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Affiliate marketing case study using SBI
[Editor's note: See the 2011 update at the end of the article.]
When I started thinking about building my first affiliate site with Site Build It! I was worried. The marketing hype surrounding Site Build It! and all its wonderful features sounded good but there was no proof that these features would help me make money.
In fact I was not entirely convinced that decent money could be made by affiliates who sold actual products rather than marketing ebooks.
Well, I'm pleased to say that if you do things properly there's plenty of money out there. Of course the first and biggest step in doing things properly is getting Site Build It!
Site Build It! has a comprehensive 300-page Action Guide [UPDATE: And now a Video Guide} that takes you through the process of building an affiliate site. I don't want to give you all the details that the manual does. I just want you to read my story and see that Site Build It! sites do work.
They're not hard to build. If I can manage to build a money making site part-time, you can too.
When you look at the task in front of you it can seem a bit daunting when you first start because of all the things you have to do before the pay checks start arriving. Please don't worry. Just remember all you want to do is build an interesting web site that people enjoy visiting. All your traffic and revenue will stem from there.
Read this case study and see that there is nothing special about me. I'm just a regular guy who doesn't know much about affiliate programs and even less about marketing.
OK to get you started here's a quick list of the steps needed to get a revenue generating site up and running. Of course each step requires a little thought on your part but thinking and strategizing are part of the fun. I have spent some fun hours with my brother discussing possible topics for affiliate sites and our plans to make millions : )
Here are all the steps you need to take to make money on the Internet with affiliate programs.
2. Write a list of things you're interested in, for example computers, sports, music etc.
3. Use the Site Build It! research tools to find keywords that people will use to find your site in the search engines and choose your domain name. (for example, good-idea.com)
4. Look online for good affiliate programs related to your favorite topics.
5. Decide on your site's theme or topic, depending on which topics look the most profitable.
6. Write and then paste your articles into Site Build It! Site Build It! creates the web pages, puts them online.
7. Now have a look on the Internet for an online store's affiliate program and put its product links on your site.
8. Revise your site once you see which products your visitors are buying.
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I have heard Site Build It is just a bunch of bunk..Get nVU instead, its free.
[I've not only heard of SBI, my assistants have tested it thoroughly and used it successfully for several years. That's why I recommend it. NVU is totally different - it's not a complete suite of tools for website research, brainstorming, building and marketing. Allan.]
[SBI is very suitable for newbies, true, but if you think only newbies use SBI you're greatly mistaken. Read some of the documented, verifiable case studies here:
AssociatePrograms.com/proof . Allan.]
If you can proof to us that you already have got MVP Award, just once is enough, from Uncle Gates, then we are just a puny newbies.
[I don't know who "John" is, but SBI user Marc Liron won the Most Valued Professional (MVP) Award from Microsoft in 2004. You can prove that yourself by using Google to do a site search of Microsoft.com. Allan.]
Hi. I'm totally new to this, and I already find it quite overwhelming. I have only used the internet for emails and just plain ol' surfin' the net. What is the fee per month to get a SBI website running? Do I need a domain name and/or hosting? Also I've heard about the 'cool little website.' Is this a similar product?
Thanks!!!
[SBI costs $299 a year, which includes the annual domain name registration and very reliable web hosting. You have to add your brains and motivation. You use the SBI tools and instruction manual to build your own unique site. You also receive a complete education on how to build a successful online business. Dave's Cool Little Website is entirely different. It supplies a ready made website, so it appeals to the lazy. The huge problem is that you end up with a website which is like thousands of other websites. How would people find YOUR site among thousands of similar sites? They wouldn't. For long-term success, it's hugely important that you build a site which is different from everyone else's. Allan.]
Actually, I have to say that you, Allan, have truly inspired me; and I won't stop applying my "elbow-grease" until I achieve my desired objective! Godspeed, and oh yeah, when are you going to have affiliate chinese martial arts programs. Perhaps, I'm going to have to manifest this! Huh? Back to the drawing board!
Thanks for allowing me to express myself on your site.
[Stick with it. Niche sites really do work. For kung fu products, try this search in Google: "kung fu" +affiliate .
Allan.]
http://www.googleyahoomsnaskdogpile.blogspot.com
[The above article is a case study. You can find a discussion on Traffic Hurricane on our affiliate forum. That would be a good place to discuss it. Allan.]
[SBI has many thousands of satisfied users. It's much more than site-building software - it's a package which includes training in how to create a successful business. That's why so many people choose it. Allan.]
Julia
[The best place to ask such questions is on our affiliate forum, which has lots of friendly, helpful members. Allan.]
[As a general rule, where you live doesn't matter. So living in Singapore shouldn't stop you. However, some vendors accept only U.S. affiliates. Once you've earned your first dollar or your first $100, you can use that knowledge to build more successful websites. Can YOU do it? I don't know. Between 3 figures a month and 5 figures a month, there's a HUGE difference in the level of skill and determination needed. SBI is an excellent place to start to give you a really good all round education on building a business online. Once you've earned your first $100, you'll have a much better idea of what you can achieve. Allan.]
By my 6th month I had made almost $100. My goal was to make at least $500 in a month in my first year. My 12th month I made $940. My 23rd month I made over $3000 for the month. I have held down a full time job while building my SBI sites as a hobby.
My first site while still ugly is still working great. www.compare-prepaid-cell-phones.com
Thanks again,
Rick
[Thanks. That's a wonderful example of how determination and persistence can pay off. Allan.]
Here's a comment for Ryan. I don't live in the USA, and have no problem with any of the affiliate programs or Clickbank because of this. You may not know this, but Ewen Chia is one of the most successful affiliates out there and he lives in Singapore. He's not the only successful affiliate from Singapore either. Just do it! That's the best advice there is.
Regards
John
I joined the 5 Pillar Club back in '04, I think, but have never done anything with it... seemed a bit too complicated for me... I have been following SBI and Ken Evoy's efforts through the years, though.
I am determined to buy SBI, real soon, so you should get your commission from it. If you were me, what affiliate program would you start with? I have no experience with internet promotions, etc.... Would you be willing to help me along the way, once I buy SBI, to get my site working right? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. I am, at this very moment, printing out days one through five of the SBI Action guide.
Thanks, Allan,
Terry Beckham
http://fun.business-starter.com
[If even the block-by-block option in SBI is too complicated for you, perhaps your not suitable for affiliate marketing. Perhaps you're not determined enough to succeed. You'll have to make that decision. If you do get SBI, don't look for an an affiliate program to join. Look for a good topic you can write about or a market you can serve. I can't tell you what that is. It has to be something that suits YOU. Design your own business to suit your skills and interests. Re-read Ken's free Affiliate Masters Course. You can find it at the Beginners link at the top left of this page. It contains a really good section on choosing your niche. Feel free to ask any questions you like on our affiliate forum. I answer questions there most days. Apart from that, I can't give you individual help. I just abut killed myself in the past trying to help everyone who asked for help. I won't attempt that again. When you get SBI, you'll receive full access to the SBI private forum where SBI users ask questions and share tips. It's a fantastic resource. Allan.]
Perfectsea.com
[The templates and block-building are just the first step, not something you need to stick with, and not something you need to even use, if you wish. They're just one option. If the templates didn't suit your wife's needs, she had the option of combining any other site-building tool, such as FrontPage or the free NVU or whatever, with SBI. Re your opinion of SEO methods versus Ken Evoy's, I'll back Ken any day. You need to remember that with the data he has access to from many thousands of SBI sites, he's in a unique position to know from analysing data what works and what doesn't. Yes, there are cheaper ways to build a site. What you get with SBI isn't just a site builder, it's an extremely valuable education. Allan.]
Thank You!!
[Perhaps someone was telling you that all the tools that are included in the package are worth $1500. Allan.]
Dont think so? check it out for yourself.
www.signs-of-a-cheater.com
I am quickly approaching my goal of becoming top 2% of sites on the web and I won't stop until I do.
Dean
M. Logan
During the previous year, I had shelled out over $2000 for design and hosting of a site I really didn't like (and was clunky), $3000 for someone who took off and didn't complete it properly, and nearly $10000 for someone who did a great job (but now I know it's not really any better than what I can do with SBI). I am still amazed that SBI only costs $299 a year. Once you get in and see what it does for you, you will see it's a bargain.
Anyway, I created a site with my horsecrazy 9-year old daughter just for fun. And fun it is! After some 5-6 months of work on it (part-time, evenings and weekends) we are getting an average of 380+ unique visitors per day from 30 countries. The SBI tools have allowed us to publish over 500 pages of content with the help of other girls who are horsecrazy. And my 9-year old goes in and edit and publish submissions! She is constantly checking her site stats, google adsense account, and coming up with more ideas to increase traffic.
I understand why webmasters aren't crazy about SBI. They may feel they are beyond that. But I wish they would understand their clients would be a lot happier if they built them SBI sites that clients could update without having to contact the webmaster, wait for them to change it, then write another check. (Oh, that's why.)
For anyone who wants to really focus on what makes a website work -- focused content, and getting raving fans who come back again and again, this is a really great way to go.
Oh, and Sydney is thrilled we are up to over $250 in adsense commissions. She's saving for a horse, of course.
[Yes to both questions. Allan.]
Http://www.chelseawebworks.com
[Have a look at some of the many other case studies which have been written and you'll see that a LOT of SBI users are creating genuinely useful, valuable sites and getting a great deal of satisfaction out of doing so. Here are some examples:
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/proof
Allan.]
As I'm known for, I read every comment before I commented myself to make sure I actually had value I could contribute.
I am a proud SBI owner! My site has only been live since Feb. 18th but my visitors are starting to snowball slowly but surely. I've noticed to more I learn and apply (of course) is the better I do.
I bought SBI as a total web-business newbie. I could tell from reading about the C>T>P>M process and the list of tools provided that I was getting a great deal. Even if it wasn't the cheapest or the best, I just needed something that would work!
And work is what SBI does. Personally I don't know what "insider" trading goes on between Ken Evoy and the search engines :-) but I am riding the wave of success.
I am actually an affiliate of a few other sitebuilder software companies but none of them give you a complete business building package like SBI so I only refer them when my clients just want a "mini" 3-5 page site.
Now that I know there is NO LIMIT to the look and feel using glossy HTML editors I'm even more excited to be apart of the whole community.
My favorite parts are the forums (INVALUABLE RESOURCE) and the Master Key Word and research tools.
See ya in the forums Allan !!
I know where you are coming from when you say you have been on step 3 for a long time! I am just one step ahead of you (step 4) which seems like I have been THERE forever as well. But guess what? This is normal! Any successful SBIer will tell you the same thing. Just do not stop working with SBI and on your site and success will be yours!
How can I make a statement like this and only on step four; Answer: I have failed many times trying to start an online business, but never have I seen a concept like Site Build It! A newbies' dream coming true!! A am actually a little behind because I actually bought SBI with gas money I was supposed to be using to find a job. Then I had to stop working on my site to concentrate on securing a job. Now I am back working on my first SBI site! So hang in there!!
Thanks in advance.
[SBI is definiteely not just for affiliate sites. I emphasize the affiliate aspect because I'm an affiliate talking to affiliates. A wide variety of types of sites have been built using SBI. You can see many examples here:
http://makemy.sitesell.com/results/
The annual subscription fee includes web hosting and access to all the tools, private forum, etc. You can move your site to another host if you choose. I haven't tried doing that. I think it would be easier to do if you've created the site using Dreamweaver or Frontpage rather the SBI template "training wheels" system. SBI enables you to build sites both ways. If you have any doubts at all you can phone, chat or email an SBI Advisor here:
http://makemy.sitesell.com/question/
Allan.]
[This case study wasn't carried out using our own product. SBI can be used to build websites to sell virtually anything. I'm sorry, but I'm not really familiar with the Clickbank Review Campaign, but I suggest that you ask your question in our friendly forum. Someone there is almost certain to be able to help you with an answer.
Glennys]
[Not a lot of luck is needed. If you're determined enough and persistent enough, and learn something new every day and actually DO something to build your business every day, you'll make a success of it. Allan.]
I am from India, I have been researching on SBI for last two months and I am a regular visitor of Lisa's (2createawebsite.com) website and now I am here really impressed by these two case studies. Me and my friend is planning to buy a SBI site, he is really mad about car, car accessories and anything about luxury cars, he is a regular writer for few local newspaper auto editions and recently he had a tv show as well. But, he is just doesn't know anything about online marketing and all the online stuffs. I know well about internet marketing and I am mad about internet, I am very much interested to have a SBI site on my interest i.e online entrepreneur consultant where I can promote SBI (I can see great chance for SBI in India) and few other stuffs, not really "money making opportunities on internet" (or does it fall in that?)
Now we are confused where to start, whether with my online nich or car reviews? We couldn't find any car accessories affiliate programs in your recommended list.
We should get normal $299 SBI or e-learning SBI?
This would be highly obliged if you could suggest on this.
[If you haven't already done so, I suggest you carefully study Ken Evoy's free Affiliate Masters Course
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/articles/302/1/Fr...
It contains lots of good advice on choosing a niche. Sometimes you can slice off a sub-niche. Perhaps a site aimed specifically at people in India might work. I don't know. Before you consider starting a site, carefully study your market and your potential competition. I live in Australia and New Zealand, but I usually prefer to create sites aimed mainly at America, Canada and the UK, because that's where most of the money is. However, they'll be huge growth in India over the next few decades. Perhaps you could catch that wave. Our affiliate directory contains many thousands of affiliate programs, but you can find more good affiliate programs by doing searches on Google. If after doing careful reading and research you still feel that you need hand-holding, then the SBI elearing course would be a very good choice. It's more expensive, but it will increase your chance of success. Allan.]
Thanks a lot for the advice. I will definitely start reading Ken Evoy's Affilate Masters Course; however, recently I was going through your Affiliate Program Tutorial in lifetimecommission.com and I found that you are referring Rosalind Gardner's Super Affiliate Handbook and SBI as well, but still I think SBI would be better option for my car review site (correct me if I am wrong and please note that I haven't done any research on Super Affiliate Handbook)and meanwhile I can have a wordpress site with "Thesis" for my online niche, could you please suggest on this?
[I like Rosalind's book. It's suitable for independent-minded people who want to do things their own way. I haven't tried Thesis. If you choose to go the WordPress route you'll need to find a really good tutor to help you build a successful business. WordPress is just a very useful tool. In contrast, SBI is a complete package - a LOT of very useful tools and a lot of of very helpful training in one place. Allan.]
Hi Allan,
I am impressed with SBI and the case study. I am doing my best to follow AMC by Ken Evoy in my pursuit for luck. My question is as follows: Is it a good idea to register one domain name like "www.good-name.com" and proceed with several subdomain names for keyword optimizations such as "www.good-name.com/keyword1,2 etc"? To be honest, I can not afford all 5-6 websites, So, I am planning to go with one. If I had an opportunity I would defenitely buy SBI package and go with it letter by letter. I hope some day this will be possible. Hope for your help.
Yes, I believe it's very good long-term plan to aim to own a cluster of websites that are in some way related. You could make it a 2-year, or even 5-year plan.
You wouldn't proceed to the next site on your list until your first was generating useful revenue.
However, keep in mind that while some affiliates build a bunch of sites, others start off with a plan like this but then become so deeply involved with the first, successful, site that they decide to concentrate all their attention and skills on one site.
Thanks for your quick reply
I have already build one website and had some revenues from there (not regular though), visitors (10-15 unique v per day). However, I only bought the hosting plan for 1 year so I could not afford to carry on with further payments for hosting and domain name. Now, I am going to have a 5 year hosting plan and 5 year domain name registration. I am still keeping my website offline and will activate it a.s.a.p. So you are right 5 year plan at least.
Thank you guys
There's not much point in devoting time, money and energy building more sites until you've learned how to build one site successfully.
Allan,
How can I get SBI? I wanted to purchase it but I don't have yet a credit / master card. I can only arrange payment for SBI thru the ANZ Bank. I have been reading a lot on SBI and I am convinced and now wanting to buy it.
I purchased my SBI in July, and now 4 months later, I have 77 pages posted. SBI is a fantastic program!
My other site - the old-fashioned expensive way (designer, etc) cost thousands of dollars and gets less traffic than my SBI site!
And I've barely scratched the surface with my SBI site in terms of linkbuilidng, CO2 submissions, more content, etc.
I love the community, the forum is very supportive and encouraging and you learn something new every day. My favorite part is being able to put on my SBI blinders, forget the rest about the web and keep moving forward.
If you want you can take a peek at my site:
www.parisinsidersguide.com
Can someone be honest and really say how money they've made with SBI (through ads or otherwise). I'm thinking of buying the software and hosting, but I'm somewhat skeptical.
Thanks,
You can find many more enthusiastic SBI case studies here:
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/proof