All I can say is that I'm very thankful I had the knowledge, experience and basic HTML knowledge from Ken's E-books, SBI and the SBI forums before I ventured into building my first blog website.

While it did not take me long to set up the blog, it was definitely not as uncomplicated as many would have you believe. Between the WP updates (which require “backing up your database”), working with plug-ins and trying to figure out how effective SEO, blogs for business are definitely not a newbies game in my humble opinion.

Comparing SBI to WordPress is definitely a complete Apples-to-Oranges deal. If you're only interested in personal blogging, with no serious traffic or business building needs, then I say go ahead with the lower up front costs of a WordPress blog, stumble and learn and aggregate all the resources you need at your own pace, and keep at it till you make it work.

However, if you have a standing local business, or want to make money by building an Internet Business, SBI is virtually a must-have, even if you never build an SBI website. As far as SBi websites all looking alike, many do, but a few points to think about:

Your clients will be drawn to your content and value proposition and not comparing you to an imagined list of 200 other SBI sites.

The ever-improving SBI can be customized with 2 or 3 column templates at $50 bucks or so (for those who care) and the company is actively updates to many features virtually everyday. In the 2 years or so since I've been a client (after studying it for 2 years before making my decision), there have been tons of improvements, and extensions:

You can now have a WordPress blog attached to your site, along with Ning websites, phb forums and all sorts of other resources with SBI's infinIT functionality.

The company is also working on other template customizations such as 3-column templates for those who care as much about sophisticated design as they do about business functionality.

In the interests of full disclosure, I am an SBI affiliate, and have been for about 2 years. I also find the “SBI-evangelist snobs” you occasionally find on the forums a bit overbearing, but, to be fair to them (and in all honesty), you will rarely find a CEO, product and customer in as much alignment as SBI and Sitesell are with their target market.

Who's their target market?

The beginner to the internet who is not a programmer, doesn't want to spend time and money “playing part-time programmer” and wants an all-in-one solution for building an internet business at an affordable price.

Hope this helps someone.

If you are not an SBI affiliate, you should be! Ken would love this rant_ for or against or… I lost the point and purpose of this page and fury… I believe this proves Ken and SBI without a doubt. I certainly would not want to toil, work and monitor this fuss and mess just to plant a single sale–especially when the greater number of respondents here are only after a link back, which I do not seek.

Cheers :)

I use it for my sites specifically because it bridges the gaps between blogging and websites and works perfectly for SEO and all the latest Web 2.0 stuff. Before I used Terapad I was on wordpress, but frankly it was too complicated for me if I wanted to set up the full CMS, and whilst I haven’t tried SBI the pricing does seem to be extraordinary.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Sales Letters

And no, I’m not paid to say any of this. :-)

Sales Letters

SBI is a great place to start for those without a technology background. The primary focus is on what Evoy calls “keyword focused content pages”. These focus on keywords which are in demand but also in short supply.

I had previously built several websites that got no traffic so found it refreshing that with my SBI site I did get traffic and started making money.

What I did not learn from SBI was effective linkbuilding. My site was doing well on MSNSearch but no Google traffic at all. The Google traffic only came after I learned linkbuilding which I learned from other sources.

What really matters whether you blog or build a traditional site are: basic principles. You need to master the basics just like you would in any other endeavor whether it be chess or baseball. Most bloggers have not mastered the basics and so are making no money at all. To learn the basics requires study and work and, ideally, having mentors.

I have a lot of respect for Ken Evoy. Learnt a lot from him.

Having said that I’m not too sure if we can call denounce WP sites and blogs.

Personally, I’ve used Niche Marketing on Crack method to great effect with blogs.

Blogs, if used properly, together with an opt in form, can still be a cost effective way to build a site that pulls.

At the end of the day, the blog or website must offer value. If not, the visitor ain’t coming back.

Best,
Jag

I too looked at SBI a long time ago. I too went another route. I went the blogging route and my mistake was to use Blogger instead of getting my own domain, and, hosting a WordPress blog there. But, hey, I was a total newbie!

The hit on blogging by Ken and others is unwarranted. Blog traffic does not only come from search engine love. There are a multitude of ways to promote that are not much different from promoting SBI websites.

For me, a blog and a website are just different vehicles to get from home to the bank. Blogs tend to be more personalized and, thus, attract their own audience.

SBI is comprehensive but does not have every possible aspect of the WWW covered. No one system does. SBI is one system. Blogging is another system. Email marketing is another.