I recently received an email from SiteSell, the company behind Site Build It or SBI, the product I use to research and build profitable niche websites announcing a mind blowing $50,000 prize giveaway for doing some simple research on the Internet.
SiteSell has been very generous to me over the years, and as far as I can remember, this is the biggest prize money I have experienced them giving away. Needless to say that I am going to participate in the contest.
If you haven’t heard about Site Build It, it is the single best and most comprehensive tool I know off that helps you research, plan, build, market and monetize a niche website. It is the only, all in one comprehensive tool you will ever need. And of all the products that I am constantly pitched to try out and review, I cannot say there is anything out there that even compares.
I used SBI to build my first ever profitable niche website, and still use it today now that I have 16 profitable niche websites and more in the works. They are the single biggest enabler of my success online and responsible for most of the passive and residual income that I generate on the internet that has allowed me to live a financially abundant life for years all on my own terms.
But enough about my relationship with SiteSell, here is how YOU can win the $50,000 prize giveaway straight from the horse’s mouth:
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If you can find documented proof that another product, or collection of information and tools, delivers everything that SBI! does (or more), at the price of SBI! (or less) AND that product documents success to the depth that SBI! does, we will pay you $50,000.
Scour the Web in search of another product like SBI!, one that claims to enable anyone to create Web sites that build profitable businesses. These products may themselves be “all-in-one.”
Or perhaps they offer a free webinar that “upsells” other tools to execute the webinar strategies.
Or maybe they assemble an “SBI!-equivalent” of WordPress, plug-ins, additional software, information sources, guidance hosting, and so on.
Price it all out and then compare the success rates. What folks will find it just how much time and money it really takes to “do WordPress” if your goal is e-business success.
However a “competitor” operates, if it’s offered on the Web as an e-business solution, it’s fair game for “Match It!.”
If you find a company or a service that offers comparable tools and success rates at a price lower than SBI!, post it right on our SiteSell Facebook Wall…
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You can read more about the contest and the rules on SiteSell’s Facebook Fan Page where the contest was first announced, followed by the newsletter release.
There is a lot of debate over whether one should blog or build a website as a business. I have repeatedly mentioned this in the past, and firmly believe that a blog in and of itself is not a business, neither is blogging. A blog can certainly supplement and assist an underlying business such as providing a specific service or selling a product, but blogging as a business rarely works and is not the most effective in my opinion.
Sitesell’s full blown article on blogging vs. building is the most comprehensive perspective I have read on this topic, which further reinforces where I stand on this debate. And if that article doesn’t do it for you, read what countless SBI users have to say about this debate first hand.
What happens to your blog when you stop blogging? Can you expect to sustain the same traffic and income levels? Likely not. If you think you are making passive income blogging you are highly mistaken.
A blog can support your business, passive or active, but it in of itself is not a passive business model. SiteSell explains this in further detail and demonstrates how you can create a passive business online.
I am really excited about this contest because not only are we talking some serious change, but also because one of the best companies is hosting it. SiteSell has been around for years now and recently, because of all the newer turnkey tools that have emerged including WordPress, there has been chatter about whether Site Build It is dead.
I think it’s nuts to even question that personally. I believe this contest will put all doubts to rest and once again prove that Site Build It was and still is the single best tool out there to build a profitable business online.
If you happen to spend some time reading SiteSell’s material while participating in the contest and feel that this tool can help you and are interested in purchasing it, feel free to contact their customer support or ask me directly. I’d be happy to use a desktop sharing program and show you what it looks like and how I use it personally.
As for now, I am going to begin researching online and trying my chance at the $50,000 prize giveaway.
Readers: Are you going to participate in the $50,000 prize giveaway challenge? What are your views on blogging vs. building a website as a business model? You may be blogging as a hobby or outlet like many do, but are you ok spending your time doing so without really building a long term business or asset? Do you have any questions about SiteSell that I can answer?
Note: I have been a very happy and successful Site Build It! user for years. I am also affiliated with the company and am paid a commission on each sale. If you are interested in this product, I’d appreciate you using my affiliate link. I’d be happy to help you with any questions before, during or after your purchase.
Sunil
Browsing Online
Everyone knows how important the sitemap submission process is. But one of the biggest inherent limitations that a website or blog has is the inability to generate and submit to search engines an updated sitemap each time you make an edit to your website or blog.
Many are not aware of what a sitemap is and what a sitemap submission can do, or how not doing anything with it can hurt you for that matter. If this is your first time reading about the sitemap submission process, I highly recommend you incorporate it in your website building and blogging efforts to realize its advantages.
A SiteMap is exactly what it sounds like. It is a map of your website or blog. It is a long list of URLs, each one unique to a webpage or a blog post. The bigger your website or blog, in other words the more content you have, the bigger or longer your SiteMap is.
There are two kinds of SiteMaps, one is XML and the other is an HTML version. The XML version is a text or XML file (wordpad) that sits on your website or blog’s host / server in the root directory. This version is mainly for the search engines to access so that they can crawl your website.
The HTML version is one that is visible to the human eyes, or your visitors. Many include this in a common space somewhere on their websites or blogs such as the footer area. Others don’t display it at all. The general consensus has always been that as long as you have an XML SiteMap, you don’t need an HTML version. The vice-versa however isn’t the case.
A SiteMap is important because it tells the search engines where to look on your website or blog. Search engines send their spiders or robots to crawl through your website. Often times, these spiders get lost while crawling and are not able to completely scour through your website.
There are many reasons this happens, one of which is a convoluted website or blog code in the background. Regardless, a SiteMap is essential because it provides search engines with every single URL, webpage or blog post on your website or blog.
SiteMaps are particularly important when you have a new website or blog. Search engines like to take their time, sometimes too long before visiting your website, let alone crawling it in its entirety. If search engines haven’t crawled your website, they won’t be able to index the various URLs.
This hurts you because you will not be able to generate the amount of organic search traffic that you would have had all your webpages or blog posts been indexed and showed up in search results. As you can imagine, the larger a website or blog gets, the more challenging it becomes for search engines to capture everything on it. A SiteMap becomes more critical in this case.
The first step is to create a SiteMap. You can use any free service to generate one. Search for “XML Sitemap Generators” on Google and you will find a bunch. It takes 2 minutes to generate one. Just enter your website or blog’s URL and let the system generate one for you.
After you have your SiteMap generated, simply save the file on your server in the root directory in which your website or blog resides. The entire process takes less than 5 minutes to execute, and you will almost instantly be able to reap the benefits of your actions.
To further expedite the process, I recommend submitting your SiteMap file to the three major search engines Google, Yahoo and Bing. Each has clear and easy to follow instructions on how you can do so. Google has its Webmaster tools section where you can submit your sitemap file. With Bing, it’s as simple as typing your sitemap’s URL on the Bing browser.
As you can probably imagine at this point, the biggest challenge is to keep up with your SiteMap submission each time your website or blog changes. Each time you add content, your SiteMap needs to be updated or you run the chance of search engines not being able to find you, or find you quickly at least.
The solution is an automatic SiteMap submission process. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task. Of all the programs I have used to build and host websites, SBI is the only one with the capability to execute an automatic sitemap submission on your behalf each time you make a change to your website or blog. This is one of the best features of their service which I have benefited from tremendously over the years.
Not having a SiteMap is detrimental to your online presence. You can’t afford not to so I highly recommend you not only do it today, but also keep up with ongoing sitemap submissions as your website or blog further matures. Better yet, find a tool that can help you with an automatic sitemap submission process so you can stop worrying about it and can focus mainly on creating content for your site.
With regard to HTML sitemaps on your website or blog, because it takes just an extra minute to include one, I make it a point to have one on my niche content websites. Why not? It can’t hurt. But the benefits can be tremendous.
Here is an image of an HTML sitemap link on one of my websites:
Visit the site at www.rotator-cuff-therapy-exercises.com, click on the SiteMap link and see what it looks like.
Here is what the XML version looks like to the human eye. As you can see, it is NOT meant for the human eye. Observe the URL of this page closely. It shows that this file is called “sitemap.xls” and it sits in the root directory or folder where all the other webpages of the site are. This is the file you need for the sitemap submission process.
SiteMaps can definitely help you get more search engine traffic. If you have a blog, there are plugins available that help with an automatic sitemap submission process, but I don’t know how well they work because although I have one programmed into my blog, I can never tell what it does and whether what it is doing is effective.
As for niche websites, I haven’t found anything out there that helps with the automatic sitemap submission process. Site Build It is the only website building tool I have come across that offers this feature as part of its comprehensive suite. This feature is a big reason why all my niche content websites are quickly indexed or listed in search engines, and go on to generate healthy organic traffic.
Do you have a SiteMap? Have you submitted it to search engines? What further questions do you have on this topic after reading this post?
Sunil
Auto Submitting
Why do you work?
What is it that makes you wake up every morning and get into that car like millions of others DO and head to a cubicle in a big office somewhere, not seeing the light of the day and coming back out when it is dark just to get on that same road where the millions are back and now heading home?
Despite having been in a profession that I enjoyed (or so I thought), I used to ask myself this question every now and then when I actually found some time to breathe self reflect. So let me ask you the same today.
Are you doing it consciously? Or are you doing it unconsciously like the cow that is part of a large cattle herd that is heading from point A to point B? It is interesting that while most of us work, why we work is a question that is not often thought about as deeply as it should be.
If you ask the question “why do you work”, one of the most common and standard responses you will get is “to pay the bills”. It’s funny. My father in law always says that in America people are either tired, hungry or paying bills.
Is that all life is, waking up, working, paying bills, sleeping and doing it all over again? That is like saying we live to work. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t we be working to live?
As a default, most people work because that is what they have been told is the right thing to do. Go to school, get a degree and then go get a job. To most, it is how we pay the bills if we want to survive (and thrive).
What happens most of the time is that people end up working because they “have to”, and therefore many end up in the wrong professions. It is a fact that many working individuals can’t stand their jobs.
Many others are simply going through the motions while shaking their leg starring at the clock to strike 5pm. Sad but true – just look around you.
The problem can be traced all the way to its roots I believe. It is social conditioning. When a child grows up and goes to college, they usually study what is popular at the time, or what their parents think is best for them, or simply what their best friend is doing. But what should happen is for the child to discover his or her own passion and then pursue it in the form of education.
This rarely happens, and when it does it usually happens too late. This also explains the high number of confused college students who change majors 9 times before graduating. A lot of them don’t make it. Of those that do, a good amount remain confused, often not able to decide which path to pursue.
A person spends approximately a third of their life at work, so it is very important that you are doing something that you really enjoy and care for. You would think this is the fundamental criteria that determines where you work and what you do right?
Unfortunately most people take up jobs that happen to be available and which hire them, no matter what the jobs are, just to have something to do and make money to “pay the bills”.
The group of not-so-confused college graduates often start out with a lot of passion and fire under the belly, attempt to climb the corporate ladder very fast and end up in a spiral. They might make significantly more than when they started with, but they are often demoralized, stressed out and simply burnt out from the workloads assigned to them.
And while climbing the ladder, those people buy cars, get mortgages on homes and develop a lifestyle that they cannot sustain if they were to simply leave their jobs. A bit of a catch-22 isn’t it?
Have you heard of the saying that “most people really die at 35, and just refuse to get buried till they are 85”? There is a lot of truth to that saying. I used to see this everywhere around me in the office. And I can’t tell you how many resumes I have reviewed that screen “just give me a job just for the sake of it”.
So while most seem to be going through the motions in the office and “working”, their soul is really discontent, unsatisfied; essentially dead. This usually strikes most people sometime in their early to mid thirties, as they finally begin to realize what they have gotten themselves into.
People start craving more after reaching a point in their careers, not necessarily financially, but from a satisfaction, flexibility and freedom perspective.
They finally realize that Corporate America isn’t what it is made to be, and that they are just a small fish in a big sea that don’t even enjoy the taste of the water in that sea. They realize how dependent they have become to their paychecks, and that they are just as vulnerable to the risk of job loss like most others.
While it takes a lot of guts, courage and proper planning to simply call it quits and move on to a more fulfilling career, it is simply not practical or possible for many.
However, what is possible is to explore other opportunities on the side that can bring the missing satisfaction back in life. The few hours you spend doing what you love can easily make up for the several hours you spend dying in your cubicle.
And now that you know that you can work on building a business around your passion in your spare time, you need to ask yourself what is it that makes you tick?
What do you like to do best? What would you love to keep on learning about? What is your true calling that will make you keep working and not feel that you are? That my friend is what you want to take and build a business around.
Face it, you are going to work hard in life anyway, so you might as well do it while loving what you are doing and making money at the same time. I have experienced this transformation that I am talking about.
I too got started while I was a full time employee, travelling year-round while not having enough time to take a breather. Today I am a living example of everything I write about.
Few years back I decided to learn as much as I could about the Internet and what it takes to be successful on it. I already had an entrepreneurial spirit, and just needed to add the technical “know how”.
I put the two together and flash forward a few years later I am in a position where I have multiple profitable websites that I really enjoy working on, and this blog is the most recent example of those.
Prior to this, I have never blogged in my life before. I am applying the same fundamentals to this blog that I applied to my websites to make them successful.
I am finding that there are a lot of similarities between the two, but the blogging platform has its own challenges which I am learning, overcoming and accepting with open arms.
Thanks to this blog, I am able to write about topics that I love and am passionate about. I am loving every bit of it despite my blog being the worst performer of all my websites strictly from a financial perspective. It’s ok, I am am enjoying every moment of it. Blogging gives me something to look forward to.
The Internet is such that no matter what you are into, you can leverage it to monetize pretty much any concept. Pick something you are interested in and take it up as a side project. But whatever you do, do it soon. Time is precious and doesn’t wait for any of us 🙂
If you are looking for something to fill the satisfaction void in your life, pursue it today. If you are looking to get out of a dead end job, start planning and pursuing the alternative path today. There is no point in waiting.
Do not live in a dead-end job that is demoralizing and unsatisfying without having much to look forward to. You will only continue to suffer more and kill your soul. This causes all kinds of side effects, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Don’t let your circumstances affect your relationship with family, friends and your health. Do something about it and do it today. See how some others are living the dream.