Site Build It - Ken Evoy and The Whole Infomercial Gang
I have visited SBI or Site Build It time and again - each time I get the feeling that I'm walking into a used car lot where salesmen gather in the back room placing bets on who can sell me the junkiest car for the best price.
I'll admit, I've never bought into the program, so I honestly don't know how it works from the inside, but from what I can tell from the outside, I don't EVEN want to know what's on the inside.
Years ago I bought into a scheme called Destiny Telecom. I had a relative that joined and gave the hard sell that made me feel like I was going to get rich, have money rolling in month after month and all I got was a pre-paid phone card worth over $700 and not a soul long distance for me to call.
I don't like schemes, I don't like MLM's and I don't like programs that give the hard, you're gonna get rich sell with those order today and try it risk free buttons everywhere.
I've done those risk free things before and well, once the business has my credit card number, getting them to remove me is like trying to pull my eye teeth myself.
If someone is reading this who HAS bought into the Site Sell thing and can give me a glimpse at it from the inside, I'd gladly listen. But here's the thing. I will NOT be buying in, but if you have and you believe the product, I will be able to tell by what you write.
There's a big difference in believing in a product and promoting it with passion and having been the sucker who bought in and is just looking to get their money back.
I don't like the Herbalife thing!
I don't like the MOM Team thing!
I don't like the Mary Kay thing!
I don't like the Pre-Paid Legal thing!
I don't like the Quixtar thing!
And I don't like the Amway thing!
I think they are all rip-offs and Site Sell just smells like Amway with a techno twist!
13 comments:
I did try out Site-Build It a couple of years ago. I had it for a couple of months, before I requested a refund (nothing really to do with the quality of the tool, I was just busy starting a brick and mortar business). They refunded me the balance of the year without any problems.
Yes, their marketing is very spammy, but the company behind it si solid. The tool itself is very good for beginners, although I personally founf it very limiting in some important ways when I worked with it.
I am wondering what makes you feel the way you do when you visit Site Build It!. The case studies which you refer to had quite the opposite affect on me when I first visited them. I even make a point of checking that site periodically to read more! The stories there are real testimonies detailing the experiences which some diligent SBI! users have had using Site Build It!. Some of the studies featured there even provide updates as their success continues. I find them inspirational.
I don't know about other WAHMs but I have been unable to find real testimonies like these anywhere else on the Internet. I mean you can go to each of their sites, read their "About Me" type pages, check out their sites and learn from each and every one of them. They aren't from let's say "Mary Brown from Dallas, Texas" and which offer no credibility whatsoever. Sites with blurbs like that are the ones that don't feel real to me and goodness knows they are everywhere.
When I first wanted to build a Web site, I searched long and hard for easy to understand tools and software. I knew virtually nothing about building a Web site at the time. I looked into WYSIWYG's and also came across a ton of GRQ programs. I definitely got frustrated but I was on a mission. When I stumbled across Site Build It!, it almost seemed too good to be true. It took me weeks to do my due diligence but everything I read just made sense, common sense. Not only that, SBI! was an all in one deal with a step-by-step approach and provided marketing tools as well. I figured that in itself would make me more efficient so I wouldn't have to spend time reasearching more, piecing things together and integrating software to do newsletters etc. In other words I thought it would allow me to focus on building my business rather than learning technical stuff I didn't have time for. I had not found anything else like it and went ahead and tried it. I haven't turned back.
I started www.homeorganizeit.com three years ago with the intention of using it as a marketing tool for my offline organizing business. It's been the most effective (cost and reach-wise) tool for that purpose out of all marketing approaches I had used.
I network with some WAHMs who use SBI! and they are extremely happy with it. Many even tell honest, compassionate stories about how they are building their sites and watching their income start to grow which is allowing them to stay home with their children rather than go out to work. And we WAHMs know there is nothing better than being able to do that!
The SBI! forums are friendly, professional and helpful. Ken Evoy, owner of SBI!, posts there regularly too which I have not seen on any other business forum ever. When you need technical help their Support Team is also friendly and helpful and more importantly fast. Hard to find these days!
While I have no idea what Destiny Telecom is/was, a quick search tells me that it was a scam. I may not make millions even though I have had my SBI! site three years but I've had a lot of success with it and there has been nothing scammy about it.
However, I do suppose it can be a challenge to write sales copy when there is so much "noise" out there, even if you are the real thing ;-)
I remember repeatedly reading on the Site Build It! sites that they were not GRQ. While many make those claims, none seem to say what they did, which was that you would need to provide serious motivation and it would take time to build your business. There were never any of "you'll be making money in 30 days" type claims. In fact, some of the site owners on the case studies page say it took them a year or two. Now that is real to me!
I encourage you to dig a little deeper particularily on SBI! sites built by WAHMs.
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts!
I'm certainly glad there are people who believe in the product, but I'm real curious -- just how much is the investment to get a website that looks so much like the home base site?
Gayla,
I feel the same way as you about SBI!. Heck, even Erin's comment above seems kinda cult-ish. Either that, or she is dying to get the testimonial she just wrote on your blog on the SBI! homepage.
Don't even get me started on the horrible code it outputs.
I do know one thing. Ken Evoy has made a ton of money off of it. Wake up people! It does not take much to be in the top 3% for alexa the way they are defining it! And you are paying $25 and month for hosting and a WYSIWYG tool! Just find some cheap hosting, throw FREE wordpress on there, pick a theme, and start writing. You will get the same results, with a better design and better code. Then do your research and build your site.
Cult-ish - very good way of putting it Steve.
I had no idea that it was $25 per month.
A person can get the exact same service and their own WYSIWYG editor on BlueHost which is where I do all my .com hosting now.
I just don't understand why people would opt for this unless they let either fear stand in their way or the promise of "easy profit" guide them.
Thanks for commenting.
Gayla
Hi Gayla,
I am not sure what you mean when you say "looks so much like the home base site". Perhaps you mean that there is a lot of content rather than loads of graphics and advertising? If that's the case, well that's what SBI! is all about when it talks about their CTPM process.
Also, Steve is right, SBI! is $300/year. I won't go into all the stuff that come with SBI! as you can check those on the SiteSell Web pages, particularily their "compare" page. I just know that if I were to piece together what I needed for my home organizing site, I would have spent a lot more money and the learning curve to integrate everything would have taken some time. I was looking for an all-in-one and it works for me.
"Cult-ish" is a hot term these days and while SBI! users seem to be raving fans of SBI! and it's business building tools, I would definitely agree that there is a loyal following and if there is a loyal following, something must be working for these people.
Like I said earlier, when I was just starting out, I was a total newbie. I did not find "results" or "proof" pages anywhere else I researched and those SBI! stories resonated with me. It's a hard thing to discern on the Internet because there are so many GRQs and questionable stories so I can understand a raised eyebrow here and there.
Steve, what I like about SBI! would take too long to write here and no, I am not trying to get my "testimonial" on the SBI! home page. I actually just started getting into blogging last month so I really don't know all the ins and outs yet. I figure it's better to just write how I feel. It's what intrigues me about the blogging concept. You can take it or leave it, right?
But I do feel it's important to point out that the value in SBI! (beside the site building tools) is in the brainstormer and online business building resources. If you are new to Web site building, everything is clear and easy to follow. If you are experienced, you can "do your own thing (upload your own HTML) and still have cutting-edge marketing information at your fingertips without having to go looking for it.
When you say "Just find some cheap hosting, throw FREE wordpress on there, pick a theme, and start writing", well that's exactly what SBI! does not seem to be about. It's about Ken's Evoy's CTPM process and it's working for many people.
Gayla, I am not familiar with Blue Host. I did check their site and well, I guess it seems okay for hosting a Web site. But does it help you build your business or do you have to go elsewhere to figure all of that out?
One final note for the moment, I don't know where you saw "easy profit" guide. SBI! includes what they call an Action Guide but I've never seen anything allude to making an "easy profit" and I've been using it for 3 years now. I've only seen it stress that you need to be highly motivated and if you stick with it, you will begin to profit. Easier said than done for most.
I don't know about site build it but I have had my share of run arounds and scams myself.
After years of research though I have found what I was looking for.
When it comes to work at home businesses, it is all about exposure!!!
So, how do you go about getting better exposure? Well, I don't know about you, but what I do now is to DO what the Big Boys online are doing, and completely ignore what they are saying.
Have you ever noticed that when THEY release some new product or service, it's all of the sudden all over the web... I mean, from out of no where with a brand new site and offer, you find these guys in almost every marketing medium, yet in most cases, when you waste your money on their product, they are telling you to do some single thing and promising you the world if you do it... But wait a minute...
You were exposed to them in a wide variety of places, yet they are telling you that you only need to do this thing that they are selling... Odd isn't it?
Once I decided to do what they were doing instead of do what they were saying, my exposure jumped up to the exact same level of exposure they were getting... All that I needed to do was find out what tools they were using to promote their own sites, and then use those same tools (simple :-)
Guess what?... I did it... I found the place where all of the gurus go for their personal marketing needs, in order to get the massive exposure to sell you and me some crappy little product or service that claims to be the cure-all of the century... lol, yet they are using someone elses software to promote that offer.
Click the link below and see for yourself the very tools that the internet elite are using::
http://www.marketersos.com/go.php?smw1974&16
Thanks for listening :)
Wow, so let me jump in here and comment on the topic of schemes. I recently responded to an ad to "return phone calls from home". I was called (after submitting some basic information and phone number) and asked if I could use an extra bit of money ... with the answer being obvious. I was given a phone number and an access code for a phone meeting which revealed itself to be a "gifting" club. Now, for those of you who are not aware of "gifting" clubs, this is a variation of a pyramid scheme. It's very clever in addressing all the concerns (ie, legality, etc.).
Anyway I listened and then returned the call to my "sponsor" who referred me to a website. Being both the eternal optimist and eternal skeptic (yes, it is possible to be both), I highlighted and copied the words that specifically pointed to the tax law that "supports" this. Imagine my surprise when I Googled that term and found out the real deal! Maybe it is "technically" legal, the bottom line is that there is an "expectation of return" and therefore, it is illegal!
For additional information, please visit my blog at http://workingfromhomeexperiences.blogspot.com/
Thanks for this network!
Nina
Erin,
I was probably too harsh in my critique of SBI! before, calling it cult-ish. I understand that for someone new to the web, it would be helpful to have all that information in one area.
I just think that with a little exploration and searching on blogs like this one, problogger, etc., you can find free info that is at least on par with the SBI info. But I also would call myself "experienced" with web design, development, and internet marketing, and I can't see any way where SBI! could help me.
That's just it! A ton of information is in one area and it is constantly updated so you don't have to lose time looking elsewhere.
But, back to Gayla's original post referencing the case studies. I read them periodically (updates and new ones) and while I am likely far less "experienced" than you are with web design, etc., I aspire to doing that for others someday.
There are a few case studies about very experienced Webmasters who tried SBI! for whatever reason and have found it to be beneficial for their businesses. One said it is a lot easier to sell his services to a potential client because they "get it" when he explains the CTPM process and the block builder system allowed him to show his clients exactly how things were done so they didn't feel clueless. When I read that I thought hmmm, I know a few friends I could help and I'll bet that if I show them the block builder system, I could teach them how to maintain and grow their struggling businesses. I am doing that now for 3 friends and that Webmaster was right. My friends who know their own businesses well but were not to computer savvy are now having a blast building their own sites and gaining confidence every day. I guess I'd say giving it a fair try would be the best way to decide. If anything it might be fun ;-)
SBI also has a very "generous" affiliate program which gives you $75 for everyone you recruit and something for anyone they recruit, etc. So it's not uncommon to see people like Erin touting it all over the internet and getting friends on board. It's just a social marketing strategy.
As a new web marketer I started out with SBI but eventually left. But I only left after learning a whole lot. On the plus side Ken Evoy offers a ton of free web marketing advice on downloadable ebooks, which of course are laced heavily with endorsements of SBI. For me the initial investment of $300.00 per year was well worth it. I had no internet marketing experience so I could not tell on my own if the so called "free stuff" out there was any good. Truth be told without SBI I would have probably spent thousands on junk offered by the get rich quick crowd.
Does SBI work, yes, but you also have to work. If you ignore the recommended tutorials you will not do well.
One site I started with SBI easily was making me around $100.00 a month. It still does. However I rebuilt it with Xsite Pro and host it for a fraction of the SBI price. Doing the math it was easy to see that if had ten to twenty sites doing the same I could make some real money. That is where I think SBI falls down. If you want to build a bunch of sites it will cost a lot.
That being said for a newbie internet marketer you could do a whole lot worse than SBI.
I have two SBI sites and a wordpress blog that is not SBI.
I used and am using SBI to help me learn about all the different things that go into making a successful website. I am not a fan of the block builder they use, so I write all my own html /css and just take advantage of some of the includes they offer. I really like the Brainstorm It and it is the main tool I use.
It is all about the TOOLS, I think. I've read you can put together a package like SBI and find different tools that work like SBIs, but hello, I wouldn't even know where to begin if I am a beginner, now would I?
I learned in college that having a book to lay everything out step by step can often help you to learn things more thoroughly than if you just stumble around on your own trying to teach yourself. SBI is like that. It gives me a step by step way of learning all I need to learn, when I need to learn it. I also think the structure helps you to stick with it and know what to do next. I've been on this path for about 8 months. It has been slow going... the learning curve totally sucks... and I have had to back track a few times, too.
For the vast majority of people out there that want to get into this sort of thing, I definitely would recommend it. There is a lot to learn and know and it is easy to get lost, give up, and/or fail if you don't have any guidance.
So, yeah... Not of the cult mentality, here, just convinced that having a mentor or guiding hand when you go after something can make all the difference. I am still in the early stages with all my sites, but the confidence I have with this stuff is constantly growing as I learn more and more.
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