. Keep it coming. I do recommend that you use white text on a red background for your nav bar. The black text is kind of lost in your nav bar.
Thanks Warren. Will work on that.
.-= Charlene´s last blog … May 19, The Noodles On A Cool Night =-.
Assholes ignored my emails and phonecall requests to cancel, along with continuing to charge me for three months. I had to call my bank to make them stop, and setup a chargeback. Would not reccomend to anyone.
I’ve heard good and bad about SBI…I never have personally used them, but I’m interested in checking them out to build a quick website. I have a friend who built his horror site with SBI and he’s doing quite well
.-= DeWayne´s last blog … How To Start An Organic Garden =-.
I for one, fully intend to set up my website with Site Build It! over the next three months or so and give it a go – and for several reasons:
1. Okay, so it costs $300 P.A. per site. So what! What DO people expect to get for a dollar a day anyway?
2. It makes me smile when people say things like “I should be able to make enough profit in 12 months to cover my initial outlay.” You bet you should! If you can’t make One dollar a day in clear profit when running even a basic website, then you shouldn’t even be in thate business in the first place!
and 3. I want to spend my time dealing with customers and creating fresh product NOT keeping my website up to date. It strikes me, the Site Build It! will enable me to do just that – and much more easily than anything I’ve seen or used before.
Watch this space and I’ll let you know how I get on………….
I have a SBI membership to give for $200, normally it’s $299. You will be saving about $100. The only problem is that I need to do this quickly. Like by June 7, 2010. So you will need a paypal account to complete the transaction quickly.
I will need a valid email address and phone number to transfer my subscription for a year to you with all the benefits.
I purchased two site about 9 months ago and still working on the first site.
email me at: [email protected] with your phone number so I can call you if you are in the US.
Thanks,
Warren
Lisa,
Thank you for creating all the great resources for starting a web-site. I am a out of work teacher who is planning on building a web-site in my content area, and plan on using SBI because of the benefits of using it (not just money). Thank you for calling it’s existance to my attention. My question might be for SBI but I thought I would bounce it off of you first. My content is history, but there are several branches to go from there of study. U.S. History, Government, World History…… you get my point. Would it be smarter to create sites completely independent of each other, or have a common “home page” and provide link pages to the main page of each individual category? I am really trying to weigh the pro’s and con’s of it and thought your input would make me see something I might be overlooking in the ranking and marketing corner.
Thank You again
Thanks for all these works! My question is can i use one SBI subscription to create more than one website? tanx
Hi Bakare,
I do have a SBI website. You can build only one site with one SBI subscription; but sometime they have offers like buy one get one free.
@shaon thanks for the insight, grateful!
Site Build It Commentary
Site Build It is a unique method of getting your site online and making it work for you. In most cases, the Site Build It Method works best for those who have nominal skills in the online world, because it tends to be quite limiting, but I don’t believe it to be a scam, just hugely overpriced.
I find the “free domain” commentary to be hype. Honestly after having reviewed it and taken a hard look. I own 98 domains. were I to pay 300 dollars per domain for hosting, domain purchases and builds, who could afford that? Your domain isn’t free, you’re paying through the nose for it.
Now I’ll grant you, I like to design and I build wordpress sites for $150, including five posts that will be top ranked in Google.
Hosting costs about 75 per year, so that pulls the total up to 225 for the first year. The fee for the next year to host would be about 5 dollars per month on a host that lets you change designs to your liking and etc and about ten dollars for a domain registration. With such a huge price differntial and the fact that Caffeine is spidering blogs first now, I honestly don’t understand the draw, I’ll admit it, but I”ve been working online for more than 10 years, so I’ve seen a lot of these thngs sort of come and go.
Site Build It was designed for those who buy books like. Computers for Dummies. Now, there’s nothing wrong with not knowing IT or computers or anything else, but there is something wrong with a community that fosters ignorance as a method of keeping you dependent upon them. That I tend to find a bit on the horrid side. to offer you the means to use your own creativity and to help you learn more about the online world or the IT world is a good way to go. To offer you something that encourages you to depend on them and to pay a fairly exorbitant fee for the use of their services while not helping you to grow in any way, I find to be just a heinous way to do business.
Site Build It is a testament to the marketing and advertising skills of the owner that much I will say.
I agree with R Drake… to a point.
Do you own an SBI site? If not, then to comment on how it works, or on who the people are that use it, is ludicrous. If you had access to the forums you would soon realize that most people that join are not close to being computer savvy.
I have suggested that there be a lower price for those who want to start additional sites, or a lower maintenance fee for those of us that are no longer building the site, but rather just in the maintenance stage. I still feel, even after all the rhetoric about how much of a bargain it is in the long run, I feel a little raped every month when the payment is due.
I know what SEO is and how to find keywords. I know how to build a site that the search engines want…it’s just that I save gobs of time having everything I need in one place.
I may feel differently when I start making enough money to support myself
Site Build It sound like a very nice resource maybe I will go check it out. Plus give the creator of this site a well deserved commission check.
Why you’re asking that SBI is a scam? I think this is a good process. I’ll try this out.
it’s spelled “commenter”
I’ve been doing a lot of research on building websites and how to market websites, and finding a popular topic. My plan was to try my own website first and if that doesn’t work, invest the money in sitebuild it. Would this be difficult to do – use sitebuild it on an existing website that was a flop?
Lisa, I stumbled to your site few days back and I am really very impressed with quality of contents, videos and resources available in your website.
I have already read few reviews about Site Build It, and I would say they are legit and good company. I am happy that you enjoyed good success with SBI and your testimonial does prove that they certainly are legit and honest company.
Thanks for the info. I am into site building, and with all these chatter, maybe I could check on your site for some tools.
I am trying to get a refund from SBI i made my purchase about 2 weeks ago but 2 days after my purchase i was injured and i dont have the time right now to build a quality site but they are not returning my calls and i have tried e-mailing the but i a unable to get thru to them. I read that you have Kens phone number please let me have it or at least have somone return my call my cell # is 407-498-8371 your help in this matter would be appreciated sincerely Edward Hinton
Edward, did you contact support on their site? That will kick off the refund process. Make sure you check your junk mail as well because your mail may get filtered there.
Lisa,
Just wanted you to know I posted a complete dissection of Lis’ “bogus” SBI! review on my web site…
http://www.no-bs-marketing.com/rants-and-raves/lis-sowerbutts-bogus-sbi-scam-review/
Obviously, a LOT of things annoy me about her review, but the thing that bothers me the most is how easily her criticisms are demolished by simple logic and demonstration.
All the best,
Paul
Thank you, I have recently been looking for facts about this subject matter for ages and yours is the best I’ve discovered so far.
I have always had that problem identifying websites that are scams or not. I have big trouble identifying those websites.
One day I found a website from an antivirus organization that let you type in the website and tell you if the website is an scam or not.
PerfectNetDating
Hi Lisa,
This is a great opportunity for beginnners.
James
this topic is becoming a little bit boring. sbi is a hosting business, they provide service whatever it is. So why do people obuse the word “scam”. Look for any dictionary for a definition. However if this is a scam I would like to hear from people that feel this way.full stop!
SBI will not give a formula to make money just guidelines how to design an informative website that has potential.
Also saying that “sbi is not for everyone” is misleading, so for who is it then? the one that willing to pay? or the successful one? or naive one? or maybe finally curious one?
If you are wise enough you can apply the rules that lisa and many others applied on their websites. Simply, there are 3 rules, contest, contest, and once again contest.
Just last think, there is nothing wrong with using more successful website to market another website by dragging more traffic, what actually lisa does with hers.
whatever you do make your decision based on the hidden facts not grapevine.
good luck
Hello Lisa,
Thanks for taking the time to clarify some of the misconceptions surrounding SBI. I think when some people buy make money from home products no matter the guarantee they just expect it to be a quick money making machine and when they realize they will have to put in effort, they scream it’s scam.
I bought SBI some months ago and my website is just some months old. Personally I don’t think that SBI can ever be overpriced. They just over deliver.
Until early this year I have been online blogging not really understanding what I was doing or why things were the way they were. And it was frustrating.
And I had an elder brother who put in just 1 hour everyday in his SBI site and he was making some good extra income.
So when I got SBI I quickly dived into it to find out why. The SBI Action guide contains so much information that one could get overwhelmed but that’s because it explained e-business like no other. Even a toddle can almost understand how successful e-business can be built after going through the 10 days course.
I agree with all you said except that “They simply host your site and the rest is up to you to figure out.” SBI doesn’t simply host your site and it doesn’t leave you to figure the rest out. SBI forum is the best free online e-business guide forum there is. If you want help with anything, just go to the forum and post it in a related category and in a day or two you will find a complete guide to what you asked about by fellow SBIers. That’s the part I enjoy most. People are always willing to help even when they don’t have to. I have never gotten stuck without being able to find help.
I am by no means exaggerating, but SBI is the only website building tool online that gives you the business lessons, then teaches you the technical parts through practical video illustrations and then gives you the tools you need to make it happen. No wonder it’s called an all-in-one site building tool.
All for a $299 a year.
Like I said SBI can not be overpriced. Just one of the tools included in the Brainstorming tools, wordtracker, cost the same amount the whole of SBI cost. SBI made sure when you start your website business you focus on it and don’t get distracted so everything you will need is built in into SBI.
I can freely talk about SBI here without being seen as biased because I have nothing to gain here. I am not leaving you a link to buy SBI. I am just a happy customer.
I am currently watching my SBI website take off slowly and I can’t wait to see where it would be by 2012.
SBI doesn’t build your website for you and do all the work. Though they can do most of them if you pay them to. What they offer people is the opportunity to be adequately informed and start their e-business right with all the right tools. Trust me, you it will save you many years of jumping from one big thing to the next on the internet not sure where you are going.
Dec. 2, 2010
Hi Lisa,
I have been an SBI user (can’t use the word owner cause I never will know when I can own it) since Jan 2010. I have been paying for $29+ a month. I have been havihg problem with trying to get through my payment for the month of November. It is a long story if I relate all the things that transpired between me an them since November 4, 2010.
However the main issue now is my understading that after payinf for $299+ in monthly installment of $29+ I get to own the product? I do not know another interpretation for this. Or, I may forever be paying for as long as I cannot be successful with my SBI Website, which until now, I am struggling with it. Stupid that I am, I have been with the program for at least 8 months now. I still have no domain yet, because they encourage me(whether I am doing it or not) to be a tortoisel. A certain member of the Staff there told me that I can not own it. I have her exact words saved in my email account. I can only keep renewing it. (Now I know why they want me to be a tortoise). Around last October, I called their office and a certain Judd answered me and answere my query of ownership, and Judd positively said:Yes I get to own the product when I finish paying $299.
Yet another instance I was told “No”. So I told the person who told me “No” that there is no way I will renew and I will stop being a “USER”?, “OWNER”?, “MEMBER”? “AFFILIATE”? I don’t know what term to use.
So, my last comment is : How much is the SBI “sold”, “rented”, “leased”, “auctioned”???? $299, $550, $1000???? Is it a scam?
I got this even before I got to know you, Lisa. And, at that time I emailed you praising you well for your good faith in your dealings with people. I am just commenting about this SBI thing, since you have this taken up on your site. You, there is no doubt, many users of your site and all that have been in contact with you like me find you as an honorable person. I had respect for SBI more so when I came toknow you were endorsing it. As you said it is serving you well.
It is unfortunate that it has not been the case for me.
More power to you,
Reynaldo
4
Reynaldo,
There are certain fixed costs with running any online business, which can include hosting, domain name renewal, autoresponder services, etc.
For instance, with one of my online businesses, I pay $40/month for hosting, each and every month. I also pay Aweber $20 each and every month. Plus, plus, plus.
Does that mean I will never “own” my business? No more than not owning the building where I house my retail business.
With SBI!, you always “own” your business. But there will always be a monthly (or yearly) fee, as your business uses resources which accrue an ongoing cost.
That’s the same for every business – online, or offline.
The point is, the cost is minimal, especially when you consider the tools included in SBI!.
Hope this helps,
Paul
Excellent comment, Paul.
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your concern. I can not say you enlightened me because I was enlighatened by the use of SBI. It clearly has more than the others have to offer. It just probably and truly is up to the individual. Someone like me may be slow learner can get it done in less than a year and probably get infuriated to be expired by SBI after one year without a domain name and still be paying another $299. Well, anyway I am trying to decide now whether to continue with it. Actually my grievance against SBI is not really this matter but my unable to get through to their cordon sanitaire. What I think of their customer support is lousy. There are so many questions and important matter that I can’t get through. It is not only about 5 times that I wanted to get a message through the Sitesell-support window but it does not work. All you get is autoresponse that does not solve your query.
This makes one frustrated.
I want to cut this short and won’t want to appear sour graping. So, thanks a lot for your comment. It did me some soul searching.
I can survive without SBI. I have to comment that support should be having this kind of communication. In one or two exchanges, I know your feelings, your side and you know what I am grieving for. That pretty much settles a lot of things.
Reynaldo
Reynaldo,
I agree, there is a lot to learn when it comes to building a
successful internet business, and depending how much time you have to commit to it, it may certainly take a while to learn what you need to know.
However, if you had a retail store, would you expect your landlord to exempt you from rent just because your business was not profitable and you were just “learning the ropes?” Even if it took you a year to do so, you would expect to pay the rent month after month, regardless.
Basically, no matter what route you take to build your online business, you will always have monthly fees, regardless of whether or not your business is profitable – again, these include monthly hosting fees, autoresponder, etc, etc.
Regarding your comments about support…
Obviously, if you cannot contact support, there’s an issue that needs to be addressed. However, I suspect you misunderstand the role of the support staff – they are not “mentors”. There job is address possible technical issues, not to provide one-on-one coaching with customers.
SBI! was designed from the ground up to be do-able by anyone – hence the ton of supporting documentation and Action Guide. Frankly that`s the only way it can be retailed at 29 per month – there is no way personalized support can be provided at that price.
But if you need additional help, there are a ton of resources. The forum is jam-packed with SBIers eager to help – all you have to do is ask…
http://forum.sitesell.com
There’s also coaching…
http://coaching.sitesell.com/
elearning…
http://elearning.sitesell.com/
And even experts who you can hire to help…
http://services.sitesell.com
Hope this helps,
Paul
I am sick and tired of SBI. They help you build a boring web page. Also after calling and emailing for help for 2 months and not a single response, of course I am going to leave a negative remark. It is over priced I do not care how you justify the $300 y
ou charge. I have been trying to move my domain name from them because I found greener grass and now my compan is suffering because of their speedy customer service. I challenge u to call Ken and have him fix this in front of all to show redemption .
Hi James
I take these matters seriously because I stand behind the companies I recommend. I have Ken’s personal email and contacted him along with the head of customer support. They are researching your emails as I type this. I had to send them your domain so they can research your emails because they had nothing but your first name. Just a heads up. I’ve been e-versing with Ken and the head of SiteSell Support so we will get this matter resolved. Stay tuned.
Hi James,
We have that common grievance. I really wanted to drop this subject, but after reading your blog, I want to put across the one thing that frustrates me about their customer response. Same as you, I have also tried to communicate time and again. What goes back to me was an autoresponse that does not solve anything. Maybe for some people the program works. Maybe it is not a scam. But I can truly vouch that their support is LOUSY!
Reynaldo
Hi James,
“I have been trying to move my domain name from them because I found greener grass and now my compan is suffering because of their speedy customer service.”
Where is the greener grass?
Thanks
Tom
Hi James, Tom and Reynaldo
Sorry about your troubles. I have some direct contacts over at SiteSell and have sent them over to this post. Hopefully they will contact you directly to get these matters resolved.
Hi!
My name is Christian and I am the Head of Support at SiteSell. Lisa pointed two recent complaints about Support in this thread out to Ken Evoy (Founder of SiteSell) and me. I would like to address.
Firstly, let me stress that we take customer support seriously. We monitor all support requests very closely. In fact, we employ one person for Support Quality Assurance. She carefully reviews a random 10% of all outgoing e-mail (approx 2000/week) to make sure that customers are being served well. Her job is to find where Support’s replies were sub-optimal. Most weeks, she identifies 0 issues.
I meet with Ken Evoy weekly to review the previous week in Support, reviewing QA and other metrics, including bug or usability reports. Bugs are top priority for programmers, and usability issues are used by the Content team to make help and the Action Guide better.
That said, problems will happen. Our support team is made up entirely of humans
Problems are addressed when they occur. I review issues with our staff to make sure they not recur.
Every outgoing e-mail even has a special e-mail address in the footer to reach Ken Evoy himself. It’s reserved for comments (kudos or complaints) about the quality of support and he does read them. I know that for a fact because he will question me during our weekly meetings about any case that seemed to have been handled sub-optimally.
Finally, there is one forum in the SBI! forums where customers are invited to comment on Support, good or bad. So if Ken’s answer does not resolve a problem, SBIers can even take it to the forums. Yes, you can criticize the support team, me, Ken and SiteSell publicly for all our customers to see. We never edit or delete any posts; we address them.
In other words we are transparent. Not perfect always, but we try our best and are openly accountable. I think you will be hard-pressed to find a company that allows that. It’s risky in a way, but it keeps us all on our toes. Sorry for the speech, but I did want you to know how Support is handled here.
As for the specific concerns brought up in this thread, I did some extensive research.
@James: I understand that you wanted to move your domain elsewhere. The domain name is included at no extra cost with SBI! and you are free to move it. It’s registered in your name and belongs to you. James, I searched our support ticket system by your e-mail address and your name. I even did a full-text search by your domain name in our CRM system. It doesn’t appear you ever contacted our support team at all. Everyone knows how to reach us at SiteSell Support. There are links to us from our welcome e-mails, from the Action Guide, from the tools in SBI!, and so forth. I can’t find any communication from you.
However, to answer your question:
SiteSell is not a registrar. We use Tucows, one of the world’s largest registrars, for all our registrations. Tucows provides the backend, but they don’t provide support to individual customers. It’s up to the domain service provider (that’s us) to support the customers.
It took some tracking down to find out what happened. It appears that instead of contacting our support team, you contacted Tucows. Your request was forwarded to the Compliance Officer at Tucows. The Compliance Officer contacted our Head Office. Janice at the Head Office then contacted me and I sent you the auth code and login information for your domain after unlocking it. If you are still having trouble, I suggest you contact us at SiteSell Support: http://support.sitesell.com/contact-support.html . They will respond to you promptly.
@Reynaldo: I can see in our support system that you seem to have had an unusual amount of trouble getting your monthly payments processed, changing credit cards frequently.
There are multiple levels of fraud protection involved in every credit card transaction online: on the customer’s bank side, on the side of the payment processor, and on the merchant’s side as well. Unfortunately, sometimes perfectly legitimate orders get caught in the net and it becomes difficult to troubleshoot. We can tell when our own fraud detectors turn down orders and we can whitelist cards that should not be flagged. But banks and payment processors will never give us information about why your cards would be having trouble. You have to resolve that with your bank.
As for your concern about “owning SBI!,” SBI! is a subscription service. You own your domain. You own your site. But as with any service, there are ongoing costs associated with 1) all the software that SBI! provides ( http://tools.sitesell.com ), as well as 2) the high bandwidth charges due to the high traffic that SBI! sites generate, on average. I think there may have been a misunderstanding when you asked about ownership, and the person you dealt with probably thought you were asking about ownership of your site and domain, which you DO own. I am sorry that it didn’t answer your question.
Reynaldo, if you ever feel that support isn’t answering your question properly, please let Ken know at his special address (in the e-mails we have sent you). He would certainly want to know the details and so would I.
With best regards,
Christian
Nicely said, Christian!
Hi Lisa,
I’ve come across SBI severally during my research, do you have to pay the cost $299 for as long as you use it, the problem most people have is that it is soo expensive!.
Hi Lisa,
I have read your site and really trust you. I so consider buying SBI but I see they have promotion now.
Regarding the holidays promotion of SBI, buy one get one free,
I wonder if there will be fee $299 for another year later on for the 2nd one (the free one) or not. If I just have to pay 299 every year for 2 of them, it will be great, but I am afraid next year they will charge me fee 2x 299. Pls clarify. Thank you
Hi Jenn,
Yes, it’s $299 per year for both sites after the first year.
Thank you Lisa, I will buy them by 24th, I am a naive for website dev. but want to have one and found your site is really helpful and reliable. Thank you for your help and work.
Merry Christmas to you.
Hi Lisa,
I placed order for SBI by phone this morning and paid $299 already but the lady on the phone she made typo with my email and I haven’t got confirmation email until now because I can not do anything just waiting for her correction. I am so upset, pls follow up. I plan to spend my holiday weekend to creat my website but now seems impossible.
My email is [email protected]/ my name is Thanittra/ Mississauga Ontario Canada
Jenn,
You need to contact SiteSell support to rectify this…
http://support.sitesell.com/contact-support.html
All the best,
Paul
Hi Lisa,
I got it.
It is hilarious cuz I have a very similar post on my own web site, with the same exact topic “Site Build It! – Is It a Scam?”. I wonder if youd like to make a guest post on my site?
I was first introduced to SBI at the end of 2008 through Lisa and I did my research about SBI too. I saw the SCAM reviews but in the end I came back to Lisa and decided to purchase it as I liked how it was beginner proof, step by step and I liked what Lisa had to say. I also thought if it isn’t for me I’ll just get a refund. So I jumped in with both feet, took the chance and haven’t looked back. I have to say, I too love SBI. You pay for quality. Many of my content pages are on the first and second page with google and yahoo simply because it gets fantastic SEO rankings with SBI and it’s ‘analyze it’ tool. That means free traffic and sales for me plus I get wonderful emails from people asking me for their help. I know I wouldn’t have built my affiliate website that gets me free leads and many hundreds of dollars a month with any other company other than SBI. I also worked hard at building my site, improve it and keep building it. For less than a dollar a day I’m happy to pay because I make that $299 back with a few days now. Thanks Lisa and SBI.
Hey Lisa,
Thanks SO MUCH for all your info on SBI!. I’m planning on purchasing SBI! through your affiliate link, however I have a question before I do. I was wonder if I could start off with the 29/mth plan then move from that plan to purchasing it for the full year? I don’t have the money to purchase it for the year yet but would like to get started with building my site as soon as possible. I’ll have the money to purchase the full yr/plan by next month in Feb. but I would like do it now. Would you suggest I just wait?
Thanks,
Toni R.
Hi Lisa,
First, I would like to say that I find your blog/website very helpful
I’ve been gathering information about SBI around the internet, and of course here as well. I think it’s interesting, and I’m seriously thinking about purchasing it. However, I have an idea of a website/business in mind, but I’m not sure how SBI would exactly help to develop my idea.
First, I’m a website designer, so I already have the fundamentals of a website creation. I’ve worked a little with PHP and MySql, and I have good programming skills. My concern about SBI being able to really help me is the following: the website that I’m thinking about building would be a big collection of items, so I’m thinking about having a big database with the information that I would like to show for each item, to show it when the user selects a specific item. This means having an html page with dynamic generated content, for example using PHP + MySql. And means, of course, a lot of programming.
My question is: does SBI in any way have support/tools to work with dynamic generated contents and databases? Or that would be completely up to me, like with any other hosting provider? In this case, I would assume that SBI hosting allows PHP and MySql, right?
Another question, can you use any FTP program to work with the server and upload files, or you have to do everything through the SBI platform?
And one last question. I’ve read that you can make your own pages and then include them in the SBI platform. But, if to speed things up, I used the SBI pages creator, would I be able to modify them afterwards with another software (Dreamweaver for example) to change the appearance or add more code, or would I have to stick always with the tool provided bt SBI?
Thank you so much in advance! I would really appreciate some answers.
Albert
Hi Albert, you cannot work with databases, MYSQL, PHP, etc. directly through SBI! What you would have to do is sign up with a regular (cheaper) host in addition and use the SBI! InfinIt! feature to map the site back to their servers (they provide instructions). That way you’ll have all the functionality of a regular Linux/Windows hosting platform but you’ll still get all the SBI! goodies such as Brainstorm It! (finding the right niche, autoresponders, mailing list manager, etc.)
Hi Lisa,
Thank you very much for your reply. Do you think, then, that my idea wouldn’t fit very well for SBI? Because I’m afraid that it can “cut” my possibilities in the future due to this lack of some important features. Do you have any idea if they’re working to offer those characteristcs soon? About the InfiniIt! feature, I would like to learn more about it. I’ve been looking in their website and I can’t find anywhere that explains it. Do you know where can I find some info about it? Because I would like to know more about how would that mapping thing work, since most of my website would be based on that.
Thanks so much for your help!
Albert
Hi Albert, SBI! can still work for the content aspect of your website. You can use their brainstorming tools to help you pick a “profitable niche”, have access to their mailing list manager, etc.
But for the interactive features that require PHP, MYSQL, etc. you’ll just need an additional host. SBI!’s InfinitIt! feature simply allows to connect the dynamic portion of your site to your static site. Everything will appear to be hosted under the same domain but really there will be two.
So let’s say your main SBI! site is AlbertCollections.com but you host all the dynamic content on AlbertConnectionsDatabase.com. The 2nd domain will not be seen. It’s just there for you to host your dynamic features (database, etc.) So SBI!’s Infinit! feature will allow you to connect the 2 websites together behind the scenes so no one will really know you have two separate websites.
So your question may be, “Well why not just go to a regular web host and have one domain and make things simple.” You could but you won’t get all the training, research tools, brainstorming tool, marketing help, auto responder, mailing list manager that you get with SBI! — which is what makes it so valuable.
So it’s up to you to decide if the extra “marketing help” that SBI! provides is worth it to you. I personally think it will be but honestly you will have to do a little extra work to set everything up since they don’t allow PHP and due to how their hosting is configured (it’s VERY custom) I doubt they will be allowing it any time soon.
Thank you very much for the explanation Lisa, now I see it much more clear. I will have to evaluate the different options and see what works better for my idea, and if the “extra” stuff that SBI provides really makes a difference in my case.
Thanks a lot!
Thinking about getting Site Build It but have these questions
Does it have?
Photo album feature?
Can I use my own pictures throughout?
Insert You Tube how to videos?
Can I use my photos in the header?
My site would be a how to and informational about vinyl ,aluminum and wood fence.
SBI is not a scam. i own a SBI site and am not stupid enough to give a scam site my 300 dollers. no no no. SBI is not for lazy people either. you must be willing to put the work in..in order to go far. Most people get confused with sbi thinking that they will create your site for you and bring you your traffic as you sleep, yeaa right…that only happens after you do your part, which is building content and generating traffic using the tips and Technics they give you. SBI will work with you and hold your hand every step of the way. Instead of going around the web looking for tools such as SEO, auto -responder, and all those other stuff you will most likly need if you are serious about making money online, [ one program might cost 200$ by the way] SBI will give you all that with no extra charge. on top of that, they also have C2…now your vistors can write there own story on your site. this means more juicy content and more search engine ranking.
Hi Lisa, I would buy the SBI, but I would like to know how many sites you can create with SBI?, of course if i only pay the amount of 299 USD, thanks.
Hi Clemente
It’s $299 per site and that is because you get a ton of tools for your one domain (brainstorming/keyword research, template design, autoresponder, mailing list, etc.)
Hi Lisa,
This is extremely informative and I have been researching like crazy to find something misleading or wrong with SBI to no avail. My question is this. I want to create a website to sell my services of fixing computers, viruses, etc etc. I have all the certifications and this is what I do on my daily job. But I want to have my own business. Would SBI be good for me, because alot of the ideas I see on the SBI sites, other members etc are people that are trying to find a niche to make money. I just want to use SBI to drive traffic to my site to sell the computers, my services, etc. So again would this be a good fit for me?
If you go to http://case-studies.sitesell.com you will see examples of people using SBI! to drive traffic to their existing businesses. I think there is a dentist example on there if I’m not mistaken. So it’s not just for affiliate websites.
I have used Site Build It to build one of my sites http://www.law-of-attraction-explained.com so I can definately say that it is NOT a scam.
I must admit that at first I was completely overwhelmed with all the information you have to read and do to get going, and I would also say that my site has not taken off as quickly as I would have liked but to he honest I think that is my fault.
Over all I would say that all that I read on their sales blurb was true. But, and this is a big but, only if you put the work in, only if you don´t close your mind to new ways of thinking, only if you are honest enough to admit that some things you thought you knew you really didn´t know well enough.
Trust me, it is no scam. Not in my opinion anyway!
Hi Lisa …. thanks for all this info it’s been a real eye opener – in a very positive way
I was going to sign up with SiteSell today but read that they feel that using an existing domain name with them is frought with problems.
“Transfers often entail tons of practical problems, all of them beyond our control, which cause a great deal of frustration and delays for you.”
Why should this be? I have changed hosting a few times over the years an it really isn’t that difficult to change DNS / Nameservers etc. I definitely want to keep my name that I’ve had for 6 years and already have traffic and quite good rankings for my main keywords etc. Still, I’d like those to improve as well as achieve better inside page listings on Google … so, I think it’s time to go with SiteSell and do things properly.
Do you know if there IS a simple way to sign up and use an extisting domain name? Or should I just forget it and move on?
Thanks in advance for any comments …
Hi Theresa, I hadn’t heard of problems with transferring domains to SiteSell but I can understand your hesitation since you already have traffic. I wonder if the solution would be to create a new site that is a smaller niche of your existing site and then just redirect your old site to your new one.
For example, say your existing site is about fashion but you learn through the SBI! process that it was too broad and maybe that’s why your traffic is minimal. So you decide to go with a smaller niche like “petite women’s clothing”. It’s still related to your original site so you could build up a new site and cross link them together.
Just an idea.
Thanks for your reply Lisa. I’ll think about that but my niche is already quite small. If only it wasn’t problematic to use an existing domain, I’d sign up today. Never mind …but thanks for your input
Lisa
I want to sell product from my website. Is there a shopping cart feature or how would I do that?
Hi Beth,
There is no shopping cart feature associated with SBI!, but you would easily be able to integrate your site with PayPal and other 3rd party solutions by pasting the code into your pages.
I use to have a business website where i used paypal as my shopping cart. What i did was create a payment for each product and put it on my website in table codes. Which was pretty easy way to do it. I recommend this to everyone
What does shopping cart do that paypal does not do? Can you still do discount promo codes or affiliates?
This always is amazing to me how Blog writers such as your self can find enough time as well as the dedication to keep on Producing fantastic blog posts your blog is fantastic and one of my must read blogs, I’d been more than amazed with the blog post I just wished to thank you and well done
Best wishes
Kudos to you Lisa.
l am impressed by this post about SBI. I could not agree with you more that SBI is certainly not a scam. Like every other genuine business, using SBI for your business takes considerable time, patience, commitment and hard work to make it eventually succeed as it is supposed to.
On the other hand, not many people are ready for the commitment and attention that building a profitable business demands of them. So what ultimately happens? They turn to Get-Rich-Quick scams instead, which promises them wealth and fame overnight. And that is precisely why SBI is not for everybody.
I am personally inspired by the success of your website and it gives me the firm conviction that my own SBI website – http://www.true-love-and-marriage-relationship-advice.com – can attain a similar success story with enough commitment, determination and effort over a reasonable period of time.
Thanks for being such a huge inspiration.
Kome,
You make some great points; folks are drawn to the “get rich quick” offers because they are much more appealing, and there is no shortage of them online. If you don’t know much about the Internet or business in general, it’s not hard to buy into the myth that you can press a few buttons, and then go about your day as usual, while your bank account fills up with money.
The thing is: SBI! is for these folks too, they just don’t know it yet. For some folks, the best way to figure out that SBI! is the right option for them is to waste a year or two throwing good money after bad and not getting anywhere.
All the best,
Paul
I think you are absolutely right, Paul. For most of us, it takes the loss of a considerable time and wasted funds for us to “get it” and realise that we’ve been going round and round in the same circles all these years.
For me personally, it took me a good 4yrs after being introduced to SBI before I finally got it. But, I have no regrets whatsoever. You know, as they say, better late than never at all.
Thanks, Paul. I appreciate your comments.
Thanks Kome! Your site looks great, BTW!
That’s good to know, bro.
By the way, Paul, just in case there is anything that I’m missing on my website, please do not be scared to let me know about it. I am very open and receptive to some fresh ideas and criticisms. l would really appreciate it.
Thanks a lot, Paul. And all the best.
Hi Lisa,
I have been with SBI since July 2007. I started with absolutely no knowledge of anything. It has become the most enjoyable way to spend my time. The incredible amount of knowledge I have acquired is unbelievable and I know I don’t need to tell you this, or any other SBI’er who has commented here.
Am I retired or drowning in $$ because of it? No, I’m not. But I have paid alot of household bills with earnings a number of times with one site; still working on the second one. Don’t want to go on and on and sound like a sales pitch, because that’s not my intent here.
Having said that, the people that I have seen quit early and have bad things to say are mostly (not all) but mostly those who expected these things overnight. The people who get the most upset overall in general are those who signed up, but didn’t want to take on the learning curve. Within a week, some were wondering where the money was??
I very well remember nights myself in tears because I had higher expectations at the start of just understanding the info and tools provided and how to turn it into a website. This is how it works, and I see it as a “down the road” thing, where will it be as I keep it up.
In my opinion, you have to be willing to accept all of this. It takes work, learning, patience and comittment. It’s been 4 years, and I am so glad I found this system.
Hello, finding this site has helped so much. after going through thw demo you performed for us to show exactly what we get on the inside, I truly am convinced not only will I get an education, I will have a website! My business truly needs one as well. Others that I speak too are looking for somehing like this so the businss end of referring SBI is a great way to add a little money. My question is:
For each website I add will there be the 299 chg all over again fornthe year?
Thanking you,
Debi
Debi,
Yes there is a yearly recurring fee. Any online business uses resources on an ongoing basis, and these resources accrue an ongoing cost. This is the case no matter how you decide to build your online business.
I’ve put together a blog post that covers some of the most common SBI! FAQs – largely based on issues raised here on Lisa’s site…
http://www.no-bs-marketing.com/applications/frequently-asked-questions-site-build-sbi/
All the best,
Paul
thank you Paul, but I understand there would be a recurring fee
for the services. My question was: does it cost 299 for each site
ibuild with SBI? anotherwards, if I build 2 sites would the cost than be 599?
Debi,
Each subscription fee applies to each site individually, so yes – it will cost you $299 for each site you build. That’s normal, too.
All the best,
Paul
Hi,
you can defend the site as much as you like, nevertheless, it’s a scam. Many many words that say always the same again, the only purpose is to get up on the ranking list.
The best proof of non functioning of the technique is that the home page of the “builders” is ranked about no 60 in a common search for site builders. Just when you type in exactly the name in the search machine you get it on or near the top.
#That’s clearly betraying people. The same with you. You, too, show how good your site is ranked, but only when the according parts of the name are used for searching. No “normal” person searches for these expressions. And the other trick is that you use such nonsense as blogs and similar things, only for the purpose to get a better ranking, but with no useful info on it. Even my mail may contribute to make your site more known, but hopefully some people read it and get an idea of the “importance” of your publication.
So my warning to everybody: if you are a person who wants to bring over some information by a site, this is not the right way to do. But if you want so spend regular rates of money for something useless, you are right there.
Choose yourself.
Hi Tubi
Totally respect your opinion, but how do you know how people are finding my fitness site and what does the keyword “site builders” have to do with anything? In my video I showed a screenshot of my total traffic from Google so someone is clearly searching for the fitness related keywords my SBI! site gets found for — that’s where my traffic is coming from.
Not sure I understand what you mean about nonsense blogs. This is the only blog I have and it’s not hosted with SBI!. My only SBI! site is a fitness site that ranks very well for various fitness related keywords. Ranking for “site builders” has nothing to do with any of my sites so again I’m not sure what you mean. I agree, no one searches for that so I don’t target that phrase. Not sure what the ranking for “site builders” has to do with anything.
SBI! is not for everyone or every kind of site, but many people love it. Clearly you’re not one of them.
Hello everyone. My name is Alex and i am about as skepticle as they come. I have a wordpress site and a membership with SBI!.
The truth of the matter is you have to work, work, work. No matter how much knowledge you aquire, at the end of the day you have to work.
Don’t fall into the statchecker mode because you won’t accomplish anything. The great thing about earning money online is that it tells on you.
Sites don’t buil themselves. If you work, you make money. If you don’t work, you don’t make money. The same principles of everyday life still apply online.
A lot of people sit around complaining saying: I know God has a blessing for me and i am going to wit for it” Well how about maybe God is waiting for you.
There are tons of opporttunities online to build sites and make money. But if all you do is complain on blogs, then you obviously are working on someone elses site and not your own.
Thanks Lisa for all of what you bring to the internet world.
tubi,
I see your comments … but I don’t see where you are offering any alternatives.
Please provide additional information on how you would accomplish a successful website ..
Thanks,
Tom
Tubi, please do we are all ears! I have a FEELING this is a hit and run.
It’s ironic that people talk about the costs(299) and think nothing of continuing to pay for Get Rich Quick scams they use with their business.
If 299 will keep me from spending tens of thousands of every new internet marketing scam you’re darn right I’m going to try it.
Even if I learn everything I need to know within a year I could always move on to my own platforms if I choose too.
The big question is why many SBIers still continue to use the same system(SBI). Obviously it has its rewards.
The bottom line is that many marketers tear others down instead of offering something more “viable”. I don’t have an issue in other ways of doing business, but SBI gives you the “tools” so you can focus on your business.
Other online marketers have to keep buying every new tool that comes along. (and it adds up)
Well said Sandra – £299 P.A. is PEANUTS compared to what you CAN spend. And after spending thousands you can still be none the wiser!
I guess the ‘everything should be free’ culture that seems to have sprung up on The Internet is somewhat to blame……
this post was very long time ago, but still, we are really curious and thankfully for the great articles. i have bookmarked this blog for news in the future..oiya, mercedes from malay.. sorry my english no so good..
I tried SBI and it’s not bad, but I think it’s not excellent neither. The problem with SBI is that you can’t just do what you want on your host – in terms configuration & 3rd party software installation and this surely turns off all techies.
SBI is not a scam any more than joining a health club is a scam. If you want to lose weight and get healthy joining a health club is one way to do it. But unless you show up and use the equipment and stick to a plan it will end up being a waste of money. But does that make it a scam?
SBI is the same thing. If you don’t follow the Action Guide and learn correct online marketing strategies then you will likely fail.
Like someone said…
“Wisdom is knowing what to do. Skill is knowing how to do it. But virtue is actually doing it.”
With any endeavor, it takes virtue to succeed.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard it put so well, Rick. A great analogy!
We could lump SBI in with alot of other programs. But the reality is…they only work as far as you take them. I still think the key is to build a site from scratch on your own…establish the site, become an authority on the subject matter …then if it the site plateaus you can at that point add a program to take you to next level. But buying these programs as newbie…is basically a donation in my opinion.
Carl, I don’t think you can “lump” SBI! with a lot of other programs. There are all sorts of programs that help you create a web site, and even populate it with content sourced from EzineArticles, PLR material, or even content scraped from the web. But only SBI! provides the Action Guide, and the tools to build a long term, vibrant, successful business.
And I’m curious; what would you suggest a newbie use? Some “point and click” automated solution that costs them money but won’t make them any? The reality of the matter is that building a successful Internet based business requires a LOT of work, the acquiring of a ton of knowledge and the developing of certain skill sets.
Starting with something “easy” because you’re a newbie only wastes your money and delays the inevitable hard work you’re going have to perform if you want to be successful in the long run. If that’s the case, why not start with SBI! in the first place?
Thanks for your review of SBI.
It was really informative and well done.
I bought into a program that was going to make me rich overnight. Having set it up and seen how it was supposed to work, I could see that it would never work in a million years, because of the poor site designs and the duplicate content it was telling me to fish from other sites. But, it did get me thinking that maybe this could work if done properly. I got my refund (got two more refunds on another couple of programs too after that) then I began seriously researching and found Lisa’s YouTube videos. She talks so much sense and no BS in my opinion, but when I saw that SBI was $299, I quickly closed the page as no way in the world can I afford that. On looking again, I found that I was being offered a monthly deal so I thought I would give it a go. I had two reasons for trying this one: lots of information and nobody telling me it would make money overnight, and Lisa’s promotion. So I am into it now and believe me she is not exaggerating when she says it is hard work! But it has to be. Putting up a website for a local business presence, just to have the address on your cards is a doddle; building a website to earn you money online is not. I have only just put up my homepage, and I am now researching my first page, and I cannot stay away from the thing. I think it is great! It is ideal for beginners who no very little about SEO – see, I didn’t even know what that meant until a few weeks ago – and all the tools are well worth the monthly fee. I have high hopes now of actually being able to retire instead of just thinking about it. Of course, I won’t actually be retiring; I shall be building more SBI sites!
Yeah, well, some people call everything a scam, since it just doesn’t work for them… Alot of people also call Adsense a scam, while I’m making good money from it!
If it works for you, than that is all that counts!
i need your help
Interesting post. The problem I’m having is that I have read about SiteBuildIt and have been all over the sitesell website and I can’t figure out exactly what it is they do. Do they provide hosting or just a package to teach how to develop a website? Exactly what do you get for $299 (or however much it is).
The only thing I have really been able to glean is “we help you build an e-business rather than just another site/blog”. And I glean that over and over, on just about every page.
I’m not bashing – I happen to be interested. I would just like some clarification.
Site Build It takes you step by step through finding a profitable niche, planning a website that will get traffic, including how to get that traffic, and helps you to choose the right domain name that will attract the search engines. It includes hosting, and a proper domain name (not a subdomain) as well as an autoresponder. It also tells you when to monetize your site and how to build content around keywords, for which it tells you the supply and demand and projected Adsense value. So yes, it does include hosting. It includes everything really, nobody comes along halfway through and says you have to buy something else like most of those “other” programs! The only extra you might have to pay for is individual coaching (should you need it) and more brainstorm it credits if you use up your initial 25.
If you go to Lisa’s Website Babble forum there is a whole section about it, from people who have and are using it.
Thanks Margaret, I’ll check out the Babble.
I just brought site build it through your link and it doing me good. I bought it a month ago and I finally made thirty pages.
Lisa, I totally agree with you.
I recently signed up for SBI and I can absolutely vouch for it. I can say with full confidence that it is not a SCAM. It simply cannot be a scam. In fact, if anything, they overdeliver. The video guides, the plan and the action guide alone is worth the price.
In fact it would be totally wrong to compare them with any other “regular” webhosting company. For SBI is not just a hosting company. It is a organized set of tools that helps you build your business.
Before joining SBI, I spent a lot of time learning about blogging. I wasted a few years following useless and pathetic advice. Would I have been happy to cough up $300 to avoid wasting that time. You bet!
It is the total value you get by getting to SBI that makes the difference. While I am yet to be successful with SBI, it is by far the BEST and MOST useful thing I have found in the web that lets you create an online business.
I guess the ‘everything should be free’ culture that seems to have sprung up on The Internet is somewhat to blame……
It’s clear that the most successful SBIers share something far more fundamental, and much more powerful, than effective marketing strategies.
They share a mindset that propels them toward success. They work hard. To be successful online, you don’t need a university degree, or even a resume. But if you’re just starting out, you do need to be prepared to work really, really hard.
It can be very rewarding, but it is hard work. The fact is, many people are starting all kind of home business everyday, and most of them don’t make it because they treat their businesso like a field of dreams, believing in the idea that if you build it, buyers will come.
That’s not how online success works.
Yes, there are a select few who can vacation while making huge online profits, but those people can afford that lifestyle now because they put in a huge amount of work upfront to achieve that success. SBI is about that!
You are right there, Gustavo! It is an awful lot of work! You can’t just grab a subject that happens to be popular and build a website around it, like some of the programs and videos tell you. You have to really want to write about the subject and you have to do a lot of research, even if you thought you knew all about it when you started out! I think it is great, personally, well worth $29.99 per month. I thought it wouldn’t take long to get a site together when I started, but I have been working on it hours per day and it still isn’t finished. I think it is a wonderful program and nothing that offers a 90 day money back guarantee can be called a scam, in my opinion.
Hi Lisa,
I’ve followed some of the comments made by most people at your site and I found it very interesting. I have some ideas for what SBI got to offer but i’ve not taken part in any of it.
But… I love to. Believe me, I’ve read most of SBI’s free e-book and it’s very interesting and good to learn.
You see, some how, I managed to download and print a copy of Action Guide. I must tell you…
It’s a great read! I’ll lay my hands on these tools very soon and I’m quite positive, too. So…
Judging from what people are saying concerning SBI, I think I’ll give it a try and know what’s up. I have to actually put the tools and the marketing strategies into test and see what’s comes up.
Meanwhile, I refuse to call it a scam and even if it does, every other SBI users would have abandoned the same ship. I think one has to be positive towards this approach.
How about that?
HI Goddy
I think it really boils down to one’s expectations. A lot of people call it a scam because you can get regular hosting so much cheaper. But comparing SBI! to a regular host is like apples and oranges. Regular hosts don’t provide autoresponders, mailing list mgmt services, an Action Guide and guidance for building your site. In my opinion, a scam is something that doesn’t deliver what it promises and overcharges for the value provided. Never does SBI! guarantee instant success but they do promise the tools and an Action Guide to help you along. The rest is up to you and how hard you work.
Is SBI! perfect? No. No product is. And not everyone needs SBI!. But it’s a great *option* if you want more hand-holding and a step-by-step guide to building a long-term business. It’s also a great learning tool for understanding the fundamentals of marketing — which a lot of people ignore when they build their sites.
Hi Everyone,
I’ve been with SBI since 2007 and am working on my second site there.
The biggest thing that stands out about SBI and how I view it all in general is this: Many people say you don’t need an
SBI site to start a website. That is true, IF you know what you are doing in the first place. But, if you dont…….
If you don’t know anything about how search engines work, what makes a webpage rank well or not, keywords, backlinks, and the list goes on and on, then you can be in trouble. SBI teaches all of this and so much more.
I’ve had people I know ask me “how do I do what you do” but I don’t want to go all through this “learning curve stuff.
Just want to put up a page of items to sell….no time for the rest of it.” Basically, my response is “well, good luck with that then.”
The knowledge behind how things work is so critical.
SBI is about hard work, patience, and a learning curve. It’s quite an education which will serve you well in your on-line endeavors for a lifetime.
The trouble is there are so many get rich quick, don’t really work programs about, usually selling for about $47 (but you get $10 off if you try to close the page!) that people just assume there is no such thing as a fair deal and they assume SBI is just a more expensive version of the same thing.
Some of these programs are just all about stealing content from other sites and putting up four or five websites in half an hour! They think SBI should do it all for them, but that is not what it is all about.
I closed the page quickly when I saw $299, one because I could not afford that and two because I would not have paid it. When I saw the $29.99 a month option I thought I might as well try it and I am very glad I did.
It is extremely hardwork, but if you want to be even half successful, you can’t do it from a couch with your eyes fixed on the tv, can you?
I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about making money online, BUT most of my acquaintances and friends would not know where to begin and would run screaming from all the information, go back to their day jobs. Like everything else, you have to really want to do it.
Is there anything else even remotely like SBI? I certainly haven’t seen anything.
It is really hard work but anything worthwhile is. The tools that SBI gives you are incredible. Unbelievable value and very worthwhile.
Hi Jane,
I want you to give me a link to you site. I hope to explore!
I was wondering if sbi is somthing you download or web based. If its software to download, is it compatible with mac ?
Thanks
Steve
It’s all web-based.
Thanks Lisa
I wasn’t sure if it was compatible with my Mac
Lisa this is very wonderful Blog, i am a follower of your every single writing piece.
thankss Lisa.. very nice post.
‘SBI is not for everyone’ infact Make money online as general is not for everyone. This only for people that willing to work hard to see the result. This is just an opinion
I agree with you Amani that SBI is not for everyone as it requires lot of hardwork, patience and efforts. You will definitely succeed if you have courage to continue hardwork and dedication for a quite long time and certainly it is not a scam.
You are so right Amani. SBI is not for everyone in the sense that they sure put you to work. Much is done for you regarding much of the technical end and the “classroom” part, but the site work itself is all done by the individual. The whole process requires alot of homework and decision making based on what one has learned. It’s continuous, it can be tiring and frustrating at times. It can also be quite rewarding and enjoyable too.
SBI must be a scam because my home page is at no. 10 first page in Google, for my niche keywords, out of 59million other sites with the same keyword after only two months! I also have a few other pages in the top 10. Traffic is rising every day, I had over 8,000 page views last month, but I have not made as much as Lisa, so obviously it is a scam!
I think it is a bit pathetic to call something a scam when you have never even tried it. It comes with a full 90 day money back guarantee, so there is no excuse for not at least trying it out before deciding it is no good.
If I were looking for web design programs I would probably put web design programs in the search engine not site builders. All that term will give you is building firms and construction sites.
Here’s a point I want to make. You have people who call SBI! a scam because you can start a cheap site with WordPress for example. But what a lot of people don’t realize is I get emails every week from new SBI! customers who are actually EX WordPress customers.
Not everyone wants or likes WordPress and I think it’s hard for those who love WordPress to understand that there are people who actually want to learn how to build a static website.
What people need to realize is that different people value different things. If you are a self starter and can get all you need with WordPress, then go for it! But WordPress is not right for every kind of website and some people want the more traditional approach.
But I have NO respect for people who call SBI! a scam and have never owned it. They are only looking at the price and comparing it to GoDaddy — and if you own SBI!, you know those two cannot even be compared.
My other pet peeve is calling something a scam just because it didn’t work for you. People do it all the time with AdSense, when the real problem is they never learned to generate enough targeted traffic to make AdSense work. That doesn’t make AdSense a scam, it just means it didn’t work for you. Same goes with SBI!. They give you what you pay for, it’s up to you to find out if it’s really for you.
I think another reason is that there are so many dodgy programs about promising you riches by next week, that when people find out that they have to work their tails off and wait months to get any financial result worth bragging about, they decide it is no good. I did see a question once on a forum asking if SBI would write the content for her. It would be very nice if one could press a few buttons and become overnight millionaires, but alas, the world does not work that way. I had a little go at WordPress once and found it extremely complicated and from what I have read, blogs need updating a lot to keep their traffic flowing.
I think my site is doing very well considering it has only been live for a couple of months. I don’t expect millions from one site; I won’t say I don’t want millions because that would not be believable or true, but I just want a decent income.
When I started all I knew was that I wanted to do a site about giant dog breeds. I had no other ideas. SBI has given me so many ideas for so many sites, I don’t know where to start!
I think it is a great program and certainly well worth the money. £20 per month is nothing for what it offers and if the site starts to pay for itself on a monthly basis, I shall be well pleased.
Thanks Lisa, for the detailed review that sold me on the program in the first place. I probably would not have chanced it otherwise.
I built 2 websites with SBI and they did not work. I must say it wasn’t Site Build it’s fault but mine because the topics they were built on weren’t really my passion or expertise. My 1st website was built about a business I was in but not an expert on. The other was built about a pet we inherited but was no different than any of the others out there. I must say I made more money(which wasn’t a lot but was more than I made from Amway, Melaluca, Pre-paid legal, Primerica, Smc, Real estate… you get my point. Site Build It works and God willing I’ll be using it again as soon as I get the right topic. Thanks for the blog Lisa and much continued success.
Sorry, Avery, I don’t quite understand. You say your SBI websites did not work but then you say you made money from them. If you made money, then they worked, didn’t they? Did they make enough to pay for themselves? Did you leave them long enough for them to get noticed by search engines? On SBI forums you find out that it is sometimes a year or two before lots of traffic starts rolling in. I know that is a long time to wait, but wait one must.
Hello Avery,
If you really earn something from SBI good for you. I understand your expectations from your present site is high and that you expect some more.
Give it some time and you can be where you want to be. As we all know…
It takes more of
patience
endurance
hard work
and dedication
Let all these four words be your personal guide.
TO:Margaret: I’m not bashing SBI. What I meant was even though I didn’t get to the level I wanted I still was able to make a little money from one of my sites. Even that little was more than I made from all those other multi level businesses combined, so that is a positive for SBI. When I’m able to sign up again, this time I’ll do it by focusing on a better topic. I’m HYPED about SBI!!!
To: Goddy, I appreciate your wisdom of reminding me how diligent I need to be in order to see success with any business not just SBI.
Thanks for your comments.
Avery
I had been thinking for some months to create a website with SBI!, but since I am not a sound techie, I doubt whether it is possible for me to make the best use of the product. I am willing to work and I am a determined person, but only the technical things worry me a bit. However, your post inspires me and motivates me to be more optimistic and start the venture at the earliest!
Thanks a lot Lisa!
I like your blogs very much! You have got a very good expression!
I agree with you Lisa, you have to own it to know what you are talking about. You have to use it, try it, see what your possibilities are and plan your succes with confidence and hard work.
It’so easy to cast the blame, but are you giving it a try? Did you do everything to make it work? So many people that succeed with it, cannot be so wrong…
I do not used it yet, I go along well with wordpress but I have read alot about it on the web, and plan to buy it in the future.
Jayanthi, you do not have to have any technical knowledge or website building knowledge whatsoever to use SBI. All you have to do is follow the action guide. There is a new Block Builder coming out soon which hopefully should make things even better. Trust me, I have no knowledge of the technical stuff, but I am getting about 6,000 page views per month with my site which I only started end of May.
The key to SBI is hard work and patience. It has taken some people two years before they have seen any significant financial result. I have so far only made £11 but I still think it is great. Hopefully, I can build up more traffic and get somewhere. I have also started a second site, even though I am still working a little on the first one. I did that because I was getting a bit bored with the first one so thought I would focus elsewhere for a while and then I could come back to it with fresh eyes, which I have found works best if things are getting tedious.
Yeah.. You write a very good post. I appreciate it.. I know that SBI is not a scam and cannot be. I shall be thankful if you comment on my website so that I can improve it. I need help.
Thanks.
Hello everyone and Lisa I have found you in several places and I am inspired. I wanted to say that I am interested in Site Build It and may start soon but right now I am still getting over being burned badly with a web business I opened but did not do my research well enough so had to close it just last week. I tried opening an online women’s fashion accessories business with dropshipping. Yes, any of you out there that has tried that you know what I mean. I found a “so called” dropshipper at handbagsatwholesale.com and thought I was set to make money online only to find they were not reputable sent bad products out 3 weeks late. It was horrible. I could not find reputable suppliers so a whole summer of hard work and building a site with Go Daddy which is very hard because you build it without much help. I learned how to crash hard with a dream put it that way. However, I am determined and am not giving up. I have a day job that I by no means plan to give up anytime soon however i have bold determination and think that Site Build It may be the answer. I will continue to research and maybe in a few more weeks after I have healed from my dropshippers nightmare I will be ready to get going. Thanks Lisa for so much info!!!!
Hi, Christie. Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I have always been wary of dropshippers as I like to see things through myself because you are the front line and you are the one getting the flack if it all goes wrong.
I will say that SBI is a great program if you are beginning in the internet marketing field. It goes through so much stuff it will make your head spin, but the keywords and analyse it tools are what make this so good in my own opinion. It will get your site ranked in no time providing you follow the Action Guide and choose the right keywords. But it does take time before you see any financial result, sometimes a year or two. You have to be prepared to wait for your results and hope it works out.
With the monthly subscription option and full money back guarantee, which is genuine, you have nothing to lose by trying it.
Good luck to you.
I built my website with SBI a few years ago and it was the best online decision I made. If you want ot build a website then SBI is in my opinion the only way to go. Especially if you’re a web beginner. My SBI took me 6 months to build with just a few hours a week put into it and it began to make me affiliate and adsense commissions. Today I get free traffic to my website because it’s optimized so well with the keyword and analyse tool which means sales and dollars in my account. I can’t complain. If you’re willing to put in the work you’ll “reap the rewards” because SBI is the real deal and not some scam or a here today and gone tomorrow program. I love my website and SBI. It’s worthy every penny.
I agree. I haven’t made any money yet (well £13.63 from adsense) as I only joined in May, but I have faith that it will work.
I just wanted to say, I went searching for one of these scam reviews out of curiosity and found one which was two years old. The woman who was writing this so-called review obviously did not have a clue about the program or know what she was talking about. I wanted to reply, but it was so old I didn’t think it was worth it.
I couldn’t live with the lie of writing a review which is a pack of lies. Perhaps I am too honest for the online world!
Clickbank and Commission Junction are great places to find ebooks/products that perhaps relate to your SBI websites niche. It’s a great way to make some affiliate commissions from your site. Adsense takes some time but if you follow Lisa’s adsense guide you will see results. It doesn’t matter if you have a wordpress or SBI site (I have both) you must provide content, content, content. Use the right keywords and in the right place. SBI shows you how to do this where as wordpress doesn’t. I actually favour SBI over wordpress. SBI is perfect for beginners too and if you’re not tech saavy. I had no idea how to build a website when I started, but SBI showed me how, step by step. They also have a great support system. The SCAMS are the people who claim SBI is a scam. There are no gimmicks or secret systems (as often claimed online) that will make you succeed with the click of a button. Even “those” systems require work. Nothing replaces hard work! SBI says slow and steady. Many just jump from one money making HOPE to another, don’t even put in the work and then scream SCAM! So those that whine are the real scammers and not SBI, wordpress, blogger…. Do what works for YOU I say but be open to listen and try before you knock it down. Besides SBI has a money back guarantee. (The real scammers are the telemarketers who want you’re credit card details over your phone or the SEO telelmarketers! AHHHH)
Thank you for this information about SBI.
Hi Lisa and everyone:
Christie – in response to your post above – please don’t feel discouraged because of your dropshipping experience. I also got into a dropshipping business selling handbags – and for about a month on ebay, things went wonderfully – I was making about $300 profit a day, and getting wonderful reviews. The supplier I had sent the goods promptly, and we had a great relationship. That is, until paypal decided to freeze my account due to the fact that the products I was selling (replicas) was actually illegal. Like you, I hadn’t done my homework – and I had naively thought that if they are available to purchase from China, then so long as I stated that they were replica, there was no problem. Not so. So my ebay account was closed, along with my paypal account – and I made the intelligent decision to close down the website that I had created specifically to sell handbags also. Afterall, I didn’t want to be sued by Chanel or Mui Mui – that would place me in financial hardship for the rest of my life.
So – I decided to go with the SBI website idea I had read about – and in five short months, my traffic is now roughly 7000 visitors per month. I know this doesn’t seem like a lot – but I am the tortoise, and I keep adding content every day, and I have not seen a backwards direction since I started. It can only go forward. I haven’t made a single dollar yet, but I know that in time it is inevitable if I stick to the Action Guide and focus on content. SBI works on generating the traffic, and my Affiliate programs will eventually be seen by a lot more than 7000 visitors per month.
I thoroughly recommend SBI. The forums and support is tremendous – something you don’t get with any other web host. The tools allow me to be somewhat of an expert with absolutely no html coding knowledge.
Bite the bullet – make the change that will really allow you to have a real online business.
Jo
Thanks Jo Douglas, I am glad that I am not the only one who chose something that was going to fail sooner or later. Yes I was going to sell the “replica” handbags and jewelry and they probably would have shut me down quickly too because I didnt realize the problems behind it and I thought if you were letting people know it was not the real thing then it would make a world of difference so it was good that I shut it down quickly before it costed me more money and trouble. I am sorry that you were making such good money for them to kick you off ebay. I wish you the best with SBI. I have been reading up on SBI all week long and I do believe I am getting ready to join up. Nothing to lose and everything to gain. I admire the success stories and the determination of the newbies. And I am glad I found Lisa on here to introduce us all to such a great thing!!!
Christie, keep us posted on your journey!!
Hi I did not read all the above comments but I don’t think my questions were answered. My site is for my solar business which offers some 3,000 products. Up to now I have had the tedious job of having to jump through hoops when I have to change prices. I am looking for a way to integrate a site building program with eCommerce that is integrated with quickbooks. This way I would only have to upgrade my prices in one location. Does anyone know if this be done with Site Build it?
Hi Terry, My initial gut feeling tells me you will need a standard host because it sounds like you require some database integration. To be honest, I’m not even sure how to do that on a regular host, but I do know that you’ll probably have more freedom with a standard host.
After reading thru comments,I realize we can sign up by the month LISA? I am ready, where do I go to sign up by month and get started? Thank u Lisa ahead of time
Hi Debi, the link is http://website.sitesell.com/order Enjoy!
I am thinking about signing up after having my own ecommerce website with little success. I shut it down and just have a place holder that sends my customers to my Etsy shop. I’ve tried to do it on my own, but have no html experience and it’s been very overwhelming looking at plans on the web.
My site content is about my jewelry and products for purchase. Is SBI right for me? I’m not sure. Do any of you have an SBI sight that just sells products? If so, please leave your url so I can look at it.
Any advise is greatly appreciated.
I don’t, but there are many many people using SBI that do. It is perfectly suitable for offline businesses of the sort you mention. You can use paypal to take payments, or I believe there is something called Store Build It, but Lisa would be able to tell you more about that.
If you want to get seen on the web and get ranked and get traffic, SBI is great.
Lisa,
Found you when searching for ‘commentLUV’ blogs
I’m actually an SBI! affiliate as well–believe in all that Ken Evoy has done although I haven’t had much time to promote the whole suite of tools that comes with SBI. (Wish some of the webmasters who submitted their sites to Cool Site of the Day would use SBI).
Mike Corso
Cool Site of the Day
Boost Your Website Ranking
http://budurl.com/fastcool
Hello Lisa, I read this particular post about 14 months ago when I was searching for the best way to build an online business, I had an eBook which I wanted to offer for sale initially through a website, that was when I found SBI and your post here and later splashed the eBook all over my site as content. It has been 14 month, I now own two SBI sites and just got my fourth adsense check. I am about adding my own Ebook and hopefully that would boost my income
You were one of the people that greatly inspired my decision to buy Site Build it, thanks a lot
Whilst I appreciate that Site Build It! is not a scam, I’m a believer in practice what you preach. SBI puch professional looking websites, nay web-based businesses, and yet their own site is stuck in the 90s.
It may be well coded and structured, but the look and feel of the site is so naff, I’d hesitate to use such a product. I’m not a hater per se, I’m just not one of the 39,908 “likers”.
Yet..?
I don’t see anything wrong with Site Build It’s own site, but I will agree that some of the blockbuilder templates are a little out of date. However, you do not have to use them. SBI is so flexible that you can use your own program, like Dreamweaver, and still get all the keyword and analyse it tools. I have never actually come across that before, where you are not restricted and can design your site however you like.
I did my initial site with the standard templates because it was easier for me; my second one I am doing with one of their CSS templates, using html (how exciting!), but you don’t have to do that either.
It is really the tools you are paying for. My new site has been started since August, I only have 49 pages, but I have already got ranked for four of those pages in Google’s top thirty.
It is very flexible.
All of you who’ve posted here have given valuable info about SBI and I’m just in the process of evaluating it to build my online business.
I wouldn’t say that SBI is a scam but when I signed up to SBI last year I found the whole process very vague and not at all easy to follow. I baled and went with something else that was more up to date and very easy to follow. I just remember not enjoying the whole process at all and was pretty relieved when I quit. For someone who is new to internet marketing I would not recommend it at all. Find someone who is successful who can guide you, do what they are doing and you will succeed.
Peter,
Only someone who gave the Action Guide little more than a passing glance could call the process “very vague.” If there’s anything at all that throws newbies off about the SBI! process, it’s not that the process is vague, it is that it’s incredibly detailed. If you’re looking for a push button solution to online riches, SBI! isn’t it (it doesn’t exist, but many people will be happy to profit from your willingness to believe it does).
Building a real, successful online business takes work – and I’ll be the first to admit this – not all of it is fun. That’s the way it is, I’m afraid.
As far as finding someone who is “successful” goes, SBI! has plenty of that…
http://proof.sitesell.com/
“I baled and went with something else that was more up to date and very easy to follow.”
Um, I had a look at your site, Peter. Looks to me like you’re pretty much following the CTPM mantra on a Word Press platform, without the built in tools SBI! offers (but I don’t know whether or not you’ve followed the ground rules laid out in the Action Guide that will ensure this business is profitable).
CTPM is evergreen… and I guess you’d know that had you read the Action Guide…
Hi Peter,
I have to agree with Paul. I have a lot of friends who use SBI! and vague is usually the last word they used to describe it given all the step-by-step details with such thorough explanations. I have to say, this is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone describe it as such. Anyway, I hope you find what you’re looking for.
The SBI Action Guide is anything but vague. It may be TOO detailed. There’s a lot of redundancy, but it is effective if followed, and newbies will learn a lot. I started my first site there and I’m making about $100/month average with AdSense, but I really haven”t given it my all. Sometimes I don’t put up a new page for weeks at a time.
My site is on Jekyll Island, a small barrier island off the Georgia coast, and it may be too narrow a niche. Plus it’s 600 miles form home and, even though we love it, we can only get there about once or twice a year. I think I could make more by working harder (but that’s me, not SBI).
I have two more sites on WP I really haven’t done anything with, so I think I’ll give Lisa’s WP Tutorial ebook a try and get them up to speed. All in all, SBI has been a good experience, though I wish they’d give discounts for those who do multiple sites.
Nough said.
Well, being an SBIer for more than 4 years now. Peter’s comment surprised me to say the least.
To me the Action Guide is the best thing that can happen to a IM newbie….it is almost like someone hand holding you to IM wisdom.
I don’t say SBI is the best or this will be the solution for all your IM dreams. But surely the 10 days Action Guide is [Period].
I don’t think one could call the action guide vague, by any means. It is in fact very detailed, and if you don’t understand it, it is on video as well. I have had to go over those videos a few times to get it all into my head, but it is very clear, just rather a lot of it.
I we do sign up is there other help? Like forums? To give questions to?
Yes, there are very detailed and up to date forums about every subject you can think of. Anything you can’t find in the Action Guide or don’t understand, you can ask about it there.
I have an SBI site and I am loving the results that they provide. Any newbie can use create a website with SBI and get great results.
Thanks for the great explanation on the site build it scam and I totally agree with everything you said. I am in the music business and I wonder if site build it would benefit me seeing that it seems like it is more for people who are selling a service first not products as I will be e.g. CDs, t shirts, etc.
Thank you kindly
Lots of SBI sites are owned by people selling their own stuff. My sites are purely information, with affiliate links and adsense, then there is a very successful lady who sells her own needlework designs and kits. You can sell anything you like but there aren’t the facilities for taking credit card payments, only paypal. I think there is another product called store build it for that, but I don’t know anything about it. However, some of the top selling sites I buy from only take paypal, so it is quite a popular method.
If you follow the action guide and choose the right keywords, you will get ranked quickly, get traffic and sell even more.
I think the mistake people make is not really accepting that it is going to take time. They know it intellectually, but it just doesn’t sink in and when they can’t retire after one year, they give up and go home.
Thanks Margaret Brazear for your information
it was appreciated.
Not all SBI are useless, there are many SBI presents which produce best website for money.
who said site build it is scam. If this is scam then how thousands of people are coming with their nice websites using SBI. Please give me reply. I am waiting………
I am a newbie to SBI. Started back in September and have learned alot!! I really like it. I do not expect to start making a ton of money right off the bat. If you expect that you are barking up the wrong tree anywhere on the net. I know it will slowly grow with what I have put into it. I am waiting to see how my recipe site grows then with time thinking about building another site. I do see my traffic is slowly growing and that is exciting!
I’m considering joining SBI soon – I hope it can help me to be able to succeed. I don’t think SBI is a scammer at all but I’m just afraid about whether I can really learn and do whatever’s necessary and succeed in this.
I have been reading SBI sites for quite a while but I’m just afraid I might not be able to learn. Can I? Is it easy to understand? As a newbie to internet marketing, I wonder am I ready to try it out? Can their basic training be really easy for beginners who have never tried even one website before! Am I able to grasp what I need to do, how to do, etc?
Hope to hear some comments.
To Eric S: You can learn how to build a successful website if you really put the work in and take notice of the action guide. It is long and detailed, and tedious in parts, but it is all relevant. There is tons of information in it, as well as in the forums and the extra tips. But the recommendations must be followed.
Many people come to the sbi forums having had their sites for a while and wondering why they are not getting ranked or not getting any traffic. Usually, they have not followed the Action Guide and the recommendations and have just put in what they think will do. For instance, someone doing a site on making money online had one page simply called “retire”. Well that is not going to have the right figures to succeed, and a lot of the pages had similar figures. You have to follow it or it won’t work.
There are also a lot of people trying to do sites about making money online when they have never actually done it themselves, a recipe for disaster really. I will buy some of the things that Lisa recommends because she has proved she has done it all herself, but if someone comes along with no success and no record behind them, I am not going to take their word for it.
If you do your site about your passions, you will do well, but don’t expect it to be easy. You do not need any experience of web building or technical knowledge whatsoever.
Great advice Margaret.
Eric,
Margaret summed it up nicely. After all, if it were EASY to build a successful online business, then no one would have a day job, right? The nice thing about SBI! is that the Action Guide lays things out nicely in a do-able “A then B then C” fashion that means if you can follow instructions and are willing to work you will experience success.
The only thing I’d warn you about it this; if you’re relatively new to Internet marketing, don’t even look at more than a single “day’s” worth of info in the Action Guide at one time, because if you do, you’re very likely to become overwhelmed. Despite what you may have read elsewhere on the net, there is no push button solution to instant riches and building a profitable web site involves a lot of steps. But it IS doable. for everyone.
Just wondering I know you use thesis and not site build it for this site which is very popular and where I want to be just with a different niche.
Is there are reason for this? A reason I mean for you using Thesis as opposed to SBI, I know your an affiliate for SBI and probably Thesis because of the ads. But if you were starting out today which would you choose SBI or Thesis.
Consider that I am not a designer, but at the same time I want my site to have a decent look. Some Sbi sites iv seen didnt make me want to stick around except Steve Pavlinas.
Hi Milad
It’s very hard to compare SBI! to Thesis because you’re talking about two different platforms. It’s like apples and oranges. Thesis if for blogging, SBI is for building a traditional static website and there is a big difference in how the content is arranged. This is a news site so a blogging platform was ideal for this kind of content.
Having said that I am very glad I bought SBI! back in the day. It gave me a nice solid foundation for Internet marketing and writing content. Yes, their templates are quite dated, but they are about to launch a revised version of their Block Builder and the templates are way more current so stay tuned for that. You also don’t have to use their templates. I designed my own for my SBI! site.
Thank you for the QUICK reply! Just for that I will be a regular on here, well aside from the excellent content!
If I want to post articles, or series of helpful articles and to build a community then blogging would be the way to go, no?
Ok, here is a question I havent been able to get any internet marketing guru to answer.
When it comes to SEO what is the monthly traffic vs pages already in existance for that keyword that you would consider a good niche or atleast do able , does it even matter? Since content/information is what people search for sooner or later you will get listed!? or does it?
Again thank you for the fast reply. I know your busy and I just wanted to say I appreciate your time and effort. For someone who is getting started just that little effort means a lot!
One thing i really love about SBI! is the honesty with which they sell their product. I have a friend who uses it and his website’s doing a whole lot better than mine so far, even though i was a better designer and i’ve been creating websites for years.
I had been wondering what was the deal with SBI…some people in my work group love it…I’ve only used StoresOnline and CloneMyWebsite….e-commerce and blogging. Sounds like SBI would be easier than SOL for the newbie. CMW allows 99 sites for one price per month….best value in my opinion. Both my blogs use CMW.
Before I bought SBI!, I was very skeptical regarding what SBI! promised. However, I decided to buy. I can tell you from my personal experience that SBI! is NOT a scam. SBI! is a trusted guide who always help you get where you want to go.
I love SBI! although I’ve not yet made much money from my website. But, I do believe that I will quite my present job in the next 1.5 year because of SBI!.
I know that SBI! is so successful, so there will be some low-life people get upset about this. What are they going to do? Can you guess? You’re right. They are trying to spoil SBI!’s reputation. In short, they envy SBI!. However, this won’t happen, I believe.
SBI! is successful because SBI! follows the law of nature – Give and you shall be given.
SBI! willingly gives and gracefully receives. There is so much useful information that it gives to SBIers. So much. Quality.
Now SBI! receives. Yes, Receives SUCCESS. So, those scammers stop accusing SBI! a scam. In fact, You (Scammer) are a scam.
Ok, here is a question I havent been able to get any internet marketing guru to answer.
When it comes to SEO what is the monthly traffic vs pages already in existance for that keyword that you would consider a good niche or atleast do able , does it even matter? Since content/information is what people search for sooner or later you will get listed!? or does it?
I don’t get as caught up in the numbers as other people because when I look at all of my successful sites they get found for thousands and thousands of different long tail keywords per month (2 create a website gets found for over 100,000 different phrases believe it or not). But i generally tell people you want to have between 5,000 and 10,000 EXACT match monthly searches. That’s just a starting point. Remember you will be writing a bunch of content and will often rank for related phrases you weren’t even targeting.
SBI is the greatest opportunity I have found on the web. If someone thinks it is a scam, they either do not understand the true value of all of the tools they get with SBI, or they are looking for a “Get Rich Quick” solution…
SBI does not promise the sun and the moon and the stars in 24 hours or less, but they do offer a solid business opportunity for those who are willing to work.
As Usual Lisa, Excellent Advice!
A well thought response Lisa.
People don’t have the right to call a product a scam unless it is really a scam. I sense jealousy.
i was going to try site build it for my second site for the keyword anyalsis tool but i downloaded the free trial of market samurai and i love it! Kind of torn between the two i know you have recently started using market samurai what would you suggest for a newbie?
I tried the 14 day trial of Market Samurai, but I never bought it. Not because it isn’t a cool tool, because it is – you can slice and dice the keywords you get in many ways. The problem I find with Market Samurai and others of its ilk, is that they aren’t really doing any real keyword research for you – they are simply pulling all the keywords from Google’s tool, and then providing proprietary ways to slice and dice them. There are no “lateral” keywords, for instance – all vertical.
In other words, if you perform a search for cooking, you get a million variations of cooking, but not synonyms of cooking, and their variations. This is why I prefer the Brainstormer – for its lateral keyword searching ability. It generates its own proprietary results, from a number of sources – it’s not just a rehashing of Google’s tools.
Plus, SBI! is a system – a business building system. The keyword research tool – the Brainstormer – is just one small part of the tool. And yes, I know you can do other things with MS, but I personally didn’t find they provided a ton of value.
For a newbie, therefore, there’s no question… SBI!.
wow great explanation thank you for taking the time to write that! i think u conviced me to try the 29.99 version of SBI. I love the seo competiton tool market samurai has and more so it seems i may get both even though as a newbie im on a budget.
I have been following the comments. The comments and the replies are so informative and they have made a great change in my outlook regarding SBI and my fear about the product.
Thank you very much, Lisa!
Good luck!
Sounds like a troll or another competitor. Either ways, thanks for the heads up, Lisa.
This is so helpful Lisa!
This is a very good web site, THANKS FOR INFORMATION.
Dear Lisa: Hello my name is Wanda Davis. First of all I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to you for all of your hard work and SUCCESS. Now are you telling me that if I want SBI to build me a website all I would have to pay them is $299 a year OR $29.99 a month? Also if I don’t want to use Pay Pal is there another company that you can recommend to me besides Pay Pal? I am a Prophetess of GOD, will SBI be able to help me build a RELIGIOUS WEBSITE concerning Bible prophecies would this be hard for me to get alot of traffic if I chose Bible Prophecies as my topic? Also when I pay the $299 is there any other hidden additional charges? Can you actually talk to a live person at SBI? Well I hope I get a response back from you. Thank you for your time, help, and cooperation. Sincerely, Ms. Wanda Davis…
Hi,Wanda. Sorry I am not Lisa, but just to answer one of your questions, the tools in SBI will point you in the right direction for keywords that will get you the quickest traffic, whatever subject you choose. They may not be the exact words you have chosen, but they will be close and they will be what people are searching for. There are no hidden costs, the fee pays for hosting, domain name, design tools if you want them (or you can use your own) and super education and tools to get you on your way. If you should require additional coaching, that is of course an additional charge, but most don’t need it.
If you email support, you will get a reply from a very real person. I think you can also contact them by phone, but not sure about that one.
As to the Paypal question, I will leave that one as not sure exactly what you want.
Don’t forget as well, if you don’t like what you see when you have bought SBI, or you don’t think it is for you, you can get a very speedy refund, guaranteed for 30 days (possibly 90, not sure now).
Hello Wanda.
I started my first SBI website (a free relationship advice website) in 2010 – http://www.true-love-and-marriage-relationship-advice.com. Since then, I have added two more websites – http://www.kome-computers.com and http://www.thenigeriahost.net.
My personal experience with SBI! has taught me that if you’re looking for an e-business building product that is equipped with all the tools to guarantee the success of any small business on the web, then SBI! is the way to go. SBI! will work for any business concept. Additionally, you can easily integrate third party applications and a PayPal Shopping cart. If you do not wish to use PayPal, you can use 2CO or other such third party shopping carts. (See my write-up on this at: http://www.true-love-and-marriage-relationship-advice.com/i-love-sbi.html)
On the other hand, like it is with any business, online or offline, SBI! is not a get-rich-quick product. It requires a more than average brains, the right attitude and a strong motivation to succeed. Above all else, it also requires an extraordinary amount of patience and hard work on the part of everyone that is determined to succeed at their business, like Lisa will rightly tell you.
Will SBI be able to help you build a religious website concerning Bible prophecies? I would answer yes to that. However, I would advice that you wait till you have done some brainstorming and keyword researching with SBI!’s Brainstormer before you decide on the site concept or niche for your new website.
You also wonder if it would be hard for you to get a lot of traffic if you chose Bible Prophecies as your site concept. I cannot say for sure – not until you have done some brainstorming. The SBI! Action Guide – which you will have access to once you order SBI! – can surely help you in this direction. Additionally, apart from support, you also have the SBI! forum – which you also have access to once you have successfully ordered your SBI! website.
You could select three Bible related concepts such as prophesies, healing and miracles (just a suggestion). On the other hand, you may choose three site concepts different from the ones I have mentioned above to brainstorm on. After you have done some brainstorming, you should be able to find out which direction to push your new website.
Should you need a personal one-on-one free consultation, I would be glad to help. You can reach me through my e-mail: [email protected]
Hey Lisa, I am a New yorker living in Peru for 10 years!!!! I want the world to know about how beautiful Peru is, not really the commercialized sector, but the nooks and crannies of Peru. The secret exploring places. etc. Today is my first time ever on your site and I just love your down to earth telling it like it is style. You’re real. Through your site I will subscribe to SBI, Hell Yeah! What will my site be about? Peru, The best of it. Thanks to you for making it possible. Now I have direction. Hugs to you Lisa
Thanks Alex!
I know for sure that site Build It is not a scam. My friend has made consistent profit with it. But, then, so have I with WordPress. To me it all boils down to hardwork and knowing one’s onions.
Thanks for the great explanation on the site build it scam and I totally agree with everything you said. I am in the music business and I wonder if site build it would benefit me seeing that it seems like it is more for people who are selling a service first not products as I will be e.g. CDs, t shirts, etc.
Thank you for the information that you have been provided about what is the another meaning of scam. I never know about this, when I’m going to comment in youtube I did not mention “Site build it!”, that’s a non sense word actually (for me only).
Hi Lisa,
Can you use SBI tools on a WordPress site? Or export the content you created in SBI and import to WordPress?
No, unfortunately not. They are not compatible in that way.
thank you for such a writing ,I planned to Buy SBI in next few days
I’ve been a follower of your site for a while now.
I’ve heard about SiteSell before now via a friend but your site convinced me the more to join them. I have two working sites that are growing but I want a system that offers every tool to succeed like autoresponder.
My concern and question is: I want to build a site or two more; that I will dedicate my time and energy to. I’m ready to pay the price of patience & hardwork.
My question is this: all things being equal i.e getting everything right from the beginning e.g profitable niche, traffick, seo, good content eTC(i mean CTPM) If i put all these things together, ”what can I make in six months? ” Can i make $500 ? Just a projection of what i can make in six months. Note, i said earlier that i’m ready to pay the price of learning & hardwork. Also, rem, i said after getting everything right. CTPM.
Hi, there is no way for me to guarantee this. It really depends on your niche, how hard you work, etc. I would never put a time frame on success.
O.k thanks for the prompt response.
Is just that I’ve heard distance friends saying after a particular months; they started making a stable or average income of $….
Those words motivates & inspire people to keep doing the good work. For instance, I heard a pro blogger that started making a wonderful affiliate income from his site after 18 month, I mean about $1200 . With this insight, it keeps newbies up.
Once again, thanks. I appreciate your sincere opinion.
Hi everyone. I Love SBI soooooo much! they made me what i am today
I used site build it before. Even an IT dummie like me was able to build an website! i dun think it is a scam.
It’s difficult to get lost in the internet world if you’re wanting to earn a living but you don’t know your way around. This article gives great insight about SBI and I will keep it in mind if I want to build a website.
I don’t think anyone who really put the effort in to create their sitesell site properly would call it a scam. The problem is too many people are out looking for a get rich quick scheme and sitesell is definitely not it. If you don’t put the work in, you will fail. Period. But, if you do, you will have fantastic results.
Hi Lisa
I want to thank you for the making this post about SBI. 3 months ago when I was doing my research on SBI, I found this blog and watched some of your videos on YouTube. I was convinced SBI was for me.
2 months ago I joined SBI and that is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. It’s just amazing. My site;
http://www.the-high-blood-pressure-guide.com
Now has about 100 visitors/day after just 2 months. I can’t believe it since I’m new to this.
Thanks again, keep up the good work.
Awesome Adrian!! Thanks so much for stopping by to share that.
I am trying hard to convince myself that I can also be like you guys by making my website through SBI! Thanks for great sharing Lisa.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for your comments on SBI. I am just starting an Affiliate Marketing business and unsure about where to spend my $$ on buying the “right” tools to build my sites. I like your blog and consider you a trusted resource on the web. Keep up the good work!
Hmmm.. I’m still skeptical about this. I have limited resources maybe i’ll try this one if my earnings will also increase and investing on the internet won’t be a problem at all. ^_^
Lisa,
Thanks for the review. I am a newbie starting with SBI. My website is barely one year old and i can say it works and i can see progress every day. I have 5 blogs that are draining me everyday to write new articles yet they do not compare to SBI site in terms of revenue and traffic.
Hi Lisa,
Awesome website! Instant subscribe for me. I’ve been with SBI for two years now and I love it! A few quick questions. How old is your fat loss site that you’ve built with SBI?
And does your SBI site generate the majority of its revenue from Google Adsense or the truth about abs affiliate program?
Also if I may ask, whats your daily unique visitor count for that site?
Thanks
-Adi
It goes back and forth. In the summer months, Clickbank outperforms AdSense but in the winter months, AdSense does better simply because there are less people thinking of buying weight loss products in the winter.
I am new to Internet Marketing and glad that I bought SBI. Their tools are user friendly and I am loving it!
You are one of the inspirations why I bought SBI! My site http://www.sleep-disorders-facts.com is improving day by day.
Thanks.
I think a lot of people these days specially on youtube just like to comment to get a reaction
I just need to vent!
I’m just a little frustrated over the mediocre traffic results I’m getting!
21 a month for one and 17 for the other.
I’m trying everything I know how to get traffic such as having Facebook business pages built and indexed on my site and Twitterfeed. I’m posting comments on Twitter for both sites, I bought SBI’s RBI package which is suppose to build incoming links to my site, I’ve commented on different Ask and Answer sites, I have a survey up with SurveyMonkey which is an idea from this site, I just don’t know what else to do. There are other things I’ve done but this post would go on forever. I had 1 site up for 8 months which is the 17 a month traffic number and my other site I reopened after closing it for a few months and that gets 21 a month. I’ll never reach my goal of replacing my income from work at this pace.
Sorry I just needed to let loose a little, I will press on though and hope for the best!
Thanks for this site Lisa!
http://www.essentialcatsupplies.com
http://www.ultimatebenefitsofwalking.com
I understand. Hang in there. Have you tried making videos related to your topic?
Thanks Lisa for responding.
No, but I’ve used YouTube videos on my site for different pages.
I’ve just started exchanging links with other website owners and I’ve got affiliate links from Amazon, Petco and others on my site.
I’m trying everything I could think of even paying for help from coaches!
I don’t know if it’s the niches or what?
It is legit and not a scam. I have tried it and It is real people
Some of my friends said it is a scam
but still undecided
I’ve never used SBI, but a friend has hosted her site with them and she’s extremely happy
Sreekanth,
I would ask your friends exactly what information they are using to come to this conclusion. SBI! has been called a scam, but these allegations have not come from individuals with genuine issues; they have been from competitors and link bombers. If you review this thread thoroughly you’ll see that the “SBI! Scam” issue has been thoroughly discredited.You can also review my article on the topic…
http://www.no-bs-marketing.com/rants-and-raves/lis-sowerbutts-bogus-sbi-scam-review/
Hope this helps,
Paul
Perhaps Paul it would be the lady who formerly had an SBI site here:
http://www.addicted2decorating.com/site-build-it-scam-a-site-build-it-review.html
She gives a very balanced view.
I think SBI is fine with some good points but you should really read this lady’s view as it’s very complete and honest.
Hope this helps Paul.
Very honest, interesting read Jeff. One thing SiteSell needs to stop doing is sending the masses out to attack people who say something negative about them. It does look very cult-like and I have no problem admitting that as a fan and affiliate. I understand they don’t want people spreading lies about them (that’s one thing), but everyone is entitled not to like a product and I respect her views.
Clearly, this lady did not need or value Site Build It! so no need for the SiteSell team to try to turn it around and make it look as if she did. It’s actually OK to admit that not everyone needs of values it.
With over 200,000 FB likes, clearly SiteSell has a big fan base of people who love SBI!, so no need to go on the defense so much. This post is an example where they would have been better off leaving things alone. It often makes things worse and this particular post makes SiteSell look over defensive.
Hi Lisa. I would like to say thank you for helping people out with your posts. I am reading your articles daily and i’ve become a great fan!keep up the good work. Many many thanks once again for the great material you providing.
That’s good to know, bro.
By the way, Paul, just in case there is anything that I’m missing on my website, please do not be scared to let me know about it. I am very open and receptive to some fresh ideas and criticisms. l would really appreciate it.
Thanks a lot, Paul. And all the best.
I tried SBI and it’s not bad, but I think it’s not excellent neither. The problem with SBI is that you can’t just do what you want on your host – in terms configuration & 3rd party software installation and this surely turns off all techies.
Lisa, I tried SBI through your website/affiliate link and generally they teach a good thing. The thing for me was it was too slow. Building out a website for 30 pages, and getting X amount of traffic before monetizing didn’t sound good to me, especially since that was my first time in IM.
But I did learn a few things in the limited time I was with them. And Ken Evoy seems like a good guy. How is your website doing with SBI, I think it was about fat loss?
It’s still doing very well considering how much I rarely update it. It was impacted by the last Google update but still gets thousands of visitors per day. Can’t complain at all.
i have never tried sbi , but will try it in near future still dont have a clear idea should i go for it or not.
you commentluv plugin is not working i guess, cache problem i guess.
i’m looking into this now. still doing the research into it. i have had website since Feb 2012 and i still have not made my first buck. maybe it just takes more time or maybe i’m doing something wrong. but today i have hit number 1 spot in google for the keyword search i’m looking for. bags for high school.
can i put in a HTML link?
I’ve never used SBI, but a friend has hosted her site with them and she’s extremely happy
I actually visited your site, Flat Stomach Exercises, and it is awesome. SBI is so cool, in fact I am thinking of using it to develop a site.
I know of a website that offers that kind of training. They are called ‘money for travelling’ and they teach you everything you need to know in their passive income blueprint. I’ve been using them a while and I am much more comfortable in starting a website now.
Hi Lisa,
I loved your demo video about SBI! I was glued to the computer screen. I was having second thoughts about purchasing SBI! but after watching your demo video and discovering all that is offered, I will definitely be using SBI! I have a question, though. I already have a website up and running. Can I use SBI! as a means of getting traffic/leads to my existing site? By the way, beautiful photo..
Thanks Antonio
SBI! will tell you that it’s best to use their builder/system for a new site. Much of their guidance is going to be about setting up your website so it helps to use their tools instead of trying to use it on an existing site.
gr8 post also i like the theme you used here ……….lisa can u tell me which one is more seo friendly blogger or wordpress
There are many scams on the internet, that is true. SBI is NOT one of them. I can testify to that. I created my site on SBI in a very competitive niche about 8 months ago (I knew that when I did it). I haven’t touched it since as I’m not as into that particular niche as much anymore and what to start another but I can say that with no little effort, my absence revenue has been increasing every money and I’ve received 2 checks so my site is now paying for itself.
That is awesome!!
Hello all and I just want to say I love SBI and yes it requires alot of hard work but hard work usually pays off if you keep at it and do not give up. I think I have a fairly solid plan. I do not expect to get rich just pay off some bills eventually would be nice and have some money left over for the fun stuff! I am building my site about Gatlinburg Tennessee and vacations and I was wondering if anyone may have advice on referral fees. Once I get the site built (about 12 pages so far) I would like to start approaching cabin owners in Gatlinburg to see if they would be interested in my site referring customers to them and they only pay if a customer contacts them. Sort of clueless on how this process works or what to charge. I plan on dedicating a page for each cabin hosted and up to 4 pictures and a contact form that I will use to track if a referral has been made. Just wondering if anyone has any comments or advice on something like that. Of course I will be running adsense and plan on contacting wedding chapels, real estate for sale and more in the Gatlinburg area to see if I can get them as sponsors. We shall see how it goes!
Christie, check the SBI forums, I think the monetizing forum. It has some great articles about setting up a referral system. Also check the TnT articles. Good luck!
Not a scam by any means I have had a couple less than desirable experiences with them BUT they are a legitimate company, And I think having a bad experience with a company is unavoidable. You can’t please everyone all the time. As the saying goes, “You can’t win them all”. Customer support was able to sort it out without a hassle though. so no worries.
That’s good to know, bro.
By the way, Paul, just in case there is anything that I’m missing on my website, please do not be scared to let me know about it. I am very open and receptive to some fresh ideas and criticisms. l would really appreciate it.
Thanks a lot, Paul. And all the best.
I purchased SBI a few weeks ago…. I like the all in one price… I really like the support and the forums and the general atmosphere. I did not want to have to learn to use WP at this time and I am confident I made the right choice for my purpose. I have seen many pros and cons. the ultimate decision would be the purchase that I feel right with.
Good for you, Dave. I wish you the best.
Nice post! well explained and very impressive. Thanks for sharing Lisa:)
Thanks for the article, I didn’t know sbi. I saw your demo video and it seems an interesting tool, maybe I’ll try it!
Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!
SiteBuild is not scam please believe me!
I have heard of many success stories about SBI over the years, but have not personally used it. Thanks for writing this review for SBI. It’s very helpful
Thanks for writing this article about site sell. It’s such a great site for beginners. It gives you all the tools at once.
Hi Lisa,
I have been reading your posts for quite sometime, as a matter of fact more the 5 years and you have become a source of inspiration. I have been learning a lot from you, and gaining different perspectives relative to networking marketing. Yes! in addition to that I came across SBI via your website and have been exploring it in its entirety and for sure there is absolutely no match so far in my opinion. Thanks for the resources you have been providing.
On the other hand, not many people are ready for the commitment and attention that building a profitable business demands of them. So what ultimately happens?
That’s just a starting point. Remember you will be writing a bunch of content and will often rank for related phrases you weren’t even targeting.
I started using SBI about 2 years ago after your recommendation Lisa! And I can’t thank you enough. It has been a huge success. I started knowing absolutely nothing about building websites and now my site has grown to over 100 pages getting around 100,000 visitors a month. I couldn’t have done any of it without SBI. You have to put in the hard work of building great content, but SBI’s tools and training are invaluable. I am so grateful to you Lisa for all your advice. Couldn’t have done it without you
Great to hear, Chloe! Thanks and continued success.
Thanks for sharing!it is good to encourage people to SBI not just reading The only reason i writing.
Its true that SBI is better show pictures on your site.
Hello Lisa, just found this site tons of good info. I have a question maby you could answer. Do you have to already have a idea or product in mind before getting involved with SBI. Or does the SBI program give you ideas and recommendations for you. Thanks….
Hi Gary, they coach you through the brainstorming process and assume you don’t have any idea before you start. In fact, it’s almost better not to have an idea so you are open to exploring and brainstorming many ideas/possibilities.
The best way is to learn yourself and build a website. Took me 6 months to leran home by myself
Hi Lisa,
I have been so wrong in wasting my time and holding myself from experimenting more. This post was an eye opener. seriously. Best of all, I liked ‘best way to do things’ is a moving target . Well said and thanks for the post.
Hi Lisa
I’ve been around with my travel website for many years now, and still struggling with traffic. Today I watched your video AdSense Tips for Newbies & Low Earners, and got so much useful information and inspiration. Thanks a lot.
I always work with my content, but I feel it might be a problem that my index-page is relatively static and unchanged, because my efforts are done on the tier 2 and tier 3 pages. What about people coming back to my index-page several times and see there are no changes.
How much and often should I make changes to my index-page? Can you give me a short advice?
I suggest you to add read more sections in the index page, get the website visitors into the inner pages of the website. Make them to read your all web pages. You need to work easy website navigation method.
Well explained and very impressive post but I think WordPress is best for blogging than Site Build It.
I have a small doubt can i take a site from this SBI or not please suggest me
Is this program still works .. Since we can see your http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com site is no where on search engines and not getting enough traffic.
Good article post I think WordPress is better than Site Build It. Thanks for sharing this explanation.
I agree that since they didn’t promise anyone certain things, they can’t technically be called a “scam”.
Nice post! well explained and very impressive. Thanks for sharing Lisa:)
This post was an eye opener. seriously. Best of all, I liked ‘best way to do things’ is a moving target .
The best way is to learn yourself and build a website.nice post lisa
I just want to know, why would I use site build it! instead of Joomla or WordPress. Besides, site build it! has no extensions and is not free. On the other hand, Wp and Joomla has extensions and is free.
People choose SBI! because they want the hand-holding on how to make money with their content. Joomla and WordPress cannot touch SBI! when it comes to functionality like extensions/plugins but that’s only part of building a successful site. Some people value the education, but I certainly wish SBI! would start incorporating WordPress as an option into their training.
Let’s face it. SBI! cannot TOUCH WordPress or Joomla when it comes to functionality. That’s not even a question. But some people value the education and step by step video training that SBI! provides you for building a content business. The extensions are only half the equation of building a business online. Having said that, I am looking forward to SBI! stepping up the design aspect of the product. They also have their version of extensions — it’s just not an open-source platform like WordPress or Joomla so developers can’t build for it.
I first heard about SBI through your website. I started a small home based gift basket business. I want to put up a website showing my designs. I’m going to need a shopping cart along with paypal for my online store. Do think SBI isthe right program for me. I’m a beginner at this and will need someone to hold my hand through the process of setting up my website.
Hi I honestly have no experience using SBI! for an ecommerce website. So maybe someone who has used it for that can chime in. I’m not quite sure how detailed their “ecommerce” part of the training is to be very honest. Most people who use SBI! have content websites. Although that’s not to say there aren’t some successful ecommerce ones.
It has been a long time since I last commented on this blog. I made the mistake of starting a second site before the first one was paying for itself, when I couldn’t afford to run two at once. The result was that I had to choose and I decided to sell my first site. So I just have the one now and I just want to say that after 18 months, this site is finally paying for itself! I am still using the monthly subscription, but I am making just enough with Adsense to cover that subscription. This is awesome to me, as it means I can start another site and keep this one going. I think SBI is a great program, worth every penny, so long as you follow the Action Guide!! This is where people go wrong – they have an idea for a site, buy SBI because their sites get high rankings, but think they can carry on and build their sites without following the instructions. Then they fail, and try to blame SBI. The instructions, i.e. the Action Guide, is not there to pad out the program; it is there to show you how to make it work.
Never used SB guess WP features is best anyways.
I agree with tavendido, WordPress all the way
I hate Site Build It! It has not got same features as WP and WP is lot cheaper and user convenient than it.
Is there a way to try it before you buy it?
No, but they have a 90-day guarantee.
I can’t understand why anyone would expect SBI to have the same features as WordPress. They are two entirely different programs, they do not resemble one another in any way, shape or form, so why do people keep comparing them. There are hundreds of web design programs out there – what is this big deal about WordPress? Personally, I found WordPress very complicated and it is not free when you have to pay for hosting as well. I keep hearing how SBI is $299 and WordPress is free – it isn’t. If SBI did have the same features as WordPress, I for one would not be using it. It is far more valuable to a beginning. The 90 day money back guarantee is genuine; I have used it myself on my first go when I realised I had chosen completely the wrong topic. Refund with absolutely no quibble and almost immediate. It is perfectly safe to give it a try and you have the monthly option.
I agree 100%, Margaret. Comparing WordPress (WP) to SBI! is like comparing a hammer to a saw. Both useful tools, but both two entirely different tools. I’m convinced that anyone who doesn’t see that has not used both of them; SBI! is a system – a business building process with all the tools, and WordPress is a platform. Now don’t get me wrong – I have plenty of WP sites and I quite like the tool, but if you don’t already know to earn income online, WP won’t do a darn thing for you. And WP is not cheap – if for example, you want to build something that looks decent you need to buy templates and/or hire a designer. And many of the best plugins cost money.
The other thing that I find confusing is that so many people trying to earn some sort of a living from the Internet fail to put a dollar value on their time. Sure, WP is free, and hosting can be had for $5/month, but you still need to learn how to build a web business. Any kid in grade 5 can build a web site, but building a web business – a web site that generates revenue – is a different matter. SBI! shows you how to do this for less than $30/month. How much time are you going to waste trying to find a system that works, and how many mistakes and set backs are you going to have before you find success? Surely that is worth $25/month – because that is the real value of SBI!.
Thanks I have a host in mind but wanted to make sure I was going the right way and SBI sounded interesting. They have all the eCommerce I need.
I know everything and every company you affiliate with is legitimate, Lisa. You continue to do an amazing job of keeping us inspired. Thank you for just being you!
Hi Lisa,
I have use SiteSell for 8 months now, the results are quite good in terms of traffic. I have now aound 500 uniques/day and I have not made almost any effort with social media, so I could have easily around 1000/day at the end of the first year.
For me the worst is the awful design and templates, those are like 2007 designs. The forums are excellent and people there are really helpful. Once I have done my first business using Sitesell and have learned, I prefer to use WordPress and make things easier. But if I had to start again without any knowledge I’d use Sitesell again.
Regards
Pedro
Pedro, you should switch over to BB2 – really awesome design system. No more ancient templates!
Yep agree. A couple of weeks ago someone tweeted me their SBI! site and it was one of the best BB2 designs I’ve seen. I was a little down on them at first but they appear to be getting better.
I’m not a great fan of Site Build It! I like many more WP.
Hello,
You are doing a brilliant job and point of mentioning the “same advertisement color as that of links” works for me.
I am not getting much revenue, still happy to get reasonable traffic from my blogs.
I am thankful of you
I truly appreciate this post.The design of the home is very beautiful. I am very lucky to be able to come to see your weblog.Keep up the good work.
Um, little voices? Care to share something substantial that brings you to this conclusion? There is absolutely nothing “wrong” or unethical about Site Build It! or the services offered by SiteSell. That’s not to say it’s the right tool for you; it may not be. To say it is without knowing what you are trying to accomplish or what your skill sets are… well, it would be irresponsible.
But blanket statements like this one, unsupported by anything concrete, make me wonder if the voices are a result of a couple of missed doses.
How can a system that offers a fast, no questions asked money back guarantee possibly be a scam? That just makes no sense whatsoever. A scam is something that takes your money and offers nothing in return, with no refunds. Anyone who thinks SBI is a scam, asked yourself this: Why are there members with four or five SBI sites? Why come back to the same system time and time again if it is not giving you value for money? That would be stupid and if you are stupid, then obviously you will not appreciate SBI – you will not understand the action guide nor the finer points that make it work.
Anyone who says they do not like something they have never tried, is ignorant. They look at the price and think they are oh, so clever for choosing something cheaper. Like everything else in this life, you get what you pay for.
Paul, this appears to be a spammer. I just got this exact same comment on another post. Very clever too because they used my name in the comment so I thought it was legit at first. I will be deleting it.