Build An Empire by Paul Smithson
Paul Smithson, the talented entrepreneur and the man behind XSitePro has come up with a simply stellar offer.
It’s so good, I want you to just check it out for yourself and see if your jaw hits the floor.
Download this PDF , print it out, read it, and when you’ve recovered, let me know your thoughts. 
November 4th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
it is a very exciting prospect and i certainly will love to get additional details so i can determine my course of action…i just want to thank you for sharing this with me.
November 4th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
Hi Neil,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention, it looks really interesting.
But a thought came to mind.. I wonder why the likes of Amazon haven’t got hold of this idea, it would seem a perfect fit for them?
If they do, that would be some serious competition for the thousand franchisees who embark on this venture. What do you think?
Malcolm
November 4th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
The system sounds interesting. But honestly, I don’t think it will work for the majority of people out there.
Those wha are currently having difficulties selling their eBooks, tools, services, getting clicks on their adsense & affiliate links… will have the same problem with audiobooks.
You still need to generate tons of traffic - either pay for advertising or wait for ages to rank high in the SE’s
You need to have good copyxriting skills, otherwise your CR will be fairly low.
Ideally you should get some good JV partners or build up a mighty affiliate force - not an easy task.
You have to understand your maket (wants, desires, problems…)
And so on, and so on.
Sure, guides and marketing help is offered, but lots of people already have fairly good Internet marketing knowledge (not necessarily the experience), and just another couple of marketing reports want solve their problems.
Also, I don’t see the point in building tons of adsense sites. THe SE’s are getting more and more clever and if you don’t have great unique content and lots of quality incoming links, you simple won’t rank and you won’t get any traffic.
And who wants to spend money on advertising just to make a few dollars a month from adsense clicks?
To me there is only one way to succeed on the net: Find your passion (in a profitable niche), become an expert in your field and help to solve other people’s problems (be it with ebooks, audio books, software tools or whatever.)
On your way, keep educating yourself: Copywriting, PPC, maybe some SEO, conversion, testing & tracking…
Robert - http://www.betternetbiz.com
November 5th, 2006 at 12:14 am
sounds like a good deal mostly, but why don’t you put in here what the price range will be?
November 5th, 2006 at 12:17 am
Hi Guys,
Good points. I’ll raise them with Paul on the Q+A I hope to do with him later this week. You’ll get direct answers. So keep the direct questions coming!
BTW, what commission do you get on audio downloads from Amazon? Compare that to what you can pay your affiliates as a franchise owner. I think Amazon should be the ones running scared after Paul’s system launches, not the other way around.
Neil.
November 5th, 2006 at 12:33 am
This month I downloaded 9 books from audible.com. That tell’s you all
It is fast,you get it in a second. I was watching Oprah show one day and she was talking about dr.Oz newbook. I downloaded it in 5 minutes. Very cool thing.
November 5th, 2006 at 12:42 am
Hi Neil, I do not qualify for the offer, I AM NOT COMPUTER
LITERATE by any means so this offer is not for me unfortunately
Carol
November 5th, 2006 at 1:00 am
Hi Neil:
Just took my old website down. Camping gear is not big this time of year.
Re.”Build an Empire”: I just googled “downloadable audio books”. There are 48,800,000 entries. Can a new company, regardless of how innovative it may be, hope to penetrate this business at this time?
Nevertheless, it sounds interesting and I’m keen on learning more about it.
Charles
November 5th, 2006 at 1:18 am
Hello Neil,
Thank you for this tip.
My concerns are similar to those already expressed.
What is the price range that we are looking at..the hint of $1.67 per day is still pretty vague. I am already sold on Audio Books and know the trends, but already we have the kind of Supply that Google returns the following results:
AudioBooks - 35,300,000
Download Audiobooks- 2, 940,000
Free Download Audiobooks - 3,760,000
Hmmm..makes me think this opportunity is already too late unless there is something unique that we are yet to hear.
Awaiting your response,
Marlamar
November 5th, 2006 at 2:09 am
Interesting how things go. Paul has emailed me several times with this offer and (because I associate him with xsite pro which I don’t use) I didn’t open any of them.
Then Neil drops me his note and recommends Pauls pdf which I duly downloaded and read.
And as I was reading it I did notice muyself asking whether I’d be reading this all the way through if it was written by someone without Paul’s cred.
Interesting that Paul’s cred stopped me from both opening his email on the one hand and not giving his report a full read on the other.
This report was interesting to me for several reasons.
One of the interesting things is the bigger picture I sense going on here. The sound track to this picture includes voices that sound like Rich Schefren and business models that sound like Agora and the like.
This sounds like little guys being given the opportunity to grow or die as the bigger guys come online to take over from the little guys. If the little guys don’t join, they lose a one-sided fight. If they join and train, they grow and thrive.
The big guys respect the little guy drive and ability to focus on small niches.
The win for the little guy is that they can delegate all the admin donkeywork to the big guy and focus on delivering customers to a systematic funnel that can provide the service to the customer and the commission to the little guy.
The win for the big guy is that they have more fingers on the keyboard and feet on the ground reaching customers.
Interesting that it was one of the proven little guys who let this little guy know.
As for me? I signed up to the priority list and we’ll go the next step.
Yes! I’d like to know price range now but that’s not as critical as the details of the benefits of the offer and opportunity, upside, downside etc.
By the way, if you happen to be a songwriter in your other life, or you plan to write songs in between internet marketing commission cheques, come visit at www.melodywriters.com..
November 5th, 2006 at 3:36 am
need more information to give an opinion….etd
November 5th, 2006 at 4:07 am
Hello Neil,
Thank you, I also signed up.
My concerns are similar to those already expressed.
What is the price range that we are looking at..the hint of $1.67 per day is still pretty vague. I am already sold on Audio Books and know the trends, but already we have the kind of Supply that Google returns the following results:
AudioBooks - 35,300,000
Download Audiobooks- 2, 940,000
Free Download Audiobooks - 3,760,000
Hmmm..makes me think this opportunity is already too late!
Awaiting your response,
Carl Bass
November 5th, 2006 at 4:14 am
Hmm, since these audio ebooks would have to be produced by the bigger guys, why would they sell the rights to little guys like us, if they could sell them to bigger competition for more money?
The bigger competition should be willing to pay more if it means that the little guys won’t be able to compete, right?
This doesn’t really sound like such a break through idea to me, but I guess we should wait for more details before we come to a conclusion. Hope there’s a cool enough twist to the system
November 5th, 2006 at 4:46 am
Hello Neil,
Thank you for the “news”. I’ve signed up.
I’d appreciate if this system came with a fair priced and effective “hands free” marketing program included. Building and maintaining lists is something that takes a big learning curve for a newbie like me.
Meanwhile (reader/s), if you’re also a “newbie in distress”or you’re planning to get some action while waiting for this official launch, you may want to try this free to sign…
http://MyProspectingSecrets.com/r/3svip
tool.
Thank you
November 5th, 2006 at 4:49 am
I am an aspiring, budding writer. I wish to write for both fiction and non-fiction titles, specifically self improvement titles.
I do not wish to go through the route of print publishing, either the traditional way (submitting to big name publishing houses) or the Print on Demand self-publishing way.
Do you think it’s going to be quicker for me to succeed if I partner with a professional voice narrator and get him or her to narrate my book and then use all my online marketing expertise to create a niche content site based on the topic of my book as a platform to promote my title, and let it spread via word-of-mouse viral marketing?
What do you think of the market for brief, half-hour video books, which can be used both for fictional or non-fictional materials, which presents its contents via both the auditory and visual channel (big, friendly text on the screen that scrolls, flashes or simply changes like a slideshow, with optional multimedia)?
There are many examples of such video books on sites such as YouTube, e.g.s being the “Why Won’t God Heal Amputees” or the “God is Imaginary” videos, etc, although they are not really called video books.
November 5th, 2006 at 5:56 am
Like every other scheme I’ve looked into, the one’s that don’t give you the real cost up front are not worth persuing. From the download this one looks the same. The people that make the money are the recruiters and the referral sites, such as yours. Tell me why I should think this one is different.
November 5th, 2006 at 9:13 am
I think this is not for stater and needs lot of time to set up
I recommed this report or program to experieance internet markers
November 5th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Hi guys,
Thanks for your comments… there’s lots of thoughtful feedback, which I really appreciate.
Regarding the competition, it’s not really a fair comparison to take the number of search results for downloadable audio books because you’ll get every webpage that contains “downloadable” OR “audio” OR “books”… and that’s a lot of pages!
If you search for “downloadable audio books” using quotes you get only 69,600 results… not millions. That isn’t a lot of competition for such a large (and growing) market.
I don’t know if Paul wants the cost to be revealed right now, so I’d better wait. But I can tell you that the number of franchises is relatively small, and relatively inexpensive, considering what you get for the money.
And why would a “big company” make this offer to “small” guys? It’s simple… no company can reach everyone online. If you have a distributed network of small websites you’ll reach more people than with one big website. The big company will deal with the backend technical side, and fulfil the orders. Your role will be promotion… and there’s a massive twist to that which I can’t tell you about yet.
Neil.
November 5th, 2006 at 10:49 am
Anything which Paul produces is of such a high standard It MUST be worth looking at.
He is one of the ever decreasing number of internet marketeers who still have integrity. So many have now lost their credibility by their antics and greed. I now have a list of 23 of them who are on my blacklist who I will never buy from again. -So called Gurus who became get rich kids who forgot that you have to look after your customers. When you promote anything it now carries your name and you stand by it. Paul will never I believe join this group. Nor will Neil.
I can’t wait to see Paul’s new product.
November 5th, 2006 at 11:01 am
Thanks Terry.
Over the next few days, leading up to launch, there will be more PDF’s explaining every part of the system. These reports will make everything clearer and you’ll see exactly what’s on offer. I’m really excited just to be able to share this offer with you!
Neil.
November 5th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
Hi Neil,
Thank you a lot for your PDF and your message.
There are lot of huge businesses in this web-world and (personally) I prefer to focus myself on increasing my current opportunities.
Just to be not-confused by other things…
However, I like to see other businesses in order to find new ideas and tips…
Thank you!
Massimo - http://www.thebestttrafficofyourlife.com
November 5th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Hi Massimo,
I understand about confusion from too many opportunities, that’s why you have to sort out “the best” from “the rest” and put your efforts into the few that offer the best return on your time and energy.
What opportunity can you focus on at the moment that…
… has relatively little competition
… is in a huge, untapped (and growing) market
… has licensing deals done for you to sell 100’s of products
… takes care of the order fulfillment for you
… lets you sign up affiliates
… lets you earn money from Adsense
… creates multiple different (unique) niche sites for you
… is by highly-respected Paul Smithson (XSitePro)?
That’s what I’m talking about. That’s why I’m saying that this opportunity is one of the “best” and, in my opinion, would be worth your time and energy investment.
Neil.
November 5th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
I’m with Neil on this one.
I trust Paul and I will go by his track record.
If you have XSite Pro plus you have subsequently received emails (and some real, USEFUL gifts) from Paul you would jump on this opportunity.
Of course, check out the offer to see if your internet marketing skills are up to the necessary level required. Give it a go for a couple of months.
If you are disappointed, ask for your money back.
Plus, learning what doesn’t work and understanding why it doesn’t work is a very valuable lesson.
Martin
November 5th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
I really should not be commenting but because the request originated from Neil I had to say something specifically about the general theme of things. I plan to read the PDF this afternoon but what some people have written disturbs me. Neil Shearing a reputable main with a larger following goes off the deep end for this product yet those who critic it seem to to knock it down only to then point out at the end of their tirade that the product interests them and would like to more about it. People what’s wrong with this picture in my opinion there are way to many judges on the net who know nothing of what they preach and are better left for driftwood on a secluded beach some where, where in heavens name nobody ever goes.
November 5th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Hi Rob,
Thanks for your comments. I think people will have a better idea after Paul releases his other PDF’s… but it should be possible to see, just from the one PDF released so far, that this has the potential to be huge. I know more that what’s in that one PDF, and therefore I KNOW this will be huge.
I’m asking people to trust my judgement on the “missing gap” between what I know and what they can learn from the PDF. Once they have all the facts, this will get really interesting. 
Neil.
November 5th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
I lack one of the four ‘requirements’, knowledge of using an html editor, but dont see that as a problem. Isnt it very inexpensive to have a resource to build little sites for you? Mayby $50 each(but I would need to have that resource). On the other hand, from what I read , it sounds like they are built FOR YOU, so I’m not clear on that point. As for finding and emailing webites to become affiliates, not difficult even for a newbie. Just takes a bit of time.
November 5th, 2006 at 10:07 pm
Hello Neil,
Hey, what do I have to loose? Count me in!
November 5th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Hi Neil
If the company handles payment, order fulfilment and paying affiliates, what percentage of the sale does the franchise owner get paid?
Jan
November 5th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Hi Neil,
Thanks for sharing this information, looks interesting, but as already mentioned the competition could be a problem, but I will see what develops.
November 6th, 2006 at 2:13 am
Owning Xsite Pro was one of my better internet decisions and I am very mush interested in this offering..
Thanks
Tony
http://www.barnsleymortgages.co.uk
November 6th, 2006 at 5:55 am
Neil:
Thanks for the heads up. Plus, all the info in the blog really gives a rounded view of the possibilities. Like so many others, I want to know the real costs. Plus, what are the plans for making the “franchise” available to more than the original 1000? I have been “fooled” on this before.
Thanks again.
Mary
November 6th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
Hi Neil,
Your blog has stimulated some worthwhile, open debate about this opportunity, which is in stark contrast to Paul’s blog on the Build-an-Empire site, no-one posting there seems to have any desire to ask some of the searching questions that even the most casual process of due-diligence would demand of any proposed business opportunity.
I do know the cost of the franchise and IF the income potential that Paul suggests is realised, then it is definitely not expensive.
I presume that Paul’s SpokeNetwork enterprise launched in May of this year is the ‘hub’ of this opportunity, but one thing concerns me.
Even with just a thousand stores competing for a listing on the first
page of Google for instance, that’s an awful lot of competition for the same, obvious keyword searches such as ‘downloadable books’ or ‘downloadable audio books’ which reveals that SpokenNetwork doesn’t show up anywhere near the first page. Only with a UK ONLY search on ‘downloadable audio books’ does SpokenNetwork achieve a page 2 listing.
Whereas audible.com appears at the top admittedly with sponsored links.
I was wondering how does Paul and his team plan to ensure
that his franchisees are going to be ‘found’ amongst the many sites already out there, especially if all of these new franchisee sites get ’sandboxed’ by Google!!?
Or am I missing a trick here?
Best wishes,
Malcolm
November 6th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Hi,
so far, Ive read the comments here, but not the pdf.
I will read it later, however…
If this opp requires ‘us’ to sell a product or service, then the problem is finding customers!
Just about every ‘BIG’ idea claims that selling on the web is easy, and in my experience it’s easier to sell shares in enron !
I don’t care what claims people make anymore…
these ’self-appointed gurus’ only desire is to get ‘us’ to buy into their schemes… so that we do the real REAL work of selling, that they cant or wont do themselves.
They make their money from us fools who pay them for their crazy ideas, because that’s ALL THEY ARE idea!
This get rich quick and easy is such a waste of life, and it makes me so angry!
November 6th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Hi Neil,
This looks promising. I have similar questions like all the postings above. However, I am excited to know in greater details of what you have to offer.
Thanks!
Luke
November 6th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
I’ve just finished the PDF, and it sounds really promising.
I am waiting for the next ones. This time, I do not jump on opportunities, but from Paul, it should be good.
And I also know that this market will be huge.
I just hope that Paul will be reasonable and will not put an entry price at more than $1000…
November 6th, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Hi Mary,
I don’t think “fooling” anyone about the number of franchise licenses sounds legal. I would consider action against anyone who “fooled” you in the past. I’m certain Paul wouldn’t risk his reputation on anything so underhanded.
Hi Malcolm,
Your comments are valid… but I think the search terms available to compete on are many more than you’re considering. For example, are people searching for “BBC audio books” or “Blackadder audio books”. If not, will they be searching for those phrases as the audio market takes off? A site devoted to Blackadder could potentially do very well with advertising links to audio downloads. So you wouldn’t necessarily be trying to rank for “Blackadder audio books”, but could just rank for “Blackadder second series” and have an advert, or recommedation for the audio product on your pages. (competition using quotes when searching = 27 of which only 9 are returned by Google)!
My feelings about the sandbox are that it ONLY applies to very high traffic keywords. You won’t find a new site ranking at the top of Google for “acne”, but could easily capture “Blackadder second series transcripts” or similar. Having said that, It’s not Paul’s job to make sure his franchisee’s websites rank highly. You’ll need to do the promotion for your sites.
>This get rich quick and easy is such a waste of life
Hi mac. There’s no “get rich quick and easy”. I’ve never said there was. I said there’s less competition for new ventures. I happen to believe that making money online is much, much easier than any other business someone could start (and run) solo. That does NOT mean it’s easy. Please read the PDF. I hope you get excited instead of angry.
Hi Luke, Franck… I’m glad you’re excited. There will be more details coming soon!
Neil.
November 6th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
Hi Neil, as soon as someone on the web claims to have the next scheme that is going to “change my life” I start to block them out.
I am also tired of all the “hidden pricing” that can only be told on release date…. it is getting so boring out there that it really doesn’t much matter what anyone comes up with now I have almost tuned out.
I only read this because “you” sent it… but this kind of stuff unfortunately will get me tuning you out as well. It is very important to be extremely careful how you position something. LIfe changing is just another big lie.
The marketing schemes on the web have gotten so over the top that i have now changed the address of every “guru” who’s list I am on to my junk account. There I can purusue once a week. The whole Rich Schefren is an excellent example of piling it on and then running with Agora to squeeze every dime out of everyone you can. Not interested anymore. Best Wishes. A.
November 6th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
Hi Aeriol,
I know what Paul’s thinking of charging, but would I be right telling everyone before launch day? What if he changed his mind? Then people may get upset and say that was misleading to say one price then change it. It’s better for me to wait for Paul to let people know.
I don’t say anything will change your life. I say some things MAY.
Yes, I need to trust the person I’m recommending to deliver. In this case, I trust Paul to deliver. In the past, I’ve been wrong. I apologise for that, and am now only recommending people I know will deliver. Everyone has to learn lessons in life.
Neil.
November 6th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
aeriol:
It nice to see that there are some people who have seen the light.
But when will all you other gullible suckers learn?
These gurus only make money from you, by persuading you gullible lot that you can make money from promoting their ideas!
Note I said ideas, these are not businesses, just (plausible) reasons for you to give them money. (seems like over $600 in this case)
And because a market is (or will be) huge, does not mean that you can or will get a worthwhile piece of it… at least not by the methods that they suggest.
Think of any big market that you spend money in regularly, and then do some real research to find out who is supplying the majority of those goods or services to the end user…
In the main, I bet they’re well known companies who can afford the huge costs involved to market themselves comprehensively and consistently, and create a huge media presence.
If you think that any of these ‘great’ schemes are genuine, then ask yourself this question…
If you had the winning numbers to this weeks lottery, would you sell them on to others?
Or just buy the ticket yourself?
Answer:
You would just buy the ticket yourself…
Unless…
You could make more money, by selling the winning numbers on, to anyone who would buy them from you!
Bottom line:
They need you, more than you need them!
November 6th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
Neil,
Reading through the PDF report, the figures don’t add up mate…
Paul states that it is reported that the audio book industry will become a $2 billion per year industry…
OK so if at that time there are say 100,000 sellers of audiobooks, then that is an average of $20,000 per annum for each of them…hardly a life-changing income….
As this market is already started, why would the big boys release some of this revenue, and cut their own throats in the long run?………
November 6th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
mac : Is this not all speculation, based on negative things from the past ? We have not seen the whole program.
Hi Neil,
I am glad that someone have mailed me about this.
I can’t give my opinion because I have seen a little part of the program.
I will give this a try and THEN come with comments.
Regards: Dirk
November 6th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
mac:
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. Anyone can get a piece of e-commerce action, not just the big boys. Why? Because no-one can reach everyone online. If you have a new dog training ebook, you *partner* with other people online who have dog training lists and websites… because you know you can’t reach everyone interesting in dog training. The same goes for this opportunity… it’s an attempt to make more sales using partners.
Andrew: Wow. $20,000 wouldn’t change your life? I think you’d find most people would say that would change their lives. And, you’re taking an average. I said, in my email, a few people may become millionaires. Well, what would the top people in your example be earning, if the average is $20,000 pa?
As for why they would want to create a franchise program, why did McDonalds? Why would I have an affiliate program? To reach more people.
November 6th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Neil, you say…
>mac:
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. Anyone can get a piece of e-commerce action, not just the big boys. Why? Because no-one can reach everyone online. If you have a new dog training ebook, you *partner* with other people online who have dog training lists and websites… because you know you can’t reach everyone interesting in dog training. The same goes for this opportunity… it’s an attempt to make more sales using partners.If you have a new dog training ebook, you *partner* with other people online who have dog training lists and websites…
November 6th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Neil, you say…
>mac:
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. Anyone can get a piece of e-commerce action, not just the big boys. Why? Because no-one can reach everyone online. If you have a new dog training ebook, you *partner* with other people online who have dog training lists and websites… because you know you can’t reach everyone interesting in dog training. The same goes for this opportunity… it’s an attempt to make more sales using partners.>
Well Neil…
Ive heard all of this theory till I’m sick of hearing it!
It’s very easy for you to say that…
>If you have a new dog training ebook, you *partner* with other people online who have dog training lists and websites…
November 6th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
NB: sorry for the double posts above, but your weblog doesn’t like endtag brackets.
Neil, you say…
[mac:
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. Anyone can get a piece of e-commerce action, not just the big boys. Why? Because no-one can reach everyone online. If you have a new dog training ebook, you *partner* with other people online who have dog training lists and websites… because you know you can’t reach everyone interesting in dog training. The same goes for this opportunity… it’s an attempt to make more sales using partners.]
Well Neil…
Ive heard all of this theory till I’m sick of hearing it!
It’s very easy for you to say that…
[If you have a new dog training ebook, you *partner* with other people online who have dog training lists and websites…]
Doing it, actually getting people to partner with you, is much, much harder than you infer, in fact it’s downright misleading to get people to believe that this is easy to do, it ant!
In principle this sound plausible, but very few people ever get the income they expect, because getting enough highly targeted traffic (cost effectively) to your website, in order to convert enough of them into paying customers, is simply an impossible task for most people.
Do the math!
Work backwards from your desired income…
Say you want to earn just $10,000 over the next year, now work out how many sales/customer that has to be to make that income, then work out how many people would need to visit your website to make you those number of sales (eg, if sales was say .1% (or even optimistically) 1% of the CTR) now work out what it would really cost to get that CTR!
I mean work it out in-the-real world, and not just using guesswork figures
Then ask, why would anyone buy ‘that item’ from you, rather than someone else.
The point that most people forget when it comes to making sales from websites, is that many sales are pre-sold….
ie, those who become customers, have gone to a website already in the mind to buy,
ie, providing the website does not put them off, they buy because of previous info, previous marketing efforts, etc, from more conventional marketing practises, like press adverts, magazine articles, recommendations; from those just mentioned, and guru’s recommending other gurus etc, etc…
The sales website is just a convenient order taker, for items that most have already decided to buy before they arive…
The only time that websites sell on their own, is when it’s promoting the next block buster of a seminar or whatever, and there are definite signs that even those sites are now struggling to convert the sales they used to…
So what do they do, they use other gurus to cross sell, it’s a club…
Those in the ‘club’ paint this idyllic picture that it’s as easy as ABC, just set up a website, place some adwords, do some JV with complementary websites, and hey presto, you bank manager gets crushed under the shear wait of all that cash that comes flooding into your bank account…
Dream on!
Those that continue to pedal these dreams to desperate folk deserve to… well I better stop their don’t you think.
If you are so sure that these types of schemes work, then show me real proof…
And not just the money in, but the net profit left at the end of the day.
November 6th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
“So many have now lost their credibility by their antics and greed. I now have a list of 23 of them who are on my blacklist who I will never buy from again. -So called Gurus who became get rich kids who forgot that you have to look after your customers. When you promote anything it now carries your name and you stand by it. Paul will never I believe join this group. Nor will Neil.”
yes i am sick and tired of the big ones hunting for the big money, hyiping up ther stuff and then its just recycled junk, forgets about taking care of me as a customer giving support etc…
I want those honest reviews, those blacklists please…
anyone have good sites on this?
“whats crap and whats not” is what i am looking for, more of that please…
i will also start reviewing IM-stuff honestly on my blog (see URL above).
regards
November 7th, 2006 at 1:03 am
Hi mac,
> Doing it, actually getting people to partner with you, is much, much
> harder than you infer
Well that’s where we disagree.
If you bring a great offer to the table… a win/win deal, then people will work with you. That’s business. Anyone who’s in business knows to take part in a win/win deal. I’m promoting this opportunity on behalf of Paul because I believe it’s a win for him, for me, and for the people I promote it to. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t promote it.
Neil.
November 7th, 2006 at 11:58 am
Dirk:
It’s not about the merits of this or that scheme…
Because NONE of them will make you any money…
And none of them will build you a GOOD reputation, either on or offline!
Read my previous posts again, and do your own INDEPENDENT research…
And ~ Do The Math!
Neil:
Your promoting this…
Because that’s the business your in…
It’s how you make your money!
I don’t!
Instead of suckering people into supporting ’schemes’ why don’t you focus on giving people the real SKILLS they need to go-it-alone, and become independent thinkers.. and make their own genuine mark in business…
Instead of just promoting somebody else’s (or creating your own) scheme that will only make money for those that own the scheme, and those close to the ownners… who help them to promote it.
All of these ‘businesses in a box’ are no different to MLM!
Those at the top make their money from the inducement of other into the scheme.
Anyone seriously interested in setting up any business should ask themselves this…
Who are your potential customers?
Do you really know them?
Did they wake up this morning really wanting, or really needing your intended product?
Is your product UNIQUE to you?
And if so, why should they buy it from you!
Anything else, based on someone else’s say-so or on wide and general assumptions on the needs of a large market, is JUST speculation.
To quote an old chestnut.. Do what the smart gold miners (during the goldrush) in the US did… the smart ones didn’t pan for gold!
They found a GENUINE niche market, and serviced it.
The sad point that most seem to be unconcerned about is ‘time’ YOUR TIME…
Time is one of your prime resources, and probably your most valuable…
Because YOU can never replace it.
When it’s gone it’s GONE!
YOUR Time is precious ~ So please don’t wast it!
I don’t mean to be rude, or condescending but…
If your young then you probably wont appreciate that last statement till your older.
November 7th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Hi mac,
If you think I’m promoting this for the money, you’re wrong. I’m promoting it because I think it will help people.
You’re right, time is precious. That’s why people need to pick an opportunity that’s recommended by people they trust, work hard at it and make money… instead of wasting time.
Neil.
November 7th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
Hi Neil,
Thanks Neil for your Great! newsletter aiming to notify us about this Wonderful project , and thank you for your try to excite us about this project.
But i have some questions in my mind about this project and i think that it is really not easy to make money from it especially after i have seen Robert reply above.
So please Neil if you have some techniques to follow that will help us to do better in this project please mention it in your Newsletter…Shehab
November 8th, 2006 at 4:45 am
What is this-such negativity-guess you are goig to have to spell out what your trying very hard to say.
November 8th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
Neil,
Re the $20k per annum. Take your expenses, taxes etc out of it and it is definitely not life-changing….
And who can really expect to be more than average?….
TBH, until someone comes up to me and says, “Listen, I have a great business opportunity, and because I am so convinced you can make extra money for me, I will set up the business for you, free of charge (because I KNOW you can’t fail to make monety for me), you run it, put in your time, leaving me free to do other things, and we’ll share the profits…”
Well you know that is not going to happen anytime soon, because those kind of people doin’t exist in this “business”…..
Sorry Neil, I don’t believe in fairies any more….
November 8th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Hi Andrew,
You could join my affiliate program, that’s always been free to join.
As for investing in a franchise, that’s what people do offline everyday.
Oh well, thanks for sharing your views.
Neil.
November 8th, 2006 at 11:05 pm
Neil,
Real franchises have an 85-90% proven success rate….they also give full disclosure before you part with your money…proper facts, proper real life balance sheets etc etc….
A franchise model is not compared with the competition, i.e if you are going to invest in a MacDonalds you are not offered the business model, balance sheets and success of Kentucky Fried Chicken to convince you to invest….
Until you can do the same then you have no right to classify this “opportunity” in the same terms as a franchise…
November 9th, 2006 at 12:49 am
Yeah…as I said before, it’s not the product, but the traffic!
Brian
November 9th, 2006 at 9:04 am
Hi Brian,
Yes, you need traffic… and the BaE system lets you build multiple mini sites to promote different products… out of the range of 5,000 products I’m sure you can find low competition keywords and move in.
Neil.
November 9th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Hi Neil,
I posted the following..
“I was wondering how does Paul and his team plan to ensure
that his franchisees are going to be ‘found’ amongst the many sites already out there, especially if all of these new franchisee sites get ’sandboxed’ by Google!!?”
You replied..
“..It’s not Paul’s job to make sure his franchisee’s websites rank highly. You’ll need to do the promotion for your sites.
I accept what you say up to a point, but as everyone knows, without targeted traffic, you don’t have a business.
Now, Paul is gradually building this launch up in such a way that people will be falling over themselves to buy one of the licences, that’s the way these product launches work. That - together with the inevitible pitch from Paul - that you really must get in on this opportunity, does beg the question…
… “Ok Paul, if you are so confident that this is going to be so successful and generate huge amounts of money for so many people, you MUST have given a lot of thought as to how you are going to ensure that YOUR franchisees are going to get themselves seen (ie traffic) by potential customers?”
That’s what offline Franchisors do, such as McDonalds, KFC and Burger King. And they do that by placing their outlets where people will find them… in other words, where they (there customers) ARE. So if the franchisees of this enterprise are not found on the first page of Google for instance then they won’t be where there customers ARE.
I think this echos what a number of other contributors are saying.
One other observation Neil, have you looked at the BaE Blog recently? I am amazed at the lack of dissenting even questioning questions comments being posted on Paul’s blog. If you read what is being posted, with just one or two exceptions, it is almost sycophantic. I’m sure Paul is a decent person making his living online, but it’s almost ‘I’m not worthy’ idolatory.
Very strange!!
Compare that blog where the vast majority of comments at least question the proposition, and you are happy to let people freely express their views.
Malcolm
November 9th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Hi Malcolm,
Thanks for your well reasoned comments.
I tried to tackle the “traffic” question before. You’ll have the ability to build multiple sites around any niche you wish. The “mininet” strategy made famous by Michael Campbell still works. His ebooks are now free. I do suggest grabbing them, reading them and seeing if the mininet strategy, when hooked up to 5,000 products and a huge amount of potential keywords couldn’t be very lucrative.
Personally, I think this boils down to one very simple fact. If people invest money, they’re likely to put in effort. Had Paul just launched a free affiliate program, people would’ve signed up and done nothing. By getting 1,000 *committed* top level affiliates (franchise holders), he’s ensuring sales for a system he’s invested a lot of work into. People who want “free” access can subsequently sign up as an affiliate of any of the franchise holders.
Neil.
November 9th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Hi Neil,
Thanks for your response to my question about traffic… any thoughts that you wish to share about my observations in respect of Paul’s blog?… ..where virtually all the comments are of fullsome praise and again, unlike your blog, there are no responses from Paul..
…maybe I’m just paranoid!
Malcolm.
PS Happy 34th tomorrow…
November 10th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Hi Malcolm,
Thanks.
Paul’s blog may be moderated, I don’t know. I expect his team may want to have the product information released through their series of PDF’s and not via the blog, so comments with questions aren’t being shown. That’s just a guess.
Neil.
November 12th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
Hi Neil,
I was so excited about this I signed up for the priority mailings. One thing I am suspicious of though is the price. The last time I got this excited was when Andy and Brad published THE RICH JERK’s information out of his second book, before he published it, and he turned around and POUNDED them AND got a lot of money from them, among other things. They finally came out with it and the price was completly out of the ball park for many of us. Any hint? that the little guy can get in on this one? Or only those who have LOTS of money?
Waiting impatiently,
Barbara
November 13th, 2006 at 8:58 am
Did you enjoy the course ?was the course well designed & well organized?
I,m just starting skill coorperative based.
November 13th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Hi, Neil,
Many years ago (in Internet years!), you got me online with Internet Success Blueprint. As a result of that one ebook, I have become a full time Web designer and Internet marketer.
Then along came XSite Pro. I fell in love with how it could help Internet marketers get online quickly and easily… and how its built-in SEO gave XSP Web sites a flying start in the search engines. My own site (http://www.XSiteProDesigns.com) is on page one of Google for my best keywords… using only XSP’s default built-in SEO!
Then I started creating high-quality templates for people who wanted a professional-looking XSite Pro Web site. I have never looked back! That part of my business just grows and grows as more XSite Pro users come on board. I have more fun building XSite Pro templates than anything I have ever done before. I meet great people online, develop joint ventures with them, and help them succeed with their Web sites! What more could I ask?
So do I trust you and Paul? You bet I do! “Build an Empire” is something that I will be looking into with very great interest.
All my best,
Andrea Wilson
http://www.XSiteProDesigns.com
http://www.AbleWebs.com
November 15th, 2006 at 2:20 am
Hi Neil:
Will Paul’s BaE training include how to use the html editor and how
to get affiliates to promote our sites? Is it really true that
you only need to put in a few hours a week to this? Will
the training that’s included be sufficient for beginners?
I purchased Fabian Lim’s Adwords Empire on your recommendation
and have studied Chris Carpenter’s Googlecash 3 summers ago, but
I haven’t actually set up any campaigns on Google to
promote anything with the use of Adwords, because I read
about the 95% failure rate in Affiliate marketing.
Thanks
Linda
November 15th, 2006 at 8:03 am
Wow…! This is a real blog! Freedom of speech defined! Do I trust Neil? You bet I do! Do I trust Paul? You bet I don’t! Why? See his blog and compare it to this one… it is pathetic and endless praise with no substance (like Malcolm already mentioned too)! No critical comments, no replies by Paul or anyone from his team! Censorship defined! So, to get a sample of what is not making it to the comments on Paul’s blog, see this comment that I tried posting today:
“Hi Paul,
The excitement for your service is building, indeed, but I
have some important questions that I have not found answers to
- in the reports published so far.
For any web site that sells books, be it paper or audio, there comes
the inevitable comparison with the leader in this business -
Amazon.com. It offers features that Ive come to expect from every
online book retailer:
1) Readers rankings and reviews for a book (more free content is another benefit)
2) Customers who bought this book also bought…
3) Editorial reviews
4) Sales rank
Nice to have:
5) Product tagging
6) What customers ultimately buy after viewing this item
Are any such features planned for Content/SellDirect?”
Does any one here find anything insulting or indecent, or otherwise deserving the fate of not being published (on an honest person’s blog, of course)?
Niel, I am very thankful to you for this blog. It’s been enlightening to me to read some of the comments that you gracefully allowed (thanks Mac!). You are clearly an honest person that has just been mislead like many of us about this “build an empire” hype! Don’t buy into a business from people who are deliberately hiding things about it, and suppressing free flow of information about it! xSitePro? Ever been into investing? Remember the disclaimer, “past results do not guarantee future performance”… Couldn’t have said it better myself.
November 15th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Hi Yuri,
The free discussion of topics is what I think blogs are about. I’m happy to have discussions here.
Having said that, I can see that Paul and his team are working incredibly hard. They probably don’t have time to enter discussions on their blog. They also want to control the flow of information about the product before launch, so they wouldn’t answer most questions people are asking about the product anyway. (like, the price).
Your list of Amazon features is a good idea to have in Build An Empire. Most of the things on the list are server-side, so can fairly easily be “bolted on” to the website.
I don’t see why you would be so tough on a team that brought you the XSitePro software in the final hours before launch. I do not believe I’ve been misled. I believe this is a great opportunity. But I also appreciate your comments.
November 15th, 2006 at 10:13 am
yeh.. we love Neil
November 15th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Linda said…
“I haven’t actually set up any campaigns on Google to
promote anything with the use of Adwords, because I read
about the 95% failure rate in Affiliate marketing.”
Did you know there’s also a 99% failure rate for new businesses? I think it’s 90% in the first 5 years fail, then *of the remainder*, 90% of them fail in the next 5 years. Without being flippant, it’s important not to get bogged down by such statistics. Get it going. In my opinion, the worst thing would be to never try, then you’d never know if you would’ve been successful. Even if you try and fail, you’ve actually learned what NOT to do. We try, fail, try succeed, try something else, fail, try again, succeed. No-one bats at 100% or scores a goal with each attempt. The great thing about being online is that testing is so fast and cheap.
Can you tell I’m excited?
Neil.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Hi Neil,
Further to Yuri’s comments, I think you make a reasonable point about Paul wanting to… “control the flow of information about the product before launch, so they wouldn’t answer most questions people are asking about the product anyway. (like, the price).”
It is perhaps understandable that he doesn’t want to get drawn into endless questions and answers at this stage of a carefully controlled product launch, the aim of which is to get everyone at fever pitch especially with the help of the ’scarcity value’ pitch of only 1000 ‘franchisees’.
And on that point you have to ask yourself the question, why put a ‘limit’ on the number of ‘franchisees’? This venture is not a typical franchise opportunity where there are so many factors which naturally limit the number of franchisees, especially at the launch of a new franchise operation.
As everything is going to be so automated within the BaE programme I can’t understand why Paul has imposed a limit, unless it is.. no, it couldn’t be.. an artificial limit established purely as a ploy for marketing purposes as used in countless other product launches over the past few months - no, I can’t imagine Paul doing that.. would he?
If Paul manges to shift a thousand of these ‘franchises’ that’s a cool $1m up front and $609.000 a year. Why doesn’t he sell as many as he can and make even more money. It just doesn’t make sense.. unless the thinking is..
.. pitch this to as many people as you can with the help of admiring affiliates..
.. in as short a period as possible..
.. say that there are only a limited number of spaces (the old scarcity value ploy - there’s really nothing new in selling) …
…release the flow of information bit by bit, so that you get everyone champing at the bit for the next exciting episode, just like a soap opera really..
.. don’t answer questions so that you remain in complete control..
.. don’t allow any dissent - the point both Yuri and myself have already made..
.. you don’t want to risk anyone being put off by any negative comment, do you..
.. set a time and date as effectively the only opportunity you will have to buy into the ‘franchise’ - again the old scarcity value ploy kicks in..
.. midday EST 16 November arrives, knock out as many of the franchises as you can and then do one of two things..
.. if you DON’T make the 1000 target you can send out a NEWSFLASH!! email to everyone on your list saying that because of the unprecedented response to to the opportunity..
.. your servers have crashed..
.. or there was a problem with your merchant account which meant that many people weren’t able to complete their purchase..
.. or you were completely overwhelmed by the response and because everyone loves you so much that you feel a compassionate responsibility to all of your following - as clearly demonstrated by the idolatry showered upon Paul in his ‘blog’ - that you are going to allow a further 50 100, or 250 whatever, into the programme..
This act of spontanious generosity will of course stretch the capacity of the already overstretched back office staff, but what the heck, if it means getting another few thousand dollars it’s just got to be worth it.
.. or you don’t give a **** and you just do, say what ever comes into your head, because you are accountable to no-one.
.. OR if you DO make the 1000 and even exceed it… well, you keep your head down and keep shtoom!
Neil, if Paul was genuinly attempting to provide a life-changing opportunity and was supremely confident that his BaE venture will ‘do exactly what it says on the tin’, then he would welcome the challenge of adverse comments - and kick them in to touch.
He would also NOT impose an artificial deadline immediately after the last piece of information has been released, this is just crass, in-your-face marketing, which demonstrates a complete disrespect for his potential customers. He does himself a disservice, and his affiliates too.
Neil, have you asked Paul why he moderates out any critical comment on his blog where 95% of the comments are full of such fullsome praise and are so excrutiating to read, even he must be embarrased? If you haven’t, asked him, could you?
Best wishes,
Malcolm
November 15th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Hi Malcolm,
What if Paul had a wonderful product but announced it at the top of a mountain where no-one could hear? Pointless, eh?
Yes, he’s marketing. Yes, he’s setting limits on the number of potential franchise owners. Yes, he’s doing a good job at the marketing. He’s launching a product online. He *should* be good at the marketing.
As I’ve said before, he obviously wants people who are willing to put in time and effort to make the whole project a success. If people sign up as affiliates for free, they’re less motivated than if they put up money to join. If you’re not interested in becoming a franchise holder, you always have the option of being an affiliate of one of the franchise holders after the launch… for free.
>He would also NOT impose an artificial deadline
What artificial deadline has Paul imposed? I don’t see that he’s said franchises will only be available for 24 or 48 hours. Has he?
I find the blog thing to be a bit of a red herring. It’s his blog to moderate how he wishes. I’m not going to trouble him the day before launch asking why he’s moderating his blog. I may well ask him after the dust has settled.
November 15th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
Hi Neil,
I echo Yuri’s comments that your blog encourages open comment.
Thank you for your response (to my comments above) brief but illuminating.
As you have received the manuals and cd’s can you reveal what payment options will be available to customers? For instance will they include the option to pay by credit/debit card?
Many thanks,
Malcolm
November 15th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
I am a member of a senior’s sport club. These folks are active and
fairly well educated. During this past week I asked 42 of them if they had ever used /bought/rented/downloaded etc. an audio book. It turns out that not one of them ever listened to an audio book in their lives.
We have a wide variety of audio books available at the local library but none of the seniors ever borrowed one.
This may not mean much but it sure has me thinking.
Regards, Charles
November 15th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Hi Malcolm,
I don’t know, sorry. All I can say is that I would expect credit cards to be accepted.
Charles,
I didn’t have an iPod until a few weeks ago. This is an expanding market, not a saturated one.
Neil.
November 16th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Hi Neil,
It’s less than 10 hours to launch of Build an Empire, and I was wondering when the last four mini-reports will be sent out. Potential purchasers like myself have been anticipating the arrival of all of the reports and would naturally want to consider the content before 12:00 EST today.
Given that many people will be in different time-zones and presumably asleep, it gives them little time to read the reports and reach an informed decision.
Malcolm
November 16th, 2006 at 9:55 am
Hi Malcolm,
I don’t know when the reports are coming out. If you’re on the notification list, you’ll find out when I do.
Regarding the time zones, people will naturally adjust to the launch time if they’re interested in it. It’s not possible to launch at a time when everyone’s awake, unfortunately.
Neil.
November 16th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
I was about to purchase the Empire Franchise but sadly the Guarantee is ambiguous. It looks to me like the only refund you would get is the first month’s $50, not the one fee off $1000. If it were clear that it is the whole lot i would be refunded then I would have jumped in.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:06 pm
Hi Alan,
You’d have to email or call to be certain, but the wording in the PDF is, “the guarantee covers the one-time start-up fee”, which seems clear to me.
The sales copy says, “There’s a one time set-up fee of $1,000″. So, the one-time set up fee is $1,000 and it’s covered by the guarantee according to the PDF.
Neil.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
Hello,
I agree with Alan about the guarantee. I too, was about to sign up but when I read the user agreement right before the final purchase page, it stated that under no circumstances would the $1,000 set up fee be refundable if purchaser cancelled the agreement. I was also concerned about the fact that the original web URL I would choose for my store would be the property of Spoken Network. So, I’m afraid I had to pass.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
But wouldn’t it be the sales copy on the website that would take legal precedent? If I knew for sure it did cover the $1000 then I would very likely sign up. I suppose I could e-mail Paul and ask him to make it clear. As you say the pdf is clear.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Hi Karen,
>I read the user agreement right before the final purchase page, it stated that under no circumstances would the $1,000 set up fee be refundable if purchaser cancelled the agreement<
Well I hadn’t read that. Presumably, that would be the “legalese” part of the purchase and would take precedence.
Neil.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Well I’m afraid that’s done it for me. I didn’t get as far as Karen but the ambiguity on this point on the initial sign up page suggests an attemp to have people think that they would get their $1000 back. I realised early on that they would own the domain name, and in truth they would own the websites that franchisees created, but I expected that. Perhaps I’ll just create my own audio books website. If I really believed that this was going to be a major growth area I would probably still sign up, but I have some doubts. You see, we know that records have always sold well, that videos have always sold well in non digital markets, but audiotaped books have not been big sellers, so why should they suddenly be big sellers in the digital realm? The reasons Paul gives are all valid I think but possibly only for an increase in this market not necessarily the exponential growth he envisions.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:32 am
Hi Neil,
I was also about to sign up, but it’s true, the wording in respect of the guarantee does not make it clear as to what it covers. I have sent an email to Paul asking for clarification. Although the PDF wording seems unambiguous, that is not a legally binding document, presumably the sign up pages are after you click the ‘I agree’ button.
I think it would have been more helpful if Paul had clearly and unambiguously stated the terms of the guarantee right next to the ‘Order Now’ button on the sales page, rather than in small print at the bottom of the sign-up page.
Although, I couldn’t find the wording Karen refers to in the … “…user agreement right before the final purchase page, it stated that under no circumstances would the $1,000 set up fee be refundable if purchaser cancelled the agreement.” I shall look again.
Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that you would be at the mercy of Spoken Network should it decide to vary the referal fees at some point. So you are actually running a business over which you ultimately have no control over the level of referral fees you can achieve, the business name of which you do not own.
Malcolm
November 17th, 2006 at 12:36 am
Hi all,
Here’s my thoughts on the refund policy.
To quote from the PDF: (I had to type this out by hand as it was copy-protected)
Spoken Network is offering a 100% money-back guarantee lasting 30 days from purchase. This guarantee covers the one-time start-up fee (which covers the initial month’s participation within the program…
I believe this is saying that you get your $1000 back (which incorporates your $50 first-month fee).
However, to quote from the Partner Agreement on the website (http://www.build-an-empire.com/partner_agreement.html)
You may terminate this Agreement at any time by providing us written notice of your election to terminate. If you decide to terminate this Agreement no portion of the Application Fee will be refunded to you.
My thoughts: I believe the 30-day grace period is still valid, as whatever the legal precedent, Paul is someone who would honour the spirit of his promise.
I bought the program, and if it’s not for me, then I believe I will get my full $1000 back. Perhaps I’m wrong, but Paul seems like an honest person.
The only thing I didn’t like was how the start-up fee was withheld until the gates were open. You had to decide in a rush if you wanted in or out. Sure, it’s good sales technique. But it’s not good morals. Sorry, Paul.
November 17th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Hi Neil,
Just received the following from Spoken Network…
“Hi Malcolm,
You will be refunded the $1000 (+VAT if you had to pay it)
The $50 delivery charge is non-refundable.
The $50 monthly fee doesn’t start until the beginning of the second month and so doesn’t need refunding.
Best regards,
Matt
Ticket Details
Ticket ID: UGP-962730
Department: Build-An-Empire
Priority: Medium
Status: On Hold”
Hopefully this clarifies the situation.
Malcolm
November 17th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Hi Neil,
I have asked for clarification on the following which is stated within item 32 of the Partner Agreement, it seems to contradict what Matt said in his reply above.
…..”You may terminate this Agreement at any time by providing us written notice of your election to terminate. If you decide to terminate this Agreement no portion of the Application Fee will be refunded to you.”
Malcolm
November 17th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Hi Malcolm,
If you have it in writing from Matt, I think you’re fairly safe.
Neil.
November 17th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
Here is another interesting take on the Build an empire system. Valid points.
http://lostballinhighweeds.com/
November 17th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Hi Neil,
In response to this question…
…”Hi Matt,
Sorry to labour this one, but it wasn’t the first paragraph of item 32 I was
referring to, but the second paragraph which reads…
……”You may terminate this Agreement at any time by providing us
written notice of your election to terminate. If you decide to
terminate this Agreement no portion of the Application Fee
will be refunded to you.”
Could you explain how this works in relation to the 30 day guarantee?
What does it mean in practise, if within the first 30 days I decide that
this is not for me and I request a refund of my $1000.. will you refund
my $1000?”
Just received this reply…
…!Hi Malcolm,
Thank you for your email.
The 30 day guarantee starts on the day that you receive the welcome pack. If, within those 30 days, you decide that the Partner System is not for you, then we will refund the full $1000.
If I can be of any further help, do let me know.
Best regards
Mel.”
That seems pretty conclusive.
Malcolm
November 17th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
Hi Malcolm,
I’d say so… the next move is up to you. Decision time.
Neil.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Hi Neil
Beginning of the month, I was already needing to find more hours in the day, I was desperately getting my head round a whole new pile of info CD’s….other stuff still waiting to be downloaded.
My short attention span certainly did not need distracting by yet another information product. I wasn’t going to buy even one more $9.97 Ebook….
Then your headline hit me: “Mike, eight pages that could change your life…”. That wound me up something terrible.
Your recommendation was so compelling, that after I read Paul’s intro sales pitch, I was hooked. Several others offered the same product but yours came first, you were keenest, too….so I relented and ordered a copy of “Empire”.
Looks like I’ve got only a week to half finish what’s on screen now
Best from DownUnder
Mike
November 25th, 2006 at 8:58 am
Hi Neil:
Would you recommend Brandon Hong’s Audionicheblogs?
I’m already a member of Build an Empire. I’ve learned
that search engines love blogs with regular new content,
which is being offered in the Audionicheblog membership.
Thanks for your continued support
Linda
November 25th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Dear Neil and everyone else,
Here is most of a copy of an e-mail I sent to BaE after it was sold out, apparently. They did not answer my questions, but instead put me on the alternate list to be contacted if anyone gives up their spot. These points remain some of my biggest concerns about this program, and I’d like to post these concerns on your blog. Does anyone here have answers to these? Dear Paul,
My business partner and I are very interested buying one of your slots, but we have a few questions:
1. A troubling question: We saw on Audible.com that they have quite a few pricing plans and we wondered if you have developed a pricing structure to compete with this. In effect, what is your plan for competing with another group that is offering 12,000 “audiobooks and performances” at a lower price than, I believe it was $17.00 average per audiobook that you mentioned? (Audible’s website says they charge $9.95 per book for signing up for 24 audiobook per year, or $14.95 for 1 book per month.) We wondered if we wouldn’t just ultimately be advertising for Audible, since once we help the masses get hooked on or awake to the idea of audio books, won’t they quickly be hunting for the lowest prices and move on to Audible instead? Then, there is Zoomba, and a list of others—we didn’t research them all, but again wondered about the pricing and if your program would take precedence in the public’s mind over cheaper prices we were seeing on Zooba. Obviously, though, Audible is the biggest issue.
2. On Audible (about Audible), they state that their content is transferable to “more than 200 different mobile devices made by more than 40 manufacturers”. Is there a way to compete with that in your program, because I believe you mention you could only download to 2 types? Also, that Audible has their AudibleReady software on the devices of their device-manufacturing partners, and that they are working “with original equipment manufacturers of mobile audio devices, original design manufacturers, and integrated circuit vendor partners to simply and rapidly adopt Audible’s technology for use in manufactured devices.” Will we be able to use their software, too, for our downloads, or will we be shut out from downloading to the devices that have Audible software?
3. Is there any provision in your program to prevent people from downloading one copy of something and then just sharing it with each other, like they do music, without paying for it? I’m thinking especially of high school and college students that we might sell to. (Neil, I see that this question was partially answered in the responses to 35 questions.)
4. How big a support staff do you have, to handle the back-office support, record-keeping, billing, customer service, etc., that you will be doing as your part of the deal. (Neil, this is a huge question—if handled badly in any aspect, you’re really vulnerable to having lost your money and time, and at any time in the whole process.)
5. Where are you headquartered?
6. Do you have business references, other than your software testimonials, that we can have?
November 27th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Hi Linda,
I don’t know anything about Audionicheblogs, sorry.
Hi Marcia,
The big difference between Audible and BaE is that BaE offers franchise holders 30% sales commission, which they can split with their affiliates if they wish. I don’t think Audible or Amazon offers that much commission, so who’s going to get the affiliates? BaE. So who would you expect to get the sales? BaE.
I think the other questions are best answered by Paul and his team, but, seeing as they’ve sold out their 1,000 places, it may be a bit late to ask.
Neil.
December 21st, 2006 at 7:06 am
Hi
I got involved in the audio book business from Paul and his team and things are going really well with just 2 weeks of the site being up sales are going good.
http:www.listen2menow.com
December 21st, 2006 at 10:18 am
Hi Geoffrey,
That’s great news.
Would you like to let us know a bit more? I’d be happy to do a full blog post on how you’re doing with the Build An Empire system.
To anyone else who bought a franchise, I’m also interested in hearing from you. How’s it going so far? Please let me know your thoughts, along with your domain name if you’d like it mentioned.
Neil.
January 9th, 2007 at 4:11 am
I recently started with the audio book business after customizing my site. I have picked up a niche and trying to sign up affiliates right now, which I think will be the best way to have the best results.
January 28th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
I love audio books but price is just too high for me.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Neil,
I’m one of the franchisees for BaE and I have started to see sales come in the past 3 months after I started sending some PPC traffic to my site. I’m looking for more affiliates, so if anyone is interested you can check out my store at http://www.audiobookfest.com
May 10th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Hi Hock,
Nice blog… but I’m not listed on “blogs you read”! Grrr.
I’m happy you’re seeing sales through BaE… thanks for letting me know.
Keep pumping the PPC for more sales, and roll out the successful campaigns to other PPC engines.
Neil.
May 13th, 2007 at 3:15 am
Neil,
You’re in the list now!
May 31st, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Hi there,
This is Lorena from New Zealand and I am trying to find a contact for Paul Smithson as I am really interested in becoming an affiliate with the ebook programme. I received information some time ago and not being in a position at that time to become involved, due to family problems etc (as we do) feel I may have missed the opportunity. I am very very keen so could you please send me some information regarding my request.
Would be much appreciated,
sincerely
Lorena
June 7th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Hi Lorena,
I don’t want to give out Paul’s personal email, so I suggest using this link:
http://spokennetworkpartners.helpserve.com/
or these details…
http://www.xsitepro.com/contact.html
Neil.
August 8th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I completely agree with Robert’s comments of November 4th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
If you don’t have a unique content that helps people solve their problems, or get some goodies of mass demand, don’t even bother to promote your site in SE’s, it well be an exercise in futility.
October 21st, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Hi Neil,
Just recently read your blog and got some nice tips in it!