An Interview with a satisfied SBI! Customer

The following is part of an interview by Zale Tabakman – see http://www.zaletabakman.ca/2008/04/17/an-interview-with-sam-or-sarah-the-success-writer/ for the full interview.

Q1 Is the Site Build It process as easy as Ken Evoy claims?

Yes it is – which is just as well, as I need all the help I can get!

Q2 What parts do you find the easiest to use, what parts don't?

The page building block process is probably the simplest process, which is good because it is also the most used function. But all the functions I’ve used so far (I haven’t tried them all yet) are logical and well explained, and as I’ve ventured into new functions – such as setting up the mail out ezine – I’ve found that the methodical process steps through the functions easily.

I do find the link building block process disjointed, as you need to read the start of the link in the previous text block, then the link text and then the rest of the sentence in the following text block. I’ve now taken to just typing in the HTML code (Wow! I’m talking like a pro) into the text link block – I find it easier to follow that way.

Also I’m not particularly fond of the webmail set-up – and I find that many registration confirmation emails sent to my SBI! email address disappear into that black hole called the internet.

Q3 How have you been finding your growth rate?

Slow then good then slow then steady. I plotted monthly traffic over a 6 month period and applied a polynomial equation to create a trend line in an attempt to predict future growth. Maths is great in engineering, but not so useful in explaining human interactions.

Q4 How does the site connect to your long term goals?

This site is instrumental in achieving my long-term goals - to create a non-profit organisation to help others, with proceeds from my site going to worthwhile community and environmental causes.

Q5 What challenges have you had and how have you overcome them?

The main challenges I’ve had to overcome are the self-induced hurdles of doubt and lack of confidence. But as the website developed and I realised that it was actually possible to create a successful website, these hurdles just disappeared (well shrunk a lot).

Q6 Has writing the site changed your life in unexpected ways?

I originally thought the Internet was very impersonal and anonymous. In fact, my website initially didn’t include my name or any personal thoughts. So the response to my site from REAL people has been pleasantly unexpected and has changed how I view the Internet.

Q7 How often do you write for your site - is there a plan? Is it Random? Are you on a schedule? What is the schedule and how did you set it?

I’m an engineer. Of course I have a plan!

I have a five-year plan for developing my self-help site, which includes a detailed action plan for writing content. I started by setting out the site structure and then expanding this to list all the pages and supporting tools to go with it. As well as content building tasks, my plan includes traffic and link building activities and a strategy for ‘monetising’ the site too.

I love plans.

Q8 Do you love what you are doing?

Yes. I enjoy writing and I enjoy the challenge of helping people help themselves. So this website brings these two passions together. What isn’t there to love about that!

Q9 What has not gone the way you expected it to? How have you changed your plans?

Ken Evoy always said that all you need is a few good quality inbound links to get good link popularity, but building traffic and link popularity has been a struggle. So I relented and paid a provider to register my site on multiple directories to get some links – seems to have helped.

Q10 Has anybody been difficult about the site or what you have done? How have you handled it?

No – all feedback has been very encouraging and constructive. I asked for feedback on my site on the SBI! forum and got some great comments back on how to improve the site.

One comment was that my site reads like a text book (not surprising from an engineer) so I am progressively making the information on the site easier to digest. It comes back to a comment in one of Ken Evoy’s books on how people read on-line – keep it simple to scan.