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My Website Secret Revealed

Why And How I Built This Website


Don Bell

I added this page because people often ask how I can afford to give away Grandma's old-time recipes for free and how is it possible that an ordinary person like myself can build such a good looking website.

However, before I reveal my "website secret," let me share a little of my background with you.

I work out of my country home near Peterborough in the beautiful Kawartha Lakes tourist region of central Ontario, Canada. The acreage was once part of Bellthorpe, my family's farm, and the fields, stream, and woods now provide both recreation and a rich source of inspiration for my work.

My wife Vicki and I are blessed with four grown children, two boys and two girls, and a friendly Australian Shepherd dog named Echo.

Over the years, I have worked as a magazine sales person, a trust officer's assistant, a hotel night manager, a bookkeeper, and a district accountant for a nationwide manufacturer. It was while working in accountancy that I suffered from job-related stress and eventually had to resign from my position at age 37.

Seeking change, I entered Sir Sandford Fleming College here in Peterborough and earned an Electronic Engineering Technician diploma, specializing in microcomputer repair. But after graduation in 1984, I decided to start my own home business as I had no desire to reenter the 9-to-5 rat race.

So, being an Atari computer fan at the time, I founded Bellcom and eventually created the world's foremost library of public domain and shareware software for Atari 8-bit computers. Bellcom's large, detailed software catalogues became recognized by thousands of Atari users in over 40 countries and the disk orders poured in.

Operating a mail order software business from my kitchen table was hard work, but I loved the freedom of being self-employed at home while working at something I enjoyed.

With the demise of Atari computers in 1995, I phased out my mail order business and took several years off to be with my family and to volunteer four days a week at the high school our daughters attended. Free from business constraints, I pursued several of my hobbies and developed an interest in old books.

After our youngest daughter graduated, I no longer volunteered at the high school, and I again turned my thoughts to earning a living whereby I could prepare for my eventual retirement.

Having no desire to work for a boss, I needed to find a way to make money from home. But, it had to be something I would enjoy doing; I'd had enough stress in my life. It also needed to be something that required little or no startup money as I did not wish to risk any of our hard-earned savings.

Years ago, I read an amazing old book titled Acres of Diamonds. It was written by Rev. Russell H. Conwell who said, "You can get rich right where you are. At home. Not somewhere else. Not a person has secured great wealth by going away who might have secured as much by some other means if he had stayed at home."

So, recalling that wise advice, I took stock: I loved being on my iMac computer and surfing the Internet, and I loved researching and reading old books.

I looked around the house to see what I had at hand that I could use to generate an income. Besides my computer system, I realized I had a wonderful collection of old-fashioned cookbooks and recipe scrapbooks that I inherited from my mother. So, I decided to compile the old recipes into a series of classic dessert cookbooks.

But, how would I publish and market them? Not wanting to experience the hassle and expense of traditional publishing, I looked for a solution that would be both profitable and fun. I finally decided to sell them as ebooks on my own website.

My biggest problem was that I had no idea how to go about building a website. I discovered that there are lots of cheap web-hosting companies, but I soon realized that once you've got the $6.95 domain name, you are left on your own. And the more I checked into it, the more I decided I did NOT want to spend a lot of time and money learning Internet technology. I just wanted to get online and sell my books!

It was while surfing the Internet one day that I stumbled upon the ideal solution to my problem -- a company called SiteSell and its amazing program called Site Build It!, or SBI! for short. SBI! was altogether different from anything I had ever seen.

Click here to see for yourself.

(Clicking on the above link opens a new window leaving this page beneath it for you to return.)

I have to admit that I was quite skeptical in the beginning. The Internet is littered with web-hosting companies that promise the moon and yet fail to deliver, but the more I researched the more I became convinced that SiteSell was the real thing. SiteSell has a solid reputation in the e-commerce industry for honest dealing and provable results.

The Site Build It! Action Guide explained their 10-step site-building approach in a way that I could easily understand. I learned that people are looking for information, all sorts of information. Yes, even Grandma's old-time dessert recipes. SBI!'s unique set of tools makes it easy to find out what kind of information people are looking for online and then help you to build a profitable website that attracts the people wanting that information.

If you can follow simple instructions, type in the wanted information, and use your mouse to click on buttons, you can build a profitable website using the Site Build It! system. It's like following one of Grandma's recipes. It's that doable! I call it my "website secret."

Here's the thing that continues to amaze me. SBI! has enabled me to build this entire website myself. I still don't have a clue about HTML, PERL, or FLASH, and I don't need DreamweaverŽ or FrontPageŽ. SBI! is a complete, all-in-one system, and it's all online so I can use it with my iMac or any PC. And there is 24/7 online support and a friendly forum whenever I get stuck and need help.

Does SBI! work?

You bet it works! I began this recipe site in April 2004, and it now gets up to 4,000 or more first-time visitors each day. Thanks to SBI!'s automatic page analysis and submission method, many of my pages now appear in the top ten search results on Google, Yahoo, and MSN. And my website's Alexa ranking is in the top percentile on the Internet. (You'll find my site listed under Food & Cooking.) I find that exciting!

Does my website pay for itself?

Absolutely! It more than pays for itself. It costs me less than $1 a day to operate, yet it earns me hundreds of dollars each month through advertising alone. Plus, I also profit well from my ebook and affiliate product sales. It works so good that I am now building three more websites. SBI! is giving me the opportunity to have the financial freedom I always dreamed of having.

Does building a website take much work?

Yes, it requires time and effort, but it's lots of fun and tremendously satisfying to be able to help people find the information they are searching for while doing something you feel passionate about. My website routinely receives friendly visitors from over 80 countries who have the same interests as I do.

I like that it gives me the freedom to work when and where I want to work. I turned a small spare bedroom into a comfortable home office, and I installed a large window so I can look outside when I need a break from the computer screen.

I don't need much equipment. Just a computer (I prefer a Mac because I don't have to worry about computer viruses), a printer, and reliable Internet access.

White tailed deer seen from my home office

The above photo was taken last October from my window. Isn't it great to look out the window of your home-office and see white-tailed deer racing by instead of noisy traffic? I so love working at home on my computer.

And if I can do it, so can you. It's true. Nothing beats working at home. If the thought of starting a home business appeals to you, why not earn money by sharing information about something you love with others? Who knows, eventually, you might be in a position to fire your boss.

But, perhaps you're not interested in a home business. Maybe you would like to have a website to share your favorite hobby or pastime with others, or to showcase your family's history. Well, SBI! is perfect for the task, and you could easily make enough to support your hobby through Google AdSense. Why not?

The truth is, it doesn't really matter if you are a student, a stay-at-home mom, a retired senior citizen, a laid-off worker, or a professional person. We can all use some extra income, and we all have a skill or some information that someone else wants.

Check out the inspiring video below. It was created by an SBI! user who is now working from home and seeing her life changed thanks to her website.



The people who use Site Build It! are just ordinary people like you and me. If they can build a successful website, so can you. I have no trouble believing this because I am already doing it. I love Site Build It!

And don't worry about the writing. "You are the ideal person to write the content for your Web site. Even a professional copywriter cannot bring the same sort of unbridled enthusiasm to a topic that you know and love," says Ken Evoy, founder of SBI!.

Ken even provides you with a concise, practical manual outlining the ABCs of simple content writing. Believe me, you CAN do it. You can help people by sharing your interests and begin to realize your dreams. This system works. My website is proof of that.

I encourage you to give SBI! a trial run. Then, if it isn't every bit as special as I say it is, simply take advantage of SiteSell's money-back guarantee. There are no sneaky catches, no false promises. This is one of those rare occasions where the product more than lives up to one's expectations.

It is my sincerest hope that you too can turn your computer into a source of income and fulfillment. Remember, time is precious.

Please Contact Us if you have any questions.

Warm regards,

Don Bell


Site Build It Free Trial Offer


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