As anybody reading my “About Darlene” page, you will see that I have tried and been burned my quite a few on-line schemes out there. When I first read about Wealthy Affiliate it had all the earmarks of a scam as everything I read were glowing testimonials. This raised all kinds of red flags with me leading me to the question “Is Wealthy Affiliate a Scam”.
Research
So, I did further research. Trustpilot gives them a 70% trust rating and those that panned the site were inarticulate and did not give much (if any) of a reason for their negative reviews. Still, most of the reviews were from people that were already signed up with Wealthy Affiliate so I had a heck of a time finding an unbiased review. A finally went to my personal “go to” which is Reddit. All that I read there also reported well on Wealthy Affiliate.
So, I held my nose and took the plunge. After all, they give a free week to try it out so why not? Now, to be honest, I’ve been with them ever since and I will explain why. Both the good and bad.
Is Wealthy Affiliate a Scam?
The answer to this is no. Sign up for free, try it and if it’s not for you, walk away. It’s as simple as that. No money spent. On the other hand, you could STAY free and still succeed.
Having said that, is this a “get rich fast scheme” which, to me, is almost as bad as a scam? I’m sure you’ve seen these websites that promise something like, “Spend 10 minutes a day and earn $xx,xxx per month!!!”. Ever heard of anybody succeeding in such a business? Neither have I. That is because such companies charge exorbitant amounts and THEY are the only ones that profit.
Many people spend 4+ years in university. WA offers the ability to work while you learn and it certainly doesn’t take four years to start making money. Now take the same scenario – what if you could make money in your chosen profession while learning at university? This is almost unheard-of. However, that is precisely what WA offers (minus the four-year commitment).
Get Rich Fast?
With Wealthy Affiliate, right up front they tell you that you will NOT get rich fast here. They plainly state that it will take effort and content development. After all, if you build a website with absolutely no useful information on it, who will want to read it, never mind buy your products? NOBODY (I hope!!!).
WA honestly states that you will probably not earn until you have been at it for 3-6 months minimum. I think that is reasonable because, frankly, how can a person possibly create a content rich website with blogs containing useful information in a month or less? Frankly, Google will not even rank such a site.
How long does it take to write a blog entry of say 1,000-1,500 words and do the research it requires to make it truly useful? Any blogger out there will tell you that it takes hours. So, unless you are uber-extraordinaire, it’s gonna take time.
What is Wealthy Affiliate?
Wealthy Affiliate is an educational platform that has the training, tools and support you need to create a successful online business. This means that you get step-by-step training of how to create an affiliate marketing website – from start to finish.
You also get the tools you need like Jaaxy a great keyword research tool, the ability to create 2 free websites or 25 if you go premium, tons of training and a spot to buy domain names right in the platform which is absolutely the least expensive in today’s website market and the price will NEVER increase – it’s just $19.99! (Compare that to sites like GoDaddy that increase the price every year and have constant up-sells).
The biggest thing for me is the WA community. There are literally thousands of people who will answer your questions and these people are experts who have all done it before. More often than not, when I ask a question, I get pointed to yet more training that is completely free!
What is Affiliate Marketing?
When it comes to affiliate marketing, there are 3 parties. There is the affiliate (you), there is the affiliate program (the company/product owner) and there is the customer (the buyer).
As an affiliate, you choose to join an affiliate program (for example, Amazon) – this gives you the ability to promote a product or service via a blog (website) or social media.
When you join an affiliate program, they give you the ability to share products with a special link. This link is what tells the company who referred the customer to the product. It is like a stamp that says “I am the one that introduced the customer to that product”.
If the buyer follows that link to the website offering the product or service and they make a purchase, you then earn a commission. This commission is either a flat rate or a percentage depending on the affiliate program.
For example, pretend I am running a cooking blog. For a particular recipe, I use a spralizer or some other kitchen gadget. Now, I could do a whole blog on why I like this particular make and model of the gadget and point people to that product in Amazon (or some other affiliate network) or even just note it in the recipe itself so that people can click on the link and go straight to the seller’s page and check it out there.
This is referred to as passive income. This means that you do not have to have a store front, inventory or all the other headaches of running a brick and mortar business.
What is Offered with the Free Version?
1. The Community
Yes, I already mentioned this but to me it is the life blood of WA. Without all the help, the constant encouragement and free training modules that the community provides, I wouldn’t have the impetus to keep going. Working from home is great but I can’t work in a bubble with just dry courses. WA is the opposite of dry! The community is positive, dynamic and post every day with new ideas.
2. The Courses
First is the On-line Entrepreneur Certification Course. This is a 10 lesson course that covers all the basics including:
-
- Getting immersed in the community
- How to earn an income online
- Create and begin working on your goals
- Gain access to over 590 thousands niches
- How to choose a niche
- Build your own website using WordPress
- Create content
- Learn Keyword research and Search Enginge Optimization
3. Affiliate Bootcamp
If you are totally stuck with finding your own niche, then the 10 module affiliate boot camp might be for you! It teaches you in a step-by-step method how to market Wealthy Affiliate itself – which just happens to have the highest paying affiliate program out there.
4. Jaaxy
In my opinion this is the best online keyword and research platform available. It’s owned by WA and free to use. It’s indispensable to find those keywords that search engines are looking for and will help your site get on the FIRST page of a Google, Bing or Yahoo search. After all, how often do you click down to the 2nd or subsequent pages in a search engine? If your site or blog doesn’t show up there, all of that effort is for nothing.
5. The Library
Here you will find answers to any WA question plus specialized training. It is a vast database of knowledge available to all members.
Upgrading to Premium
After the free trial period you could stay with that and continue to build content and build your business. However, for only $19.99 you can buy the Premium program to trial for a month. This opens up a VAST number of courses and other premium features that are completely invaluable including:
- Live events – live training on a different subject every Friday night/Monday morning (depending on time zone).
- The full version of Jaaxy Lite
- And did I mention more training than you can imagine?
All of this to ensure that you are successful in your business dreams.
After upgrading to premium, the pricing structure is as follows:
Does it Really work?
Yes is the short answer but only if you are willing to put in the time and commitment. Would you go to university, take the first two courses and then expect to start earning a 6 figure income? NO!!! It’s not realistic.
There are sites out there that state that it doesn’t work because they are usually trying to sell a “get rich scheme”. As already stated, doing this right, takes time – just like taking a course in school. The benefit is that you will start earning while you are still learning. However, it won’t be in the first month or two.
People want a magic formula where you don’t have to do anything any you’ll bring in the “Big Bucks!”. Unfortunately, this is the real world, not Narnia. If anybody tells you differently then they are selling you something that will not be delivered on. Usually, these will be expensive products offering to do all the work for you with you reaping the benefits and it will come with a hefty price tag. Guess who benefits? It’s not you – it’s the one who sold you the load of crap. And that’s all it is – a load of crap. I encourage ANYBODY to show me proof that any such scheme has actually worked for them. I don’t know anybody, do you?
This is an online business model that requires you to work hard and will not earn you a return on that work right away. First you have to populate your site with useful blogs and then when you can show that people are visiting it, you can get affiliates to take you on.
DO NOT get sucked in by the get rich fast or online marketing “gurus”!!!
Wealthy Affiliates is awesome, but it is not:
- A Get-Rich-Scheme
- A Pyramid or MLM Scheme
What Affiliate Marketing Requires:
- Time to Learn
- Time to Invest into your Business
- Hard Work (and more Hard Work)
If you feel that you cannot wait for this to work, then affiliate marketing is probably not for you.
But if you want to invest into your future and think back in a couple of years, this was such a great decision (like we do).
Then Affiliate Marketing can be a great business plan towards working from home and working towards financial freedom.
I Finally Found a Site that DOESN’T Like WA!
OK! Now I have something I can sink my teeth into! If any of you haven’t figured me out yet, I love to find and debunk crappy sites. The Blog name is The Problem with Wealthy Affiliate and can be found at https://crajun.com/affiliate-marketing-articles/problem-wealthy-affiliate/. It is absolutely MIND BOGGLING how much misinformation and outright lies there are in this article.
1. He states:
Ummmm… so what is WA supposed to do? Are they supposed to put any new person through an exam before they are allowed entry??? Hey, WA gives out the training for free and then it is up to YOU to decide whether it is for you or not. I have never ONCE seen them make it sound easy (and neither have I if you’ve been reading this article). They very clearly state that it will take 3-6 months before you are able to earn and that the 6 month mark is the more realistic. After all, building quality content, as stated above, takes TIME. This is emphasized THROUGHOUT.
2. He further states:
Even with the boot camp, you STILL need a niche or nobody is going to read it. WA is all about creating a niche and filling a website up with articles that the public will find useful. How could you possibly do that if all you are doing is selling Wealthy Affiliate. Yes, it’s a GREAT platform but how many blogs can you write re-stating and re-stating that. Nope – you still need a niche.
The funny part about this dated article is that this person does not offer any kind of alternative to Wealthy Affiliate. If there IS a better affiliate program out there, he is obviously unaware of it. Why? Because there isn’t any. If you are aware of any, please do not hesitate to reply to this post and give details! I, personally, would LOVE to hear about it!
Success Stories
In the search bar in WA, I typed in get rich quick and it came up with this post which is basically the entire premise of WA and oh so applicable.
Yes, it takes time to write quality material. This is a LONG TERM project.
Here is another that outlines the realities of how long it takes:
The Bad about Wealthy Affiliate
Well, as you can tell, I’m pretty happy with Wealthy Affiliate but there are a few things I think it could do better.
Most of the training is geared towards beginners to intermediates. Since the vast majority of members fall into that group that’s rather understandable but more advanced training would be nice. Having said that, though, you CAN find that training outside of the training modules, offered by people that are interested and wanting to help. Also, the video training modules show screenshots that were obviously made quite a while ago and the format today has changed a little. Really, though, anybody with half a brain can still follow along and each video is so step-by-step that they are still extremely easy to follow.
Writers block – this is my own personal issue. NOBODY is going to do the wiring for you (and nor should they) but there are times when I stress for days before writing. Once I get into it, though, the thoughts just pour out. Again, one must have a passion for their topic and as I get more and more ideas, the writing is becoming easier and easier.
In Conclusion
So who should sign up for Wealthy Affiliate? My gut reaction is anybody that wants to work from home, could use the extra income or would like to work while they travel. So, I guess that covers a lot of people! I just happen to figure that since a person can give it a try for free, why not try it? After the week is up, if it’s not for you, drop it and never look back.
Who should definitely NOT sign up for Wealthy Affiliate are those who expect to get rich fast cz it just ain’t gonna happen! I’ve seen people sign up because they are in dire need of money RIGHT NOW and are expecting Wealthy Affiliate to fulfill that need. Unfortunately, it does not and never will. Remember, it takes an average business 3 years to profit. Fortunately, it will not take that long with an online business, but it will take considerable time and effort. If you need an income source fast, Wealthy Affiliate is not the place to provide that. Instead, Wealthy Affiliate teaches you how to build a real, sustainable online business over a period of time that will also last a long time.
So why not give it a try? Have enough money now? Don’t need any more money? Don’t need a retirement income?
Give Wealthy Affiliates a try and I don’t think you will be disappointed but it’s all up to YOU!!
Finally, please feel free to leave any questions or comments here! These comments help me to write more blogs on the interests of my readers so keep ’em coming!
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isn’t a scam. Wealthy Affiliate is by far the best affiliate program I came across. But as well red flags raised as do with every “Make money from home” scenario does. But WA offers a free starter membership that didn’t require a credit card… That’s what really gained my trust. They bring a lot to the table, toturals, help & support, many earning opportunities. I just wouldn’t have it any other way.
I totally agree and I haven’t seen a scam website EVER give away all of the training that WA does for FREE and then allow you to just walk away if you wish. I’m glad that you, too, have found this space!
Hi Darlene
This article was the most comprehensive review of Wealthy Affilate that I have ever read. As this is coming directly from the horse’s mouth (not calling you a horse) as you have experience the programme. As you say this is not a scam or a get rich scheme, as only with hard work will you reap the rewards. The more you put in, the more you get out.
The biggest question is if you are in a programme,will you not be biased when writing a review? How do we know it is independent of any influences of the program.
Thank you for this excellent review.
Antonio
Hi Antonio,
I agree with you and I really had to struggle to find another review which lam based Wealthy Affiliates and so debunked it. I have yet to see a scam that gives a free week of quality training with no strings attached.
All my best to you!
Nice to see another great review and it’s nice to meet you, I will definitely revisit your site because I can see you give such great and accurate information. When I first heard about wealthy affiliate, I was a bit skeptical about it but later on I decided that I’ll try out the site and see how credible it is since it was free for seven days and it didn’t take too long before I decided it was for me. I’m happy to see that you haven’t failed to let people know that it takes hardwork to make good money on the platform. But everyone on the platform is just so eager to help others become successful too. It’s just awesome. My best regards
I so totally agree! Its all about the community and the support and true care that is given here that makes it head and shoulders above any others. Thank you for your comment!
Hi Darlene, I liked your review of Wealthy Affiliate. I come from a CPA background and occasionally like to read other people’s reviews of Wealthy Affiliate so that I am aware of what people are being told or not told.
I have been a member for a little over two years myself. Personally, I think the free starter membership is great in that it allows someone just enough time to see if affiliate marketing is something they will be interested in. However, if they are interested, people do need to go ahead and sign up for the premium membership in order to access all of the features and training.
Even after two years, I go back and re-take some of the training because I overlooked some important tips. Most people do not realize how much time and thought Kyle, the main trainer, has put into developing the training. He packs a ton of information in each one.
People that do EXACTLY what he says find success quicker than those that don’t. For example, many of us decide not to do product reviews for some reason. Yet, product reviews are what people that are ready to spend money search for.
I wish you the best on your affiliate marketing journey. For others that may be interested, I hope they will follow your link and check out the free version to see if they are interested.
Thank you, Sondra – I couldn’t have put it better myself!
All of my best to you on this journey that we are taking!
Thank you for your discussion on Wealthy Affiliate. This is good and valuable information that many people can benefit from.
Although you may want to go back and edit a bit since the program is called Wealthy Affiliate and you oftentimes call it Wealthy Affilliates and Wealthy Associates. It will only help you look more intelligent regarding the topic!
OMG!!! Thank you SO MUCH for catching those typos. May I hire you as a proofreader? LOL
Thank you very kindly for your astute observations!
OK – I believe this problem has been fixed but if anybody else sees anyting else like that, PLEASE speak up!!! Thank you so much all!
The reason offshoot showcasing gets such negative criticism is a direct result of the multiplication of making easy money offers all over the place. They guarantee you will make a great many dollars medium-term, or that you can simply work 2 hours per day and have $5,000 in your financial balance toward the week’s end. On the off chance that anybody attempts to sell you a “mystery framework that works,” don’t trust them. Authentic offshoot showcasing sets aside a touch of effort to learn and keeping in mind that you will profit from it, it doesn’t occur incidentally. You need a technique and you have to actualize it a long time before you make any salary.
Thank you for your comment, Gertrude. I SO wish people would realize this and stop wasting their hard-earned money on those scam sites.
Offshoot advertisers make their cash by advancing another person’s item or administrations. On the off chance that an organization is promising you a great many dollars in pay, look nearer. Would could it be that you’re really selling? In the event that there is no real item or administration, it’s just a trick. These subsidiary promoting “openings” are planned like fraudulent business models where nobody is really profiting. You make a speculation to join the program and from that point forward, cash is simply passed around starting with one individual then onto the next. These plans are absolutely illicit! You will lose your venture, and you’re not going to make any subsidiary pay from it, either.
Thank you for posting this, Sandoval. I hope that others will see this and heed your words as they are bang on.
I concur with Affiliate Marketing being a decent online business and individuals consistently have the propensity of separating the negative out of everything. These Scans online is terrible for everybody and I can comprehend why this makes everybody cynics. In any case, there are Legit methods for profiting on the web with the present innovation. Only awful for us that we need to persistently battle against these online tricks. Cheers until further notice.
Cheers Whitney! Here in eastern Canada we call this the lobster syndrome. A lobster that almost makes it out of the trap gets grabbed onto and drug back down be the others. Those of us that are working towards success (and finding it!) cannot allow ourselves to be drug down by these “lobsters”.
I will return to your site since I can see you give such incredible and exact data. When I previously found out about rich partner, I was somewhat doubtful about it yet later on I concluded that I’ll evaluate the site and perceive how dependable it is since it was free for seven days and it didn’t take excessively well before I chose it was for me. everybody on the stage is simply so anxious to help other people become fruitful as well. It’s simply magnificent.
I totally agree, Richard – the community is one of the main things that gives Wealthy Affiliates its value and keeps a person motivated to actually keep going and make themselves a success!
While affiliate marketing takes a great deal of exertion, the essential aptitudes required are extremely easy to get on to, and by learning them, you could begin winning genuine cash in a genuinely brief time-frame. In the event that you discover an item specialty you’re enthusiastic about, you could even win cash by just communicating your veritable love for an item you have confidence in, and feel great realizing you’re imparting your experience to other people who will love the item too.
Very well put Jony! I know plenty of bloggers out there that just do it for their own pleasure to help others and don’t even look to make money from it. We all have different motivations and none are more important than others no matter what others say!
You just keep on being YOU!!!
Hi Darlene
Thanks a lot for the very thorough review and details explanation on WealthyAffiliate.
You did an outstanding job by highlighting the most excellent features in it.
I read few reviews from other websites before I discovered your post. There are pros and cons have been shared.
What makes i interested with this platform is I can get 2 free websites.
My concern is will I still have access to this free website after my trial period ends?
Thanks a lot for putting all this together.
Regards
Samm
Thank you for your comment, Samm!
The answer is yes, you will still have those two websites and can continue to add content and work on them for as long as you want for free. The only thing you won’t have are the premium features (that you don’t have access to right now anyways!) If you don’t want to go Premium then DON’T! Going Premium will, however, give you so many more tools but lets face it, not everybody can afford it right away. Just keep motivated with the community that will ALWAYS be there for you and keep up the great work!
One thing I would do if I chose to stay free is to follow as many in the community that are in the top 500 as you can. They are constantly putting out free training that you will always have access to.
I have been a part for barely two years myself. Actually, I think the free starter enrollment is incredible in that it permits somebody simply sufficient opportunity to check whether member promoting is something they will be keen on. In any case, in the event that they are intrigued, individuals do need to feel free to pursue the top notch participation so as to get to the majority of the highlights and preparing.
I couldn’t agree more, Francesk! Thank you for your comment!
Hi, I love your review about wealthy affiliate every thing that you write about wealthy affiliate is true that its not a get rich quick scheme, going to university we can’t expect to start getting returns after getting admission in 2 month and I really appreciate you for your findings on blog that write against wealthy affiliate I can say the owner wants to borrow part of wealthy affiliate popularity to get traffic to his website which is selfish and would have misled some people out there, my question is you made mention to be able to earn very well working 12 hours + is what can help my question is what arr the things to be done in wealthy affiliate with this time
I love your name, AmDetermined and thank you for commenting.
To answer your question, basically, the more content you put on your site, the higher you get ranked in Google. We all want our posts to be on the first page, right? How often do people actually check further than the first page. More content and more QUALITY content equals better rankings in Google and other search engines.
Also, the more blogs you do, the more products you are promoting so the more money you are going to make. However, I am not going to suggest you burn yourself out by working insane hours with Wealthy Affiliates or anybody! You will have to work on it but work at your own pace and it will come! Best of luck!
Wealthy Affiliate is NOT a scam. It is a standout among other preparing stages to learn and begin a partner showcasing business. A decent component in Wealthy Affiliate is that it offers free enrollment which accompanies some essential preparing and the capacity to make two sites for nothing. You can keep this site as long as you need, without the commitment to join as Premium part.
Exactly!
Hi there, Darlene!
Yeah, Iv’e been burnt a few time as well in the past too.
Millions of people nowadays are searching for extra ways to boost their income and unfortunately, fall prey to getting scammed.
I’m a member of Wealthy Affiliate and from your post title, is definitely not a scam.
Like you can have a free look at WA without giving any credit card details – you can’t get fairer than that…
I couldn’t agree with you more, Jeff. Frankly, I can’t even think of a free trial that I have EVER signed up for that didn’t require my credit card number.
Thank you for your comment and for pointing this out!
Regardless of whether you are free member.They show the most essential components of associate advertising absolutely free of expense. All data is all around orchestrated and you can gain so much of things from it. All individuals who are stating it as trick are either rival or simply miserable apathetic people groups who would prefer not to actualize anything without anyone else’s input . Rich Affiliate gives you technique yet you should be prepared to actualize it . I am free individual from Wealthy Affiliate and took in a great deal from it .
Its great to hear from a free member and I couldn’t agree with you more about the nay-sayers. Stick with it and keep blogging!
Wealthy affiliate is not a scam as far as am concern. They have done a great job to build their good reputation. No wonder, the testimonies and positive reviews about their platform are flying around on the net. I met it the way it was reviewed by many people. I am able to make good friends and I knew what they were earning on a daily basis. Their trainings are superb and easy to follow. Though I have not started cashing out from the platform as a beginner. Am still trying my best to gather as many contents as possible on my website for positive feedback. But I must tell you that, the short moment I became an active premium member as been an amazing moment I have ever seen in my life. I’m doing what I derive pleasure in and am investing for a later days. It is one of the great platform for affiliate marketing.
Hiya Stella – and how many people can say that about their jobs like you just did! We truly are blessed to be part of such a great team here at Wealthy Affiliates.
For me Wealthy Affiliate has been the bedrock for my subsidiary advertising venture. It was one of the main preparing programs I took more than 2 years back and it truly told me the best way to run various effective associate sites. So Wealthy Affiliate is certainly not a trick.
Thank you, Violet, for sharing your success story here! All the best in the future!
Excellent review. I must ask being you have tried the platform, did you earn at least enough to end you subscription to the affiliate program? And if so how long did it actually take to earn .003BC?
Hiya Ryan!!! The subscription for Wealthy Affiliates is on-going, should you choose to join and has nothing to do with my other crypocurrency write ups. Basically, with WA, you will start earning depending on how much work you choose to put into it. It seems that most start earning after 3-6 months of blogging 4-5 times per week. It takes work but it can be done from home and you can be writing about something you love to do. There is a weeks free trial and you don’t even need to provide a credit card or anything. If I were you, I would give the week a try and see if its for you and judge for yourself! I sure hope you are doing well!
Hiya Ryan! It really depends on how hard you work it. Usually 3-4 blogs per week and you should start making money in 3-6 months. However, Its free to try for a week and I would highly recommend you do so!
You’ve called it “Weathy Affiliates” all the way through when the company is “Weathy Affiliate”. Doesn’t really inspire confidence that this ‘review’ is accurate…
Too true! I wrote that VERY early in my writing career so have updated it now. Thank you very kindly for your constructive criticism
Darlene