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SITE-SELL! Issue #038
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SITE-SELL! The World's Most USABLE E-commerce E-zine
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A free, occasional e-zine dedicated to showing you...
... how to SELL on the Net!
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December 9, 2003 Issue #038
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All-Time Favorite SITE-SELL! Article
If a friend forwarded this copy of SITE-SELL! to you, here's
our readers' all-time favorite SITE-SELL! article. It's a
powerful example (using the luxurious Beverly Hills Hotel)
of how to makeover your own site to...
... SELL on the Net!
http://articles.sitesell.com/bhh/
If you like what you see and want to keep getting more of
the same, SITE-SELL! is free. Please visit...
http://myss.sitesell.com/s-ezine.html
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Reader's Choice...
Care to see the VERY BEST ARTICLE (according to reader
feedback) from each of our OTHER two e-zines?...
http://articles.sitesell.com/
And NEW... a sample of SBIX...
http://adsense.sitesell.com/
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Table of Contents
o SITE-SELL! Xpress News
1) Form Build It! Launches!
2) SBI! Price Increasing Now
3) WebMail Huge Hit, Already 16% of All SBI! Traffic
It's HUGE. SBIers LOVE It. So We're Growing It.
--
o Featured Articles
1) "Hard work pays off later.
Laziness pays off now!"
2) "How Can *MY* Business BEST Use the Web?"
It All Depends on WHAT You Do... *THIS* is Important
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITE-SELL XPRESS NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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So MUCH happening! And...
So much still to happen before end-of-year, including the
price increase, Teoma/Jeeves addition to our engine modules,
Value Exchange Part II release, and others, that I can
hardly keep up! Let's get right into the news...
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---1---
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Form Build It! Launches!
Look, up in the SiteSell sky!
It's faster than a speeding bullet train.
It's more powerful than a top-of-the-line Mac G5.
It's more user-friendly than Jakob Nielsen.
It's cooler than Radiohead!
And it's slicker than Richard Gere!
It's Form Build It!. Yes...
We have launched the much anticipated Form Build It! (FBI!)
module. It significantly leverages the already awesome
functionality and earning potential of every SBI! site.
Not only that, but the new FBI! module sports tremendous new
technology... it's very likely our best work to date. FBI!
is indeed slick, super-fast, and extremely user-friendly.
Best of all, it's jam-packed with powerful, flexible features!
-----
So what is Form Build It! exactly?
It's a brand new module that allows SBIers to create
everything from simple "Feedback" forms, to complex
registration or reservation forms, surveys, and so on...
- Contact Us Form (cut down on spam --> no e-mail address!)
- Feedback Form
- Customer Survey
- Sales Contact Form
- Request Form
- Send Info Form (identify qualified/targeted prospects)
- Problem Notification Form
- Application for Employment
- Simple Non-Credit-Card Order Form
- Registration Form
- Subscription Form for AutoResponder Series
- Reservation Form
- Sweepstakes
You build your form, add it to your Web page (works with
both SiteBuilder and HTML Editor Compatibility module), and
then watch the leads, referrals, etc. come pouring in.
You can search and analyze results, since the gathered data
is all stored in your database. You can also opt to receive
an e-mail notification of each submission with all the data
from the form, and even cc that e-mailed data to others.
And you can even send a sequential AutoResponder (a SiteSell
Masters Course would be an example of this in action).
Create unlimited single or sequential AutoResponder messages
(up to 7, to be sent out at the interval of your choosing),
which are ideal for special reports, 5 or 7-day e-courses,
primers, introductions, etc.
Not only can you build simple or complex surveys or polls,
you can deliver poll results to participants in graphic or
tabular format. Full flexibility. Total control.
And, as usual... no need to know HTML, CGI, etc., etc. But
I didn't really have to say that by now, did I? ;-)
Most importantly... FBI! provides an excellent new way to
monetize traffic, too... earning finder's fees, especially
from offline businesses. Generate new revenue streams by
capitalizing on the "age-old" finder/referrer monetization
model. This is especially exciting as it allows SBIers to
capitalize on opportunities offered by the *offline* world.
And of course, we've built plenty of extra goodies into FBI!,
to leverage all this extra functionality just that little
bit further...
o Advanced data management features, including the ability
to search form data (stored in your database) according to
specified criteria, as well as advanced sorting and data
export options.
o "Receipt enabled", allowing an SBIer and two additional
contacts to receive immediate notification of any submitted
form, including all the submitted data and even the ISP
address of the submitter.
o Easy form editing and management in the super-intuitive
Form Build It! Library.
o Customized "Thank Page" complete with the compiled data
presented in graph or tabular format (optional).
And naturally, FBI! is just as easy to integrate into SBI!'s
SiteBuilder block-by-block builder, as it is into the pages
created by your favorite HTML Editor... be it Dreamweaver,
FrontPage, or whatever.
Early feedback from SBIers has told us that FBI! has indeed
"been worth the wait"...
----------------------------------
To the SBI! team,
Congratulations on Form Build It!
Awesome potential.
Another great, great addition to SBI!.
Regards,
Richard Dowell
rdowell@tecserve.com
best-managers-business-online.com
best-managers-training.com
best-managers-web-services.com
----------------------------------
----------------------------------
This is a winner!!!
I have spent the past few days playing with
FBI!. The power of FBI! is only just starting
to hit me.
Kind Regards
Marc Liron
marc@certified-sbi-webmaster.com
www.updatexp.com
----------------------------------
Bottom line? A package like this is invaluable for
leveraging WHATEVER you do with a site. And you'd pay (for
all the no-ads features and benefits of FBI!) at least $400
at companies like aweber. AND you don't get the
"all-under-one-roof" integration of SBI!...
... it's almost like we "throw SBI! in for free." ;-)
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---2---
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SBI! Price Increasing Now
As soon as Form Build It! launched, we started testing for
"the best next price" for SBI!. It's been years since there
was a price increase for SBI!, despite all the new and
advanced functionality.
http://buildit.sitesell.com/sbi-businesses/value.html
So much has been added at no extra price over those years.
And the results that SBI! users generate...
http://results.sitesell.com/
http://buildit.sitesell.com/sbi-businesses/traffic-alexa.html
http://seminars.sitesell.com/
... speak for themselves! (Literally "speak" for
themselves" on the radio show URL above.)
As much as I'd love to leave the price at the current level,
SBIers are using enormous amounts of CPU and bandwidth,
which is increasing costs. And then there are the major,
special expenditures to buy hardware and build the
infrastructure to support the growth.
*ALMOST* too much of a good thing... but I call these
"pleasant problems" -- it's the ultimate proof that our
customers are succeeding significantly. :-) WebMail alone
is enormous (it now accounts for 16% of our traffic!). Yes,
we're victims of our own success! :-)
A few tidbits from the testing, so far...
1) We are actually getting more unit sales at US$349 than
US$299. Yes, the cheaper price is generating a "too good to
be true" impression in people's minds. People are more
comfortable at a higher price. (I'll explain the exact
methodology of this study after we're finished -- we'll also
compare the results with a 1-day MYPS! survey.)
2) There is virtually no price resistance at $399 and $499.
Just as many people buy at those levels. We should have
added a $999 test, but I would not boost it to levels we
do not "need" to be at, so why bother. It would be
interesting, however.
--
The "vote with your wallet" price test is no longer entering
new candidates, although it is still tracking the cohort in
the study. And we are now doing an MYPS! (Make Your Price
Sell!) survey on a randomly selected group of certain
customers. The upcoming article on the two ways to do
price-testing, and what they reveal, will be fascinating.
But for now, here's the bottom line...
It's about 95% sure, pending final results, that the new
price for SBI! will be US$499... and it's 100% sure that the
price will go up Wednesday, 2AM of this week (i.e., Tuesday
night to Wednesday morning overnight).
-----SIDEBAR-----
As you will see from that upcoming article,
the "vote with your wallet" kind of
real-time, a-b-c-d, order- page testing (of 4
different price points) is simply not
realistic except for the highest-traffic
sites. But the MYPS! study can be done in a
fraction of the time, for a ridiculously low
cost when you consider the information
obtained, and can be done by any small
business.
Watch for this upcoming article. As far as I
know, it's the first time such a "live,
real-time" comparison has been done anywhere.
It's important, and fascinating, material.
-----SIDEBAR-----
So... if you've been considering an SBI! purchase, now is
the time. The price goes (almost certainly) to $499
tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2AM, Eastern time. Please use the
$299 version of the Order Page to purchase...
https://secure.sitesell.com/build/order.html
No matter what the price goes to, SBI! will still be the
best bargain on the Net. But if you've been thinking of
investing in SBI!... there's no harm in getting it at a
price that will never be seen again.
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---3---
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WebMail Huge Hit, Already 16% of All SBI! Traffic
It's HUGE. SBIers LOVE It. So We're Growing It.
A month or so ago, I reported to 5 Pillar Affiliates that
WebMail accounted for 9% of SiteSell traffic -- when I first
wrote that article a few days before that, it was 7%!
More recently, I reported that it was up to 11%.
And today, it's 17%!
Yes, 17% of all sitesell.com traffic.
SBIers USE it... like crazy. I guess I shouldn't be
surprised, because Web-based e-mail also accounts for a huge
part of Yahoo!'s and MSN's traffic (38% and 75%,
respectively). Still, while we all thought it would be a
useful function, we did not expect it to be THIS big.
It shows the tremendous need for Web-based e-mail...
It's so darn convenient and easy to use. It keeps
everything you do under one roof. It's better than having
your own Hotmail or Yahoo! mail account, of course.
And for AOL and MSN users, it really is a blessing...
AOL users need the expensive "AOL BUSINESS" solution to send
e-mail using a "non-@aol.com" address. There is one
"teeny" problem with that solution -- the AOL BUSINESS
customer gets about 5% of what SBI! offers, 0.5% of the
success, at much greater cost.
More and more ISPs (beside aol.com, msn.com -- check with
yours to see -- it's important) are insisting that you use
their mail servers, even to the point that you use THEIR
DOMAIN NAMES in your e-mail address when you mail out.
However, being forced to mail from "billy_34@aol.com" hurts
your professionalism. You simply must use an e-mail address
from your domain.
Other advantages...
You can get and receive your e-mail at any computer, any
place in the world -- even the most remote Internet cafe in
Timbuktu. Since the mail is stored at OUR computer, and
not on yours, you have total flexibility AND protection
(including backup protection and uptime).
E-mail really is the Net's "Killer App." WebMail is indeed
the wave of the future for SMALL BUSINESS e-mail. Now that
WebMail is rock-solid, we're starting on the next round of
WebMail product features -- we'll be growing it...
WebMail is big. Bigger than we thought. So we'll be
pouring some time and energy to make it bigger and better,
while still keeping the current easy-to-use format that
EVERYONE has been raving to us about.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FEATURED ARTICLE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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---1---
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"Hard work pays off later.
Laziness pays off now!"
It's human nature, I suppose, to take the easy way. After
all, many inventions and ground-breaking-new tools are about
reducing the work of doing things. There have even been
physical fitness machines to reduce the work of "getting
fit." This example, in particular, leads us to the "downside
point" of what we'll be discussing here.
It's natural to seek to reduce the amount of work required
to accomplish one's task. If not, we'd still be hunting
with rocks and spears. And those kinds of innovative tools
are great.
But when you cross the line into the world of the "get-it-
quick-and-easy" lads, well... that's where it gets ugly.
Which brings me back to the physical fitness machines that
need no work...
Remember that machine that would send millions of little
shocks into your abdominal muscles, causing them to contract
and thereby giving you "abs of rock"?
Sorry, "abs of rock" requires millions of situps. That
machine was a total fraud, devoted to separating people from
their money due to this basic law of nature...
"Hard work pays off later.
Laziness pays off now!"
There are, unfortunately, millions of these
"easy-abs-of-rock" guys in the Net marketing business, ready
to prey upon...
o the opportunity seekers -- buys one biz-opp after another
o the get-rich-quick chaser -- doomed to disappointment
o the latest scheme sucker -- over and over again.
It takes only a second to think logically...
"Hey, wait a second, if that 'Instant-Money-Button'
really worked-as-advertised, why would it be for sale?"
But when under the spell of the latest "get-rich-quick,"
something happens to the logic center of the brain -- the
blood supply to it shuts down.
And it's not just the "get-rich-quick" guys -- even the
largest companies have focused on what's easy... putting up
a site, and collecting the money. You'll see tons of Web
hosts and e-commerce enabling companies. But what's the
point, if it's not all part of a comprehensive process that
generates traffic, that THEN turns into dollars?
It's taken a long time to clearly separate ourselves from
the pack of "get-rich-quick" small guys and what I call the
"flawed model" big guys. If anything, you could label us
the (very unflashy) "succeed if you work at it" folks. :-)
Because make no mistake about it...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
SBI! is *NOT* promising instant riches, money flowing in
beyond your ability to count it. It's merely a powerful
process and system of tools to make it easier to...
... build a business. That's what GOOD tools are all
about... help small business people make it easier to work
hard NOW, which will pay off LATER.
And speaking of building a business... a REAL business...
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---2---
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"How Can *MY* Business BEST Use the Web?"
It All Depends on WHAT You Do... *THIS* is Important
To repeat...
"Hard work pays off later.
Laziness pays off now!"
Based on this, what do you think is the natural instinct
that the average small business person has with respect to
the Net?
...
...
Yup...
"I gotta get a site up."
They seek the fastest, easiest way. If they can afford it,
they'll throw money at it, because that's a fast and easy
way... for them. For example, here are two beautiful
Anguilla Web sites, both selling accommodations...
http://arawakbeach.com/
And the other...
http://www.tortuevilla.com/
... which is even more sensational, but actually worse. All
Flash. Search Engines have nothing to read.
Two beautiful, expensive sites. But they are both dismally
behind this $299 one in what counts --> targeted traffic...
http://www.anguilla-beaches.com/
Simple. Text-based. Miles ahead of the first two in
traffic.
And done with SBI! by a 15 year-old.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Yup, my daughter. :-)
Sorry to use her site as an example. There
are hundreds others if you like, which
apply equally well...
http://results.sitesell.com/
... but it's simply easiest (i.e., laziest)
for me to write about something I know. ;-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
Oh, there's a catch. The 15-year old followed a process.
And the process involves building content...
... which gets found, bringing her high volumes of targeted
traffic, day in and day out, without spending a penny on
Pay-Per-Click Search Engines, etc.
... which PREsells, developing thousands of loyal fans who
sign up for e-zines, building a business base
... which THEN, and only then, is worth monetizing, through
a variety of methods (from Google ads and affiliates to
selling of e-goods, hard goods, services, offline referrals,
etc., etc., etc.).
I still find it hard to believe that the above process has
not filtered to the outside world. Folks using SBI!
are taking candy from babies. Sure, you could follow the
basic 10-DAY process of SBI! without actually USING SBI!.
But folks don't even seem to do that.
They still, even in this day and age...
... put up a site.
And then... they die... virtually.
--
Naturally, depending on your TYPE of business, the exact
implementation of HOW your SPECIFIC type of small business
succeeds will vary. While the basic underlying process
remains similar throughout, the details will vary.
SBI! is flexible and easily accommodates all kinds of small
businesses. And that's why we've developed many different
SBI! sales sites, each one loaded with useful information
that shows the particular small business person HOW to
succeed, depending on the type of business they have.
As you'll see, the overall approach and philosophy change
dramatically from business-type to business-type. But
the underlying process remains the same.
Investigate now...
http://find.sitesell.com/
Find your own business. Review that site. Then...
Compare the approach and concepts outlined for each type of
business. You'll see how different-yet-the-same they are.
One theme that is consistent throughout, however...
"Hard work pays off later.
Laziness pays off now!"
--
Take a hard look in the mirror. Ask yourself what is it
that you really want out of the Net. If you're not ready
to delay instant gratification, to work NOW, to get your
payoff LATER in strong, ongoing, low-cost-and-time traffic
and business...
... then you're really looking for get-rich-quick. And in
that case...
Stop. Shut your monitor. The appropriate monitor is in the
living room. Some people would simply be much happier if
they recognized that basic truth about themselves, sooner
rather than later. It would avoid a lot of frustration.
--
P.S. I like to think that our sites communicate the benefits
and features of Site Build It!. But the fact is that SBI! is
a big concept. Huge in scope.
And SBI! is different, a quantum leap ahead.
While SBI! is easy to use, the concept is not easy to grasp,
until you have done it. And that means it's possible for
you to come *SO* close to making an investment that will
change the future of your small business, then bookmark our
site (i.e., procrastinate) and then...
... well, the Net is indeed a big place.
And it's easy to move on and make the wrong decision. We've
received e-mail from folks who've done just that. After a
year or two wasted, along with thousands of dollars, they
finally "hear about SBI! again." Within a few months, their
SBI!-driven business is up and thriving.
Here's how easily it can happen. Mr. Jacco Blankenspoor
almost missed the message....
------------------------------------------
The package contains way more than expected.
I thought it was just some super-fancy
hosting (with marketing tracking and such),
but it turns out to be a complete guide to
build a business, with strategy and all.
Really worth the money!
I didn't know this before I bought. Was I
just misreading or may this be something to
place on your site (since in my opinion it
really raises the value of the whole package)?
Jacco Blankenspoor
jacco@pluginmedia.nl
Netherlands
------------------------------------------
No, he didn't "misread." It can be difficult to really
"get" how good and complete this process and package of
tools are. SBI! is THAT much farther ahead of everything
else.
So, if you are the least bit unsure, the least bit confused,
please do what Mr. Blankenspoor did...
Do not bookmark us.
Do not put the decision off.
Instead, please realize...
You can't lose if you try it.
You can only lose if you do not try it.
As a valued subscriber, my advice to you is to order today
and try it BEFORE the price increases...
https://secure.sitesell.com/build/order.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITESELL PRODUCTS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Site Build It!
"E-commerce for the rest of us"
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
Take the SBI! Quick Tour at...
http://quicktour.sitesell.com/
Make Your Site SELL! 2002
"The definitive work on making any Web site SELL!"
http://myss.sitesell.com/
Make Your Knowledge Sell!
"Turn knowledge into income -- sell your brain on the Net."
http://myks.sitesell.com/
Make Your Price Sell!
"Price with complete confidence & double your Net profits."
http://myps.sitesell.com/
Make Your Words Sell!
"Want to sell MORE? Become an e-persuader."
http://myws.sitesell.com/
Make Your Net Auction Sell!
"An e-biz in every closet... Get into Auction Action!"
http://mynas.sitesell.com/
-----------------------------------------------
Free SBI! Resources
-----------------------------------------------
o SpamCheck Report
Now your readers can stay out of the "Junk Mail Folder."
For this free service, please visit...
http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/
o SiteSell Value Exchange
"The World's ONLY Value Exchanger"
Exchange links in a way that search engines LOVE...
http://value-exchange.sitesell.com/
-----------------------------------------------
SiteSell University: The Masters Courses (Free)
-----------------------------------------------
SiteSell University is free. The Masters Courses cover all
the vital "must-get-it-right" issues with fresh, original,
and valuable thinking. You won't read this anywhere else on
the Net. And, best of all, the courses are free.
Take the courses that interest you today. You'll receive
your first e-mail installment immediately, followed by four
more installments daily.
Service Sellers Masters Course
Attract new clients from around the world...
Or from around the block
tsms@sitesell.net
Affiliate Masters Course
Shows you how to become a high-earning affiliate champion.
tams@sitesell.net
InfoProducts Masters Course
How to brainstorm, create, produce, and sell
your very own infoproduct online
tims@sitesell.net
Pricing Masters Course
"How much money are YOU leaving on the table?"
tpms@sitesell.net
Netwriting Masters Course
Want to sell more? Write better.
twms@sitesell.net
Net Auction Masters Course
Start and grow a profitable Net auction business.
tnams@sitesell.net
------------------
Other Free Goodies
------------------
SiteSell.com's 5 Pillar Affiliate Program
Graduated from the Aff Master's Course? Get your PhD, Free!
And Earn Substantial Lifetime Income at the Same Time.
http://affiliates.sitesell.com/
The SBI! Sweepstakes
Win a Free Site Build It!
http://sweeps.sitesell.com/
***The Best Free Books on the Net***
Including the Invaluable Bible on Pricing
http://freetrial.sitesell.com/
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Back issues available at...
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written by Ken Evoy, M.D.
President, SiteSell.com
(c) copyright 2003 SiteSell.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~