SBI! (Site Build It!), in case you dont know, is a sort of hosting program (but much more) that costs $299 USD and is something for a person who wants to have an online business. Its almost perfect from what I hear. So I wanted to know if anyone on this forum bought it and what everyone thinks about it. Thanks.
I have two clients who use SBI. I built one of their websites through SBI for them. Here's my feedback: 1) VERY easy to build nice looking, professional websites. Ridiculously easy. 2) As far as the web traffic, one client is very happy with (does a lot of her own marketing and advertising too), the other is so-so. 3) Both my clients selected horrifically long domain names, stating that the ones they wanted weren't available. 4) One client is having a lot of issues with their server going down and not getting the results of her web forms. She is looking into other hosting options. Anyway, that's about all I know about it. Personally, I build my own sites and submit them to search engines myself for a lot less than $299/yr. One friend who looked into said they were having a sale - 2 sites for $299.
SBI has alot of help and support for the beginning webmaster. Their manuals and other available material provide good help. The package also includes some nice research tools for the beginner. They really help with some of the learning curve for a first time webmaster. So far so good. Here is the problem with SBI. You must pay $299 per year to keep your site going if you wish to stay with them. This provides for your hosting, domain renewal, and continued access to the provided tools. This $299 is for one site only(except when they have a two'fer sale). There are many other ways to build, host, and research a site that will cost a heck of a lot less than $299 per year per site. I have some software (one time purchase) that allows me to create as many sites as I wish, hosting that allows unlimited domains, and access to any number of registrars for my domain names. All this for far less than SBI. And once I have my site(s) up and running all I pay is the yearly fee for the domain name and my hosting which is, if I do the math right, is about $7.85 a year per site for both. My first site was with SBI and at the end of my first year all I could say was "Goodbye SBI". I have never looked back except to answer posts similar to this.
Thank you very much guys, and especially smattering. Could you please tell me about your tools and your technique to make sites and keep it cheap?
I compltely agree with Smattering. I used SBI about 3 years ago, and did make some money, but certainly not $299 within the first year. I would suggest buying your own domain and hosting, and just using wordpress. The bottom line with SBI is that content is king. Write lots and often, traffic will eventually come whether or not you use SBI.
I still build niche content sites. I bought and use XSitePro ($189) to make my sites. It has a short learning curve and once you have it down it allows for easy and quick sites to be generated(again and again). I use free keyword tools (KeywordDiscovery.com and GoogleAdwords suggestion tool). I purchase my domains at godaddy.com, but before doing so I always track down the latest coupons and rarely pay more than $6.95 for a years registration. I use servage.net to host my sites. I have a number of domains and use sub-domains extensively. I monetize with Adsense, affiliate programs, and self written manuals for the niches. I use a number of traffic techniques. I posted a list elsewhere on the forum of 65 techniques that can be used. Look it up and put it to use. I don't use them all but every one I do use is on the list. Good Luck.
If you do not have a lot of tech skills, SBI is a good choice. The problem is that you have to pay $299/year for only one site. Obviously, this is a big expense if you are not making a lot of money. I have had two SBI sites in the past. Despite the fact that one was making about $50/month via AdSense on autopilot, I simply did not want to pay another $299. Instead, I am in the process of switching it over to a more affordable system...