I’ll start off by saying that I am a current member of Wealthy Affiliate and have been for quite some time now. Why? Because of the positive things this place brings to my life and most importantly, my online business. Like just about anything in life people will have both good things and bad things to say. The trick is weighing up the good against the alleged bad to make a decision on whether buying something or getting involved in something is the way to go for you. I’d seen Wealthy Affiliate complaints even before I joined or knew much about this company, and I’m going to address some of the more common ones here. At the end of this post ask yourself the question: Is it worth joining or not?
It’s Not A Get Rich Quick Scheme
Often people will come across mentions of Wealthy Affiliate while searching the internet for quick ways to make money. The world wide web is inundated with get rich quick schemes promising big and fast bucks if you just cough up some money for a membership. Many of these schemes (scams) guarantee you huge returns in a matter of weeks after joining. That’s a highly unlikely scenario on so many levels. There are not many things that can achieve that from scratch. Gambling is one, if you get lucky and find yourself on a winning streak, but an online enterprise won’t make you riches in a few short weeks. It’s a myth perpetuated by those hungry to snare your dollars.
With this kind of mindset when searching for opportunities, people come across Wealthy Affiliate in their online travels, decide to take a look and set up a free account so they can look around. If they’ve arrived with the misconception that Wealthy Affiliate is some money making machine that will have the user sitting on a beach in the Bahamas sipping Pina Coladas after just a few short weeks of joining, then they end up disappointed.
Wealthy Affiliate is first and foremost a training platform that teaches you how to properly set up a website from scratch, get it optimised for the search engines, fill it with quality content and monetise it. Although WA have their own affiliate program, it is not some money making scheme, it is quality training. Yet, when people come to Wealthy Affiliate looking to make big bucks in rapid time, then realise that doesn’t happen at WA, they go away complaining about the platform and how it doesn’t make money. It’s not meant to make money. It’s designed to teach you HOW to make money by setting up a legitimate online business the right way.
You Have To Pay A Monthly Or Yearly Membership
Another common complaint I’ve come across is people saying that Wealthy Affiliate is a scam because they ask for monthly (or yearly) membership fees. How that makes it a scam I don’t know. Everything you do in life costs money somewhere along the line.
Besides that, Wealthy Affiliate is free to join and get started on the training. There is never any obligation to upgrade to Premium Membership. A free member can stay free forever if they choose to, and still get to create and host 2 free websites as well as being able to access some of the great training.
Of course there are advantages to upgrading; such as access to all of the training and uninterrupted access to everything the website has to offer. It’s well worth upgrading just like I did and countless thousands of others have in the past and since. People upgrade because they soon see the value in it. Those chasing the rainbow of ‘get rich quick’ never will though. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to get rich quick too, but it very rarely happens like that, unless you win the lotto.
It’s Too Slow To Make Money This Way
Yes, the process can be slow, depending on how much time you have and how much work you are willing to put into your online business. There is training to get through, websites to build, lots to learn and implement, content to write. But it’s a satisfying process, knowing that you are building the foundation for a business that could potentially bring in income – increasing income – for many years to come; a business that will eventually give you both money and lifestyle freedom. No more daily grind or working for the man. This business can make your dreams come true with dedication and hard work and….Time.
It takes time to build anything that’s worthwhile and lasting. That’s just how the world works. If you want a chance of getting rich quick, then continue to buy lotto tickets while building your online enterprise at the same time. That’s what I do. And why not? It’s always wise to try multiple options for bringing in money. And you never know, you just may win something big while still building a business.
Wealthy Affiliate Only Promotes Wealthy Affiliate
Both true and not true. Let me explain.
Yes, the founders of Wealthy Affiliate are 2 very smart guys who have set up the ultimate business membership model based on teaching people how to make money online using their platform. At the same time Carson and Kyle have set up a training program teaching members how to build websites to promote Wealthy Affiliate for a commission. This is no different to the tens of thousands of other affiliate programs out there, so it’s certainly nothing dodgy, just smart business. Thousands of members are creating websites and promoting this company, sending thousands more potential members to the WA site.
The part that’s not true is that WA only teaches you how to promote WA. Their main course – Online Entrepreneur Certification – has nothing to do with teaching members how to promote Wealthy Affiliate. It is all about showing you the right way to set up your site and business, choose a niche – any niche – you are passionate about, write content for that niche, seek out affiliate partners to promote relevant to that niche and how to make money in your chosen niche.
I have 5 websites set up so far:
- My author website
- My music Website
- My health, fitness & beauty website
- A website offering dating advice in Asia
- This website you are now reading
This is the only website out of the 5 that promotes Wealthy Affiliate. And WA is not all I talk about or promote on this site either. I cover quite a lot of different subjects related to making money both online and offline.
It Takes Work
Yes, the ugly truth is finally revealed. It actually takes work to make money online. Surprise, surprise. Tell me one legitimate thing in life that doesn’t take work?
Once again the ‘get rich quick’ mentality is the culprit here when people think they can join something like WA and start making money without any effort on their part. Does your employer pay you if you never bother showing up for work?
Now, once an online business is established – after putting in the ground work and the learning process – it can, to some degree, start to operate on autopilot; meaning it can become a residual and passive income. But that won’t happen in the beginning. Unless someone else is going to set it all up for you out of the goodness of their own heart, you will be required to put in a fair amount of work to get your online business established.
The Wrap
Really there aren’t that many genuine complaints floating around about Wealthy Affiliate. Most of those you will find on the net are posts written by disgruntled people who thought WA was a way to get rich quick. When they discovered it wasn’t such a scheme, they felt ripped off (even though it cost them nothing to join in the first place). Wealthy Affiliate is great training, a fantastic community of members and one of the best places to discover how to establish a business online that will be profitable for many years to come.
If you want to read my full review of Wealthy Affiliate and find out why I like it so much, you can read it by hitting the banner below.
Darren Burton
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Hey Darren great article on Wealthy Affiliate! Nothing beats the community on Wealthy Affiliate that is for sure 🙂 Nicest group of people and it was what keep me as a member for so long. Anyone starting out should be a part of that community… One thing if you ever want to put your seo skills you have learned from being a member check out http://bizignited.com/1 – this opportunity lets you use your knowledge and earn a great income. Anyway great article keep up the good work.
Thanks Chris. They are the nicest and most helpful group of people over at Wealthy Affiliate.