Having an online business was never a thing in my mind. After all, I was raised to believe that college education was the ultimate path to success in life. I am guessing most of you think the same way too. But all that changes after I realized that the daily grind was killing my creativity, burying my dreams and most importantly, taking away my precious time and health.
Times that I could have spent with my loved ones, doing Yoga all day, walking my dog by the beach – all that was lost because I was working all the time in exchange for paychecks used to pay bills after bills. It became a vicious cycle and life sucks – really. I knew at some point, it needs to stop.
But how? To be able to do what I want in life, I knew I had to find an income source outside of the conventional workplace. I had to work smarter – not harder. That was when I turned to the internet for answers and on a fateful day in December 2013, I discovered Wealthy Affiliate in the most unlikely place.
When I realized what this site could offer for someone with zero experience like me, I was sold. The truth is, this isn’t a story about how I started my online business. Rather, it’s about how technology and real people come together to make dreams come true for everyone.
What Can You Gain From Wealthy Affiliate?
Making money online isn’t just a fad. It’s real stuff and there’re billions of transactions happening in the virtual space as we speak. If you’ve ever shopped online, which I believe you do, then you’re just one tiny figure contributing to this trillion-dollar economy.
The founders of WA – Kyle and Carson – are both experienced internet marketers who are passionate about helping others build long term successful online business. Of all the things they created, there are three core features that matter to you.
(1) Online Marketing Training
The concept is simple – to make money legitimately online, you need something and somewhere to sell, right? But for regular people like you and me, who don’t own any product or services, what can we do?
The answer lies in affiliate marketing and that’s essentially what WA teaches throughout their core training called the Online Entrepreneurship Course.
In these step-by-step lessons, WA helps to connect the dots between your interests and established brands to solve daily problems that people face every day. I recommend this course for anyone who may already have some ideas but are struggling to get it out there.
All lessons come with texts, videos, and also tasks that you are expected to complete before moving onto the next one. And in case you got lost somewhere, there’s always a discussion area under each lesson for you to ask questions.
The other training is called Affiliate Bootcamp and it’s basically an intensive course that walks you through the process of creating a business niche that’s relevant to the promotion of WA itself. This is a great training to join if you are into the make-money-online niche or online marketing niche in general.
The other less formal training is the classroom section and it covers 13 topics that we often asked when building an online business. You can find discussions from everything WordPress to paid marketing strategies. There’s also a special classroom dedicated for local marketers so if you’re trying to take your small business online, this is the place to be.
What’s the best way to wind down a busy week? A live webinar every Friday. No joke – you can learn so much from these video training and Q&As especially after you’ve gained some foundation from the core training. And hey, if you are from a different time zone, no worries. These webinars are archived so you can access them at any time.
(2) WordPress Hosting
One of the biggest technical hurdle to start an online business is to set up a website. I know this from personal experience and it was an expensive lesson learned. With today’s level of technology, you don’t need coding or web skills to come up with a blog.
Thankfully, WA also doubles as a hosting site for WordPress and as far as convenience is concerned, they offer the fastest way to create a site in more or less a minute or so. Your brand new WordPress comes preinstalled with a plugin for SEO and for image optimization – two of which will make your blog more visible and load faster online.
Don’t take my word for it though. Use the building tool below to test it out yourself.
(3) Keyword Research Tool
Before joining affiliate marketing, I know nothing about keywords and their relation to search terms. But after being introduced to Jaaxy, WA in-house keyword tool, it opens up the floodgates for ideas and opportunities I never knew existed.
Knowing what keywords to use for your content becomes such a crucial strategy in positioning your online business because it can attract the right type of audience and get them to convert on your offers. In other words, using targeted keywords can give you positive results.
The good thing about Jaaxy is that you don’t need to be a web wizard to use it. It takes a bit of practice which you’ll learn in the training courses. Otherwise, it’s a pretty easy tool to interpret and operate. It also has features to show current ranking for your webpages and help you dig into more affiliate program opportunities.
Want to see what it looks like inside? Just enter a keyword below for a quick test drive.
The Wealthy Affiliate Membership Cost
Now you are probably thinking – with all the training, hosting, and keyword tool, it’s probably going to cost a bomb to join WA. Well, not really.
To be fair, everyone gets to join as a Starter member for zero dollars AND you can stay that way for as long as you like; no credit card information is required. Yes, you read that right!
The Premium membership ($49/month OR $495/year) is where you’ll get the most out of the features mentioned earlier. All the benefits are amplified when you join Premium. That means you can get more access to the experts, build more websites, and subsequently increase your earning capacity.
Still not sure which plan is for you? Here’s the full breakdown between Starter and Premium.
Proof That Wealthy Affiliate Works
Now, you’re probably wondering, does the WA training really work? Here are some of the success stories we get from the members all the time.
(1) Arrington joined in November 2016 and got his blog indexed by Google that very same month.
(2) Kev is an ex-police officer turned affiliate marketer. He made his first sales commission in just one week after launching his niche website.
(3) Lynne, from South Africa, shared her affiliate success after earning her first Amazon sales.
(4) Edy is a college student from Indonesia and 6 months into the training, he was able to achieve more than 3K visitors to his niche site.
(5) Lori is a grandmother who isn’t afraid to learn about WordPress. Now, her web knowledge has given her some additional income to brag about.
(6) Brook joined in 2013 and write reviews about products/services that help people make money online. This was one of his monthly income reports.
(7) Wendy had a college degree but switched gears to affiliate marketing after she graduated. She became a super affiliate in 2016 and got the chance to finally meet Kyle and Carson in Las Vegas!
(8) Evan spent his free time in the college building an online business. In less than a year, he finally became his own boss.
(9) Veronica is from Sweden and she’s been with Wealthy Affiliate for 9 long years. Thanks to the training, she now owns a successful career working from home while spending time with her family.
These are the stories that inspired me to push forward in my earlier days and I’m sure glad I didn’t give up. You see, running a successful online business isn’t something one can achieve overnight. Anyone who comes in with a get-rich-quick mentality wouldn’t go very far. But if you’re willing to overcome the learning curve and persevere, the outcome can be very rewarding.
My first earning was only $8. As you can imagine, it could hardly pay for any bills and surely not enough to quit my job.
But it made me realized that making money online was indeed possible so I kept doing. Today, my earning looks something like this;
See what I mean? That’s what happened when you take action daily to make your goals a reality 🙂
Time to Make YOUR Passion a Reality
I may not know where you are from, what your dreams are or what brought you to this blog, but if you’re still reading up to this point, something tells me you may have bigger plans in life, and for some reasons, money and time could be hindering you from achieving them. Well, I hope WA can be part of your solution, if not all of it.
Why not take a leap of faith and join me inside this platform? It won’t cost you anything to get started but hey, promise me you’d take action and make use of all the opportunities to achieve what you truly want in life, okay? If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment below. I hope to connect with you soon! 🙂
Join WA for FREE + Special BONUS
Hi Cathy,
If I join try the Starter level, may I upgrade to the Premium level at anytime?
Of course. You can upgrade anytime or stay as a Starter member for as long as you like. Hope to see you inside soon! 🙂
Hi Cathy.
I am from Pakistan. Can I join this program.
Hi Wasif, yes you can through the Premium membership.
Hi Cathy,
I’ve been wanting to have a business and I know online businesses are the trend now.
I am not computer savvy though. Do you think I’ll have a future in this field?
Hi Jeanette, it’s all about trying. If you have the desire to learn and achieve greater heights in your financial status, I believe you can get there. Look at all the successful members whom I’ve mentioned here. All of them started from zero. You can too. Hope to see you inside WA soon.
Hi, Is this suitable for Hong Kong?
Hi Meena. The training program is conducted in English and if you’re comfortable with that, you can surely sign up from Hong Kong.
Hi,
I am in Ghana, West Africa. Is the program suitable for me?
Hi Bernard. You may join as a Starter member and see if it’s suitable for you. The core training in WA focuses on affiliate marketing and an eCommerce company that’s growing in Africa is called Jumia. The Jumia affiliate program is something that you can be part of in your region.
Is this suitable for someone who lives in the U.K.?
Hi there Lola. Yes, it is. We have many friends from the UK within the WA community that you can get in touch with.
I am new to the online business world. But I have reached a point in life in where I am ready to get away from the 9-5 grind. I am interested to know more about this Wealthy Affiliate program.
Being new I do not yet know a lot. Is it suitable for a beginner like me? It is important to know because every time I turn around, I am struggling to learn the things I need to move in the direction I want to go.
You are not alone Brendon and I totally understand where you are coming from. Just so you know, I have zero experience too when I got started 3 years ago. WA is a good place for beginners to learn about building an online business because they will walk you through the concept of finding a niche, creating a WordPress website, writing content based on targeted keywords and ultimately driving traffic from the search engines. This is the most fundamental skill and if you can master it and do it repetitively, you wouldn’t be struggling as much as you would now. If you are still in doubt, connect with me from inside the training area and I would be more than happy to help you out.
Great review. I really like all the information you have here for the noobs. WordPress is a great place to build a website, and Wealthy Affiliate is an amazing platform with great support to help you through your journey. And yes, you can’t just leave a potential income website hanging out by its self. You must feed that fire gasoline every few days to see results.
This is an awesome review. I really like your site, too. Very unique look to it. In terms of Wealthy Affiliate, I know it has been around a very long time.
Do the methods still work? How much do you make from this blog? Do you only use what is taught to you on WA or did you have some previous knowledge?
Hey Kevin, the method taught by WA is nothing extraordinary. The training starts by teaching you organic traffic which is through blogging and social. As you advance, you’ll learn more about paid traffic such as ads. In regards to how much this blog makes, you can view a screen short in this page. I came in with complete zero knowledge about WordPress or online marketing. Wasn’t even good at writing anything more than 200 words, but the skills build up over time and I wasn’t going to give up because I don’t understand certain things.
If you have any problems moving forward with your online venture, just let me know.
Hi Cathy
I enjoyed reading your post. The beginning of your article connected with me and was all too familiar. I hated my job so much it drained me. When I started looking into “making money online” I fell for lots of traps. Tons of people are on the internet selling dreams that can’t be fulfilled without burning a whole in your wallet. When I found Wealthy Affiliate and signed up I was really impressed at how many things I had access to without a credit card. This would definitely be my number 1 recommendation.
Hello Cathy,
You’re absolutely right. I’m a Wealthy Affiliate member and I think it’s ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
I never saw such a fun and easy tool to work with and their community interaction is wonderful.
A small question: I know that the first month is at $19 and then it’s $49, but do you think it’s better to change to the yearly plan? or should I stick to the monthly plan?
Thank you for your help and for this great review.
Hey there.
I see it this way. If you all set to learn the skills needed build an online business and willing to commit time and effort, I think the yearly plan is a good deal. If you do the math, it only costs about about $1/day. For those who just want to try things out, the monthly plan might be better. It really depends on what type of goals you want to achieve through this training program.
Hope this helps.
Hi Cathy,
This is a great review of Wealthy Affiliate. You have really put a lot of effort into explaining – and showing with some great testimonials – all the benefits that both free and premium members can enjoy.
I have been a Premium member for nearly 18 months now and I am very happy to be part of the community. The training and support is excellent, and the WordPress hosting service is secure, reliable and easy to navigate.
After many years of going from pillar to post on the Internet, I feel as if I have found my home.
Hi Cathy
Your story is a great read, and I know that there are other great stories as well inside Wealthy Affiliate. I joined for free, and the first thing I actually did was read to read other people’s success blogs.
How inspiring they were, just like your story. I became a Premium member within 3 days, and have never regretted it. Still building my foundation at this stage though.
My journey began rather similar to yours. However thankfully, I was able to avoid spending any big money on programs. I entered a simple keyword into Google, “affiliate marketing” and clicked a link. Within 24 hours, I had devoured all the content given to you during the FREE trial. I was a Premium member the following day and I am glad I found Wealthy Affiliate.
I’m so glad to get to comment on this review. I’m almost done with my training and am excited to move on to Bootcamp. Your site has inspired me and I hope to get some good ideas for my platform. The idea of marketing WA seems pretty exciting.
Hi Cathy,
After many years of searching the net and trying get rich schemes, 4 years ago I have joined the WA. Never regretted, not for one moment although I didn’t make any big money yet (my fault, I was working 9 to 5 job, and never had time for my business).
Now that I have lost my job, I will definitely give myself in and I’m almost certain that I will make a living from an online business.
I too am a member of Wealthy affiliate and I could’t have said it any better. Wealthy affiliate is a great source of education and a community of caring helpful individuals looking for the same thing as I am, which is freedom.
The one question I would have for you is – do you have any suggestion for someone who has spent some time in Wealthy Affiliate but is starting to get discouraged because they are not seeing any financial change or feeling as though everybody in their network is more successful then they are?
Hey there buddy, I have been in that position before so I know very well what the feeling is like when you are not progressing like everyone else. There are two things that I would often do;
1) I walk away from the online routine to give myself some breather. Negativity is not a good friend to hang around when you are feeling stuck.
2) Work on the back end of things – brainstorm ideas, fix some posts, get some comments and etc – just maintaining the machine (you can’t go wrong with that) rather than shutting it down.
Failure is the process of learning and this is nothing new to me. In my day job, I’ve failed many times but I’ve never quit. My final tip would be, don’t compare with others. Just compare with what you do yesterday and do better today 🙂
Hope this helps.
Hi Cathy,
Very nice and inspiring story on why you chose Wealthy Affiliate. I do not regret my decision either. I’ve already learned a lot and building traffic for my site. It takes a lot of patience but I try to become better every time. It is nice to read stories like yours, because they motivate me to work harder.
Wealthy Affiliate is awesome. When I first joined I was really anticipating many of the same concerns you expressed. It doesn’t seem like there is any truly good help to become successful at internet marketing. So tried the free service. within a few days, I couldn’t hold back any longer. Then talked to a friend and he joined. I made my first $175 bucks.
This truly is a great system. Your overview is detailed and flawless.
Awesome review, Cathy.
You managed to hit all of the great points that make Wealthy Affiliate, the best online training platform there is anywhere I’ve looked. I loved how you wove all of those success stories into this review. This really is a little piece of heaven on earth. I’ve tried other programs but eventually ended up back at Wealthy Affiliate.
Is it your goal to make it to Vegas?
Yup, going to Vegas is definitely one of the things that I want to achieve 🙂 It would be a great inspiration to meet all the successful people there.
Hi Cathy,
I’ve been a member of Wealthy Affiliate for almost 3 years, and I can say that I’m very happy with the decision. The platform offers all in one facilities for people who are interested to start their own online business, whether it is affiliate marketing or selling their own products. The fundamentals that they teach really do work.
I’ve been a premium WA affiliate member for about a month now. So far I have learned a great deal about online marking and affiliate programs. I feel more educated on selling online and although I haven’t made any income while doing this, it’s been fun learning.
I look at it this way. You are paying for a great community who loves to engage and respond as well as have wonderful live training and lessons to be constantly learning.
I hope many more will realize that this is a great opportunity to learn about a whole new online business world and not some easy way to make money on the side.
Wealthy Affiliate’s training is all about creating a good foundation that would make online businesses thrive for the long term. So it’s definitely a very different program from all the others get-rich-quick or guarantee-success kind of packages. Their values are simple and straightforward – build a legitimate business, be serious about it and you’ll reap the reward for many years to come.
I’ve been a member of Wealthy Affiliate for almost four months now and it’s reassuring to hear stories like yours about not having any success until 6 months in. It really does get kind of discouraging sometimes putting in hours and hours of work on a website that hardly anyone sees and no money has been made.
Has Wealthy Affiliate been able to help you find more freedom to do the things that you enjoy doing since starting your own business?
Actually, WA has helped me become more focus on my goals. The freedom that I get right now is not the care-free kind of lifestyle (yet). It’s more towards having that motivation to do what I want to do now which is building a strong foundation for my online business. It’s just a matter of time before everything takes off, so I do encourage you to persevere Nate. If you need any help at all, feel free to get in touch with me within WA 🙂
I have been with Wealthy Affiliate for 4 months now and it is definitely the best support any bloggers could ask for. It showed me a path to freedom from the pre-established requirements of earning money as an adult. The results take long to show, but they grow tremendously as time goes by, it’s so worth it. It really feels like a postgrad course in marketing, but at the same time, offers a community and guaranteed interaction. Great review, I definitely recommend WA!
Oh yes Tami, I have contemplated joining more structural (and expensive) courses in online marketing, but was put off by the whole seriousness of the course – one way interaction, power point presentations, no forums for discussion. It’s not an ideal platform for me to learn as a working adult.
Through the free Starter membership in WA, I was able to appreciate what online community interaction is all about and it’s a very important tool if you are totally new to the world of internet marketing. It’s great to be able to ask someone something and have a feedback immediately. Even after two years in WA, I still get that same kind of positive response from the members.
That´s exactly what I meant, the program is so flexible and friendly I can´t even compare it to a traditional course! Cheers
You have definitely tap into a business opportunity with Wealthy Affiliate. I really like everything about your review on WA. You have stated on how anyone looking to start an online business at zero cost is possible through the training module and live training every Friday. Just a fun fun community to interact with on a daily basis. This really is an amazing opportunity.
The community within Wealthy Affiliate is unique in the sense that everyone is here to learn and to share something that they know. You not only find training from Kyle and Jay, but also a ton of useful resources from other experienced internet marketers who are active within the community.
You are absolutely right with your article about WA. I have only been a member for 2 months and I love it. I too tried other online marketing coaching but was left with nothing after spending hundreds of dollars.
There is nothing like WA on the web today. This forum is perfect for individuals who want to work from home and develop a online business. Thanks for the encouragement and best of luck to you in the future with your business.
Cathy,
Thanks for the very detailed review of Wealthy Affiliate. Similar to you, I have also searched very hard for a course on making money online until I found Wealthy Affiliate. I highly recommend them too. And yes, I also agree that the community support is awesome. I’ve learnt a lot from the Wealthy Affiliate members.
Hi Cathy,
That’s a very inspirational and motivational article for anyone who’s just starting out with their online entrepreneur journey. I can personally vouch for Wealthy Affiliate, the tools and trainings and remarkable. I don’t think any company in the industry works like Wealthy Affiliate does. WA provides everything you need to start an successful long-term online business, they only thing that’s preventing you from achieving success through WA is handwork and determination.
Hey,
I started my online business with wealthy affiliate too. I have not regretted my decision at all. The monthly payments are reasonable and they allow you to explore the community for free for a lifetime if you so choose. The premium training is more intense and yields more success so I am glad i upgraded.
All the best! I will be connecting with you on the inside. Always good to have a new connection.
Welcome to WA Crystal. Looking forward to see you in the training area too 🙂
Excellent article on Wealthy Affiliate. Just the fact that you have been a member since 2013 says that the business platform works and is not a scam.
I also read many great reviews such as this on the internet about Wealthy Affiliate and decided to give it a try about a year back. I have not looked back and watch with pride as my online business grows from strength to strength.
Hi there Michel, some people who have joined since 2005 are still with the WA training and their success stories are 10X more exciting than mine. It goes to show that anyone who’s willing to invest the time and effort, will eventually achieve their online goals.
I completely agree that freedom to do what we want is one of the most sough after things in life. Especially with something like photography, you definitely need free time to pursue this passion. Going to the places you want and spending the time required to get the right pictures.
Great review of WA! It really is a great program and I myself just started a month ago!
Hey Wing, welcome to Wealthy Affiliate. I hope you are already learning something from the training. If you need any help, just let me know.
Cathy, I just discovered your site. I’m with Wealthy Affiliate, too (that’s where I discovered the link to your site. I think that WA is the most complete course available to learn online marketing.
I’m glad that you mentioned in your blog that you have actually made income with WA. I think it would have been even better if you had mentioned that right at the beginning of your blog, and also how much you’re making now. People want to see that the system really works.
Hey there Mark.
Thanks for taking the time to check out my site. There are a lot of benefits of becoming a WA member and earning an online income is certainly one of them. But I am not in favor of showing people how much I am making because 1) Numbers can lie and 2) People tend to get the wrong idea if they see money from the very start. I would prefer them to sign up for the free trial and check out the program themselves. The system works, only if you have the right mindset to begin with.
Great post, Cathy. Wealthy Affiliate is a great place to with step-by-step training programs, courses, and tools as well. You explain it clear and precise in your post. I look forward to more posts from you about making money with an online business.
Your experience and well documented success revived my passion to become a successful blogger. I don’t just blog form money though. I want to make helpful content that will somehow make the world a better place. Thank you for sharing your path to success, you have given me a renewed level of motivation.
Hello Catherine!
This is not just informational but totally engaging and encouraging for someone who might be exploring the idea of having their own online business. It comes through loud and clear, and to me with compassion, that you have found something remarkable, something powerful, in Wealthy Affiliate.
I hope whoever comes here to your site and gets to reading this page will not just keep thinking about it, but take your recommendations and run with it. I got to this page from a link on another here in your site. Good job with inserting a reasonable and workable way to navigate here!
Linda
Thanks for your kind words, Linda.
This blog is my personal development in action; career, financial, family – whatever you want to call it. It’s something I see myself actively involved in the next few years to come, pursuing a better quality of life and having the freedom of time. I hope it will serve as a good guide to anyone who wants to pursue this path.
I appreciate how up front you are about everything. Very detailed. Thank you for not hiding any upgrade costs and mentioning there are no refunds. Being fully informed beforehand makes me go into a website with more trust and confidence.
Hi Matthew. I hope this review has given you some good insights to how Wealthy Affiliate works. It’s all about creating, sustaining and profiting from a legitimate web business. If you share the same goals, we look forward to having you join us at the training here at Wealthy Affiliate.
Awesome post! So very true when you say it all starts with an idea and to never give up. All is within us to success, we just need to believe. Thank you. 🙂
Fantastic website! I love all the inserted testimonials on WA that makes it look so professional and informative. If I wasn’t already a member it would make me want to join!
Great post Cathy!
This really explains what WA is. You took the time to detail its structure and it is so helpful for anyone considering starting an online business with Wealthy Affiliate. I highly recommend it!. The learning is very clear and the community is just great! I think I need to involve in it even more into my life to make the most out of it.
Nice to hear from you Andrea. Besides the actual training, I find that interacting with other WA members also helps me a great deal in understanding how to run an online business. You get to see the different side of things and help out one another.
Hey, Cathy.
The look and feel of your site is so organized. I have two WA website, too. The first is about Leadership/Management/Organizational Leadership. I also have a WA website. I want to share the knowledge I have to help inspire others to achieve their goals in life.
One of the great things I like about Wealthy Affiliates is the training gives people options to build niche sites on any passionate subject they wish to.
Absolutely true Susie. People are searching to buy all sorts of things on the internet these days so there’s a lot of niches and micro niches to monetize from. Regardless of what type of passion you have, the training at Wealthy Affiliate will walk you through the proper steps in identifying a profitable niche to start your own online business.
Excellent post that tells it like it is on Wealthy Affiliate. I’ve been doing online marketing for 4 years, but didn’t know all that I’m learning there and of course Affiliate Marketing is a whole new ball game but yeah, love the site and all that you have here about them is true! Great place to be!
You explain the benefits of Wealthy Affiliate very well. As a member of WA, I have to say your information is absolutely spot on! I really like your blog and the different tips you provide to help your readers become successful.
What a lovely article Cathy. You have clearly explain every possible reason a person who wants to generate income, only have to choose Wealthy Affiliate. The training and support it offers are absolutely amazing. – Hilda
Your so right about creating wealth online. Understanding is key, and the one thing that people lack of. Yes, I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate, and before this, I never understood how to create true wealth online. With the training they provided, I too have a fully functioning online business.
Cathy, I was a lot like you. I lost so much money over the years to scams, but I never quit on affiliate marketing. I also found Wealthy Affiliate and for the first time, had real success with earning money online. And the community support is the best. I agree with your post 100%.
Nice to hear from you Wendy. I have been in Wealthy Affiliate for more than half a year now and I am amazed at my own progress from knowing nothing to establishing a strong online presence. Every day, I get to know more like minded people (like you) and it feels like I am nearer to achieving my time and financial freedom.
Hi Cathy, great post and so true.
I am member of Wealthy Affiliate community and can only say good things. After spending some money on other programs that are more organized about getting leads, without any moving forward or learning anything I can say at WA, I build my own site with the help of training and community that is willing to share and help.
I also learned about SEO, marketing, social sharing etc. plus I met people from all over the world and started earning.
Yeah, Wealthy Affiliate has been around for so long I can’t believe it never showed up in any of my searches. I must be using the wrong keywords 🙂 I am glad I don’t have to search anymore and now, I can finally start building my own time and financial freedom – the legitimate way. Thank you for reading Milena.