Wealthy Affiliate Review - The Cold Harsch Truth
73APRIL 2011 - StreetArticles.com Is Life
The Wealthy Affiliate University invented again.
- Wealthy Affiliate just added StreetArticles.com to it's arsenal of tools and Wealthy Affiliate Members have some advantages to use this High Quality Directory to publish articles and to get Traffic.
Against all odds, article Marketing is NOT DEAD.
What is dead are crappy articles, PLR or poorly spun, rewritten articles.
But if you are able to write QUALITY content, you will have more chances then ever to get very good traffic from an article directory. StreetArticles offers you a great opportunity to get your quality articles indexed and ranked, but with a way simpler approval process.
Why Checking Out A Wealthy Affiliate Review Site ?
A little provocative, sorry - but let me tell you first my story.
In 2005 I lost a 120k job as Exec. Thanks to my savings I could pay the bills for a few months.
But soon my credit cards bills got out of control The obvious result - late 2006 in was in deep debt. No job's in sight - I was desperate.
The solution seamed simple. I'm smart, have a University degree in Marketing, I'm pro active and so on...... why not make money Online ?
So I did run a search in Google for how to make money online. I was amazed and said to myself "Easy picking, look at all those opportunities to get rich quick and with very little investment, absolutely doable in a few weeks!"
Guess I spare you what happened next as that's most probably where you are right now.
Promises, lies, scams, more debt. I had wish to kill myself (first the scammers).
HECK, all seamed so easy! Just buy a system, copy some stuff and count the cash. DEAD WRONG.
But I KNEW that Affiliate Marketing is a viable business and that People do make good money.
BUT HOW THEY DO MAKE THAT MONEY ?
Suddenly I started to "get it". They make money because THEY KNOW HOW to do it the RIGHT WAY. I started to realize that there is no miracle solution available.
During on of my sleepless nights I stopped by accident at a Wealthy Affiliate Review Site and decided to join, principally due to the free 1on1 support as I definitely needed someone to help me with all this as I was LOST (in Cyber Space).
Then, first time loged into the Wealthy Affiliate University - OH BOY, what a difference!.
I'm not here to bash other products or programs but if you like to be serious about making money online as Affiliate Marketer I highly recommend that you invest in a great learning resource like the Wealthy Affiliates, to understand the whole interaction between whom sell's and buy's" and the whole Internet as a Media platform.
Don't try to discover that on your own or you will lose a lot of time and most probably will get it all wrong.
While the Wealthy Affiliate University gives you all you need I prepared for you a free training course where I'll show you all secrets about Affiliate Marketing. Just in case you like to get first a great background to know what Internet Marketing is all about.
Visit and subscribe here to my Free Affiliate Marketing Training.
Wealthy Affiliate Review Video Tour
The Wealthy Affiliate University - The Story.
PLEASE NOTE: not all the options are available or only limited with the $47/month membership.
The Wealthy Affiliate University is a Internet Marketing and Affiliate Marketing training resource. In September 2009 they updated their site for the third time since 2005.
I'm a Wealthy Affiliate Member since 07 and use it daily. Here are my insights about the new interface, the tools and what I quote positive or negative and off course my conclusion.
1 - New organized Interface
The new Interface looks far better then before. It's clean and easy to surf. You get the option to customize the dashboard with addons showing the "latest news" within the site, like new added tutorials, new members etc.The new design is definitely a improvement in terms of organization with the main menu bar at the top including all important parts such as the Forum, your bookmarks (new and very helpful), training center, tools&research, WASpaces (your personal blog), affiliate program, and to the help desk.
2 - Loading speed
A big improvement is the sites loading speed. Wealthy Affiliates prior hosting provider was not capable of maintaining a good speed, so the switch to GoDaddy was a smart move which made it possible to improve a lot on this aspect. A faster site satisfies the user much more.
3 - Learning Resources
The learning resources within Wealthy Affiliate are new organized. In the "old" version we had a "site based tutorial" section and "user created tutorial" section called "share zone". It was somehow difficult to find help even if there existed a resource to a problem.
Now all tutorials are centralized in a "Training Center" where you find the following modules :
- Getting started
- Article Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Research Niches and Markets
- Pay-per-click Marketing
- Miscellaneous
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- WA System Tutorials
- Website Development
- Web Hosting (included part for members)
- Accreditation courses to Article Marketing and Pay-per-Click Marketing (those are the only 2 courses which are not part of the membership - I didn't purchased those)
4 - Tools
What's a huge difference from any other Internet Marketing resource is the fact that Wealthy Affiliate offers several useful tools as part of the membership. The main tools to mention here are :
- the new keyword tool
helps in a great way to analyze wherever a keyword is valuable, has a fair competition, and can be used for article or PPC marketing. All this data is available within a few seconds after you run the tool, really great help. You as well can spy into AdWords competition or dig deeper into the keyword right from the KW-tool.
- the article spinner
Article spinning has to be used with caution, we all know that unique content is absolutely king. But I know that our Unique articles can as well be used for other purposes if we rewrite them a little. This tool will help rewrite your unique content in mere seconds, or if you wish you can use ready made PLR articles to get content.
- Ready made niche reports
There are 8 fully detailed niche reports within the best and most valuable online industries. You get all industry data, affiliate offers, PLR material, websites etc.. Do this yourself and you would have to spend weeks, so this is a invaluable resource for members. The industries are Pet, Golf, Stocks/trading, Insurance, Dating, Gaming, VOIP and Hosting.
There are more tools such as Hosting, the Link Cloaker, Clickbank Research Tool and the SiteRubix Website Builder, but they remain the way they are so I won't get into details here.
5 - The Forum
The Wealthy Affiliates forum. Although there is nothing new right now I need to mention the immense value of this forum, for many (me included) this alone is worth the membership.
First - There are a lot posts with actual step by step walk trough's from campaigns or about websites from members which did struggle. The community helped them to improve those till they made money. Those are real life examples and everybody can learn how to do it.
Second - Post any question and you get help. Really. That's not usual in other (free) forums and the community in WA is simply awesome, unique and extremely helpful.
6 - The cost, NEW after 10/12/2010 , 2 tier Memberships
Wealthy Affiliate will after the 12th of October offer 2 price options, U$47/month for the GOLD level or U$97/month for the PLATINUM level.This is a great oportunity to get in for a 50% cheaper price then currently available. A great value for what you get and I know that similar courses charge around the double. Who can pay for a full year get a discount of over 20%, might be worth a look.
Currently there are over 35'000 members in Wealthy Affiliate, where most use it on a daily base. You can benefit from this as a Business owner as you will learn how t market your products online, or you can become a savvy blogger or a affiliate marketer.
- What I like in Wealthy Affiliate
Obviously the above in details mentioned tools are my favored, specially the new organized "Training Center" will help me with my work and make it easier to find what I need. Off course I love that the price remains the same as price increases today in time are difficult.
- What I don't like in Wealthy Affiliate
I really don't hide anything and here are the items I don't like, don't use within the membership.
WA Hosting - the hosting remains limited. In case you already have some site or have wish to build a business with multiple websites, WA hosting has limitations in respect to the amount of sites, disc space and bandwidth. I have several domains and sites and don't use it till today due to this fact. For a Newbie this is OK and will help you get your first site up and life, and it's part and included in your membership. But as intermediate marketer this part is useless.
Site Rubix. The Website builder hasn't evolved. It's OK for newbies but very basic and not suitable for a intermediate or advanced marketer. You build simple review sites, but if you would like to make more complex sites then this tool isn't capable of helping you much. I recommend you get your feet wet with a free WYSIWYG builder like Kompozer, where you will learn to build sites with a tool which works outside the Wealthy Affiliates.
Conclusion :
Who likes to make money online need in first priority a good knowledge about what Internet Marketing actually is, or in other words - you need to get a good foundation.
That's in fact no different then for any other skill or profession. Being a Internet Marketer is something which has to be learned. You need a good resource, time and commitment to make your start-up as beneficial as possible. The opportunities in Internet Marketing are huge and nobody is asking about your prior occupation, your age, sex or race.
And another strong benefit is, it's dirty cheap to start out compared to any offline business model. I've failed with 2 offline businesses and lost more then $100k with salaries, rent's, lost inventory etc..
With that said, I always recommend to invest into training for that you understand what you need to do.
The Wealthy Affiliate University is in this respect a complete learning resource for Internet Marketers which is one of the view places available that has all together at one spot.
If you would like to know how to start a Online business to leverage your sales, or if you wish to start to sell other peoples stuff as a Affiliate, or in case you need knowledge about how to run a Blog business, I can recommend in good faith to try out Wealthy Affiliate.
I have here a in-dept Wealthy Affiliate Review at my site with a video overview.
And for additional details you are invited to visit my Blog Wealthy Affiliate Bonus where I have some great information and some more videos for you.
Good luck with your online business.
Guido Mueller
MustDoIt!
CommentsLoading...
No way that WA has 35,000 members. Maybe that many people have signed up but no way are their currently 35,000 active members at WA. It's a good place to start if you are new to IM and really want to learn. I think Kyle and Carson should remove the one on one coaching stuff from their pitch page. It's misleading and hurts the sites reputation.
Bigfriendly1581
Looks like you have been or are a member. If you login into to Forum and scroll to the bottom, you can see that at this moment there are a little more then 42'000 members. They added 2000 since last week.
But to be honest, I can't say 100% that those are all active.
And why K&C should remove the coaching ? I got always a answer when I needed. Fact is that many join and wanna get that someone hold their hands to make money, that's an illusion which NO course gives you (maybe a 15k course does, I don't know).
The membership contains ALL information you need, what you maybe need in addition, what I offer to my referrals, is to know WHAT you have to do first, second, third etc....but ultimately YOU have to do it.
WA is a steal for what you get. Just after being a while into it you will recon that.
G.
I really want to make a living online. I wonder if the people that set this as a priorty at least make the money to pay for the training within a month or two? I too have been scamed many times and I fear that this will not work as well. Can someone that is not being paid or told to speak positive about W.A.U. let me know just the truth? If I do the work, can I make a good living at this and what percent do you think a honest attempt will succeed using W.A.U.? Please, only honest people, let me know. Thanks ccwebb0864@yahoo.com
Hi Chris
Looks like I'm NOT a honest person :-) (have to go over my copy for that I sound more trustworthy).
Seriously, there are no guarantees that you will make money if YOU won't put dedication into it. No program will make the ground work for you, no one. We can only teach, you have to execute.
If I recommend WA then because I know that this is the best material you can get for the price. Sure not all details are perfect and you find as well some members who complain about each little bit - just as in real life.
Getting to the point, if YOU are ready to learn and apply what it takes to be a Affiliate Marketer, then go for it and try WA.
You will join a lot of similar minded people and you will get definitely more value in return for the $39.- you pay.
But if you are looking for a program which will make the money FOR YOU, then DON'T join as WA or any other program will not deliver this. That's a pipe dream the scammers offer you, not me - not WA.
If you study brain surgery you still have to do the surgery to make money, the simple fact that you are a brain surgeon will not make you money.
So the only guarantee I can give you is that you will make NOTHING if you do NOTHING.
I won't say that you should sign up here at my Hub. Sign up wherever you feel fine to do so. My difference is that I know quite a bit about IM and offer additional support to my referrals if they need help.
But research more about WA, you will see that 9 out of 10 who have been or are a member talk good about it. That would not be the case after 5 years online if the resource would be a scam.
Hope I could help you more with those details
G.
Well, what can i say. I'm hard working and dedicate myself into putting 100% into whatever i do. But, i joined WA back in about March'09. Left after a couple of weeks. Why did i do that?
Let me tell you, it was toooooo overwhelming, especially for a newbie. Yeah, i brought numerous pdf files that promised the world, but i would of thought that WA would of been different. There was so much stuff in there to learn, and at least at University they have a weekly agenda. At WA yeah, there is a weekly agenda, but nothing like a university. The weekly course broken up into 8 weeks, it leaves you hanging every single time, what to do after doing the course, read and read and read. There are no practical examples which you can do, instead, read and read and read.
I had enough of reading these pdf files which promise the world, but i thought WA would of been different. Would i recommend it? Nah, but what i would recommend is get your fingers out your back side if you really want to make money online. I took a different path altogether using affiliate marketing and never looked back. But, i would recommend people reading up on affiliate marketing and the different ways about it, as it is all free to find on the web. You just need to look harder. And when i mean free, i mean free. Everything in WA is out there to find for free on the web.
For example, keyword finders - Traffic Travis, free website builders - weebly, and could go on and on. And with weebly, its free hosting and the lot, you can upload files to it and everything.
But, as for list building, there isn't a free way of doing that. But, i have found a cheaper alternative to aweber and autoresponse, and its new as well, and you won't find it in the search engine yet. Aweber promises a percentge of emails getting to recipents, this one so far has delivered 100% and there are about 42,000 people using it at the moment. And it has all the features of aweber and autoresponse and more.
Piece of advice: Just keep your eyes out if you want to find free info. Its out there and its without getting on anyones list also.
George
thank you for sharing your opinion. Hey, WA isn't for everybody and there are no hard feelings about your point of view.
But there is a VERY important point you made which is dangerous, principally for newbies. Read on to see what I mean.
And l have an issue with a part of your comment I didn't understood.
You say to be willing to put 100% into something, but looks like you didn't took any action based on the Wealthy Affiliate Action Plan ? Only read, read, read......Weird.
You should have read, applied, tested and then asked for feedback and help if necessary. This for each step of the course.
I know that many people have a road block when they arrive at WA, they get overwhelmed about all the information and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That's why I changed my "thank you gift" and offer personal support for my referrals in stead of offering just some free ebooks or whatsoever. Helps WAY more then just another download.
Please see the problem here about the fact that someone who already feels overwhelmed inside Wealthy Affiliate (where you get a step by step plan and a Forum where a bunch of people help you out with your problems) will get nowhere, absolutely nowhere when he searches for Free stuff online.
I agree with you that a lot is free available, BS and good stuff (actually more Bull as every wanna be guru can scream that he "knows the secret" in a free report).
You may recall that there are many recommendations inside WA about free weebly.com (including tutorials how to use it), free Google Keyword Tool(s), free traffic methods etc. so I guess you missed the point that a LEARNING resource like WA is teaching you HOW TO DO things. Free, paid, a mix of both....doesn't matter. They don't sell you anything else there and to have your own domain and hosting is a commonly known benefit for a ANY online Business.
Heck I state clearly in my Hub here that there are several things in WA which I don't like, which should be better. But 85% is great for the money you pay.
Coming back to "Free Stuff". How do you KNOW what to search for if you have no idea WHAT you need to search for because you are a Newbie?
Without basic knowledge you ain't have a clue what to do, so your theory is irrational and misleading IMO.
Your strategy is like giving a hungry guy a gun to shoot in the ocean and hope to kill a fish that way to feed himself.
Anyhow, I liked that you posted your ideas here and we all have different point of views, that's life. And congrats to your success to make money online.
G.
Hi G,
I appreciate your comments. They are very clear and to the point. Maybe i was a bit harsh in quitting only after two weeks. But, them two weeks did change the way i think. And now i am doing it on my own.
As for the newbie, not knowing what to look for. Yes, you are right in saying and i quote "Your strategy is like giving a hungry guy a gun to shoot in the ocean and hope to kill a fish that way to feed himself."
I was like that when i signed up to Wealthy Affiliate in the first place. Didn't know what i was doing, and couldn't make heads or tails of it anyway. When i signed up i was clueless as to what was going on, etc. Maybe that was my downfall, who knows.
But, as for the newbie looking for water in a desert. Never give up looking for your water, regardless of your thirst. I found numerous places to look for info. And yes, most of it maybe from make money websites, but i used that information for better. I utilised that info to my ends, not the way its was ment to be. Which was to discourage you from your path to that water.
I probably would come back some day to Wealthy Affiliate, but i just wouldn't recommend going in there not knowing what to expect.
I would even go as far as saying that the site is very much like the Warrior Forum. You ask a question for help and you get no answer, but in the warrior forum, it an abusing ride.
As for my theory, yes, it is irrational and misleading. But, i succeeded doing it this way. I would go as far as saying, Wealthy Affiliate gave me a kick up the backside. There is tonnes of information, and it was over-whelming. So, how did i start making money?
Most people say do keyword research, or should i say 99% of people say do keyword research. I didn't, i ignored basically the ethics of it all and, as the song goes 'i did it my way'.
And yeah, it was slow going at first. Always is when you start out. But, once you get one campaign up, go on to another, and go back to check up on the first, then the second, then start the third, then go back and check on the first, and on and on..... I think you get the picture.
At first i couldn't afford to put email capture in, etc. But, once i did, boy did it make a difference.
What i am trying to say to the newbie is, look at what your trying to look for, and try a different approach(as to the info you are looking for). For example, 'make money online' - too broad if you ask me, try something less potent like going to clickbank.com and looking at the money section in the marketplace, you can tell a lot of what to look for just by reading the sales copy of the sales pages of what people are selling on what to look for. What i am saying is be creative on the keyword. Google and other search engines just use info from the past. Try looking at your inner self to find that keyword.
I use clickbank and msn as my guide. But, you don't need a your own website at first to make money. Start with weebly or squidoo, then go on from there.
And i would like to thank you for letting my first post on you site. Most people just delete it from their site, as it provides an argument for the other side.
Thank you,
George
P.S. Do you have your own website yet? Or are you still using these Web 2.0 sites?
Because i found its useful having both. I would use my own url in my comments, but its not in this topic, as such. More ecomonics than anything.
Chris,
I like your statement regarding newbies when you said..... " How do you KNOW what to search for if you have no idea WHAT you need to search for because you are a Newbie? "
Now, I am more interested in joining Wealthy Affiliate.
and YES I am a newbie....
Chris J.
First to George
It's OK for me to have your comment on my Hub. You have valid points and discuss those with fair arguments. I respect that and let others know about it.
The only thing I hate is when people just stop by to complain or tell that I'm a scammer or whatsoever without to know a bit about the issue.
So in case you wanna give it a shot and try to "NEW" WA (there has been a upgrade a while ago you don't know) I'm there to help you out. Just make sure you join over my hib or sites (the links are in the hub). This offer is valid for ALL my clients, as I take "giving support" serious.
Then to Chris
I had a email exchange a few days ago about WA with a Chris. Are your THAT Chris ? If not, then welcome and as you can see, I answer and explain stuff, just as promised.
In case you try out WA over my link, don't miss to contact me inside the Forum. Same nick and over 2600 post by now so you will find me for sure.
G.
I'm sorry, but i didn't mean for you to assume i meant scammer. I didn't mean that at all. And i apologise.
I do not believe WA to be a scam site, or do i believe that you are a scammer. I didn't mean for it to say it like that, and for that i do deeply apologise.
(You can post this here if you like, if not you can delete it, but i feel you should post it, just in case people think what you did, and i don't want that to happen to a decent affiliate such as yourself)
Hi,
Nice marketing article, I really like your style. You definitely learned some of the lessions teached at WA!
Cheers and good luck!
George
Like I mentioned above, your point of view is absolutely OK for me and I was not offended by it in any way. No, you didn't called me a scammer or told that WA is a scam.
What I meant was that some people do simply complain about everything without even knowing it and call me a scammer because I recommend WA, while YOU explained and gave reasons for your judgement. I like that and that's why I left all your comments in the Hub.
That's what a democracy is all about, different people, different ideas and point of views - which can be discussed in peace and with respect.
You didn't need to apologize yourself, anyhow very nice and shows that you are a great person.
Thanks
G.
I agree that WA is not a bad starting point for people going into AM but it isn't totally nesacary to become succesful online.
Great hub though
5/5 + thumb up
Hi, I have also lost a lot of many to internet scams. Bought lots oe e-books on internet marketing and programs non of them working. I then started to check all new programs for scams. This specific site like many many more will give you a review on a program and then recomend there own program as being better. For some it might work but being burned so many times it just boils down to degrading your opositions product to bust your own and it is funny only one product being reviewed and one product being boosted. - Just the same a nother scam?
Hi Gordon
I think I understand your point and need for several different product reviews to compare one against another.
Point is that WA has very little real competition with what they offer. There is maybe "Super Affiliates" from Ewen Chia or "Profit Lance" which some quote as a WA "light", but non is really comparable. And I didn't own those so can't give any "insider" review like here from WA.
90% of all the other "make money" books, courses, are NOT on the same level as WA cause they do not teach the basics OR they are way more expensive. Look at "Commission Blueprint" for example, I own that but it cost over $300 bucks. It's worth the price but not everyone can afford it.
I repeat myself here but once again, WA is NOT a "make money with WA" course. It's a learning resource to teach you what's Internet Marketing, for that you have the KNOWLEDGE to sell WHATEVER you want online, WA included.
Hope that made sense and a ultimate tip:
Don't fall for "get rich quick" products, you have to WORK to make money Online (just like Offline) and therefore KNOW what to do.
If you are NOT willing to work for it, save your money. Don't join WA and better you don't buy any good looking course which promise you to make 35k in 2 weeks ;-). Deal?
G.
Great Hub! I am also a member of WA. I just joined this week. I find it to be a little over whelming. I agree with your con statements. I believe in keeping my site separate from any membership site. I want absolute control over them. See you in the forum! My forum ID is TnFlash. Hub marked uprated & useful.
Hi there.
WA is definitely NOT a scam. It is a training and social center.
It is great for those that have an idea about what they are doing - the forum is fantastic and the monthly clubs are great, but for newbies it is just way too overwhelming. The fact that you are offering your services as a guide as a bonus is testament to that.
For intermediate or advanced marketers that want to tweak and network, WA is great value, but there are better value options for newbies.
Great hub BTW :o)
Hi bwh1,
I hadn't even heard of this program until now. There are so many affiliate resources around these days it's actually hard to work out which one to invest in and follow.
Personally I think the biggest trick to affiliate marketing is to stick at it. Too many people chuck in the towel after 2 months when they don't make sales. It takes time and focus to make it work..just like a real business.
Thanks for the post.
Pen
Hey Penny
I found WA by coincidence, after I got scammed 2 times.
Sigend up and never looked back. That's now 4 years ago.
Maybe there are similar programs, but I didn't checked out anymore as there isn't any need to switch from WA to another training, you got all you need.
For Newbies, if you join, just follow the Action plan and go step by step. Really understand each step before you go to the next one and stick to ONE project and focus.
Give yourself about 3 month till you see results. Sometimes you can be faster, depends on your skills, hard work and LUCK to get into a profitable market.
But after all, this is a business. Where else you can have your own biz for close to zero investment and up and running in a few month?
For all the "fast cash" groupies, don't get into IM, you will not find a lot of cash in a short time without any work here.
G.
Hi I would like to join under you. I believe you when you say you will help us out. your review was honest and to the point.
please send info to join to my e-mail. virtualsupportconnections@gmail.com.
thks,
debi
Debi
I send you an email, please check your inbox or spam folder.
Thank you in advance for your trust.
G.
Hi G. I checked not sure if it was deleted. Would u be so
kind as to send again. Looking for it!
Thanks G!
Debi
texace 2 years ago
It's interesting to note that you bag EasyTyping.com that they make their brass from thousands of subscriptions and send you off to canvass what you could do yourself.
Yet you guys do the same:
Quote --- http://hubpages.com/hub/Wealthy-Affiliate-Review 27/12/09; The cost
The cost of Wealthy Affiliate remain the same at U$39/month what is $1.29 a day. This is a tremendous value for what you get and I know that similar courses charge around the double. -----
Currently there are over 35'000 members in Wealthy Affiliate, where most use it on a daily base. :unquote.
Very lucrative business that sucks in the uninitiated and those that can't or wont go through the effort to get their first deposit or monthly subscription back.
You guys been following Russian or Taiwan based scams or is this how it is generally done on the internet?
Please don't end me spam for honest critiquing. I learnt to do some basic research while studying for a degree in nursing.
Tired of (I.T.) B.S., having also having previous serious surgery and associated employment and economic duress and having been previously scammed. Am looking closer now.
Once bitten seriously.