My Wealthy Affiliate membership is due for renewal at the end of the month, I am wondering whether I should stay or should I go.
Before I say any more, this is not meant to be a post that is running down Wealthy Affiliate, as I have enjoyed my time there, which is coming up for ten years. I know that things change quickly in this day and age, but at the same time, it’s important to be honest and, if we make mistakes, to own up to them.
I joined Wealthy Affiliate back in November 2014, I was already making money online and really liked the idea of being around like-minded people and having up-to-date training. Prior to that, I was on the smaller Internet marketing training platform, which was great, but it was a much smaller and the owner seemed to stop adding training. The name of the owner was Chris Farrell; it was a genuine platform. So, I then decided to move to Wealthy Affiliate. At one point, I was a member of both platforms, but that was far too much.
When I first started researching Internet marketing, I started out the hard way. I had no one to help me, no one to turn to and I didn’t really know what was right or wrong when it came to Internet marketing. However, I could see the power of the Internet and I knew that I had to take advantage of this great invention.
It was when I had my first broadband connection that changed everything for me. Prior to having broadband and using dial-up was just painful, but broadband changed the face of the Internet and literally opened up endless opportunities. Unfortunately, I brought into lots of scam products, but some of them did help me learn something! However, I do like the idea of being on a platform like Wealthy Affiliate that has all the training in one place, etc.
Something that I have appreciated about Wealthy Affiliate is the genuineness and the friendliness of the platform. It has been great to read over the years member’s success stories and also to help and encourage members.
I generally start my day by looking and commenting at a few Wealthy Affiliate blog posts over a cup of coffee, which helps me wake up and gets me going in the morning. However, I am commenting on less and less blog posts now because many of the blog posts are AI posts, which are pointless. And for some reason, some people like to put their Facebook type posts onto an Internet marketing forum, which, in my opinion, most of the time, shouldn’t be there. There is literally very little to comment about now.
I used to really enjoy reading the regular success stories and wins on Wealthy Affiliate, but it’s not really happening now. It was also good to be able to encourage people who were perhaps struggling and helping them to move forward. But what’s the point of responding to an AI post.
I find it absolutely incredible that members will write, “fantastic and informative post” or something similar when it’s just a load of AI drivel! Can people not see that so much content on the platform is AI, or is it just me?
However, sadly it appears that the platform is going downhill, which I believe a lot of this stems from members using AI to write blog posts on Wealthy Affiliate and their own personal blogs.
I have tried to mention this to Kyle in a polite way on many occasions, and he agrees with me, but they still keep encouraging members to use the AI writer. Now, I appreciate that with the AI training on Wealthy Affiliate, they tell members to make it their own. However, and it’s what I expected, members do not make the content their own; changing a couple of words and adding a photograph doesn’t make it your own content.
A couple of months ago, I wrote this blog post entitled, “Are you really feeling the benefits of AI” you can see the blog post below. All of my blog posts at Wealthy Affiliate enter the top ten, however, this post did not get into the top ten as I’m guessing it didn’t suit the narrative.
I have a Google alert set up for “Wealthy Affiliate” and “Wealthy Affiliate Review”. I’m probably guessing that I set up this alert when I first started with Wealthy Affiliate to get an idea to see what other members were writing for their review. Just recently I have started to take more notice of these alerts.
I find it absolutely amazing that 95% of the Wealthy Affiliate reviews are just blatant AI content, which will never rank very highly in Google, as everyone’s review is almost identical! A review should be something that is based on something that you have genuinely reviewed and had experience with. Just like members used to write before we had AI on the Wealthy Affiliate platform.
I have questioned a few members about their AI content, but they are adamant that they make it their own! Sadly, for many members, their Wealthy Affiliate experience is going to end in tears and wasted time, just because no one told them the truth about the AI writer.
I don’t know how many Wealthy Affiliate reviews are written each day, but I’m guessing quite a few. I believe I heard about 30 a day from someone, but with 95% of reviews being almost identical, it won’t end well. I could go on, but I won’t.
Recently, I looked at a member's blog post as they were asking for comments. I don’t actually give comments, but I just took a look. The blog post was blatant AI content; 80% of the comments were blatant AI content and the comments on the comments were blatant AI content! Unbelievable!! Seriously, is anyone going to read that rubbish?
Now To The Positive Side Of Wealthy Affiliate!
I really like to communicate with like-minded people on the platform, although there seem to be fewer and fewer like-minded people. Another thing that I really like is having good quality training in front of me. So, for example, I might want to know how to do something within WordPress, or something else Internet marketing related. It’s useful to be able to watch the training at any time.
Vitaliy is also creating some quite honest training videos, which I believe are based on his genuine experience, having been hit big time by the Google update.
To Conclude
Internet marketing is a big subject and we can all make mistakes however experienced we are. I believe it’s good to be able to stand up and say that we got this wrong, as that to me, gives genuine credibility to a website. I sometimes listen to “Income Schools” YouTube videos, even though I have never been a member of their platform. I have often heard the two owners, although I think it’s only one now, stand up and say, “We actually got this wrong”! I admire them for being man enough to stand up for the truth when they got it wrong.
Despite saying the above, I genuinely like the Wealthy Affiliate platform and will probably try it for another year. I just wondered what other people think and are there similar alternatives?
Just regarding the hubs, I will sometimes build a website on Wealthy Affiliate, but I don’t really use the hub feature. If I’m going to grow a website, I then move it to my dedicated server. I must admit that the Wealthy Affiliate writer, which I believe is called “Site Writer” that came out several years ago, (well before the AI writer) never ever worked for me, it was a total waste of time. It appears to work for some people and not others.
Sorry, this post is a bit longer than I expected, but any thoughts are appreciated, please.
Thank you for reading.
Roy
Despite saying the above, I genuinely like the Wealthy Affiliate platform and will probably try it for another year.
Hi Roy,
I read your post and it really struck a chord with me. It resonated in a way that was both eye-opening and a bit challenging but in a good way. Like you, I've been a long time member (since January 2016 so almost 9 years) and I have truly enjoyed being part of the platform for most of the time.
However, for the past year and half or so, I've come to view it primarily as an income source, as I still have referrals, but I am not gaining much new knowledge from the training they provide.
Since the Google update, everything went in a downward spiral. I used to get 10,000 - 15,000 visits per month, nowadays, it's really NOT that high (without going into details 😉)
I must admit that I failed to do anything about it for the longest time and only started to get back in this new game a couple of months ago. I just kind of said to myself f**k it!
The only reason I'm still in the top 200 at WA is because of some new referrals (coming from Bing) or to answer questions from my referrals.
And for some reason, some people like to put their Facebook type posts onto an Internet marketing forum, which, in my opinion, most of the time, shouldn’t be there.
There is the main part I hate about the blog! A lot of members use it as their Facebook page! There is nothing more frustrating to me than opening the platform and seeing useless stories about their dogs and cat and the weather (God bless his soul he's not there anymore)
I must admit that the Wealthy Affiliate writer, which I believe is called “Site Writer” that came out several years ago, (well before the AI writer) never ever worked for me, it was a total waste of time. It appears to work for some people and not others.
That writer has never worked for me either. I never used it! I find it cumbersome and really not user friendly. Plus, the fact that it posts directly into WordPress using the classic version and not the blocks just doesn't work for me either.
With all that being said, I will probably renew for another year to keep those monthly recurring amounts (My subscription renews in March) and I have time to decide if I keep my premium plus membership or downgrade back to regular premium. We'll see how things goes in the next 4 months.
On a positive note, because of ChatGPT and Co-Pilot, my Bing traffic has increased quite a bit lately. But it's definitely NOT the same landscape as it was back before March 2023.
Have a great Day Roy!
Denis
@deebee150 Thank you for your feedback, Denis, it’s appreciated.
Wealthy Affiliate seems to have cut back on the training a bit, it appears. I used to open Wealthy Affiliate on a Monday morning and there were often five or six or even seven classes to subscribe to, but now it’s just normally 1 or 2 classes. However, some successful members are creating some short training videos which are quite good, I believe.
It does appear that so many of us have lost traffic due to the Google updates. That’s good that you can help your referrals, Denis. It doesn’t take much to have a high ranking at Wealthy Affiliate now, as I don’t think anywhere near the number of people are blogging regularly on the platform.
I’m glad that I’m not the only one who finds off-topic posts rather annoying, it kind of defeats the object of the platform.
I don’t understand the technicalities enough, but I find it amazing how the writer works for some people and not others. Like you, Denis, it was just a waste of time.
I think I will probably subscribe for another year and see what happens. It is handy to have somewhere to host a new website and have regular training and mix with like-minded people. Like I said, I don’t want to run down Wealthy Affiliate, as I know they have helped many people over the years, but it just lost that edge at the moment. Let’s hope things improve.
It’s good that your traffic is starting to increase again. I hope that it continues to increase. I believe that Vitaliy is making some short training videos about gaining traffic, as I know he lost a massive load of traffic on his website, unfortunately. I believe the training is genuine.
All the best to you, Denis.
Roy
Hey Roy,
I am in a quandary, as well, what to do about leaving WA.
After some deliberation, I have narrowed my 8 or 9 websites down to 5, and will be moving them to WPX. The other sites I have are on hiatus, what I learn with these few websites, I will use with the other remaining websites.
That means, I will renew WA (end of this month as well, 5 years in) only for the sake of the hosting. After this year, I will either delete or move those websites to a different host.
Fortunately, none of my websites were affected by the google dump, only because they weren't as visible then, so I'm gaining on that day by day.
And, I remember Chris Farrell, Roy....build a website by 3:15....grin, I still have that download...lol.
Rudy
@rudy Hello Rudy,
I think there are probably quite a few people who feel the same about Wealthy Affiliate, unfortunately, Rudy.
The WPX hosting sounds good, from what I understand.
I must admit that I don’t think Wealthy Affiliate is expensive for what we get, which is why I am willing to try another year. I guess you are thinking along the same lines, Rudy.
I really like Chris Farrell, Rudy, he was a great teacher and his videos were really upbeat and easy to listen to. I purchased a course from Chris about a year ago, which is all about crypto, which is something I’m learning about. I find his information very trustworthy and down-to-earth.
All the best.
Roy
Hey, Roy, I can't believe it's been a year since you left, lol. My how time flies.
I had considered to stay one more year, then changed my mind. The price was right for my grandfathered Premium membership, yet I moved 4 websites to WPX, and am looking at options for the other domains/websites. I am deciding on which plan from A2 to use.
Note: if anyone has any suggestions about which A2 plan to use, please comment.
I already have a few domains at IONOS, and am thinking about moving/parking them there.
Rudy
@rudy That's no problem at all, Rudy! It's not that common to get two Roy's on the same thread!
He is indeed still active, but not on the actual Chris Farrell membership site, I think that's been gone several years. He has something now called Project reinvent yourself, which I thought I may try just for a month and see what it's like. He has a very good way of teaching people and explaining things.
Once again this isn't to undermine Wealthy Affiliate, but I preferred Chris's membership site to Wealthy Affiliate. However, Wealthy Affiliate has loads more training. The only reason I went to Wealthy Affiliate was because Chris stopped adding regular training, I guess there was a genuine reason why. Also he was doing a lot of the stuff on his own, so that takes quite a bit of doing, but I believe he was highly successful in that time period. It was also a very genuine training platform.
Hi Roy
I found WA when I was looking for a way to augment my guitar-playing hobby with an online presence. I was still working full-time as a physician when I joined WA and making quite a bit of money, so online marketing was never meant to be a replacement income.
I'm now semi-retired and will fully retire in 2025. I play guitar for at least two to three hours a day and devote another two hours daily to maintaining a musical presence online. Since this is a hobby, I'm beginning to think that I'd be better off sticking to guitar sites on social platforms.
That would drastically simplify things for me: I would not have to deal with WA, websites, WordPress, hosting, themes, plugins, SEO concerns, etc.
I'll probably stick with WA for one more year while I figure it all out. What's good about WA is that it gave me the background I need to go in any direction I want. For example, I could start a Facebook guitar group and move all the guitar-based blogs I write on WA to that platform.
At 70 years old, it's time to enjoy life to the max with my family, friends, and music.
Frank 🎸
@frank and @RoyBetton,
Hey Guys,
I left WA about a week ago. I moved my domain out and placed it at another registrar; now, it's being hosted at another web server.
I wrote a goodbye post last week, but within 15 minutes after posting, my content was removed by K. He censored my content by saying, "No one needs to see this." If I leave WA, "do so quietly". That did piss me off, it made me mad. They were trying to silence me. It worked. As soon as he removed my content, I deleted my account.
It's a good thing I kept everything I had written on WA Blog and have a backup copy.
I did have some good years at WA. To be honest, after the Hub was created and the AI authors dealt with whiteout screens from ban list plugins and the HCU Sept 2023-August 2024 updates, everything went downhill.
I was promoting WA. Sales hit an all-time low for those who were promoting WA. Super Affiliates made their debut long before all the changes happened. While I struggled to convert them to paid customers, The super affiliates were still getting referrals.
There were too many changes; I had to constantly change my screenshots of the Hubs inside my website and post content every week. Too many changes were happening in the Starter account and Hubs, such as adding a new home page, moving things around, and trying new things in hopes of converting well.
I was running paid ads, but they didn't convert well. K helped me with it, but then he turned around and tried to slam my face by censoring me. That was totally unacceptable to me.
The training also went downhill. I miss the old training, which had longer content. The training is so short that many people are still asking questions and are confused by the variety of repetitive answers that lead nowhere.
I'm taking an extended break and will consider what I should do in January 2025. Perhaps I should create an e-course Masterclass of some sort. I know one thing I am good at is teaching. Teaching is my passion. I might go down that road, but right now, I'm just staying away from "affiliate marketing."
Roy, it has to be your personal decision to leave. I am sad I left under "negative circumstances," but it was my best decision. I don't want to waste any more money on my annual membership if the owners constantly censor content and always have to deal with white-out screens that never get resolved. They should be listening to improve the overall platform; changing the Hubs too much is even more confusing and a big mess. I wanted out of that.
I refused to let someone like that control what I could and couldn't say regarding hosting issues. The last I heard, it's still freedom of speech. K did want to listen to the truth as I saw it, so be it. I've moved on now.
I wish you all the best in your decision. Go with what you feel is right for you.
@brendamz Good morning Brenda,
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Brenda, it’s appreciated. I must admit I had no idea that you had left the platform, although it does seem like many regular writers on the platform have disappeared. I just said in my comment to Frank that the top 10 posts used to change daily, but now I see them lasting for 2 or 3 days.
It’s a shame they silenced you, Brenda. I can see both sides of the story, but they need to listen to what the users have to say! I wrote something that was slightly negative but genuine and real regarding using AI. The post didn’t make the top 10 normally, all my posts make the top 10! We need to be able to speak freely on the platform, within reason, but it does not seem like that is happening.
I’m glad you had a backup of your blog posts, this is always good practice, as we never know what’s going to happen.
I have never been a fan of AI, however, if I’m honest, the Wealthy Affiliate training helped me to see the benefits. However, I knew that AI would be abused and that many members would write rubbish content. Incidentally, 95% of Wealthy Affiliate reviews are blatantly obvious AI content, this is not a genuine review; it’s an AI review of Wealthy Affiliate!
I think many of us have had some good years at Wealthy Affiliate, so I really don’t want to run the platform down, but they do need to listen to the users or members.
It’s interesting what you’re saying about the hubs and the continuous changes, etc. In my last comment to Kyle, I said these continuous changes are getting too much or words that effect. I notice that when I go back to a hub, I often have to start again at the beginning with training. That’s okay for me, because I’m kind of passed that stage, although I know we never stop learning. But for the new members, it must be absolutely horrendous and extremely confusing.
It’s great to learn about Google ads, but I think, like so many things, it really is quite a deep subject and not particularly straightforward. I was amazed that no one went to Las Vegas through doing the PPC training, that’s not good!
I hear you regarding the training, I know that some people complained about some training with old, but at the same time, a lot of the training was still relevant. It appears to me that the training is being updated too often now, which just adds to confusion.
I do hope that you can find your niche somewhere, Brenda. The great thing is with the Internet is that it offers all sorts of opportunities. I still think one of the main things we need to do is to write fresh content and be consistent. AI cannot write unique content, but as humans we can, especially if we know our niche well.
Over the years, I believe Wealthy Affiliate has very much offered value for money. So I will probably stay for another year and see what happens. Although I have a dedicated server, it’s quite useful to be able to easily build a website on the Wealthy Affiliate platform and then when it grows, I move it to my dedicated server.
I would say that it’s impossible to host a large website at Wealthy Affiliate as it’s just too problematic and the support is not clever, despite what we are led to believe. I have messages with 130 different responses for very simple tasks!
I wish you every success in what you’re doing, Brenda and I look forward to connecting with you on this forum.
All the best.
Roy
@RoyBretton I am glad you made the decision. I hope it works out. Thanks for sharing. I agree with everyone here stated about whats happening there at WA. I hope your year in 2025 will work out for you if you get fed up and have had it then you know it's time to go. Take care!
@brendamz Good morning Brenda,
Let’s see what happens, I will try and keep you posted. I don’t want to make it a Wealthy Affiliate bashing thread, but I do want to be honest about the subject.
That’s very true, Brenda, 100% right; “if you get fed up with it, then you know it’s time to go”! Let’s see what happens.
Have a great day.
Roy
@frank Good morning Frank,
Thank you for your reply, Frank, it’s appreciated.
I know that you have been very active on Wealthy Affiliate and a big part of the community. I guess it’s a little bit different for you, if you’re not trying to make a replacement income.
I actually think it’s good to have your own website, Frank, even if you still chat on forums, as you can probably direct people to your website from the forums or have a signature within your profile. But I do understand where you’re coming from.
Maybe if you want to simplify your guitar website, you could pay someone to keep your website updated. I don’t mean with content, but the plug-ins and everything else that goes with it.
I will probably stay with Wealthy Affiliate for another year and see what happens. For the amount I use the platform, it’s not huge amounts of money to pay, as despite what’s happening, it still has a lot of good points.
I like the idea of being able to find WordPress training, for example or being able to ask the question, etc, although, I appreciate that the answers are not always brilliant.
I believe Wealthy Affiliate went downhill when AI became available and then the hubs. Ever since then, the platform appears to have been all over the place. I know you are using AI in the right manner, Frank, but 95% of Wealthy Affiliate users are not!
One of the things that I have noticed in the last few weeks is that when I go to the top ten blog posts, the posts used almost change daily; now they are there for two or three days. I’m now finding myself commenting on very few posts, as there is so little to comment on.
Have a great day.
Roy
Hi Roy
Yeah, I'll probably keep my website, but I'll write on it the way I want, not for search engines or any other traffic-generating entity. Lol 😎
I am curious as to where you have your dedicated server and the approximate cost.
When I was a WA starter member, I think I would have been much happier with the "Hubs" design. I thought the learning environment was too drawn out for such simple methodology and the WordPress classic editor was a total joke, but I went with the flow.
As for AI, I don't use the WA AI writer. I have my own custom GPTS that produce much better content (IMO) and in my writing style. I love the beta ChatGPT 4o with Canvas.
I hardly ever use Google or any other traditional search engine platform except for professional (e.g., medicine, biomedical engineering, and medical informatics) work, typically on places like Google Scholar, Google Patents, etc. Instead, I use the OpenAI app on my phone and typically get more direct answers. I also believe the info is generally more accurate and useful than what Google is ranking on Reddit and Quora.
AI will change the world in ways that we can't even imagine over the next decade.
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸
@frank Good morning Frank,
Do you know, Frank, I really think that’s the best thing you could do. Sometimes, I think when we just write from the heart and within reason, rather than trying to make everything search engine friendly, it actually works better!
The time that it takes to go through all the search engine stuff, we could have written another blog post, which would be more beneficial. I have seen websites where people just right genuine articles from the heart that rank well, just because they are genuine and unique. I think that you have more than enough knowledge to do exactly that, Frank. People would really benefit from your knowledge. I think you ought to start right now!
I think I pay around $80 monthly, Frank, for my dedicated server. I have a Webmaster in the US who is now a very good friend, who has helped me a lot over the years. He uses someone who covers all that type of thing. I believe he may have given me a special deal, due to our friendship, but please let me know if you need any more info.
I believe that different things on Wealthy Affiliate work for different people, Frank. I have never used the Wealthy Affiliate writer, I mean the writer that came out before the AI writer, it never worked for me. I know there are some people who love it, but for others, I know it does not work for them. I’m all for keeping things as simple as possible and not to overcomplicate.
I believe that you are one of the few people, Frank, who uses AI correctly. I know you have a lot of knowledge on the subject, which is great. It’s great that you are taking advantage of technology and using it in the correct way.
Thank you for your input and have a great day.
Roy
Hi Roy
I super appreciate the confidence you have in me. 🙏
I never wrote directly in Site Content on WA. I wrote in the Classic Editor and then changed to the Block Editor as soon as it became available. I couldn't see the point of writing in a simple text editor and then converting it to blocks:
Much slower and too much work = Less time to play guitars! Lol 😎
Thank's for the info on the dedicated server. My guitar site runs pretty quick on WA, so I'm good for now.
Frank 🎸
Hi Roy
Yeah, I'll probably keep my website, but I'll write on it the way I want, not for search engines or any other traffic-generating entity. Lol 😎
I am curious as to where you have your dedicated server and the approximate cost.
When I was a WA starter member, I think I would have been much happier with the "Hubs" design. I thought the learning environment was too drawn out for such simple methodology and the WordPress classic editor was a total joke, but I went with the flow.
As for AI, I don't use the WA AI writer. I have my own custom GPTS that produce much better content (IMO) and in my writing style. I love the beta ChatGPT 4o with Canvas.
==> I love that as well, the beta ChatGPT with Canvas, although it sometimes acts weird haha!
I hardly ever use Google or any other traditional search engine platform except for professional (e.g., medicine, biomedical engineering, and medical informatics) work, typically on places like Google Scholar, Google Patents, etc. Instead, I use the OpenAI app on my phone and typically get more direct answers. I also believe the info is generally more accurate and useful than what Google is ranking on Reddit and Quora.
==> YeS!! (although for my niche, I still look at what Reddit says as well,and tell chatGPT to implement that into the article (if correct, of course)
AI will change the world in ways that we can't even imagine over the next decade.
==> ChatGPT search has now linked to my website over 12 times since its introduction, I just noticed on GA4 lol! And even a recent- very amateur- Youtube video of mine was referred to by GPT
WA can't keep up at all at the moment! It is more about NOW, the coming months then the coming decade. They would need to give sooo much more classes and hire more people to teach about socials/chatGPT search ao, in a shorter time frame, because they'll be left behind, they are way too slow now! It doesn't make any sense to focus on those 'HUBS', any of that can be done by AI , even better!
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸
rock on lol!
Lizzy
Hi Lizzy
I fully agree with all the points you made.
Congrats on ChatGPT Search pulling in info from your website! 👍👍
Yeah, the problem with the beta version of ChatGPT 4o With Canvas is that it is not up to date. They built it of an older large language model, from 2021 if memory serves me correctly. What I do for a very technical article is have Chat GPT 4o write it and then paste that into ChatGPT 4o With Canvas to do the editing and add additional pertinent info and things based on my own knowledge and experience.
It's hilarious reading some of the stuff that people write as "gospel" on Reddit pertaining to guitars and other musical equipment! It reminds me of when I was a teenager in high school, blowing out 12-inch speakers and creating all sorts of musical havoc because I had no idea what I was doing, but having a tremendous amount of fun doing it! Lol 😎
But, as you say, Reddit and other social media platforms can give us an idea of what people really want to know.
Unfortunately, AI has made everyone on the planet an instant expert on everything. I have seen WA members post an extensive, totally AI-written article, and then ask a very simple question about the same topic when the answer is actually in the article they previously posted!
Eventually, the only way we will know who we are truly dealing with will be to have an offline face-to-face conversation with them! Lol 😆
I earned my expertise the old-fashioned way - by attending college and medical school, doing an internship & residency (post-doctorate training), and getting board-certified in Internal Medicine. A process that took twelve years to accomplish!
Keep On Rockin' It! 🤘
Frank 🎸
Yeah, I remember looking for him online just recently, when I came across his PDF in one of my older folders...lol.
Yeah, Chris's membership was something I did not join, although I wish I had at that time...
I'm still waiting to hear from WA site support about the domain server situation I mentioned earlier, and if anyone who's familiar with the WPX domain transfer process (2 severs vs 3 servers), Please share your progress/process, so I can proceed.
WA was a help in the beginning, but they screwed the pooch when they cut the premium membership to build on the Premium Plus..JMHO.
What is most unfortunate is that the premium plus training is really a higher level (AKA 301 vs 101 education model) and is something people need once they are set up, rather than a regurgitation of the SOS...
Anyway, now that we have the Roy issue squared away...grin, I'm glad to see you here!
Rudy
Yeah, I remember looking for him online just recently, when I came across his PDF in one of my older folders...lol.
Yeah, Chris's membership was something I did not join, although I wish I had at that time...
I'm still waiting to hear from WA site support about the domain server situation I mentioned earlier, and if anyone who's familiar with the WPX domain transfer process (2 severs vs 3 servers), Please share your progress/process, so I can proceed.
WA was a help in the beginning, but they screwed the pooch when they cut the premium membership to build on the Premium Plus..JMHO.
What is most unfortunate is that the premium plus training is really a higher level (AKA 301 vs 101 education model) and is something people need once they are set up, rather than a regurgitation of the SOS...
Anyway, now that we have the Roy issue squared away...grin, I'm glad to see you here!
Rudy
I'm sorry, but the premium plus wasn't worth it at all for me, besides a few classes from Vitaly, and the lucky shot I got because he was talking about the modeltrain niche.
On the contrary, Eric Cantu's videos only got on my nerves, especially at the start he was only talking about pretty girls he met on holiday and didn't deep dive into anything, at all. Also, just one extra PP class per week, to pay so much more monthly, is totally not worth the money.
I get much more for free out of Youtube videos and marketeers online, for free.
Oh, and one very good teacher on PP was BenjisDad and WA threw him out for some reason.
About site support, please keep insisting and message them every day, if needed several times a day. Tell them that they have done this for other people as well (as I showed you in my copy paste private messages when I switched hosting). It is no time to be patient anymore with them, I have learned that the hard way.
Lizzy
THanks, Lizzy, I will get on them again.
Benji'sDad got booted? How rude...
Eric didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, however, there was one concept that his explanation helped me...Other than that, boring...
Fortunately for me, my websites were not affected at all by the Google shenanigans because they were way under the radar...lol. ie no traffic..
However, now that I finally got on board with GCS, my softball website continues to pick up clicks, going from 7 to 19, to 23 to 40 clicks in a 28 day period...so I'm doing something right...grin.
Anyway, thanks for the reply, Lizzy.
Rudy
I was looking into creating a membership for something several months ago, and something that some training I was taking said stuck with me - basically what it said was that when you create a monthly membership, you want to create it in such a way where your members come away saying "I got XYZ (success) through that membership".
And Wealthy Affiliate has done just that to most of us.
Think about it - ever since you start, everything is geared towards those 'small' wins - setting up your site, (and blogging about it), getting indexed, ranking, making your first (pennies) commission. All of that is celebrated on the platform.
But more importantly, most members come away with thinking that their 'success' came through being a member at Wealthy Affiliate.
I feel like that's what happened to me for most of these years ("where else can I find a better community, better hosting, better support, better training?"). I thought most of my success came through WA.
In reality, everything that I've actually done that was successful in my business was not from WA but from things I either personally did, or learned from other people.
I guess I just feel like some times people stick with WA because they think they've found success with them (and only them) - I'm not saying that is what you're doing, but just feel like it needs to be said for anyone reading this who is.
I'm personally leaving in about 2 weeks or so from now (whenever my subscription ends). The main reason I'm leaving is because I finally moved my sites over to different hosting and now have no need for WA (that was the main reason I stayed with them).
But more importantly, I also leaving because, well, their training sucks (for lack of a better phrase). Look, I never want to have people think that I'm coming here bashing WA, but most of you reading this know everything that I'm about to say is true (and so, from that point of view, I'm just trying to state the facts):
Last year, Kyle ran a PPC class to help people get to Vegas. You know how many people (out of the 20-50 people who joined his classes) made it to Vegas? Not. A. Single. Person.
When the Google Algo updates of 2023 were going on, every 'Super' affiliate at WA just said "well, just keep following the training, and posting your articles, and you'll come out on top at some point." Many tried that, and they didn't see any uptick in traffic.
Jay has tried to teach on Pinterest and Facebook marketing - most of what he said is 'okay', as in it will get you started in the right direction. But, honestly (speaking from someone who manages two Pinterest accounts that get millions of impressions each month, and two FB groups that are over 750K members in each of them), none of what he talked about really gave insight into how to maximize on your pin strategies or how to grow a FB group (which btw, he seems to think a FB page is better than a FB group, even though 9 times out of 10 most FB marketers have success with a group over a page).
(Oh, and let's not forget that Jay is also the one who told everyone that you could directly download images from Amazon and then directly upload them onto your site - I did write a response to that as to why that is incorrect, and even Kyle commented on my post saying that I was correct... LOL).
I really think the main reason I'm leaving though is because of the lack of transparency in their business. They can't seem to own up to any of their mistakes or have to brush things under the rug.
You've seen it - Partha, Diane have seen it - they'll immediately remove posts that even question WA authority. They'll write-ban people they don't like, all while pushing the same thing every week "Our platform is the most advance platform, the most advanced hosting, the most advanced AI writer, and in the coming weeks it's all going to be more advanced and better".
I could go on with a few other things that they do, but that'll then start getting a little more biased. But suffice it to say, if there isn't a need to stick around, then I personally wouldn't. But that's just my two cents.
@andy exactly all of that. Did you know that Jay told me to 'not bother' with FB groups? Imagine I'd followed his advise 🙄
@andy Hello Andy,
Thank you for your response, Andy; I appreciate your input.
I must admit, it does make a lot of sense what you are saying regarding everyone having success on Wealthy Affiliate. I think sometimes we are just led to believe it is perfect, when, like everything else, nothing is perfect! I was making money online before I arrived at Wealthy Affiliate, but I also have a very knowledgeable Webmaster; he’s probably a bit like Partha, to be fair! So, in other words, I wasn’t starting from scratch when I joined the platform.
That’s interesting about the PPC class, I appreciate that PPC is quite deep and I believe there is quite a learning curve. Fortunately, my Webmaster deals with my Google ads, I think if you don’t know what you are doing, you can quickly run up a large bill. That’s not a good advert for Kyle’s class!
I think this is one of the disappointing things, Andy, is that we all make mistakes, but it’s important to own our mistakes rather than just brushing them under the table! Things change quickly in the Internet marketing world and also sometimes, what works for one person’s business may not work for another, depending on what their niche is.
I’m thinking about staying for another year as it’s not silly money, but let’s see what happens.
Have a great day.
Roy
Hi Andy,
I already had a couple of websites, one was an e-commerce site, when I joined WA.
I came to WA to learn how to MONETIZE my websites.
So, I was really disappointed in their 3 yr old training, as I progressed through.
Not WA bashing, just stating facts, as they were for me.
I had come away from a book selling venture that cost me financially, yet provided a few lessons I needed, when trying to sell books online through AMAZON.
That's when I came upon a video by (a no longer active) WA member who explained that the training will show you how... thats debatable..
Hey, Andy, I LOVED your post about Jay's video on using Amazon pictures.
I was so surprised that he would tell people that it's okay to take the Amazon pics and use them yourself.
Anyway, I will need some help transferring my websites to WPX. My other sites I will move to A2.
I don't need anything more from WA.
Rudy