My #1 Rated Program

Name: Wealthy Affiliate

Where to find it: www.wealthyaffiliate.com

Established: 2005

Members: 1.5 million

Price: Structured – Free to join (inc 1 week free access to Premium facilities)

First month Premium access $19 (if taken within 7 days)

Thereafter Premium membership is billed at $49 per month or annual fee of $359

Reviews: Independent review sites BBB (Better Business Bureau) and Ripoff Report host positive ratings. Positively reported on independent affiliate marketing forums.

Verdict: 9.5/10

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What Is Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate (WA) is not just a course or product but a training and learning workshop involving a community of affiliate marketers of all levels of experience.

The core of WA are the training courses that Premium members have access to. The core training course is presented over five lessons and takes the affiliate newcomer through the entire process of setting up an affiliate marketing business.

WA is integrated with SiteRubix, a WordPress website host included in your membership, so all stages of the process can be completed within WA without need of additional outside sign-ups or support (or costs): you get all that included with your WA membership.

Free membership allows you to create two websites, Premium up to twenty-five. You may also purchase domain names via WA and linking them to your website is all handled smoothly with a few mouse clicks. If you have any problems with your site there is 24/7 support available.

WordPress is the website creation tool of choice on WA, free members having access to a limited number of the most popular themes, Premium members to over three thousand. However you envisage your site, there will be a theme to provide you with the look you want.

Core WA training covers setting up your site and working with WordPress. There is no part of the process where you’re left on your own and every training course contains video so you can view exactly the steps required, without working through a training manual and a wall of text.

No matter how well written, manuals can still be confusing and frustrating without some prior experience, so a practical, visual walk through allows you to see exactly how to go about the process. WA does provide additional written documentation, but the visual, step-by-step element provides a foolproof way of imparting the information in my opinion. And you can back the video up and watch again if need be!

If you have no experience in website design, WA removes that barrier for you.

Want to Build an Affiliate Website that Earns Money? Create One Here

Let me just say too, that I’m an experienced WordPress developer (as are many WA members); if you decide to join, you’re welcome to contact me at anytime for help, on web building, or anything for that matter. If I can help, then I will.

In addition to the core training to get your business up and published on the internet, there are additional courses available for all aspects of affiliate marketing: Content, Keywords, SEO, Adwords, Adsense, Facebook ads, LinkedIn, Google Analytics… all the elements required to fine tune your site. I considered myself reasonably adept at keyword research before joining, but discovered holes in my knowledge and additional tips to be had within WA.

Much of this is facilitated by the community atmosphere that’s encouraged within WA. You have individuals at all levels and discussion via live chat is available 24/7, and questions to the community via the submissions dialog are recorded and available to search: whatever information you’re looking for, you can find it. And if you can’t, you can ask.

This is a dedicated community feed within WA, not some dead Facebook group set up on the cheap like so many others. This community is thriving, and that will be apparent from the moment you join.

Aside from the training, community, fresh courses and website platform, you also get some other essential tools: a keyword planner, a link tracker, a feedback/comments platform for your content to give it Google-juice, and a content writing tool.

And every website you create on WA comes with free SSL and a SiteSpeed which is a website caching/CDN system to speed up your site.

What’s SSL? It’s essential if you decide you want to build an ecommerce site or take payments of any kind.

I’d also add I’ve found purchasing domains through WA to be cheaper as privacy protection is included at no extra cost.

All included in your monthly membership fee… and none of that will cost you more $$$ via up-sells like just about every other program.

Wealthy Affiliate is simply a one-stop shop for serious affiliate marketers.

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Who Runs Wealthy Affiliate?

Kyle and Carson. A couple of guys who’ve been in affiliate marketing since the early days. They setup Wealthy Affiliate in 2005.

Since that time WA has grown and developed to become home to some of the best affiliate marketers on the net. It’s testament to the site that some very experienced users’ memberships stretches back years.

Unlike a great deal of sites whose owners only front the signup literature, Kyle and Carson are active in the community and you can contact them AND get a reply. They are still very much hands-on with their business and the business of affiliate marketing. Believe me, that’s unusual! When you contact these guys, you speak to them – not some admin assistant replying under the account name.

Aside from Kyle and Carson, the site is run by members. Members are ranked and there are Premium and Ambassador classifications. You put a question out there to the community or an individual: you’ll get a reply.

That there was one of my deciding factors to signup to WA: it’s a time saver. In the past I had to research the answers I wanted, double check the sources, make sure it was still relevant… but at WA, all the information you want is at your finger tips. It’s a central repository of knowledge AND tools.

The tools element really is a major advantage – unlike a lot of programs that create some pre-recorded training and then never update it again (regardless of how out of date it is), at WA you not only get constantly updated training being rolled out BUT the full suite of tools you need to start affiliate marketing.

You simply don’t need to go off and purchase other hosting, signup to another monthly fee elsewhere to get access to a keyword planner or link tracker – it’s all under one roof for you at WA.

That really is exceptional.

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What Does Wealthy Affiliate Offer?

Over and above the knowledge base? And all the tools you need?

WA is a university of affiliate marketing. As WA has a global membership, it never closes. The Live Chat system operates 24/7 and is always buzzing. Technical Support for your website is likewise 24/7. If you need help, open a ticket, and it will be dealt with: not tomorrow or six hours from now, you can expect an official response within 20mins or less.

A lot of programs, even the “high ticket” ones, don’t have that. You spend $$$$$ and you get access to a free Facebook group (talk about cheap!) and a non-existent help system.

Not so at WA. This is a pro setup, not a scam site looking to save a buck wherever it can.

Take a look below to see a summary of benefits:

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How I found Wealthy Affiliate

I wasn’t even researching or looking to get into affiliate marketing. I came across WA as part of another search I was doing re keywords for Amazon.

I had self-published a book and I was looking for ways of improving the listing within Amazon. Outwith Amazon, I had no interest in promoting my book, and hadn’t even considered it.

When I came across WA, I saw it was free, so thought why not join-up, have a look around, and see what’s what? I’d been put off off affiliate marketing in the past because every other “free” site offered nothing but hard sell to upgrade, or purchase additional products. With only one or two (understandably) closed off areas to non-Premium members, I pretty much had the run of WA to check it out properly.

Due to my previous experiences, I was more than a bit cynical with the whole affiliate marketing thing, but I stuck around on WA.

The hosting and keyword tool were a good deal in themselves, and then you had access to the knowledge base on top of that. I tried hard, I have a very large scammer siren wired into me, but I couldn’t really find a downside as to why not to continue as a member.

Bottom line is, I’m getting an excellent service at a reasonable price: I don’t feel ripped-off and I’m getting value for money. Something I couldn’t really say of anywhere else I looked at.

No Up-Sells. Just the Knowledge & Tools You Need to Succeed

Like I say, a lot of programs come in as requiring purchase of $$$$ ‘products’ and hefty monthly fees, and everything you create on the sites isn’t even yours! If you leave, you lose everything. If you want to leave WA, you can export your websites and take them with you. Plus, leaving is easy if you want – isn’t that novel? You just cancel your membership, no fuss, no muss, and you never get another charge made against you again… but WA is a legit business, so they don’t do that bullshit/scam tactics on members.

Speaking of ‘products’… there are none. This isn’t a MLM where you buy in and push nothing but the service itself. You learn how to affiliate market within any niche, not just WA! To back that up, out of the four affiliate sites I have, this was number three. I spend a lot of time looking into other opportunities and programs, so I decided to document what I found in this blog, and while I was at it, say why I was at WA. If you want to join, great – but I’m not getting any “big ticket” commission of $$$$ if you do!

I should point out as well, that I’m an IT guy with twenty years experience in the industry, and I couldn’t fault the technical advice in the areas where I was already adept. That was a pretty big indicator of the quality on offer at WA in my estimation.

That, and it’s also telling that you’ll find it hard to come across many negative reviews made of the site in the last fifteen years: the overwhelming majority to be found (on independent resources) are positive.

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Why I Recommend Wealthy Affiliate

Because it isn’t another “get rich quick” scam promising the Earth but delivering only dirt.

I like that the site makes it clear and states that – that making money from affiliate marketing is a slow process, and there is no short-circuiting that process. There are plenty successful members’ blogs to read that back that up too.

If you want success it’s like the gym or dieting: there’s nothing difficult to understand in the superficial process, the ‘difficult’ bit is in keeping to it.

WA gives it to you how it is and I like that. The process works: if you’re the right sort of person.

Basically, if you can find the time to (waste on) Facebook and Instagram everyday, you can put that time into your affiliate business, and see something more substantial for it than just “likes” and emoticons: you can’t spend those.

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Pros

• Knowledge base available. Training courses, articles, questions and user community.
• Easy setup of your business
• All elements explained. If you’ve shopped or browsed on the net, you can do this
• Website hosting – 25 sites available to host.
• Domains – you can purchase your domain name and link it seamlessly
• Advanced Keyword research tool
• Link tracker
• Content creation writer
• 24/7 website support
• 24/7 community discussion (live chat)
• Positive community atmosphere

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Cons

• Information overload. Take it easy and don’t go wild like a kid in a candy store. Work methodically through the process laid out, and then grow your knowledge as you require it
• Be aware that some member’s ranks can be more a reflection of their community involvement than knowledge
• If you’re after a get-rich-quick scheme you won’t like WA

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Finally

If you decide to check it out, I can assure you that my money’s where my mouth is: I’m a current Premium member, and have been continuously since 2016.

Join Up & Let’s Chat on the Inside!

So, message me! Any problems or difficulties and you can drop me a line, I’ll be glad to help.