Should Steve drop his Site Build It recommendation?

[Savage]

Originally Posted by toban

Reputations are opinions in the minds of others, and when you make poor recommendations, it changes those opinions and hurts your public image (and thus your business, which is intimately tied to your name). Your credibility/integrity is what really drives your sales. As you lose credibility, you lose readers and sales. I bought SBI based on your recommendation because I trusted that you would only promote genuinely valuable products. Now that trust has been irreparably damaged.

Your prediction is inaccurate.

I can run the same disappointment script on you as well. I disagree with you about SBI (in fact, I think you're so mistaken it's ludicrous), and that makes me suspicious of you and your motives because I know it's a good service that produces results. It seems like you have an agenda that really has nothing to do with SBI or sharing the truth... like maybe you're just frustrated with your own lack of progress and looking for someone to blame instead of taking full responsibility for it. Other people have obviously succeeded with SBI, so why the excuses?

We could run silly scripts like that, and I could tell you why you're hurting your reputation with me in a way that makes it hard to trust you... but I prefer to recognize that you're just a mismatch for this service and leave it at that.

You still haven't offered any alternative solutions that teach people how to build an online business and provide all the tools to do so, from concept to marketing to monetization. You've only mentioned other CMS tools like WordPress and Joomla, but that's like telling someone who wants to write a book to just buy a word processor and start typing. Still waiting to hear some genuine alternatives from you...

You see... I tried telling people to use WordPress (and various plug-ins) when they asked me how to create a blog. I did that for years. Then they wrote back and complained that they weren't getting any traffic and weren't making any money. What they really wanted was an online business. They don't know how to do it on their own. They don't even know what they don't know. It's too much to learn. And I don't have an efficient way to educate them. SBI does.

SBI is a great solution for that. It teaches people what they need to know to create an online business, and it actually works for those who follow the steps. Now instead of hearing complaints and endless questions from my WordPress recommendation, people email me to tell me about their successes. It's a no-brainer for me to continue recommending SBI. I'd rather get emails from people who are excited about their results than end up doing tech support for WordPress.

If you're not yet aware, there's recently been a big backlash against SBI among the internet marketing crowd. These are people who know how to rank well in search engines. Whereas before, it was a chore to find negative reviews of SBI, now they're popping up all over and high up in searches. I think this will have a sizable impact on SBI's reputation, sales and future survival. It's a sinking ship, and you'd best get out before it goes under.

Lol.

A backlash simply means that people are frustrated and are looking to vent. Proactive people don't waste time on backlash nonsense.

Of course Internet marketers will trash SBI -- they're competing with it. This is nothing new. They've been doing this for years. In the end they'll raise more awareness about SBI and generate more SBI business, just like they've always done. Meanwhile SBI's own customers will continue evangelizing the heck out of their business because it works. I'm certainly not their top affiliate.

Try Googling a bit and you'll find hundreds of people who've been trashing me online... pretty much going back to when I began blogging. Before that you'll find people who trashed me while I was working in the games industry. A few people have created special websites just to criticize me.

Does this bother me? Nope. They're simply helping to spread the word about my work, just as you're currently promoting SBI by spreading word about it.

Furthermore, I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of providing genuine value to one's readers (which I picked up from you). I could never in clear conscience recommend SBI because I know that I would be doing people a huge disservice. The alternatives are vastly superior--SBI is a huge limit on potential. Like I said in my review, I couldn't be paid to use SBI.

You still haven't mentioned one of those "vastly superior" alternatives yet. All you did was note a few common CMS tools, which can help you get a site online, but it's not going to teach you how to build a business. If you just want to add another WordPress ghost town to the millions that already exist, then yeah, WordPress is all you need.

I gather that your current recommendation amounts to: Use a free CMS tool like WordPress or Joomla, and then figure everything else out on your own (how to build traffic, how to monetize), even though you may not even know what to look for.

Building a site is easy. You can use WordPress to build a site.

Monetizing a site is also easy. Some WordPress plug-ins coupled with Adsense and affiliate programs will get you started there. You won't make any money until you have some traffic though.

The hard part is building traffic. Most people fail utterly at traffic building. Helping people with this part is one of SBI's key strengths.

Out of curiosity, have you successfully done that part yet?

If you're a skilled Internet marketer who already knows how to build an online biz, of course you don't need SBI. I don't need SBI. I already know how to do everything with other tools. But it took me many years and a lot of money to acquire all of that knowledge. I recognize that most people don't have anywhere near my level of knowledge.

I don't run an Internet marketing site. I run a personal development site. I don't attract the same readers that Internet marketers do.

My recommendations are seen by thousands, if not millions, of people. Consequently, I give careful consideration to each recommendation. I recommend SBI because it works. It helps people get results.

Did you know that SBI has a special page on their site just for Work at Home Moms? How many other Internet marketers are addressing the needs of this group?

At the end of the day, that work-at-home mom would simply like to share some of her value with the world and generate some extra income for her family.

Tell a typical WAHM to just use WordPress... yeah, right! Good luck with that! Might work for some, but most will just end up with a ghost town site that no one knows exists.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Kazeko

Thanks for these words, Steve. When I saw your promotional articles, I dismissed them from the beginning, deceived by the name of that product. Now after your words I'm going to reconsider my opinion

I can build a really good website. Not only with Wordpress, but with pure PHP, JavaScript, ASP.NET and after some education, with Silverlight (yes, I'm boasting! ) Name any technology here.

But building an online business is completely a different story.....

I know lots of techie people who can create beautiful, elegant websites...

... that no one visits.

[ArthurHung]

Proactive people don't waste time on backlash nonsense.

This is really interesting to me, how Steve wrote this. Words are just play...

I'm finding that the paradox of this statement, in a wonderful way, is that Steve was able to productively use a "backlash nonsense post" and transform it into a forum post that provided great value.

Reminds me of that Khalil Gibran - The Prophet Line, wise men make the wind sweeter by turning it into music... or something like that

To all the backlash guys, have a great day

[bigadam]

Your reply above was excellent Steve.

I made the mistake of clicking on one of toban's links and was eventually directed to a video of an IMer trashing an SBIers website and the SBIer himself. In the video, the IMer was calling the SBIer a "f***ing noob" and an "idiot" for not knowing how to make real money online. It was a very toxic video followed by many toxic posts rooting the IMer on.

My interactions with the IM community have mostly left me feeling as though I am covered with an oily, greasy residue. I simply don't get that vibe from SBI.

SBI gives a person clear instruction and direction. Many of us need that. If I try to learn Wordpress, Joomla, etc I'll procrastinate and spin my wheels and get NOTHING done in an effort to get it perfect. Or I can follow the step by step progam outlined by SBI.

Toban, I'm new to the internet world and my initial goal is to make just $50 a month online in profit after a year. That's it. That's my gateway to earning more and getting better at internet business. If I can learn to make $50 a month, I can then learn to make $1000, $5000, etc.

[sirkinm]

sp ftw!

[Curtis2011]

Oh man, this thread is sizzling!



I joined SBI! earlier this month and I am thoroughly impressed with it already.

It explains absolutely everything you need to know, step-by-step, on how to create a high-traffic website which you can then leverage in order to create profit.


I think there is a key element involved in all critics of SBI:

Remember, Steve's website is "for smart people" and Site Build It! says that you must have brains and motivation to succeed with it.


Maybe that says something about the people who whine, b-, and complain about it.



Either that, or they just all calibrate below 200! Ha! (that's my bet!)

[sirkinm]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

Either that, or they just all calibrate below 200! Ha! (that's my bet!)

Oh no, not another Power vs. Force aficionado.

I'm a former SBI user -- it wasn't quite up my alley, but I can see how some people would benefit from it. Personally, I don't have a lot of experience or insight in the realm of SEO.

Right now I'm designing a site in SquareSpace (see my signature), which I like a lot. I was reading their manual, and they talk a bit about SEO. What they say seems to contradict the approach of SBI. For example, an excerpt discusses link exchange programs:


While these programs or exchanges may increase the raw number of links to your site, you run an extremely high risk of Google identifying your site as one that participates in exchanges with, or receives links from, low-quality sites. Google (and presumably, other engines) will use these links the opposite of the way they use valid links to your site -- decreasing your rankings further.


These guys don't seem to be experts in the area of SEO, but if what they're saying is correct, it appears that Google is keen on the tactics used by SBI and other SEO methods. I have no interest in bad-mouthing SBI, but I would appreciate any insight into the current state of SEO.

[dwixi]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

Oh man, this thread is sizzling!



I joined SBI! earlier this month and I am thoroughly impressed with it already.

It explains absolutely everything you need to know, step-by-step, on how to create a high-traffic website which you can then leverage in order to create profit.


I think there is a key element involved in all critics of SBI:

Remember, Steve's website is "for smart people" and Site Build It! says that you must have brains and motivation to succeed with it.

If that was said in any other post it would be deleted saying it's a personal attack on people ssyingvthey were stupid and unmotivated.
Seeing as it helps promote sbi I don't think this will be deleted

Maybe that says something about the people who whine, b-, and complain about it.



Either that, or they just all calibrate below 200! Ha! (that's my bet!)

[Rebecca800]

Originally Posted by sirkinm

While these programs or exchanges may increase the raw number of links to your site, you run an extremely high risk of Google identifying your site as one that participates in exchanges with, or receives links from, low-quality sites. Google (and presumably, other engines) will use these links the opposite of the way they use valid links to your site -- decreasing your rankings further.

These guys don't seem to be experts in the area of SEO, but if what they're saying is correct, it appears that Google is keen on the tactics used by SBI and other SEO methods. I have no interest in bad-mouthing SBI, but I would appreciate any insight into the current state of SEO.

SBI recommends you gain links from sites with high Page Ranks to avoid this exact problem. SBI also encourages links between related sites, because they appear more natural to Google and add more value for the reader. Both SBI and your source agree on the idea of avoiding low quality link farms and automated link programs -- and instead aiming for genuine, high quality links in. I believe this is an important element of traffic building.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Stop bashing Steve about SBI. He believes it's a useful product. That doesn't mean it's going to work for you, but it will probably work for a good amount of people. Some people won't get good results from it. You shouldn't blame Steve, but blame SBI and ask for a refund because this is not the product for you. Him recommending one product that you don't like shouldn't change your opinion of Steve, just that one particular product didn't work for you. Am I to disown Steve becuase Photoreading didn't work for me? No. So why say that SBI is going to destroy his reputation?

Remember that you and you alone are ultimately responsible for your actions. If you chose to join SBI at someone else's recommendation, it is still your battle to fight. If you don't like it, ask for a refund. What's so hard about that?

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by sirkinm

Oh no, not another Power vs. Force aficionado.

I'm a former SBI user -- it wasn't quite up my alley, but I can see how some people would benefit from it. Personally, I don't have a lot of experience or insight in the realm of SEO.

Right now I'm designing a site in SquareSpace (see my signature), which I like a lot. I was reading their manual, and they talk a bit about SEO. What they say seems to contradict the approach of SBI. For example, an excerpt discusses link exchange programs:


While these programs or exchanges may increase the raw number of links to your site, you run an extremely high risk of Google identifying your site as one that participates in exchanges with, or receives links from, low-quality sites. Google (and presumably, other engines) will use these links the opposite of the way they use valid links to your site -- decreasing your rankings further.


These guys don't seem to be experts in the area of SEO, but if what they're saying is correct, it appears that Google is keen on the tactics used by SBI and other SEO methods. I have no interest in bad-mouthing SBI, but I would appreciate any insight into the current state of SEO.

I'm not offering an opinion on SBI, but what you linked to is correct.

Google is against paid links, as well as any link exchanges. Paid links usually won't hurt your site, but Google will refuse to count them in calculating the rank of your site.

The best way of building links is to write valuable content that people want to link to. The more organic links you have through such methods, the better rank you'll have.

That's really what it comes down to. I don't know what methods SBI uses, so can't comment if it works or not.

[Angela Leeds]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I think there is a key element involved in all critics of SBI:

Remember, Steve's website is "for smart people" and Site Build It! says that you must have brains and motivation to succeed with it.


Maybe that says something about the people who whine, b-, and complain about it.



Either that, or they just all calibrate below 200! Ha! (that's my bet!)

Well... I think we can be supportive of SBI and the people who use it without insulting those that choose not to use it...

I agree that SBI provides an excellent structure and education for someone who doesn't know how to build a site that drives traffic, and who isn't likely to get up to speed on that fast enough to be profitable without help. If SBI would update their site builder to be more fluid, and with some more contemporary templates, I think SBI would be a no-brainer for the price for many people.

I'm not tech-savvy and had no experience building sites, and knew nothing about SEO or anything else that would enable me to build a successful online business, so I thought SBI would be an excellent choice. Turns out it's not the right fit for me, but I'm sure there are those for whom it's a god-send.

I find it a puzzle, tho, that when SBIers voice legitimate problems with their experience of SBI that they are often attacked as "whiners & complainers". It's a strange phenomenon. And a puzzle, because the concerns voiced are quite legitimate.

Anyway, to each his own. And it's Steve's site... he can promote whatever the heck he wants to. I'm not sure why its anyone else's business whether he should continue to promote the product or not...

[Angela Leeds]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

The best way of building links is to write valuable content that people want to link to. The more organic links you have through such methods, the better rank you'll have.

That's really what it comes down to. I don't know what methods SBI uses, so can't comment if it works or not.

Part of the core wisdom of SBI is that content rules, so yes, SBI is all about developing great content. This was a very attractive aspect of the product for me, because it's focusing on building something solid that will endure & deliver.

Of course, one can use that premise to build an online business with or without SBI.

[Chris Busch]

Angela, speaking of content, I visited your sites and was really impressed with the amount of content you've been producing. I'm curious how your monetization is going.

[Angela Leeds]

Originally Posted by Chris Busch

Angela, speaking of content, I visited your sites and was really impressed with the amount of content you've been producing. I'm curious how your monetization is going.

Thank you, Chris.

Well, bear in mind that the main site is barely two weeks old...it practically still has its umbilical cord attached, lol.

I have a "superfoods resource center" I'm getting ready to launch, and that will involve an excellent monetized feature, on top of providing great up-to-date info. I have a few other things planned but it takes time.

I'm doing something I haven't seen elsewhere - I'm creating not just a "niche" content site, but a "niche bundle" site, 4 distinct blogs within one domain, all related. So I can drive traffic to each blog, and the traffic can cross-pollinate because the 4 niches are all related interests. Only 2 blogs are launched at the moment for that site.

Whoops...sorry.
/hijack...

[Angela Leeds]

Originally Posted by bigadam

Toban, I'm new to the internet world and my initial goal is to make just $50 a month online in profit after a year. That's it. That's my gateway to earning more and getting better at internet business. If I can learn to make $50 a month, I can then learn to make $1000, $5000, etc.

Your steadfast patience is extraordinary!

I am quite the opposite. I must say, I'm more a "quantum leap" sorta chica.

Course, there's a price to pay for that. Few people would throw themselves into the work & study schedule that I adhere to. I have absorbed probably years' worth of learning in less than two months' time.

That's the reason why someone with no experience like myself could do well with SBI - it does take a tremendous amount of work & learning, as Steve has described, to build a viable online business. And I have yet to earn a penny.