How to Design Your Own Website
Really, you don't need to know how to create websites when you choose SBI. You don't need to know how to build business websites. And maybe you've never considered creating your own website. But if you're reading this, I'll bet you're looking for something. I know I was... I Was Looking For a Way Out.A way out of a cubicle. A way out of excruciatingly boring days. A way out of the typical 9-to-5 way of life.I don't think I was ever cut out for the 9-to-5 life. I learned to read when I was three years old, skipped a grade in school, and excelled throughout high school and college. Upon graduation, I was lucky enough to work for two great companies, PROEX Photo & Portrait and Buffalo Wild Wings. Fun Stuff, But Still Not My Cup of Tea.I worked in the marketing/advertising/graphic design field and got to work on fun, creative projects (although I had NEVER created a website). I can honestly say that I enjoyed those jobs, but I was already chafing under the reins of an eight or ten hour work day. Stressing out about getting to work on time, and getting home late.So after a number of years, I joined my then-fiancee at his construction business, handling marketing. That morphed into a new business, raising and training British Labradors at the $2+ million dollar facility we built in the middle of nowhere in northern Minnesota. Owning Your Own Business is Not Necessarily a Way Out.I learned that the hard way. Between the stress of starting a new business, being so deep in debt, the crumbling of our personal and professional relationship, and with nowhere to go...I left. Went to the post office and never went back.I moved back to the Twin Cities and moved in with a childhood friend who had just gotten divorced. That was the best move of my life. Two forty-something, single women living in a rented house in the town they grew up in. And Then I Returned to the Cubicle.Well, I did have to get a job, to pay the rent and utilities and all. So I did what normal people do - I got a job.It's a simple little job, with a nice little company that makes dog products. Great people to work with, and I get to bring my dogs to work, BUT I AM BACK IN THE CUBICLE! Giving In, But Not Giving Up.So I gave in and once again became part of the cubicle nation. But I didn't give up on creating something that I could call mine; something that would lift me out of the fray. And somehow, I thought that creating my own website was the way to go.I tried blogging on a couple different topics, but I really didn't know how to actually make money with a blog, and I heard that it can take years to get a blog that's as popular as, say, Dooce or The Pioneer Woman. My friend (and partner, Nick) and I even learned how to play blackjack and count cards. We thought we'd make lots of money, travel the world, and blog about our adventures. Yeah, right... Some Soul Searching Led Me to SBI.Needless to say, the past year has been rather stressful. I spent a lot of time on the internet, reading personal development websites while I tried to get my head screwed back on.One of my favorite sites is StevePavlina.com. I think maybe I just really like his slogan - Personal Development for Smart People! All kidding aside, I enjoyed reading through the reams of information that's available on his website, as well as listening to his podcasts. One of the products that he recommends on his site is SBI. SBI is a "system" that helps you build your own website. I actually tried to go to the SBI website early this year, but the link or something didn't work. A few months later, I saw more info on SBI and decided to try again to visit the site. Scrutinize Carefully, Then Go With Your Gut.I read through the SBI work-at-home information. I watched the video.I took the video tour. I browsed through the testimonials. I don't know a lot about websites, but I know what some of the pitfalls are. From what I had read, it appeared that SBI took those pitfalls right off your plate and handled them for you. SBI helps you find the right topic. Then it helps you find the right keywords. Then it helps you put the right keywords in the right places. It helps you build your pages, without any HTML knowledge whatsoever (trust me - I could no more create a website page using HTML then I could paint the Sistine Chapel). SBI coaches you on how to find your voice, and how to write to your audience. Then it teaches you how to drive traffic to your site, and finally how to monetize your site. And throughout the entire process, you have access to an incredible wealth of information via the Action Guide (in both written and video format) and the Forums, where just about any and every question has been raised and answered by fellow SBIers. Wow. I Went With My Gut.Something inside me said (yelled, actually), "Get off your duff and do this!" So I did. Or should I say, WE did. My friend Nick and I had $300 left over in profits from the blackjack escapade, and we decided to go for it. And we've never looked back.So Far, So Good. Really Good, Actually.There are a lot of steps to creating a website. We registered our domain name in May. I built the homepage in June. We had 32 unique visitors in June. That almost doubled to 58 in July. And we're on track to hit 200 unique visitors by the end of the month.And let's talk page views! The site had a whopping 93 page views in June, but jumped to 575 in July, and is on target for over 1,300 page views this month. AND our keywords are starting to rank. Go Slowly and Follow the Rules.We have just over 30 pages on the site so far, and have barely scratched the surface of our topic, which is fitness. I've just been doing what the guide tells me to do. AND IT'S WORKING!I keep adding more pages, writing about a topic that I'm passionate about. Nick isn't really into fitness, but he's an excellent photographer and video guy, and he's going to be handling that end of things while I keep writing. We haven't monetized the site yet. We want to get a few more directory links and a few more pages up before we do that. We plan on starting with some Adsense ads, and some affiliate programs for some of the products that we feature on the site. Keeping the Faith.SBI tells you to follow the Action Guide and keep putting up quality pages, and your readership and numbers will start to snowball. We're seeing that already. But if the numbers were to drop a little, we'd just keep plugging away, because I KNOW that our website will be successful, with a little help from SBI.Onward and Upward.We're already dreaming about and planning for our next site. OK, I'm dreaming; Nick is still hesitantly optimistic - he's a "Show me the money!" kinda guy.Our next website will be a travel site, and feature information about a warm, tropical paradise. We'll have to visit there a couple of times a year to stay current, of course. Anything I Can Do, You Can Do Better.Like I said, I'm not a professional website designer. There are so many things that I do not know how to do, such as:- Create a website - Write HTML code - Determine the best keywords - Optimize a website for search engines - Drive traffic to a website BUT, there are a number of things I do know how to do: - Write fairly well - Research information on the web - Organize information - Work out - Have passion about a topic - Be inquisitive - Network - Know a good thing when I see it If you can relate to those two lists above, I'd strongly suggest that you check out SBI for yourself. And when you hear that little voice whispering in your ear (OR SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOP), go with your gut. What have you got to lose? Oh, right, I forgot, there's a money-back guarantee too...
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