How to Build a Successful Online Business (Blog)

[WanderingOak]

Well, I have to say that SBI is more than likely not for me, mainly because it is so expensive compared to other hosting solutions. While you do have to 'spend money to make money', their pitch sounds just a bit too slick. Besides, I don't like how their site hijacked Firefox a few minutes ago, closing all of my windows and tabs when I tried to take their 'Quick Tour'. I definitely don't want any website that I am associated with being so rude as that...

[Niki]

I think that, if you are complaining about the product advertisement at the end of the post, you are missing the information at the beginning of the post

[Kent F]

Thanks Steve for your reserach. Interesting points made here. I've looked at SBI several times - and frankly, the $300 price tag for what you're actually getting seems like a great deal for affiliates, and an ok price for the customer, but I certainly have no problem with a recommendation.

C'mon folks - Steve is not twisting anyone's arm via some MLM tactic here.

I will say it is encouraging that Ken's daughter appears to have successfully monetized a site that really is not that attractive and appears quite old fashioned to me. It's an old two column style, with massive amounts of empty space on the right. But, clearly it is a successful site.

As a trained real estate analyst, I've spent a decade trying to figure out why attitude is 95% of a successful real estate venture. It makes absolutely no sense - none - yet it is so true. Why in the world will 95% that purchase the Carlton Sheets course and actually work and apply his methods fail? I don't know - but they do.

Kent F.

[anna]

I have recently seen a book on how to raise children to be successful in business based ontheir interests and hobbies. The book is entitled Young Bucks and the content is related to some of the comments on Steve's daughter as an artist. I am inspired by parents who promote the vision of their children. Thanks Steve for often writing articles that make my world stick together like a good pair of spanx!

[seeker5]

I've been spending a lot of time checking the SBI site. I just finished reading a free 44 page ebook by the founder. It was very interesting.

I also did a quick search for "Ken Envoy Sucks" (The founder of the site), and "Build It Sucks", and "sitesell.com sucks" and didn't find any pages, unlike say with "dell sucks".

Seems to me that SBI is more then just doing all the technical stuff, but also about teaching its website owners all the aspect of the non-technical stuff about building a website. So it's not just "don't worry about the technical stuff", it's also a "here's how to do all the non-technical stuff to building an online business" too. I like that aspect because it makes it more like a business course, and at $299 it's cheaper then a business class for one semester.

I'm strongly leaning toward trying it out.

ps. I agree with Dan.Linehan and still think Steve's post should have done a clearer introductory paragraph.

[Steve Pavlina]

SBI is indeed a lot like a business course. It includes an Action Guide as well as video tutorials to teach people how to run an online business profitably. In fact, several universities teach courses using SBI, including the University of Arizona. This allows business students (such as in an MBA program) to get practical experience building an online business without needing to become expert technologists.

I agree the SBI website is a bit funky in its design. The simple reason it looks the way it does is that they do extensive A/B split testing to find the most effective layout, and they haven't yet topped their current design. People tend to spend a lot of time on their site reading and checking them out before making a buying decision. SBI isn't an impulse purchase, since it requires people to consider whether they want to start their own online business.

Not sure if anyone here bothered to check, but the Alexa rank for their site is 999, so they're in the top 1K websites. This is a really popular service used by a lot of people. Their web traffic is way higher than mine.

After sending out my last newsletter, I got some email replies from a few readers who've been long-time SBI customers. They all said it was great. One person told me he regretted not telling me about it two years ago but that he was glad to see me tell others about it.

[JohnR]

Seeker5,

SBI is a good choice for those that do not want to learn what is needed, to do it themselves.

Many hosting services though (BlueHost for instance) typically have web site builder programs and one click installs of Wordpress, along with some limited SEO information. Their charge is about $84 per year for unlimited domains per account (you only have one with SBI), plus many options not offered by SBI.

For the extra $200 or so dollars per year, SBI offers a step by step as-you-go education on doing things right from the beginning. So that is what you are paying for. Can you get this education somewhere else? Sure you can--for free, everywhere on the web; you just have to be willing to seek it out. If you go with SBi, just be sure you are doing it for the right reasons, and it is worth the price to you.

Ciao,
John
Landscape Paintings of British Columbia - John Rocheleau

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by JohnR

For the extra $200 or so dollars per year, SBI offers a step by step as-you-go education on doing things right from the beginning. So that is what you are paying for. Can you get this education somewhere else? Sure you can--for free, everywhere on the web; you just have to be willing to seek it out.

Yeah, I've thought of that too. I tend to prefer to get my information from the best source I trust then scattered from all over. Which is why I tend to read Steve's blog and forum predominately instead of scattering myself all over trying to figure out who would be good or not and going through substandard advice to find a few gems.

I notice that when I read personal development books, one great book would help me much more then 15 substandard books.

If you go with SBi, just be sure you are doing it for the right reasons, and it is worth the price to you.

What are the right reasons?

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by seeker5

What are the right reasons?

The right reason that I was implying is: that you require or desire the first-time help in setting up a site in the right manner to encourage traffic and income. I say "first time" help, because once you learn this, you won't need that step by step help anymore (Just my own opinion).

So if getting that initial guidance is worth the yearly fee, then it's a good deal for you. On the other hand, if you feel comfortable sourcing out and judging the quality of information to bring yourself up to speed, then you can get more technical features with other hosts, and more flexibility in web site platform choices and functionality than you will with SBI.

They are a great choice for some, and a limiting choice as well as a waste of money for others. Just find the fit for you is all I mean to say.

Good luck with that,
John

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by seeker5

What are the right reasons?

If someone wants a great support system to advocate for their site, with a community centric focus on building traffic.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by JohnR

The right reason that I was implying is: that you require or desire the first-time help in setting up a site in the right manner to encourage traffic and income.

Ah ok, that's one reason why I'm inclined to try them out. At least I'll get some kind of education I can use later on.

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

If someone wants a great support system to advocate for their site, with a community centric focus on building traffic.

And that's another reason I'm attracted to trying it out. I like the idea of trying this out with a support system of people doing the exact same thing. I like how on this forum we're helping each other grow, and I hope on that website it's the same thing, except instead of growing ourselves, we grow our business. I don't want to be a lone wolf trying this out.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

In fact, several universities teach courses using SBI, including the University of Arizona. This allows business students (such as in an MBA program) to get practical experience building an online business without needing to become expert technologists.

I saw that and I thought that was cool, considering I'm applying to start MBA school in August! I could do this now and get some training before I start my MBA.

[levelek]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

What some see as an ugly web site, I see as someone going after their dreams. A trickle of income from a basic site and an ugly URL may mean that there's a work-at-home-mom that gets to spend more time with her kids instead of working at a clerical job she hates. Every ugly web site has a real person behind it, doing their best to grow.

This sounds really lovely... and somewhat in contrast with the ebook you linked to. I do find the "I don't suffer fools gladly, so I will FIRE you if you appear in any way substandard" approach (they actually used the word "fire!" rather offputting, especially when flung in the face of potential customers. There's no need to be fluffy or to project forced politeness, but there is also no need to inflict general insults on the world. At the best, that appears a machoistic approach that is pretty dumb on its own right.

Also, I agree that the site is really not well designed, at least aesthetically - I am sure all the hidden technical details are a marvel, but if it's hideous to look at I'm still not going to spend any time there, let alone consider parting with my money. It looks like a hangover from the nineties.

[Steve Pavlina]

Here's a tip for those who'd like to get an insider's perspective on SBI without spending a dime.

If you join their affiliate program, which is totally free and only takes a few minutes, I believe you can get access to their members-only forums. So you can browse through the messages to see what their own customers are doing with the service.

There are lots of basic support threads started by new customers who are learning the ropes but also some pretty interesting discussions for experienced members. A couple of active threads to check out if you do pop in:

• "Single best thing you've done to boost traffic?"
• "How we multiplied site donations by 20 - for free!"

[annie]

Ok, so I bought the program 2-3 days ago. I have spent 3-4 hours on it per day and I honestly feel like I'm in a college program! I have learned so much and I'm only about 1/3 of the way through. There are literally hundreds of articles to read (many optional for more information). This has opened up a whole new world for me.

After doing several hours of research on what my site content/theme will be, I think I have that nailed now. Unfortunately, there are 2 other SBI sites that have the same theme....and so now it will come down to good content (and loyal readers) if I want to rank higher in the searches.

Honestly, I have been so impressedd that I went back and asked them if I could still upgrade to the Valentine special (2 for $399 instead of 1 for $299). I'm determined to make this work.

I also feel like this idea fit perfectly under "Personal Development". I feel like I'm learning and growing tremendously. I'm going to learn a ton about website development and writing good content. So in reality....even if i don't make a lot of money the first year....I have still achieved my goal of developing myself "personally".

Watch out Steve...One day I'll be at the top in the niche of "goal setting".... (after they read my articles....they'll scroll down to yours

I'll keep you all posted!

[Amit]

I'm actually quite surprised by the majority of the posts of I've read in response to this article although I haven't read through all of them yet. I didn't think it was an ad at all. I sped read through the post and I took away exactly what I needed to take away in order to apply it to myself. It's funny Steve, whenever you put up a post I've always had it in mind a few days before and this was something that's been on my mind recently. I've also been reading John DeMartini's book: "How to make one hell of a profit and still get to heaven" and everything that Steve said in his post is in total alignment with what's in that book.

As far as I could see Steve was offering realistic concrete strategies that anyone can apply in order to generate more income from blogging. As soon as he had talked about marketing and selling strategies it resonated with me straight away and was totally congruent with any other stuff I've read recently to do with wealth building.

If there's one thing I've learned recently is that you cannot build wealth until you learn to love money. If you see any genuine business venture for making money as a means to part you from your money you've immediately moved yourself away from the mindset or vibration of wealth building.

You don't necessarily have to like the idea, or partake in it, but if you can't appreciate the actual intention behind the idea or the ultimate goal, you set yourself up to repeat the same patterns for the foreseable future.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by annie

I'll keep you all posted!

Yes, please do! It was very interesting reading your post and of your experience.

[Steve Pavlina]

By the way, the Valentine's Day special has been extended for 48 hours more, so it's good until midnight on Feb 16. They decided to do this for everyone, not just for us. I'll probably make a blog post to let others know.

@Annie: I'd email them to ask if you can retroactively apply the Valentine's special. I don't know the answer to that. It wouldn't surprise me if they give it to you.

FYI almost half of the people signing up have taken advantage of the Valentine's special, so it appears to be a popular offering.

[fjlee]

For those who are really strapped for cash, and can only afford the $7 domain registration, I wrote a quick 5 step guide on how to set up a Blog:

How to Setup a Blog or Start a Website for under | SpeedEndurance.com

The beauty of this is your site can be easily imported to a full self-hosted Wordpress Web hosting.

Jimson
Speed endurance . com. Success in Track & Field and Life.

[Kylark]

Despite my kvetching in the first post of this thread, I became very interested in what SBI has to offer. I've been thinking about starting an online business since 2006, but have yet to actually pull the trigger and do something.

After thinking about it for days, and coming up with an idea for a site I think will benefit others through its content, I went ahead and signed up. If SBI does what it promises, it is well worth the price.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Kylark

Despite my kvetching in the first post of this thread, I became very interested in what SBI has to offer. I've been thinking about starting an online business since 2006, but have yet to actually pull the trigger and do something.

After thinking about it for days, and coming up with an idea for a site I think will benefit others through its content, I went ahead and signed up. If SBI does what it promises, it is well worth the price.

Yeah. Join the club of "We joined SBI even though we still think Steve wrote a suxy Introductory Paragraph in his first SBI Post!"

I'm a member of it, so are you, and there are probably a few more members of that club around!

[Mantius]

Originally Posted by Kylark

Despite my kvetching in the first post of this thread, I became very interested in what SBI has to offer. I've been thinking about starting an online business since 2006, but have yet to actually pull the trigger and do something.

After thinking about it for days, and coming up with an idea for a site I think will benefit others through its content, I went ahead and signed up. If SBI does what it promises, it is well worth the price.

Good for you! Congratulations.

[Steve Pavlina]

You'll have plenty of company, since many others from here signed up for SBI too, with more joining every day. I expect we'll hit 200 by the weekend. It's going to be really neat to see how all of you are doing a year from now and what kinds of online businesses you've built.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

You'll have plenty of company, since many others from here signed up for SBI too, with more joining every day. I expect we'll hit 200 by the weekend. It's going to be really neat to see how all of you are doing a year from now and what kinds of online businesses you've built.

200...!!! Wow. Amazing. We'll have our own Steve Pavlina club over there!

So does this mean that it's ok for us to start spamming our website address on here J/K.

$15K from three articles....!!
(of course with tons and tons of hours spent researching this and other alternatives, etc.)

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by seeker5

$15K from three articles....!!
(of course with tons and tons of hours spent researching this and other alternatives, etc.)

I know... it's disgusting.

It gets even worse when you realize they pay lifetime commissions on renewals and repeat sales and well as a percentage of 2nd-tier affiliate commissions (I have 63 sub-affiliates so far).

On the other hand, consider all the wealth and value those hundreds of new businesses will generate -- easily a heck of a lot more.

But you have to also consider the time it took me to write the 700 articles on this site that makes it possible to add an extra income stream like this, not to mention the decade I spent figuring out how to run an online business in the first place, or the many years before that I spent learning computers, programming, writing, personal development, etc. So when taken in that light, I'm really just making about a buck and a quarter an hour.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

You'll have plenty of company, since many others from here signed up for SBI too, with more joining every day. I expect we'll hit 200 by the weekend. It's going to be really neat to see how all of you are doing a year from now and what kinds of online businesses you've built.

Steve, I decided to join the SBI signup crew even though I have an understanding of how to set up a site and make money from it.

I was curious about SBI and rationalized that with the money back promise I could test how easy it would be to tell them it did not meet my needs.

I believe for someone with a desire to try making money on the net with no real experience the process of going through the tutorials and following the instructions make the program valuable. Perhaps worth the price of entry without the other hosting features.

It is the first such package I have seen that teaches about the things which really makes an internet site profitable versus a lot of hype.

This is the impression I have now after playing with the process for three days. I plan on following through with the method they use and actually putting up a live site.

If the site or SBI achieves the goals in a reasonable manner I will admit my first impression of it was wrong. If the SBI process works I will have learned something new and be very pleased with my 30 day trial with SBI.

Thirty day trials are wonderful as they test real world action which have so much more value than mere mental evaluations which so often are the equivalent of delusion.

If not for Steve recommending the product I am sure I would never have been willing to take the test drive and the ensuing 30 day trial. Thanks for encouraging me to push past my preconceived beliefs and experiment.

If the experiment has no benefit for creating an internet business I will also test the money back promise and how easy it is to apply for and receive.

As I type this message this morning I am hoping that I continue to enjoy the process and that I will be able to recommend this product to the many people who ask me, "How can I make money on the internet?"

[Steve Pavlina]

@Gene: Keep in mind that you can even get a pro-rated refund anytime after the first 30 days, so you can try it for 60 days for under $20 or for 90 days for under $40. That's a pretty miniscule risk to get something going, and of course you can keep everything you create and move it to another host if you wish. You also get to keep the domain name you register no matter what. So if you do quit, be sure to snag your free domain at the very least, not to mention all the educational materials.

I agree they do a refreshingly solid job of teaching people what actually works.