SBI questions

[BigDan]

Last month I lost my SIXTH job in a year and a half. Mannn don't know what's wrong with me but I'm getting the feeling working for someone else is not going to work out too well for me. I think I need to start looking at other options - part time for now but it'd be great if this could become a fulltime venture at some point.

I'm thinking of starting my exploration with SBI. But first I need to ask some questions. Before doing that I should explain where I'm coming from, else I might sound quite anal.

I did a free internet marketing course called The Challenge, which is supposedly pretty great. After spending a significant amount of time on it I asked online how people were benefiting from it financially. I didn't really get any proper responses but then finally saw some answers here and there, and saw that people were making like $10 / year. Yet they kept saying this program is great etc etc. Soo I want to ask RESULTS oriented questions to see if this is something I'm willing to commit to.

Oh and one more thing - I realize for everything I ask everyones results vary. I get that. I'm just trying to get a very rough estimate.

Sooo 1/ I'd like to know what the time investment is. And how you're quantifying the time (ie time to study the course, time to get your first site up, time to start making money).
2/ If you feel comfortable it'd be great if you could share some financial stats ie how much you're making now, or were making last year or whatever. This is at you comfort level, not necessary.
3/ If you have an idea it'd be great to know how long it took you to make your first $1/$10/$100 etc.


Sorry for the excessive questioning, just need to know if I should be looking here or other sources. The next few months will be valuable and I need to make sure what I'm spending my time on is in line with what my goals are - not what others think MIGHT help me with these goals. Soo again, how long and how much.


Best,
Dan

[geniegal]

Hi I have an SBI site, and a couple more that I let go of.

1 - time investment - depends how much you know about websites etc. also if you have any knowledge of html...SBI has a sitebuilder tool that lets non techies build websites. This looks basic but I jazzed mine up with a banner I got done (see my site Toddler Ideas: Your Parenting Survival Kit!)

Basically when I started I knew Nothing anfd spent loads of time on it.


2 - financially not a great deal - but the reason is that I set up a site where people look without necessarily wanting to buy. If you have a topic that people will want to spend money on even after looking at the site, you could make a good living. There are lots that do. As a rookie I read all the stuff about 'go with your passion' and I don't think there was really much business advice there. SBI sell themselves on helpiong you build a real authentic value giving site...that's all very well but if you don't have any biz experience you could end up giving and not making any money.

I make money from adsense and my ebook. Ebook sales are about 1 a week now and there is lots I can do to improve that like put a video on the sales page.


3 - can't remember - a few months?



SBI is great for holding your hand on your first website - eg its easy to set up your mailshots, lots of help in the forums, good for teaching you the basics. downside is that - if you use the non techie sitebuilder tool - your site will look a bit primitive.

My latest site I am using wordpress for and I'm really happy with that. It may be that the knowledge you have gained already makes SBI unneccessary for you

what is your idea for your website? That is such an important thing to consider

[Tarzansjane]

Hi BigDan

Here's some words of wisdom, if you want to try SBI.

First, do your own brainstorming session and write down every topic you can think of for which you have extensive knowledge. No matter how boring or unknown, write down each topic. You never know what topic could be profitable if you don't check.

Next, I would read the Action Guide all the way through once, before starting. That way you will know what you're looking for when you research and won't waste time doing a step wrong by thinking you know where you're going with things, when you actually have the wrong idea.

Then, run the numbers on each of the niches on your list. Really, really look for monetization options to figure out if your concept is monetizable. Realize that highly monetizable niches are going to be very competitive. They may or may not be winnable as some niches are so saturated, you won't see the light of day. Or you'll have to work so hard for so long, you may give up before you make it. If you really do the study and understand what you're doing and why, you'll know what you're getting yourself into. Some people bite off more than they can chew and give up without seeing success. Others bite too small and get where they're going quickly, but income is limited.

Realize there are sometimes ways to put a unique spin on a highly profitable niche, so be prepared to get creative. SBI provides all the tools you need, but you have to use judgment and brains to apply those tools. The tools empower you, they don't do your work for you.

That said, it took a year for me to start making money from my first SBI site. Why? Because I was learning as I was going. Then it took another year for that amount to become decent. (Things build over time.) Now I have nearly passive income from my site that far outweighs the annual fee.

Since then I have begun several other SBI sites. Each of the others pays for itself and generates much more income than the cost.

I will not tell you that you make money off the bat, although some people have. But I will tell you, there's nothing better than having a site that grows on its own and brings in steady income, month after month, after the hard work has already been done. That's my situation, anyway.

[Tarzansjane]

Hi BigDan

I'm not sure if you're still considering this, but thought you would like to know -

I just found out that SBI is running a 2 for 1 special. Buy one, get one free, in other words. Some people go in together on these specials and split the package with a friend, others start a site, then have 7 mos (I believe) to start the second.

At any rate, these specials are rare and I thought it would be nice if you knew about it. That is, if you're still watching this thread.

Good luck to you!

[BigDan]

Hey thanks a lot, appreciate it

I've heard of these 2 for 1 specials. In early 2009 I saw a very special $100 for the package, which I guess has kinda spoilt me But even the paying monthly option is quite decent.

Can you tell me about your experience w/ the program?

Best, Dan

[Gewyne]

I signed up for SBI back in 2008/2009 when I thought I would be made redundant from a previous job, I was kept on however and did not get the site up and running.

One thing I did do was go through the action guide, brainstorming and monetizing sections. I also read the forums (I think the best forums I have seen anywhere for information and advice - I may even sub just to get access to them again).

The SBI guide got my mind racing, and made things seem much more doable. I have now gone down the Wordpress route, but I do often feel that it would be great to be able to tap into the knowledge base they have over there to ask some questions.

For the initial costs I think it is good value, it is a great resource, teaching tool.

[BigDan]

Interesting comment Gewyne. I've suspected that it might be beneficial for me to go thru the action guide even if I don't do this, just because I hear its quite good at helping you find what you like to do. Is that accurate?

If so and you're interested in purchasing a subscription, if they still have this 2 for 1 thing I'd consider it if you like. It would have to be the month to month thing not the one time cost and I may just leave it after a month or two if I don't like it, but there it is.

The action guide is a 10 day program right? I'm imagining its quite a chore to get thru, is that accurate?

[azmat]

Hey BigDan,
Here is what I think you should reasonably expect from SBI.
1. It all depends on the type of niche you choose. I use SBI and I have seen several times on forums where someone has thousands of visitors a day and they are making a few hundred dollars a day. These same people are upset because at that traffic level they thought they would be making a lot more.

The reason these people are not making more is because they chose a niche that wouldn't generate the type of income they wanted or had unrealistic expectations.

Before you decide on choosing SBI, figure out how much money do you want to make per month. Then I would suggest figuring out how you will actually make that money. For example, which specific affiliate programs will you use, private advertising, contextual advertising etc. (if you don't know, SBI teaches you this). I would also suggest you give yourself a moderate conversion rate on your traffic (1% is a good start). So if you have a 1000 people come to your site, expect 10 people to actually do the things that will make you money.

2. You have to be patient. It took me a little over a year to break $100/month. But that's also because there were a lot of things I didn't know, I didn't really focus on the site as much, different monetization schemes etc. Plus I wasn't really focused on making money the first year. My goal was to grow traffic, traffic, traffic.

Monetizing a site is a skill set too. And if you focus on monetizing a site too early, you will not be focused on increasing traffic (which leads to monetizing). This is what SBI teaches you. I am very happy that I didn't focus on money because I knew I wouldn't be getting the results I wanted. This will certainly vary by your niche and you background, but I would say expect a year before you get good to great results.

It has been just over 2 years since I joined SBI, (less than 2 years since my site launched) and I am now making real progress every month. I have begun to make will 4 figures over the past few months and I am sure this will continue to grow from now on. I also worked perhaps 10 hours on my site this month. So that really is passive income

Like Steve says, it will take time but that time will pass anyway. So you want to spend that time developing the right skills. SBI teaches you the right skills.

If you really want to make money online, you should consider trying it. Worst case you realize it's not for you. SBI gives you a money back guarantee and prorates your subscription. So there's no financial reason to stop you from trying it. Plus if it doesn't work, you will know for yourself and you can cross it off your list and then move on to the next thing. At least this way you will be making progress instead of going back and forth in your mind and not seeing any real world results. I hope that helps. Best of luck.

[meghufree]

I started work on my SBI site in July 2009.

Name: Genuine, Practical Personal Development For You and Me

Income: About $28 a month (all from Adsense)

Hours spent - About 4 hours a week on an average since July 2009.

Articles written - 149

Visitors - About 500 a day

I however feel I haven't explored monetization much. It is now after 2 years that I am exploring affiliate marketing and other monetization options. However, I am still very positive about my site and one day aim to work on it full time and quitting my job.

Site Build It! has been very very supportive - with its keyword tools, forums, loads of articles, action guide and what not.

[Johnny Metal]

"Hell-bent on Making Life Interesting "

You rock! I salute you all the way from another continent.