Your Business-Building Checklist

Big Picture Introduction -- Prepare to Succeed

I understand...

An Action Guide "DAY" is not a 24 hour calendar day.

I can work at my own pace, reading each step thoroughly before putting it into practice.

I should complete one step before moving to the next.

One step at a time is doable. I just need to follow the video or written Action Guide.

I will encounter humps along the way -- and I will beat them.

I understand what growth hacking is.

I have completed these tasks...

Watch or read the Introduction of the Action Guide.

! Bookmark Find It!.

Subscribe to Solo Build It! Twitter for tips to move from ideas to income.

DAY 1 -- Master the Basics

I understand...

The Content > Traffic > PREsell > Monetize process.

The difference between PREselling and selling.

The value of building a strong foundation, and the importance of working through DAYs 2 – 5 comprehensively.

The need to build one business at a time.

The importance of…

• a “business-building” mindset and

• not feeling overwhelmed.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 1 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

! Read The 6 Big Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Site.

Read Best Practices for DAYs 1 – 5 … Building a Strong Business Foundation.

� Introduce myself in the SBI! Forums.

! Involve my friends and family (my Personal Network).

! Change my login username and password to increase my site's security.

DAY 2 -- Develop Your Best Site Concept

I understand...

What makes a strong Site Concept.

The need to invest time now in creating a Goldilocks "just right" Site Concept.

The importance of vertical brainstorming of keywords that contain t he seed word.

How to use the Master Keyword List (MKL) including the best ranges for Value Demand and Real Supply.

The importance of considering monetization potential.

Site Concept evaluation factors (profitability, available time, niche depth, etc.).

My Site Concept choice is not final at this stage.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 2 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

! Watch the DAY 2 video tours: Using Brainstorm It! and Find Your Best Site Concept.

! Identify 3 potential niches about which I am passionate.

! If I need more ideas, use Brainstorm It!’s Seed Generator to identify 1-3 Site Concept possibilities.

Use the Site Concept Finder to research those 3 potential niches.

Evaluate the keywords for each of the 3 potential Site Concepts, following the guidelines for overall Supply (not too high), Demand (not too low), and Demand depth (a good number of keywords with sufficient Demand).

Narrow down my niche possibilities from 3 to 1 by evaluating the potential of:

• Winnable Depth – number of keywords easy to win • Overall Depth – percentage of lowest demand keywords

Score potential Site Concepts against:

• Profitability • Niche sexiness • Time • Monetization opportunities • Knowledge • Niche depth • Passion

Use Niche Choose It! to select one preliminary Site Concept.

� Check out my thinking with my Personal Network.

Delete the other two seed words and their keywords.

DAY 3 -- Fully Brainstorm Your Best Site Concept

I understand...

Why search intent is important.

The difference between informational, transactional and specific product searches.

What a site content blueprint looks like: the 3-tier structure.

The use of Lateral brainstorming to grow my MKL.

Why I should consider monetization at this stage.

The potential for Content 2.0 pages.

The need to work at DAYs 2 and 3 thoroughly, moving onto DAY 4 only when I am confident about my site content blueprint.

I have completed these tasks…

! Read or watch DAY 3 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

Complete a Lateral Brainstorm. Prune, and blend lateral and vertical keywords.

If MKL has over 250 acceptable keywords, move to creating a site content blueprint.

! If there are fewer than 250, add more keywords by following the guidelines in Add MoreKeywords to Your Site Concept MKL.

Be ruthless with my Master Keyword List (MKL): "keep the best and dump the rest!"

! Use my judgment (knowledge and passion) as well as numbers to identify good keywords.

Use the "Groups " function to identify related Tier 3 keywords.

Think about how and where interactive C2 invitations might fit.

Using the spreadsheet template, design a site content blueprint that is clear and realistic.

Finalize my site content blueprint with the help of my Personal Network.

DAY 4 -- Investigate and Plan Monetization Options

I understand...

The importance of considering monetization options before finalizing my Site Concept. The need to have several different monetization streams. The connection between traffic and monetization. The need to make as many site visitors as possible contribute to my bottom line.

That quality, benefit-focused content should be my first priority. Monetization should begin only when I have at least 25 published content pages and 100 site visitors per day.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 4 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

Build a picture of my ideal site visitor.

Feel my visitor’s pain using the research methods available to me.

Assess my site's monetization potential using "Get Google $."

Learn about the various monetization options.

Choose two monetization options to focus on in my preliminary monetization plan.

Decide what to do if my monetization plan is not working out the way I thought it would.

Move to DAY 5 only when my planned monetization mix has solid potential.

Ask my Personal Network for their assessment of my monetization plan.

DAY 5 -- Develop Site's "Personality" and Register Domain Name

I understand...

The importance of establishing my site's personality (unique voice).

The meaning of the term "Valuable PREselling Proposition" (VPP).

The difference between a narrow and a broad niche.

The most important domain name criteria:

• short

• unique

• memorable

• no dashes

• includes the Site Concept Keyword, if possible.

The importance of finding a domain name with matching social media names.

The planning in DAYs 1 – 5 is critical to the success of my business. "Looping back" if I’m not ultra-sure of my niche is a positive step.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 5 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

Consider what specific, high quality information my site will deliver.

Decide what my unique positioning will be.

Develop a Valuable PREselling Proposition ("VPP").

Read the e-book Make Your Content PREsell! (MYCPS!).

Bearing in mind the important criteria, brainstorm a list of potential domain names.

Check those potential domain names for prior use, availability and trademarks.

Loop back to DAY 2, 3 or 4 if the niche evaluation is not "Goldilocks right."

Choose and register a domain name. Also register the social media account names.

DAY 6 -- Build a Site That Gets the Click

I understand...

The 3-tier site structure and the difference between Tier 1, 2 and 3 (T1, T2, T3) pages. The need to please both visitors and search engine spiders.

The importance of the home page to set the tone of the site.

Thefourpoten.aldirec.onsofT2pagelinks.

How T3 pages connect with T2s and with monetization options.

The importance of original fresh content and the danger s of paraphrasing or duplicating.

The benchmarks used by Analyze It! to ensure a page meets the necessary criteria.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 6 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

Decide on my building approach -- BlockBuilder or Upload Your Own HTML (UYOH).

Select a design from the Site Designer Gallery. Customize the design.

Build a home page (index.html) in BlockBuilder or UYOH.

Use Analyze It! to ensure the page meets the necessary criteria.

! Write and publish an "About Me" page.

Build one other Tier 2 page, linking it to my home page.

Build a Tier 3 page, linking it to its related Tier 2 page.

Organize my site’s navigation.

Load the Image Library.

Explore the Link Library, Reusable Block Library and Quick Upload It!.

! Create Browser Icon and Touch Icon images and upload them using Fav It!.

Use Verify It! to verify site ownership at Google & Bing. Submit my sitemap to each one.

DAY 7 -- Build Free Traffic

I understand...

The importance of building free traffic from a variety of sources, including search engines and social media.

The need to create a mobile-friendly site using a responsive site design, or Mobilize It!.

How Content 2.0 (C2) invitations can add value to a site by allowing visitors to submit content and comment on submissions.

The difference between a natural (earned) and a manipulative (built) link profile.

That a good amount of targeted traffic comes with time and consistent work.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 7 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

! Ensured my site is mobile-friendly, by using a responsive site design, or by activating Mobilize It!.

! Add C2 invitations if appropriate, or schedule a reminder to return to them when my site has more content and a social marketing reputation.

! Work at social media passively (adding sharing, like and follow buttons) and actively (day-to- day participation) on my selected social media platforms.

! Use Search Engine HQ’s Keyword Ranking Report to check spidering, listing and page rank. Schedule this every 3 – 4 weeks.

DAY 8 -- Build Relationships

I understand...

That a "Backup Response" is something that nurtures visitors and keeps them wanting to come back to my site.

The role of Blog It! in creating updates and / or short, personalized blog posts.

That social media creates trust and loyalty, and is an indicator of "social value" to the search engines.

The need to assess on which platform(s) site visitors prefer to connect.

That Content 2 can deepen a sense of community.

The importance of providing a means of contact to site visitors via Form Build It! or a partner application such as AWeber or MailChimp.

The role of newsletters in nurturing a relationship with site visitors.

Infin It! is available to create a community via a blog, forum or membership system when the time is appropriate.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 8 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

Enable Blog It! and an RSS feed by the time the first 10 content pages are published.

Add Socialize It! and Face It! buttons.

! Assess which social media platform(s) makes sense for the niche and set up a business account accordingly.

Publish a newsletter using either MailOut Manager, or AWeber’s or MailChimp’s platform.

At 25 – 30 pages, 50 visitors per day and 100+ social media "fans," start to build relationships with influencers in the same niche.

! At 30 – 50 pages and 200 – 500 visitors per day, consider creating a community resource such as a forum or membership service.

DAY 9 -- Know Your Visitors

I understand...

That knowledge about traffic gives the power to boost income.

It costs time and money to create incoming traffic; outgoing traffic potentially generates money.

That a click-through is a click from my site to another site, or from one page of my site to another page on my site.

Click-in traffic comes into my site from newsletters, contact forms, social signals and offline marketing.

That following best practice will help avoid penalties from search engine algorithm changes.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 9 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

! Schedule a monthly review of Traffic Stats in Site Central’s Traffic Center. Assess overall traffic, and growth over time.

Add Google Analytics to the site for analysis further down the line.

Explore Click-Through data, but don’t be discouraged by low numbers.

! Explore Click-In data to assess the effectiveness of my backup response, including newsletters, contact forms and social media.

! If not already done, read Best Practices for Building a Site That Humans and Search Engines Love.

DAY 10 -- Monetize Your Site

I understand...

That the appropriate time to start monetizing is when the site has at least:

• 25 pages of high quality content, excluding privacy, about and other "admin" pages

• 6 good quality inbound links

• 100 visitors per day

Passive income, such as affiliate products, requires large amounts of traffic.

Active income, such as product generation, requires more time but has a higher return.

Diversifying income by mixing passive with active monetization models is the best way to make every site visitor count. The monetization plan should evolve as the site, and traffic, grows.

Evaluating performance of my site and monetization methods will inform the plan of how the site should develop.

Remember: determination combined with perseverance creates success.

I have completed these tasks…

Read or watch DAY 10 of the Action Guide. Reflect on the questions asked.

Decide whether the time is right to monetize.

! Review and improve the monetization plan begun in DAY 4, creating a combination of passive and active streams.

! Ensure the monetization plan includes an assessment of the unique needs of site visitors. It should match needs and wants with ideal solutions and products.

Schedule regular monitoring and improvement of my site and its monetization methods.

Be ready to introduce n ew monetization models as the site evolves.

Ensure I stay up-to-date by reading each issue of the SBI! newsletter, SBIX.