Greetings and welcome!
My name is Oren. I have spent decades in frustration trying find a path beyond working by the hour or on salary. In other words, trading an entire day of my precious time for a day’s pay.
Finally, I’ve found a internet marketing training course for the real world called Wealthy Affiliate.
Often referred to as “Wealthy Affiliate University”, this is a complete platform offering everything you’ll need to get started in affiliate marketing. Through their training courses, you will build complete working WordPress websites.
From there, you will also learn step-by-step how to grow your newly created website into a full-fledged internet marketing business. We’re talking about a real business built up around a hobby, a passion or an activity that you enjoy! No peddling useless eBooks or selling vitamins – we’re talking about a real business that you’ll be proud to share!
Click Here to Start Your Training Now – for FREE!
Introduction
In September 2005, owners Kyle Loudoun and Carson Lim founded Wealthy Affiliate. This all began as a “keyword list” service that users can subscribe to and receive optimized keyword lists. Today, Wealthy Affiliate has since grown far beyond that and into a full service internet marketing training resource with an active community of several hundred thousand people. It is this supportive community that sets Wealthy Affiliate apart from other platforms. You’ll never “go it alone”.
Wealthy Affiliate Overview
Overall Ranking: 97 / 100
Price: $0 for a Starter Membership
Owners: Kyle Loudoun and Carson Lim
Date Founded: September 2005
Website: www.wealthyaffiliate.com
What Makes Wealthy Affiliate Special?
The short answer is: You!
You, and your niche! Your niche is that particular subject that you are passionate about and can do so well. It is that subject you can talk about for hours and hours on end about and never get tired of. This niche can be a hobby, a cause you support, an activity you love, your profession – anything you’re passionate about.
Where does Wealthy Affiliate come in?
Wealthy Affiliate clears the confusion and shows you step-by-step how to build a website or blog around your niche, and attract a targeted audience to it. You will learn how to find products or services related to your niche that offer affiliate programs which pay commissions on each sale. You will learn how to elegantly incorporate these into your website, reach your audience, and scale it into a profitable business!
History has shown again and again, that the most successful businesses are almost always the ones built around a passion! Who wants to “work” – right?
Wealthy Affiliate has been around for more than a decade, and has since evolved into a bustling community of thousands of entrepreneurs building their own, unique online businesses. So many fads have come and gone in that time span. These folks are here to stay.
So, my questions to you are:
- What is it that you passionately enjoy?
- What gets you up in the mornings and keeps you going until late night?
- What if you could earn a full time income writing about what you love and sharing it with the world?
Write your answers down (you’ll need them when you start the training), and read on!
Target Audience
There are people from every imaginable walk of life participating in the Wealthy Affiliate community. From high school students to retirees. Here’s just a sampling of who can benefit from the training and website tools offered at Wealthy Affiliate:
- Moms and dads who wish to be home with the kids.
- Students who are in college.
- Micro-businesses that need a low cost professional website.
- Family businesses wanting to promote their niche online.
- Non-profit organizations looking to raise funds from their blogs.
Anyone…
- …looking for extra income to pay off debts.
- …tired of the 9 to 5 grind.
- …tired of traffic jams and long commutes.
- …tired of being scammed by get-rich-quick schemes.
- …who is disabled and cannot work an ordinary job.
- …wanting to get off of “disability” and all of the red tape around it.
- …who is retired and would like some additional income.
- …wanting to learn how to build a successful online business reliably for the long term.
- …wanting to monetize their website or blog, and do it right.
- …wanting to learn how to use Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.) correctly.
- …wanting to learn how to scale a Pay Per Click (P.P.C) campaign to its fullest potential.
- …wanting comprehensive online business training on one platform.
Start Your Training Now – for FREE!
Training and Tools Overview
The Training
Wealthy Affiliate has everything you will need to progress from knowing little or nothing about websites and affiliate marketing to mastering the skills needed to run a successful affiliate marketing business online.
There are two main tracks of training that you can take at your own pace. The “Online Entrepreneur Certification” courses and the “Affiliate Bootcamp” courses.
The Certification courses show you step-by-step how to build a WordPress blog site centered around a niche that you are passionate about and know well. Then you are shown how to attract visitors with quality content and build this into a stream of income.
The Bootcamp courses show you step-by-step how to build a WordPress blog centered around showing others how to find training on affiliate marketing. You’ll learn how to earn income introducing others to the WA training.
For example, in the “Online Entrepreneur Certification” course, you’ll cover 10 lessons under each of these topics:
- Building Your Own Traffic Producing Website
- The Business of Content – Achieving Maximum Success Through Content Creation
Then there is the “WA Affiliate Bootcamp” course where you’ll cover 10 lessons under each of the following topics.
- Starting Your Foundation
- Giving Your Site Social Value
- Get Visual. Get Aesthetic. Get a Brand Through Media.
- Knowing Your Audiences & Catapulting Your Referrals
- Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing), Google & The Power of PPC
- How to Scale Successful PPC Campaigns
Each of the lessons within the topics above will have task checklists. You will check these off as you complete each step. Additionally, you can complete these at your own pace. There is a “smart link” that keeps track of where you left off so that you can return to your spot in the trainings. There is a lot of training to cover!
Besides these two main courses, there is an extensive archive of past trainings. These were put together over the years by members of the community. Almost everyday, members are contributing new trainings. There are also live webinar trainings (usually every Friday night). Stay in the loop with the latest breaking news and techniques!
In every training, there is a community discussion area. Here you can ask questions, help one another, and share your work for review and feedback from others (I really love this part!). You don’t get this anywhere else!
The Tools
Who doesn’t like a well stocked garage full of tools? Yes, you get all of the tools you need to put your training into immediate action! You will have access to professional quality tools for:
- Creating your own WordPress blog website(s).
- High performance WordPress website hosting – SSL encryption (https), spam blocking, and site speed optimization included!
- Managing email addresses associated with your website.
- Purchasing and managing domain names.
- Dashboard for website health monitoring.
- Keyword research.
- Link tracking.
- Tools for article writing and content management.
- Activity dashboard for staying on top of all community activity at a glance.
- All tools are tightly integrated into one platform! No keeping track of a jumble of websites and accounts!
Start Your Training Now – for FREE!
Pros and Cons
The good:
- Complete training from start to finish.
- Live webinar training from veteran marketers throughout each week.
- Help and support.
- Live chat 24/7.
- No pressure to “recruit” others!
- No “Gurus”, hidden “Secrets”, or smoke and mirrors.
- Work from anywhere you can take a laptop!
- Build a business around your favorite niche.
- No up-sells. No bait-and-switch games.
- Well established – In business since 2005.
- Zero tolerance for spam.
- Very active and helpful community.
- FREE starter account!
The bad:
- A lot of material to cover. It can be overwhelming.
- You will not get rich quick!
- Not a turn-key or cookie cutter system.
- Building a REAL online business takes time and patience.
- There will be “I can’t do this”, “I give up”, or “Why did I get into this” moments.
- The very active community might become too distracting! (Tip: Enjoy the community but stay focused on the training)
Support
A common thread running through out all areas of Wealthy Affiliate are the community discussion areas. Help and support are never far away wherever you may be. With this very active community, you can have support via Live Chat 24/7/365, and often within minutes!
There is also a “New Question” menu option In Wealthy Affiliate. With this you can post questions to the community and usually get back several answers from different members. What’s really nice about this is that you’ll usually get back several answers/opinions and from there pick what is best for your own situation.
In fact, many answers are just a quick search away. Most likely someone has asked the same or similar question, or the topic has come up in a training or blog. Use the Search bar!
In fact, you can try the search feature right now – just click on the image below. This will open my profile page on WA in a new tab. Click on the magnifying glass at the top to expand the search bar.
Within the SiteSupport tab in the SiteRubix section, support for your SiteRubix hosted websites is always there!
For example, It was after midnight and I had a problem with a website. I opened a ticket in SiteSupport and described the issue. My ticket was answered and the issue was resolved within 5 minutes!
Community
Okay, you’ve been seeing that word throughout this review. As the saying goes: “It takes a village!”. It definitely takes a village to help one another succeed in building an online business. With so many other programs, it seems like you give ’em your money, and that’s it! You receive “the keys to the kingdom” but you’re all alone. Maybe some little half-hearted “help section” if you’re lucky.
At Wealthy Affiliate, you’ll be part of a community that is buzzing 24/7/365! They will be there ready to help as soon as you join. No “gurus”, no ego, no up-sells – just down to Earth folks like you and me.
“supportive and upbeat”
This is an incredibly supportive and upbeat community that welcomes newcomers with open arms, and is ready to help them get started in the right direction. You’ll never feel alone and never be left wondering “now, what next?”. It is a wonderful pick-me-up on those occasional days when I’m feeling down.
Beats Facebook!
It is always a pleasure to check my email inbox every morning under my “WA” filter to see what new training, member blog posts, responses to my own questions, discussion follow ups, etc, are awaiting.
I particularly enjoy the various success stories members announce – I’ve read everything from Xin’s first sale, Anna’s first sale, or Anthony’s first sale, to this fellow making his first $2,000 goal, and many more! This is more fun than piddling your time away on social media watching cat videos and reading up on what friends had for dinner! Of course there’s nothing wrong with social media. In fact you’ll learn how to use social media in a smart and profitable way! 🙂 I have met many others here who share my own interests in synthesizers and electronic music.
Zero Tolerance For Spam!
In any large community there are concerns about spammers. In the WA community there is zero tolerance for spam! You’ll never find members trying to sell you other programs.
There is none of the “get rich quick” mentality here either. Were are all in it for the long run, helping each other “stick with it” and get through the rough spells. It’s all about helping one another succeed in the training that WA provides, and providing an environment where you can focus on your own goals.
Start Your Training Now – for FREE!
A Pay It Forward Approach
The Wealthy Affiliate community has a special sweet spot that no body else offers. A true pay-it-forward system where all members can contribute blogs, write their own unique training lessons or otherwise share their own wisdom and insights.
Not only that, I’ll let you in on a sweet little secret… Anything you’ve authored whether it is a blog, a training, etc, on Wealthy Affiliate may get indexed as a link in an internet search. That means that if someone searches on Google or wherever, visits WA through that link, and they decide to join WA, You can receive a commission from WA’s own affiliate program! More on that later…
What you contribute can pay back in many ways.
Price Points
Free $0 “Starter” membership that lets you create two free websites and use some of the features. This is a great way to try to system, explore the site, participate in the community, and decide whether or not it is right for you.
The “Premium” level membership is $49 per month, or $359 per year if you pay yearly. The yearly subscription price is equal to less than $30 per month which makes this the best deal of all.
As a bonus, when you upgrade from a “Starter” membership, you can get your first month of “Premium” for just $19! Please review the comparison chart below. It outlines the differences between Starter and Premium.
The only other costs you will likely incur would be for any domain names you purchase through SiteDomains. These are typically $13.99 to $15.99 per domain, per year.
So, if you think about it, you get:
- The most complete training found anywhere.
- High performance tools to put it into practice.
- A super supportive community.
- A complete ecosystem to bring it all together!
- A savings of hundreds of dollars per month by not having to purchase services separately!
- A website you built and will be proud of!
All of this for about the cost you’d otherwise spend on two lattes a week!
Oh… and one more thing you can’t put a price tag on: You’ll develop friendships that last a lifetime!
New!! SitePlus+
Wealthy Affiliate is never stale. A new section called SitePlus has been added. From here you can control two important security features: Enabling SSL on your website and server-side comment spam blocking for your WordPress site. Additionally, you can monitor your site’s performance with SiteSpeed. SitePlus+ is the first of many exciting new updates and feature to come!
SiteSSL SSL certificates come standard with any website you build on the WA SiteRubix platform! This alone is easily an extra $100, or more, value that is included for free in your WA membership!
It is being said that HTTPS is the new HTTP, so don’t be left behind. Just flip a switch and you have SSL! Having SSL will allow you to process payments directly on your business website should you choose to do so. Seeing the https and the padlock, sends a message to your visitors and customers that you take security seriously.
SiteProtect (Spam Blocker). This is powerful spam protection that is integrated on the server side of the SiteRubix platform. This blocks many types of automated WordPress comment spam before it even reaches your website. Because this is server side there is no need to install and pay extra for WordPress spam blocker plugins. That means fewer plugins to slow your WordPress site down.
Final Verdict and a Bonus!
LEGIT!
Overall, I would highly recommend Wealthy Affiliate to anyone who is serious about learning how to master this thing called affiliate marketing. Serious inquiries only! No “tire kickers” please! This is a super program, but it will require effort and a willingness to stick with it on your end.
Did I mention that Wealthy Affiliate also has its own affiliate program? Yes, you can even promote WA as you train in the “Bootcamp” training courses! This is a great way to get some practice before building your niche site.
Click here to read what other members are saying about Wealthy Affiliate
So, what is missing from all of this great stuff?… YOU!
So if you’re tired of idling, let’s put it in gear and get rolling! As soon as you join, I will follow your WA profile and be there for you!
BONUS Offer!
After you join for free with your Starter membership, if you decide to upgrade to Premium within 7 days, I will offer some bonuses!
- Your first month of Premium Membership is $19 – that’s 61% off the regular monthly price.
- I am going to be giving you the “Diamond Traffic Bonus”
If you have further questions, comments or need help, please don’t hesitate to comment below.
Ohhh.. It is that time of year again..
Warmest Regards and cheers to a wonderful 2022 and beyond!,
This is a pretty good summary! I never knew about all these one's until today! And I must confess, its really been a while since I came across such an informative piece on a blog on the internet. Thanks, writer for sharing this here with us. You can check out articles on my blog on credit cards using the link below
https://www.techshure.com/ollo-platinum-mastercard/
Hi Franca, thanks for the compliment! Informed decisions are are always the best.
Cheers
– Oren
I think you have about just convinced me to join wealthy Affiliate Marketing.
Sounds great! I think you will not be disappointed! I wished I had resources like this back in the day.
Best to you!
– Oren
This is a great post. There is no BS here. I to have been a wealthy affiliate member for about 9 month’s. It’s a great place to be.
Hi Dave, That’s what motivates me to write this. To help others cut through the BS and scams, and find a system that really works. That is what I have grown to love about the WA platform.
Best to you!
– Oren
HI Oren Leavitt
Good article, i m forward to see a new tips
`
Thanks
Adan
Hi adan, thanks for your response. Stay tuned – new posts will be coming!
– Oren
Hello. I am glad that I came to this site. Really very good review. I was looking for a place where I could learn all things about affiliate marketing. The Wealthy Affiliate platform offers everything and more. Thanks to your review, I’m well on my way to success on the internet. Thanks.
Hi Michael, thank you for stopping by and leaving a note! I’m glad you enjoyed my write up on Wealthy Affiliate. It is great having all of the resources you need under one roof. As we go into 2018, it is exciting to see all of the new and updated features being implemented. Nothing is ever out of date or neglected.
Cheers and best to you!
Hi Oren, I had many “I can’t do this” moments. In my opinion these moments you realize that you need to put more effort or just give up.
Wealthy Affiliate has tested many times my will to build my online business and I hope these moments to be in the past.
Hi Ilias, thank you for dropping by! I agree totally on those “I can’t do this” moments. What I love about WA is having the community to reach out to when the going gets rough. That alone has helped me make steady progress in building my website/business when I would otherwise have given up. “It takes a village” as the saying goes.
Cheers and best to you on your adventures!
– Oren
Very nice review. I like the fact that you reach out and touch people by telling your story. That’s going to help a lot of people gain confidence in knowing that they are getting info from a real genuine perspective…
Hi there, and thank you for your comment! I am glad you’ve enjoyed my story. It has been an adventure. I hope that the articles I write here will save others a few “hard knocks” along the way… That they will be of help to others who are aspiring to build and run their own businesses.
Cheers and best to you!
Hi Oren,
Great review on Wealthy Affiliate. It is also my number one recommendation to anyone trying to learn how to do online affiliate marketing. You truly can turn your hobbies into a full time business. Thanks for the great information and sharing your path to success with us. I also come from years of struggling to learn my way online and now that I’m with WA I’m learning so much and Thankful To Be Here!
All the best for you,
Mitch
Hi Mitch, thank you for your response! Not too long ago, I would have given in to the assumption that “there’s no money in hobbies or fun stuff”. The training at WA, and the great friends I’ve made there, has opened my eyes to new possibilities! There are so many creative ways to earn income from your own website that I am more motivated than ever to pursue my dream!
The best is yet to come, Cheers together!
I have heard a lot about wealthy affiliate and it’s amazing that I couldn’t find a bad thing about them. You’re review of them is very detailed and really helps calms any fears I had about joining. I’ve been looking to start an online business for some time now, and wealthy affiliate looks like great place to start. How good are people in the community at answering questions for those just getting started? Thanks
Hi Ralph, thank you for commenting! I’m glad my review is helpful to you. I have been amazed at how friendly, helpful and responsive the WA community is! They won’t leave you withering on the vine. The longevity is impressive too. There are members who have been active for 10+ years. Down to earth folks – no “gurus”, no BS, know it alls, or up-sells.
What really won me over to WA is the thorough, self paced, step-by-step training – it really helped me get past the point I would have given up at.
Cheers!
I’m wondering if it is possible to replace my full time job with this program. I love the idea of green energy, solar power, and protecting the environment. I am passionate about those things more than I am about helping people with computer problems all day (full time job). This might be something I can do.
A question for you, Oren: what is the Diamond Traffic Bonus? Is that a way to drive traffic to the website?
Thanks Oren and btw – love the beard! 🙂
Hi Ronbo, thank you for commenting!
Solar and renewables is a fantastic niche to get into! There are merchants who sell solar panels and supplies who offer affiliate programs. An authority site on solar power alone could easily become a full time income if you commit yourself to it. Wealthy Affiliate has got all the tools and training you need to make it happen!
Yes, that “Diamond Traffic Bonus” is a collective brain dump of beautiful ways to get quality traffic to your website for free.
Thanks kindly for the beard compliment – 9 years growing and 3 feet long. Like building a business, it got there through time, patience and sticking with it 🙂
All of the best to you!
– Oren
Hey there!
Wealthy Affiliate, I agree with you is a great way to build an online business.
Anyone who is serious will make money with this training and tools. I have been a member for only a short time and I agree with your review of WA.
It definitely requires one to work, but anything that is real and lasting takes time and energy to build.
This is not for someone looking for a quick solution to their finances. This takes commitment!
Hi Dathanmas, thanks for your comment!
I’m glad you found Wealthy Affiliate. You’re learning first hand how a real online business works, and that it is a serious commitment. It’s unfortunate that too many people have big dreams but just don’t have the patience to follow through.
Stick with it, establish a daily routine, follow the training courses all the way through, get help from the community when you’re stuck, and keep building on to your website – it will work!
Cheers and best to you in the New Year,
– Oren
Really neat review on Wealthy Affiliate you have here Oren. As a fellow member there, i have to give credit to your words. Wealthy Affiliate is indeed the most legitimate training platform online right now, for anyone starting out in their internet marketing endeavors. The community is full with inspirational members and everyone is eager to help you, should you feel stuck, and especially the owners Kyle and Carson!
Hi Antonis, thanks for the comment! Always nice to get a +1 from a fellow WA’er. The WA community is a phenomenal resource. The help I have gotten when I need, it is top notch. I feel like I am “living in” the community rather than “logging on” to a website. A truly appreciate that the owners Kyle and Carson are involved in all aspects and always greet newcomers. I wonder where they find the time? That’s commitment!
Thanks for dropping by! Cheers and best, Oren
Hey Oren,
I’m glad to see you give Wealthy Affiliate a score of 97/100!
I started there about six months ago and boy have I learned a lot. I have three sites going now and started making a little bit of money.
I still have a way to go to get to where I want to be but I definitely feel like Wealthy Affiliate is taking me on the right path!
Hey Jeremy, thanks for the thumbs up on Wealthy Affiliate.
Myself, I am learning a lot of new stuff everyday. Internet marketing is not easy. Having this kind of knowledge base really helps when I get stuck. I am really looking forward to all that they have coming for 2017!
Cheers to an awesome new year, Oren
The biggest truth and what I liked the most about your article is that success is based and built upon passion, and subject you are interested in. That is the fundamental of wealthy affiliate – that you can build a business around a topic you are passionate about. That way you can build something you believe in. That’s what hooked me up with wealthy affiliate. And best part is you can make a living out of it because you are given the tools, training and all the help you need to do so!
Hi SaM, you’ve hit the nail on the head! Being able to earn an income on things one enjoys doing and writing about is what has made affiliate marketing the perfect venue for an online business. Wealthy Affiliate is the best training resource, and most bang for the buck I have found. I continue to be blown away by the wealth of knowledge and helpfulness of the WA community. It is amazing to learn of all of the different niches fellow WA members are into and passionate about. I enjoy catching up with my WA emails each morning!
Thanks for your comment! Cheers, Oren
Nice post. I have been a member of Wealthy Affiliate myself for almost 6 months now. I gotta say it’s been very great. The Black Friday deal is nice and I’m about to buy another year with it.
How long have you been a member of Wealthy Affiliate? Do you enjoy it? I like how WA gives ou all the tools you need to succeed. You just need to put the work and effort in.
Hello and thanks for the comment! Myself, I’ve been in WA for four months, and it has been an awesome adventure. I’ve learned so much in that short time span, and am looking forward to where this adventure takes me. WA has delivered where everyone else falls short. A lot of it is the amazing community! It’s said that successful people surround themselves with people and friends who support their aspirations. Success hangs out at Wealthy Affiliate!
Cheers and best,
– Oren
I think you’ve just about convinced me to join Wealthy Affiliate.
If I join, though, will I be bombarded with upsells to buy extras in order to progress? I worry that my bank account will be drained, I’ve been scammed before, you see.
Thanks
James
Hi James, thanks for the comment. I am with you 111%!
Before I found WA, I have been scammed more times than you can shake a wet noodle at! What set WA apart from the rest, is that they’ve been around since 2005. When I did some deeper research, I realized that there’s virtually no negative reviews out there about WA. Once I started my free account, the community support was amazing. So, I went full steam ahead for the Premium membership (the only “upsell” you’ll ever find in WA).
In the months I have been at WA, I’ve accomplished far more than I did in the past 20 years of “trying” to get started with something. I wished I had known about WA sooner! So, come on in and set up your free account and I’ll be there to greet you!
Cheers, Oren
Thank You for the wonderful Review!
Its nice to to get a nice fresh perspective of something without the copy and paste aspect.Also good to know that WA is getting SSL certificates , because next year Google will be ranking sites based on if they have these certificates. The effort you put into your websites is really worth it in the long run for yourself and the customers.
Hi Carlton, thanks for the comment! Yes, I’m looking forward to the added SSL certs.
Hi Oren,
Thanks for a very thorough review of WA. Something else I can take from it, as well as the information, is your high level of excitement about everything you’re writing about.
Can I just ask how you have overcome being overwhelmed by all the material, which you have described as one of the cons?
Jules, you are welcome. The excitement comes from having something that actually works, is fun, and is producing results after years of “failures”. As for all of the material – Just take it one day at a time, focus on the trainings/tasks at hand and things will start to come together!
Great! Thanks for your speedy response Oren and sound advice.
Jules, it is my pleasure! Check back often, more great stuff to come.
Cheers
Fantastic review ! Love the visuals on here. I can definetly vouch for Wealthy Affiliate if anyone is seriously contemplating joining!
Grace, thanks for the comment and the “vouch”. It has been a 180 degree turn around for the better – the journey continues! Best to you.