Sales from the EDGE
Back Issue #033
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Sales from the EDGE Issue #033
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Sales from the EDGE
Breaking Through the "White Noise" Of Selling on the Net
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>From time to time, the EDGE publishes important updates that
you need to SELL on the Net. Most "latest and greatest" Net
marketing & sales developments simply waste our time. Today's
"hot new technology" is tomorrow's "whatever happened to?"
Occasionally, though, something comes along that STICKS. It
might NOT even be NEW... but we need to be reminded. When
that happens, the EDGE cuts through all the "white noise" of
Web marketing. It explains the issue and outlines clearly
how YOU can best take advantage of it.
SALES FROM THE EDGE is sent ONLY to SiteSell product owners.
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December 26, 2002
Issue #033
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
o SITESELL NEWS
1) Held Over! Due To Overwhelming Response,
SiteSell Extends SBI! Holiday Promotion to the New Year
Buy-1-Get-1 Free Until January 3... Then It's Forever Gone
o Featured Article
1) "What's the Difference Between SBI! and..."
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>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITESELL NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>-News-
---1---
>-News-
Held Over! Due To Overwhelming Response,
SiteSell Extends SBI! Holiday Promotion to the New Year
Buy-1-Get-1 Free Until January 3... Then It's Forever Gone
Since we announced the SiteSell Holiday Promotional offer,
things have gone absolutely haywire around here. We've had
one record-breaking sales day after another... and tons and
tons of happy e-mail.
The overwhelming response has been gratifying for another
reason...
The Buy-1-Get-1 Free Holiday Special was restricted to SBI!
alone this year. So the response represents a resounding
vote of confidence for what we have been working on, day in
and day out, for the last three years.
People have been giving the free sites as gifts to FRIENDS,
to help them build a needed extra income stream. They've
been giving them to CLIENTS who need a way to build traffic
to an existing site. They've been keeping the second site
for THEMSELVES, knowing they'll start a second business
after this first one takes off (hey, they deserve to treat
themselves, too!). :-)
Yes...
*WE* (you and I) know Site Build It!'s all-in-one system of
e-commerce tools and Web hosting is the ultimate solution
for any small business person/netrepeneur/affiliate marketer
doing BUSINESS (or planning to do business) on the Net.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Perhaps most unbelievable is how much better
it's going to get shortly...
1) Value Exchange
(REAL and effective link-exchanging)
2) Full SBI!-HTML Editor Compatibility
(yes, FrontPage, DreamWeaver, etc.!)
3) Open Rate for MailOut
4) Directory HQ reporting
5) Addition of MSN to Search Engines HQ --
just added, along with several refinements
to HQ reporting!
6) E-goods
(from merchant account to fulfillment)
7) 2-tier Affiliate Program
(same way we do it at SiteSell)
Can you just imagine the power of these
additional features? Wow!
Our final goal? ANY small business person
who sees Site Build It! will think...
"NO-brainer. Why WOULDN'T I use this?"
-----SIDEBAR-----
But still...
There are so many people who think that ALL they have to do
is build site and "they will come." No, a site is not a
Yellow Pages ad -- it can (and should) be far, far MORE, of
course!
And there are those who believe that a 10 minute investment
of time to throw up a template site is enough to build a
vibrant, trafficked, profitable Internet presence. Sorry,
the REAL world does not work like that.
It never did.
And the Internet, while it makes many things possible, does
not and cannot suspend the laws of reality.
So... while the cyber-snake oil salesmen of the Net ply
their wares on those happy to buy into fairy tale stories of
instant "internet riches," you and I have been WORKING,
getting the Site Build It! message out there...
-----------------------------------
Why build JUST a Web site...
.... when you COULD build a BUSINESS!
-----------------------------------
And now, the barriers are tumbling. The word is spreading
like wildfire. Thousands of small business people worldwide
have chosen Site Build It! to build their BUSINESSES for one
simple reason...
It WORKS.
Yes, YOU have to work it. SBI! does not create ITS OWN
content. It will not build your product or service for you.
But it DOES remove the technology, the tedium, the hard
parts, the barriers to using the Net SUCCESSFULLY.
-----SIDEBAR-----
After all, you don't have to understand and
fight the technology of the telecommunications
industry to make a business phone call, do
you?.
That's the way e-commerce should be. Just DO
your business. THAT's what SBI! does...
It empowers you to just do your BUSINESS.
-----SIDEBAR-----
All YOU have to do is provide the MOTIVATION to build a
GENUINE business -- ANY kind of business, whether you...
o sell a service or a product, locally or globally
o are a rep/distributor/IBO or a 1-10 employee small
business
o work from home or in an office
.... even if you don't have your own product to sell (Neil
Shearing is paying his affiliates $50 if they use SBI! to
promote his product -- THAT'S how effective SBI! is!).
But no...
It's not MAGIC. It's an all-tools-in-one-place solution.
It's not a MIRACLE. It's a simple, practical system anyone
can follow.
And it WORKS.
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding...
===========================================================
I love SBI. It has been the best investment I have made in a
long time. I began back in February 2002, and after the
success of my telescope review site went on to build a
second site, now I'm starting a 3rd and already have an idea
for a fourth. But it's not just SBI, it's also Ken's book
which is a step by step guide and the SBI manager which
makes researching a site concept a breeze. Put these three
things together and you have a powerful tool, allowing even
a novice like me to have a financially successful business.
Thanks Ken.
Caroline Bennett
Melbourne, Australia
http://www.telescopehome.com
reviews@telescopehome.com
Alexa ranking: 145,240
============================================================
And here's a wonderful case study -- take the time to read it
from start to end...
http://AssociatePrograms.com/search/site-build-it.shtml
-----SIDEBAR-----
While this case study relates to someone who
wanted to build affiliate income, the
principles apply to EVERY small business.
-----SIDEBAR-----
As a result of strong demand to "please hold this over until
after Christmas," we're extending our Buy-1-Get-1-Free
Holiday Promotion to the New Year. And then...
It's gone... forever! At the rate that SiteSell is
growing, we just won't able to offer this again.
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
Happy Holidays. Have a healthy and best-ever New Year. :-)
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>> THIS ISSUE'S FEATURED ARTICLE
PREAMBLE: The following article was first published last
week in our SITE-SELL! e-zine. We had a lot of fun, and an
outrageous response from our SITE-SELL! e-zine readers to
this piece.
The article got started because we receive so many e-mails
asking us why SBI! is so much better than Verisign or
bCentral, or this sitebuilder or that Wet host, etc. Paul
Crane, SBI! Product Manager, came up with that wonderful
old "tree in the forest" analogy and it just grew from there.
Enjoy. It's a good piece. It was a lot of fun to write,
and it answers "the question" well. :-)
-------
---1---
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"What's the Difference Between SBI! and...?"
Remember that age-old philosophical riddle?...
If a tree falls in a far-away forest, with no one around...
Does it make a sound?
Well...
If a Web site sits out there in "the blue nowhere of
cyberspace" and no one visits...
Does it make any business?
And if not, why pay for it?
We'll see how this applies in just a minute.
-----
Site Build It! isn't the only product available claiming to
be the "ultimate" solution for small business owners on the
Net. However, while some of our competitors' services
appear sufficient AT FIRST GLANCE, it turns out that they're
masters at mastering "the first glance."
So take a CLOSER look at any offering that you THINK might
compete with SBI!. A closer inspection will most certainly
reveal them to be anything but true "competition."
In fact, all these "small business solutions" make great
case studies on how to "nickel and dime" your customers to
death. It must be painful, getting hit with all those
nickels and dimes all year long!
So what brought on this favorite pet peeve rant?
Someone sent us an e-mail the other day, asking us...
"What's the difference between SBI! and Verisign?"
It could have been any one of several other major providers
of "small business solutions" but in this case, it was
Verisign. So before I responded, I decided to check out
Verisign myself...
http://www.verisignwebsites.com/
-----SIDEBAR-----
Thousands of SOHOs, small businesses (1-10
employees), e-merchants, service businesses,
NOHOs, affiliates, local businesses with
local (!) clients and reps/IBOs/distributors
have used SBI! to establish successful
businesses. More and more, SBI! is being
recognized as playing with "the big boys," so
it is kind of nice getting those questions.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Take a look yourself...
http://www.verisignwebsites.com/
This is yet another sad (yet happy for us) example of the
"state of the Net" when it comes to meeting the needs of the
small business person.
Verisign's product (called "SiteToGo10") reflects the
quintessential difference between SBI! and every other
"small business solution" on the Net. We call their
approach...
"Instant gratification followed by slow, steady frustration."
By the way, try their process shown at...
http://www.verisignwebsites.com/
I did.
I followed the process illustrated on the Versign site. And
I really suggest you do the same in order to understand the
approach.
Yes, it really DOES only take 10 minutes to build a 5 page
Web site. And it costs $99 (so, by extension, a 10-page Web
site = $199).
After you complete the "site-building" process, you end up
with a "templatized tree in the blue nowhere"...
o These aren't the sort of pages that draw targeted
traffic from the Search Engines by focusing on the keywords
unique to your clientele.
o These pages don't build relationships or instill the
trust necessary to inspire a potential client to pick up the
phone and call you.
This is, very simply, an unvisited "e-Yellow Pages" site.
Just one more lonely "About Us" brochure that no one visits
except a couple of current clients, who'll never return.
------
But wait, that's just the beginning...
Try to protect your head! You're about to get pelted with
nickels and dimes.
Here's the actual copy on the site once you're about to sign
up, after you've gone through their quickie process...
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SiteToGo10
The ultimate in business Web sites for those
with their own Web hosting. SiteToGo offers
the flexibility of 10 professionally-designed
Web pages for your business, plus live chat
online support and 30 days access to the Web
Site Manager FREE ($6.95 a month thereafter).
If you decide not to keep Web Site Manager,
you will need to make your own arrangements
to edit your Web site.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Yes... $6.95 a month just to keep using the Web Site Manager.
Disillusioned? Hold on, it gets worse still (I feel like an
infomercial IN REVERSE!)...
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A domain registration fee of $35.00 per year
will be billed separately by VeriSign. After
registering your web address, please allow up
to three business days for it to become active.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
.... and believe it or not, the nickels and dimes continue to
bang you all over your noggin.
So far we have...
o $199 for a 10 page Web site
o $76.45 for the use of Site Manager
for the remainder of the year
o $35.00 for domain registration.
And this does not yet include your site's hosting (no, I'm
NOT making this up!), which ranges from $20 to $100 PER
MONTH on top of everything else.
So add a MINIMUM of another $240 (maximum of $1200!).
All those nickels and dimes added up to...
$450.45 for a 5-page site
or...
$550.45 for a 10-page site
.... up to a MAXIMUM total of over $1500 ANNUALLY.
------
So how can Verisign get away with it?
Most small business people are used to paying at least $50
per month for a Yellow Pages ad, and do so without blinking.
My local pharmacist pays $14,000 per year for a variety of
Yellow Pages ads that he buys in various categories. And
they don't expect much from that investment -- it's simply
something they must do.
So for many on the Net, it's the same sort of thing.
Someone told them they needed a Web site, so they got a Web
site. And they pay the $50-$100-$200 per month... month
after month, secure in the knowledge this is simply
something to be added to the everyday cost of doing
business...
.... just like their Yellow Pages ad. Heck, it's cheap
compared to the Yellow Pages!
But NOW...
People are discovering Site Build It!. Do you know what
the most common question is, by phone AND by e-mail...
"What's the catch?"
I LOVE that question.
No catch.
Compare Site Build It! against its major competitors...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/compare.html
No catch.
Except for all the wonderful e-mail we CATCH...
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
We are just coming up to our second anniversary and will
break 50,000 visitors for the first time this month. Since
August, our traffic has tripled, probably because of the
Google and Yahoo deal. Our first year we had 77,000 visitors
and this year we will have 293,000. We have had visitors
from over 90 different countries the past few months.
Ken and Cheryl Bryski
Nanaimo, British Columbia
http://www.quick-easy-recipes.com
gramma-cookie@quick-easy-recipes.com
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-----SIDEBAR-----
We just did a really important piece in the 5
Pillar Report on offline businesses with
LOCAL clientele, the Yellow Pages, and the
truly tremendous potential that the Net holds
for these "last to get the Net" businesses...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/yp.jpg
The above little ad, placed in a single
location in the Yellow Pages, costs more than
SBI!, which literally builds sites that
attracts tens of thousands of customers.
If you are not yet a 5 Pillar Affiliate, get
this back issue (#107) by joining at...
http://affiliates.sitesell.com/
And we are not the only ones catching on to
the needs of the "local" small business...
Local small business owners will be
interested in Sharon Fling's wonderful
e-book, "How To Promote Your Small Business
On The Internet." It is without a doubt, the
single best publication on this topic.
If you're familiar with SiteSell.com, you'll
know we don't make recommendations often, nor
lightly. But I have been mentioning Sharon's
book because it's a book that makes a
difference.
I am a big believer in the importance of the
Net to local businesses. And Sharon's voice
is one of the first in this wilderness. Her
voice is clear, sharp and original. So I'm
doing something that I've never done before...
If you are a small business owner trying to
figure out how to get the most out of the
Net, we've arranged for YOU to buy the book
at 50% off the posted price, by giving up our
affiliate commission of 50%.
You can buy it at...
http://geolocal.com/ss/sitesellspecial.htm
You can read more about the book at...
http://www.localbizpromo.com/
And, of course, Sharon won't mind if you
prefer to buy it at full price, which you may
do by clicking to her order page! ;-)
Either way, "How to Promote Your Local
Business on the Internet" is a fantastic
MUST-read publication for anyone wishing to
use the Net to expand a LOCAL BUSINESS.
Highly recommended!...
http://geolocal.com/ss/sitesellspecial.htm
-----SIDEBAR-----
Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there. But heck, that's
why I call them "SIDEBARS." :-)
So, back to Versign and the other major players in the small
business hosting business...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/compare.html
Bottom line?...
Verisign says it's possible to build a bona fide Web business
in 10 minutes flat. While this will appeal to some, all
except the "get-rich-quick" folk understand that NOTHING of
value gets created in 10 minutes.
Nothing.
-----
Although I've been picking on Verisign here, it isn't the
only company that fails to recognize the realities of the
needs of the small business/netrepreneur in cyberspace.
None of the "big name" providers are doing any better.
And here's the worst news about all those nickels and dimes...
they don't begin to deliver the functionality required to
build a real, live, breathing, thriving business.
SBI! includes a staggering array of functionality...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/index.html#FEATURES
And we're not stopping there. Coming soon...
1) Value Exchange (REAL and effective link-exchanging)
2) Full SBI!-HTML Editor Compatibility
(yes, FrontPage, DreamWeaver, etc.!)
3) Open Rate for MailOut
4) Directory HQ reporting
5) Addition of MSN to Search Engines HQ (Live NOW!)
6) E-goods (from merchant account to fulfillment)
7) 2-tier Affiliate Program (same way we do it at SiteSell)
.... all at no added cost (except for the upcoming e-commerce
bundle which will also offer unparalleled value).
Please do compare, head to head, and see how Site Build It!
measures up against the major competitors...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/compare.html
In the end, RESULTS speak for themselves. As thousands
have testified, Site Build It! just plain SUCCEEDS...
-------------------------------------------
Today is my birthday and what a birthday
present I got thanks to SBI!. I opened it up
this morning to count 75 - that's Seventy
Five! - #1 Search Engine ratings. Things have
not gone this well for me in decades and I am
flying high on myself and my site. I have
this great site selling something I love, and
money in the bank from selling it. A great
Birthday Present. Thanks to you guys at
SiteSell!
Karen Copeland?
Golf South Africa
golf-travel-packagessouthafrica.com
-------------------------------------------
Got a business to build? Just thinking about it? Take
advantage of our last ever Buy-1-Get-1-Free sale.
And take advantage, too, of our "Money-Back Satisfaction &
Success Guarantee." It turns your purchase into a "no risk
take-it-home-for-a-test-drive" trial.
For full info about Site Build It!, please visit...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
After all...
Why build JUST a Web site, when you COULD build a BUSINESS?
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SiteSell Discount Directory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
Please bookmark this page -- it's the only page that you
will EVER need to buy SiteSell products at an owners-only
discount. For owners of SiteSell products ONLY, it provides
discounts on all products, except for MYSS! 2002 -- if I
reduced the price on it, I'd have to pay *you* to buy it!
;-)
SiteSell Discount Directory
http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
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Contact info: E-mail us at support@sitesell.com
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Written by Ken Evoy, M.D.,
President, SiteSell.com
(c) copyright 2002 SiteSell.com
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