How I made a website about Windows XP...... and why you need a website, too!
This page is a continuation of my About Me page. I never thought that page would have such an impact. When I first paid for the license to use SBI I really didn't know what I was getting for $29.99 per month. I was hoping I would at least get to build a website. After I built this website, I soon realized I was doing more than just building a website. It's kind of like looking at the tip of the iceberg. The more of the iceberg becomes visible the more you see what's underneath. What I'm hoping to do here is to give you an idea of what it was like for me to create this website. From nothing (nada) to poof, a website earning money.
Starting a Successful Business on the InternetLike an onion, the more I peeled it the closer I was revealing the center of the core. The closer I got to the core I could see the features available to me and the benefits from them. It dawned on me that instead of just creating a website, I was really building a successful business on the internet. Like any business, unless there's pain there's no gain. Two terms you see and hear a lot of when working on your website. The tortoise and BAM (Brains and Motivation). The tortoise because it's slow and steady and not a get rich quick scheme. It's going to take time to read, understand, make sense of it all and apply what you've learned. BAM because it takes brains and motivation to take the features that are available and use them to create a successful business on the internet.
Hear what Elad from coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com has to say...
The first step when you receive your welcome email is to go to the video action guide to assist you through a 10-day (figurative) process to have your site up and running. The DAY 1 video covers the foundation of building your business. This is a quick "DAY". It deepens your understanding of PREselling and maximizing profits. The strategy is to follow a four-step process: Content -> Traffic -> PREsell -> Monetize ("C-T-P-M") DAY 1 to 5 is to introduce you to the 10-DAY Big Picture and explain the CTPM process. You will develop the foundation of your business by coming up with the best site concept. The rest of the business rides on this decision. With the Brainstorm It! tool, you will brainstorm profitable topics and finish with your "Site Content Blueprint" in hand. In DAY 4, you will investigate and plan your monetization options. Determine all the various ways your website can earn money from the "Site Content Blueprint". At the completion of DAY 5, you will be ready to create your website. With blueprint in hand, construction is ready to begin. In DAY 6 to 10, construction on your website begins. With the various tools, you'll be creating your home page and the supporting web pages of your profitable topics.
One tool that is provided on Day 1 of your membership is this brainstorming tool. Keyword research and brainstorming niches is stressed hard to get the most profitable topics for your best site concept. This keyword tool is one of the best available and is powered by Wordtracker (which would cost you about $30/week, but is included free with Site Build It!).
You simply type in a keyword you wish to research and in a matter of minutes receive a full keyword analysis report(much like you would from Wordtracker or Keyword Discovery).
But this is a bit cooler than the other pay tools that are out there. Just like other keyword tools, you get competition and demand figures but its profitability rating is better than other tools.
This Video Made Me Laugh!
Plus, you can dig into these keywords to find competitor sites, content, images, Google bid prices and more. All of your research is stored in your account (which you can export to a spreadsheet at any time). Another research tool I found rather convenient is the Search It! tool.
This is a little bit of a broader research tool in that it allows you to perform a number of research, content, and resource tasks that are provided on free websites throughout the internet. Of course, you can do this yourself, but the Search It! Tool integrates all of these features into a simple dialog box.
Did I mention that anyone can use this tool? Check it out yourself at the Search It! Toolbox. Members do get a "cleaner" version of the tool (meaning that they do not view the tutorial pages and there are no time limits on its usage), but as a free user, the tool is very functional! And we still have not gotten to their content management system yet. The first steps include choosing a domain name (after you have done plenty of research on what the theme or niche of your webiste will be). Once chosen, you can access the SBI Site Central immediately. Here is where everything takes place! All of the research tools and video library can be accessed from this page.
Turned Tennis into Cash...
But now is where you can start to build your own website. SiteBuildIt! provides you with two options for creating pages: 1) Upload your own HTML onto their server. 2) Use their content management system to create a website in the browser itself (no HTML, FTP or other technical knowledge required). For most people choosing to use SiteBuildIt!, they will focus mostly on the Content Management System (CMS). The way that works is simple. You first choose a theme for your website (which you can customize in their Look and Feel Selector secion).
Here you can customize the theme by changing things such as the color, the background images, the fonts, the sizes, and the alignment, just to name a few. Now you are ready to start adding content. This is as simple as filling in dialog boxes, like the one shown below.
Hit Build It! and you have your first page up.
From this point, you can add pages, navigation bars, RSS Feed links, almost anything that a standard website can offer. All this is done through simple dialog boxes, much like the one shown above. And of course, you can always go back and edit or change the pages or styles that you have already created through these simple menus.
Beyond this, Site Central includes a number of other resources that focus on their other three processes to success:
These are addressed in their Business Center also located on the Site Central web page. Here you will find the tools and links to continue analyzing your market while recording the vital analytical statistics required to grow your business or website (such as a built-in traffic analyzer).
Some ConclusionsIf you have not been able to tell from what I have written already. I am pretty excited about the entire SiteBuildIt! product as a whole. I joined this service thinking it was just going to give me a website and I came out of it with a lot more! Realize that it takes more than just having a website on the internet to make it work. You need traffic. You need customers. You need to convert these customers into buyers. SBI confronts all of these issues with both education and easy to use tools. At the end of the day, anybody that is able to use an internet browser (which I assume is all of you since you are reading this on Windows-XP-How-To.com) can build a professional-looking website with the tools and understanding on how to grow it with the Site Build It program. The price is currently $299/year. Let's break that down...
Great Story...
My point here is that this is a great value, especially for the newbie. Plus you are part of a community with the SBI forum to discuss technical or strategic issues. Is SiteBuildIt for everyone? Probably not. For those experienced in developing websites already, SiteBuildIt may be a little bit constricting and not cost effective (from a hosting stand-point). SBI allows you to upload your own HTML web pages, but if you are a Dreamweaver or Frontpage designer, for example, this would not be my recommendation. Also, those looking for a true eCommerce solution (i.e., one with large shopping carts, integrated gateways, affiliate programs, etc.) should consider content management systems aimed at building eStores. SitebuildIt is really aimed towards the online website beginner. This includes:
To get started with your Site Build It! Website Right Now, Visit SiteSell Right Now! About SBI returns to the Home Page |
