I don’t often write posts on this blog about a product or service I’m promoting. So this is an unusual post, at least in that respect!
However, since I write this blog for people who are involved with Internet Marketing, I felt it was worthwhile to bring to your attention a site that I’ve been a member of for more than 2 years now.
And, again, full disclosure: I’m also an affiliate for this site!
I joined Wealthy Affiliate 2 or 3 months after I started my Internet Marketing activities. At the time I was using Google Adwords (and only Adwords) as my means of driving traffic to the landing pages of products for which I was an affiliate.
In fact, I started in Internet Marketing by promoting Clickbank products via Google Adwords – possibly the toughest (and most expensive) way to start out on an Internet Marketing career!
Anyway, 2 or 3 months after starting out (and losing a lot of money!) I found Wealthy Affiliate – a membership site that was principally focused on teaching people how to use Google Adwords.
There were other tools and resources available as well, things like keyword research tools, Clickbank product analysis tools and a link cloaking tool. But the whole site was very much focused on exactly what I was trying to do: promote Clickbank products using Google Adwords.
They offered personal coaching and there was a pretty active forum, in which some well known and very successful marketers were very active.
As a result of the help and support I got through Wealthy Affiliate, I ended up creating my first profitable Google Adwords campaign.
That campaign ran successfully for some months and then Google implemented one of their algorithm changes and completely wiped it out. All my keywords went from around 10 – 12 US cents a click to US$10 per click.
I had already survived a couple of these Google Slaps, but this one completely wiped me out. I decided then and there that I would never again rely on a single source of traffic, especially when the rules of the game could be changed at the flick of a switch and put me out of business.
So I went off and learnt as much as I could about Social Network Marketing.
I also stopped being active in Wealthy Affiliate, since it was focused on PPC and, principally, Google Adwords. But I did maintain my membership.
Then, about 2 months ago, I re-visited WA out of curiosity. And I found it had grown and changed out of all recognition in the year or so I’d been away.
There’s still a strong focus on Pay Per Click (Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN Adcenter), but there’s also a lot of emphasis now on Social Network Marketing, Blogging, Email Marketing and Article Marketing.
But perhaps the biggest growth area is in the resources that are now available. You get Domain Names, Hosting, a WYSIWYG Website Builder, a Rapid Article Writer, a Link Cloaker, a Keyword Research tool, a Competition Spy tool, a Keyword Phrase builder and more.
The Learning Center (which was there before) is much larger now with online tutorials split into 3 categories: Junior (18 different tutorials), Intermediate (10 different tutorials) and Senior (5 different tutorials). These range in time from 1 to 3 hours each to complete.
And, of course, the personal coaching is still available as well as the forum, where members are very free with information and help.
So what do I like about Wealthy Affiliate?
The range of resources that you get now for your monthly subscription fee is so wide that I honestly can’t think of a better place for someone who’s just starting out in Internet Marketing to be.
You not only get all the basics you need to run an Internet Marketing business (domain names, hosting, website builder, etc) but you get all the tutorials, personal coaching and tools you need as well.
And for a heck of a lot less than if you bought them all separately.
What don’t I like about Wealthy Affiliate?
Not a lot, really. However, some of the resources do have their limitations.
For example, the number of email accounts you get, the storage available, the number of databases available and other hosting factors, are less than you’d get with most regular hosting providers today.
The WYSIWYG site builder, while perfect for people who are at Junior or Intermediate level, does not offer the same functionality as a full blown HTML editor like CoffeeCup does.
But heck – for people who are starting out you get everything you need (and I do mean everything) for what works out at less than $30 a month all in.
And it’s all in one place, so no need to go searching for and comparing hosting providers, or website builders and so on.
It’s the perfect one-stop-shop way to get started in Internet Marketing. And, if you decide it’s not for you, then you can simply cancel your membership and walk away.
Check out Wealthy Affiliate here.
Other Articles You Might Like:
{ 1 trackback }
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the info; I have been only using PPC myself for clickbank products, and like you say, it’s very difficult to make it work. I will certainly check this out.
My pleasure, Josh – I hope you find it useful!
Cheers,
Martin.
Great post, I just joined wealthy affiliate not too long ago and there are definitely lots of resources for someone who’s just starting out.
Hi Sheryl,
Thanks – and yes – Kyle and Carson have done a great job over the past year or so. I was very impressed when I checked back in a couple of months ago.
Cheers,
Martin.
Thanks Martin.
Makes me want to rethink my own service offering and packaged services for our customers.
e.
Eric, hi,
Yes – for people starting out I think it’s a great idea to have a totally comprehensive one-stop-shop support service.
I remember when I first started out – I didn’t even know half the things I needed to get hold of..!
To get everything in one place allows newbies to get going with everything covered. Once they know the ropes they can branch out and find more powerful tools to fit their specific strategies.
Cheers,
Martin.
I am a new marketer and was extremely excited to find Wealthy Affiliate. I am, however, a bit disappointed in it. If you run it on Explorer, it crashes and hangs up A LOT, so you really need to use Firefox. Also, there are very few step-by-step instructions for us newbies. I tried to install the WP option on my site (which is being hosted by WP) and ended up almost in tears. The instructions are written for someone that knows more than I do. FOR EXAMPLE: The tutorials are not listed in order and it wasn’t mentioned that an FTP client is helpful. SO….when the instructor was talking about switching to the “client” I had no CLUE what he was talking about.
I think it’s worth the money for some of the resources but there is still a LOT to be desired.
Sherry, hi,
Yes – I agree with a lot of what you say. I wrote a more recent review of Wealthy Affiliate Platinum in which I made the point that the 1-click installation of WordPress they offer is for version 2.0 – archaic in WordPress terms!
I think the real benefit is to be found in the forums. There are a number of experienced people who spend a lot of time helping others out, so if you have a question about something I really would suggest hopping over there.
One of the recent updates I saw from Kyle (or Carson, don’t remember which!) said they were aware that the content had slipped over the past year as they concentrated on getting the new platform in place. But now that WA Platinum is up and running they were going to focus on getting it tidied up and organised more effectively.
I guess all we can do is wait and see.
Again – I do encourage you to use the forums. There are some very experienced hands there who are very generous with their time and knowledge.
Cheers,
Martin.