Site Build It! (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Site Build It!

[jamestl2]

I like your last point you make in the post:

I know… I’m evil, but it’s a good kind of evil.

[Brutha]

I think that post was better than your first about Site Built It. You said from the beginning that the point of the post is to advertise Site Built It.

[seeker5]

Good Topic Header and Introduction

[dezzo]

just what I needed to know... I was very curious about this site

[owls8521]

Just so people know... there is a 10 MB per file limit when using Site Build It. You can have an unlimited number of files, but you can't upload files larger than 10 MB. I didn't find this information on their site, but it was told to me as an answer to a question I asked. I thought that was pretty limiting.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by owls8521

Just so people know... there is a 10 MB per file limit when using Site Build It. You can have an unlimited number of files, but you can't upload files larger than 10 MB. I didn't find this information on their site, but it was told to me as an answer to a question I asked. I thought that was pretty limiting.

That would be a deal killer for me if I were unable to upload media files for my sites.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Gene

That would be a deal killer for me if I were unable to upload media files for my sites.

Hmmm. A 10 MB file means roughly a 10 minute mp3. That does seem a little limiting, however it wouldn't bother me as I have no intention to produce an mp3 or a video. Alternatively, with youtube and other hosting situations, wouldn't it be possible to store your big media files elsewhere while using your site with SBI to link to them?

[Laetitia]

Thank you Steve for your detailed articles on SBI. As I really trust your advices, it really made me want to become a member.
My question is : is SBI available in other langages ? (french for example) ? Or should I consider writing my site in englich ? And what about a double langage site (enter french, enter englich)...would that be possible on SBI ?

No need to say I need an answer before the 22d of februar

Good luck with the book.
You can count on me buying it.

[Steve Pavlina]

I don't know about non-English sites, but I heard they've been translating their sales pages, so I'd imagine they'd welcome such customers.

The best place to ask is via their questions form. People tell me they're really good about providing detailed answers.

[firefly]

Does anyone see an account log-in page? I've found log-ins for the forums and tools, but not for my account itself. I ask because when I ordered it didn't mention anything about getting 15 months as opposed to 12 months and I want to make sure Steve's link/tag was processed correctly.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by firefly

Does anyone see an account log-in page? I've found log-ins for the forums and tools, but not for my account itself. I ask because when I ordered it didn't mention anything about getting 15 months as opposed to 12 months and I want to make sure Steve's link/tag was processed correctly.

You should get a welcome email with your login info and all the details you need to get started. Make sure it didn't end up in your spam filter.

They have to manually add the 3 bonus months, since this was a custom deal they did for us and not one of their standard promotions. Basically they scan for my affiliate code once a day and then upgrade those accounts. So I'd give it a day or two to kick in. If for any reason you don't get the bonus time, just drop me an email with your account info, and I'll make sure you get it!

Again, the best place to ask them anything is their questions form.

[firefly]

Thanks so much Steve! I was rushing to get my order in since the Valentine's Day discount is going to expire while I'm at work today and I panicked a bit when I didn't see the extra months added. I'll just sit tight and check on it in a few days. No worries.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by firefly

Thanks so much Steve! I was rushing to get my order in since the Valentine's Day discount is going to expire while I'm at work today and I panicked a bit when I didn't see the extra months added. I'll just sit tight and check on it in a few days. No worries.

I'm curious - why the impetus to get the V-Day extra? Wouldn't you want to first try it out with one subscription before adding another?

[Steve Pavlina]

I think one reason the Valentine's Day special is doing well is that the whole thing is covered by their money-back guarantee. It saves you $200 if you were going to make a 2nd site anyway. Almost half the people signing up via my links are getting the special.

A lot of people don't immediately jump into two sites of their own, but they get one for a child or significant other as a gift. Then they can build their sites together and share ideas as they go along.

Building online businesses as a couple is a great bonding experience. While I was building up Dexterity Software, Erin was buildng VegFamily. She sold her site about a year ago, but it's still online in mostly the same form. These were totally different businesses, so we couldn't really share traffic, but we were able to share ideas. I made most of my income from direct product sales while hers came from advertising and affiliate sales. Both businesses were profitable and covered all our expenses for years. And they were pretty easy to maintain.

I've been told that most SBI customers have multiple sites. Even their existing customers snap up these specials when they come around. Since every site becomes an income-generating vehicle, it's a long-term investment for the owner. If you can get a site for $100 instead of $299, even if it only brings in a trickle like $50/month, you're making money, especially if you can just let it sit there for years.

[Brutha]

Do you know how much people who sign up for one year, also sign up for another year after the first year is over?

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Do you know how much people who sign up for one year, also sign up for another year after the first year is over?

Yes, I do. I also know the figure for the 3rd year and beyond. I didn't share that publicly though, since it was told to me in a private phone call, and I didn't see it mentioned publicly on their site. I treat that kind of info as confidential, since it could be considered privileged business info.

I'll just say I found their renewal rates impressive and don't have any worries about their long-term customer satisfaction.

Even without knowing the renewal rates, if you consider their business model, it's easy to see they aren't going to be profitable if they just sign people up who quit on them. They need to keep their customers happy, which means they need to get their customers making a profit too, so they'll keep renewing year after year. The longer people stay with them, the more money they make. Their biggest costs are up-front, with the setup, training, and customer support. Once they get someone up and running with a successful site, the ongoing renewals should be mostly profit for them, and the customer is happy too if their site keeps making money.

They also focus heavily on affiliate marketing and referral sales from customers. Their top affiliates are all customers. If they screw their customers, they'd kill their affilate sales, since their best customers would stop recommending them. For better or worse, they've put themselves in a position where they basically have to perform well, or they'd go down pretty hard.

[zeldacheri]

I went and signed up for SBI! based on Steve's first blog post about it and the introductory video on the SBI! site. And I sprung for the Valentine's Day special too, since I also need to build a site for my dad in addition to overhauling my existing site.

I'm currently in Day 3 of the action guide, and am finding the whole process fascinating and challenging. When I initially built my site in 1998, I was a SAHM who taught herself HTML from a book and did all my coding via Windows Notepad. If there were tools for analyzing key word demand and supply in 1998, I certainly didn't know anything about them! Though web technology is now light-years from 1998, I've not had the time or inclination to keep pace. I knew my site needed a complete redesign and re-focusing, I just didn't want to have to get into the technology. So I let it languish, unloved and minimally maintained for the past several years.

When I read Steve's post about SBI! it just sounded right for me, and I'm happy to say that so far it seems like the perfect step for me to have taken. The proof will be later on, of course, but my interest in re-doing the site has been rekindled and I feel much more in control than when I started way back when. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

I'd like to mention, however, that though the steps in the SBI! action guide are divided into "days", the length of a "day" can vary from about 20 minutes for Day 1, to potentially many days for Day 2 and Day 3, depending on the continuity of time devoted and the time needed for a person to find just the right niche and theme for him/her. So people shouldn't imagine that the 10 day program will really only take 10 calendar days -- it could and probably will be significantly longer.

[Brutha]

I treat that kind of info as confidential, since it could be considered privileged business info.

Understandable.

Even without knowing the renewal rates, if you consider their business model, it's easy to see they aren't going to be profitable if they just sign people up who quit on them.

They make pure profit when someone signs up and quits without using up any traffic.

Once they get someone up and running with a successful site,

Yes, the question is: How many people do they get up with a successful site.
I think first year renewel rates are a good metric for that, because the people who get their site up and running will renew. People who won't get their site up and running probably won't renew.

[wulph]

Originally Posted by Brutha

They make pure profit when someone signs up and quits without using up any traffic.

Not really. They seem to have a pretty comprehensive guarantee, including 100% refund within 30 days or prorated based on portion of year thereafter.

---

I signed up today based on Steve's recommendation and reviews, as well as the $100 special. The first thing I've noticed is that the videos are EXCRUCIATINGLY slow. I really wish they had a Playback Speed slider! Also, the action guide is full of marketing fluff, which makes it difficult for me to stay focused on the material. Fortunately, there's also a textual version, which makes it easier to keep pace. I am finding it effective to watch the video, then read the corresponding text.

Without Steve's review, I wouldn't have considered this service. The main pages seem too "sales-ish" and I felt like they were trying too hard to get me to buy, without giving me any real information. Buzzwords and exclamation points and catch phrases aplenty, though.

Thanks, Steve, for exposing the real value here. Your no-nonsense "what to expect" sections were much more helpful in making this decision.

One more thing: The introductory material leads you to believe that you're 10 days away from profit. In reality, a "day" is a variable length of time, and it could take you much longer than 10 days to complete the steps!

[Gene]

Originally Posted by seeker5

Hmmm. A 10 MB file means roughly a 10 minute mp3. That does seem a little limiting, however it wouldn't bother me as I have no intention to produce an mp3 or a video. Alternatively, with youtube and other hosting situations, wouldn't it be possible to store your big media files elsewhere while using your site with SBI to link to them?

I am sure it would be possible to store the files somewhere else and link to them. It might also be possible to FTP them to the server the software uses and then just point to it with the software.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Yes, the question is: How many people do they get up with a successful site.

You'd be surprised -- it's a lot.

They list some of their successes on this results page, including the sites' URLs, screen shots, and Alexa rankings. These are just some that made it into the top 1% traffic-wise. It's a very long page.

Make no mistake -- it's still going to require effort to make an SBI site successful. But they do offer a pretty clear process to get there.

[Brutha]

They list some of their successes on this results page, including the sites' URLs, screen shots, and Alexa rankings.

That shows that there are people who uy the service that succeed, but it gives me no information about how many of the people who sign up succeed.

I usually put no trust into testimonials that are given out by the firm that sells a product because they often aren't representive.

By the way, how long does your deal with the 3 additional months hold, is it a time limited opportunity?