I hope I never gave the impression that I thought people should avoid SBI, or that it was a poor value - in fact, for the right situation and people, it appears to be very good value. I’ve deliberately kept all links live so people can easily check it out.

However, this article was prompted by a member feeling that the article was shooting down WordPress, not blogging - so even if your article focused was on the benefits of SBI, a casual reader was left with something else. So was I, when I read it.

There’s room for a variety of business models for people starting on the Internet - from the ‘leave it all to someone else to do’ format to ‘do it all by yourself’, and many graduations in between. I think for the person desiring to get online with their business, and wanting to spend less time promoting, SBI works well. For ActiveBlogging, I prefer to give members the tools, and let them work it out themselves, for maximum flexibility. And while I mainly deal with WordPress, the fact is, if a better tool came along, I’d have no problem switching. Invariably, it’s a time versus money tradeoff - and each person picks the level they’re comfortable with.

Just quickly, we’ve gone from cherry-picking to nit-picking.

So let’s go to the big picture…

Remember… as soon as you have to go beyond default installs, you are exceeding the capabilities of the average small business person. Who tells them these things? Where do they get them? Which ones? Why? And on and on and on (it’s not just ONE thing that WP is missing)…

The biggest single reality that blogging (and Net marketing) gurus in general forget or ignore is that while the non-tech (”average”) person can be highly motivated to succeed, all these barriers add up to defeat them.

We remove those barriers. Here’s what I suggest you do if you really want to make a totally fair comparison. Take the ENTIRE SBI! package, the video guides, the tools, everything that is in that comparison table on blogorbuild.sitesell.com and that is on tools.sitesell.com.

And then…

Re-create SBI! for your readers using WP. Tell folks where to go to “get this,” “buy that,” “install this,” etc., etc. Once you’ve done them all, and it’s a lot…

Add it ALL up…the time, dollars, etc. to re-create it all. Of course, you’ll still have to figure out what they’ll to to be able to talk to thousands of others who are following the exact same process. And those videos are going to be tough to create — I can’t emphasize how important a clear step-by-step is. That is HUGE, and it leads us to the forums, which have to be factored in…

Since everyone follows the same process and uses the same tools, they can all speak the same language at SBI!. They end up with vastly different sites, of course, but they can and do speak to each other in one of the most active and likely the most helpful small business forum online.

I’d suggest that it’s easier and, in the end, cheaper, to simply do SBI!. Unless your business is uniquely suited to blogging, SBI! is the best choice for MOST small business people (that’s all blogorbuild.sitesell.com really says). The SBI! site is not only automatically a blog (stripped down, simple, on purpose) and benefits from the same rapid distribution (without actually blogging separately), AND you can add a full WordPress blog later, if and when you’re ready.

But it’s not something we suggest for most people, not unless it fits and not until they’ve built the foundation of a Theme-Based Content Site with at least hundreds of visitors per day. For the right folks, adding a blog can drive the “Content-Traffic-PREsell” motor even more.

But in general, I’d suggest KISS — focus on more “regular” content and develop multiple streams of income by diversifying into many monetization models.

I think if you get really rigorous and compare exact-apples-to-apples, including time, energy and money, you’ll be pretty amazed at the value SBI! offers.

All the best,
Ken

As for the list, I left off some of the items I felt were somewhat disingenuous when I wrote the article. While none are really an issue, it was the items as a whole that helped prompt my comment of cherrypicking:

• Mentioning that the number of pages and email account were limited in a typical plan. True, a very few hosts can limit the email accounts drastically, but it’s a rare case where SBI would really win out over any other plan - perhaps if a client had thousands of email accounts (extremely unlikely).

• Mentioning that SBI provides unlimited pages while WordPress is limited. This is in semantics only. I’ve create compact WP sites with thousands of pages. Unless the client is auto generating content at a tremendous rate, I don’t see how this would be a practical limit in any real website.

• Sitemap. The various table entries for sitemaps imply that WordPress does not have it. However, while it’s not in the default install, it is available with free addon plugins.

• And as I mentioned, focusing on the free initial free setup takes attention away from the after-setup costs, where WP is still free, and SBI isn’t.

For my review, however, I didn’t focus on these somewhat minor issues, but kept them in mind when commenting on it.

I agree with you that a FOCUS on what to do is required for anyone trying to succeed on the net. And of course, this is exactly the niche that SBI (and ActiveBlogging) strive to fill.

Again, I appreciate your clarifications.

2) The price for an SBI! subscription is $299, not $400 as stated by you. To really understand its value, though, a complete review of all the features is necessary. Once SBIers purchase and get started, they are amazed at the value.

3) You compare only with Wordtracker ($60 for one month). We use Wordtracker in our Brainstormer, as well as other data sources, and people tend to use Brainstormer year around, not just for one month. The full comparison should include mention of all the tools. Could I suggest you refer your readers to our http://tools.sitesell.com page?

4) The fact, as you mention, that many people are doing it wrong, is THE big part of the problem that I’m talking about. That page is NOT for those who are having great success with blogging, just as SBI! is not for those having great success with “regular” sites.

The vast majority, though, fail. The lack of a well-defined process and ALL the tools needed dooms most people to failure with blogging, as it does for conventional old-fashioned hosting (which also promotes the cheap-quick-easy way of “getting a site or blog up”).

5) I’m not sure how the comprehensive chart is “cherry-picking.” It lists everything we can think of. Please do suggest what Wordtracker or blogging in general supplies that SBI! does not. Yes, folks, could search endlessly for all kinds of tools and slowly assemble their own set of tools, but the time and energy and cost to do that will ultimately exceed SBI!’s and you’ll be left without that coherent, efficient approach which is what enables SBIers to succeed at unprecedented rates.

Business is just too important. Focus on business instead of the endless “noise.”

6) And yes, we do address that WordPress and Typepad are moving to make their builder a more conventional sitebuilder. But then… you’re back to a conventional sitebuilder without the process (CTPM), the guidance, and all the tools needed to succeed.

–

Here’s what I suggest to folks. If they are blogging with great success, terrific! If they are not, try SBI!. You will be delighted as your success builds. As you mention, David, SBI! has a solid reputation. It’s for a very good reason. SBIers succeed.

AND… you can still blog (at the right time, if it fits your model), but the key point is…

Blogging is not right for most business models. SBI! is. That’s all that site says. The rest is documentation and points to think about.

Re-read that site. I think you’ll find it far less invasive than you think.

All the best,
Ken