“How Can I Make Money Online?”
This is a very common internet search, especially in the last few years when prices seem to continually go up, but wages are not following that upward trend! People are searching for a way to make ends meet, or maybe to pay for the little extras that working a 9-5 job does not cover!
Building an online business can seem very overwhelming to someone like me, who is not very internet savy. This is where Wealthy Affiliate excels, especially in 2024!
Wealthy Affiliate does not promise you that you will get rich with just a few clicks. It does provide a platform that is committed to helping anyone grow their online business from the ground up. With easy to follow training, and the right “tools” and continuous support throughout the entire process, you can succeed too.
Why I Started With Wealthy Affiliate
I have been with Wealthy Affiliate for over 6 years, and everything I talk about below is why I have stayed, and why I recommend Wealthy Affiliate to others.
The appeal of WA for entrepreneurs is that you will always have access to everything you need to create and grow your business all in one place! While some people already have some knowledge about creating an online business and are just looking for extra support and ideas, others (like myself) need to have the entire process laid out step by step. The beauty of it is that WA supports all types of entrepreneurs no matter what starting point they are at.
In this article I will talk about when and why WA started, what the platform looks like today, and what sets Wealthy Affiliate apart from other platforms in the online business world.
Founders & History: The Story of Wealthy Affiliate
Wealthy Affiliate was started in 2005 by Kyle Loudoun and Carson Lim. Kyle and Carson were having success in the world of affiliate marketing, and decided to use their knowledge to help others succeed with what they knew worked. Especially back then, building an online business was very complex, and there was not a lot of help out there for people interested in learning the “how to’s”.
So in 2005, WA started out as a list of keywords and some tutorials on how to build an online business properly. For these features, the cost of WA was $359/year.
People were very happy with this service, and with the keywords and tutorials, were finally succeeding in their businesses!
But that didn’t stop Kyle and Carson from always striving to do better. Over the last 18 years, they have continued to grow what started out as a keyword list and tutorials, into what it looks like today: an all-inclusive, full fledged online business platform.
I am sure this is a big reason why WA is leading this industry. They never stay at “good enough”. They provide comprehensive training on what works, what people are looking for AND they are not constantly upselling!
Keep reading for everything you need to know about Wealthy Affiliate.
A Comprehensive Look at Wealthy Affiliate’s Platform
You have an idea, you have the desire and motivation to succeed, you just need a little help putting it all together. You do not need to search all over the internet for help….WA has everything you need in one place, with simple 4 step system.
STEP 1: Choosing a niche that is profitable. Realistically, ALL niches are profitable. Choose what makes you excited, what you are interested in or a hobby, and turn it into a profitable online business! During the initial sign up process, the Business Hubs Wizard is going to help you narrow down your niche, and then is going to provide step by step training on how to build your business.
STEP 2: Building your website. Your website is the bedrock of your business. Your website is how people will find you, read your content, buy from you, and be able to communicate with you. This can all be done within the Hubs Wizard. Within 5 minutes, you can be on your way with your niche, your website and ultimately your brand!
STEP 3: Create content that brings traffic (attention) to your site. This is where You are going to be building out your website and creating content that is helpful and useful to others, and then getting the content indexed or ranked by online search engines such as Google.
And if you are concerned with “creating” content, this process is simplified by using Wealthy Affiliates AI Article Designer….this takes many hours off of the process of creating great content!
STEP 4: Monetizing your website (The part your REALLY here for). Up until now you were probably thinking – OK, lets get to the part where I make money!! Because no matter how much you love your business, at the core, you need to make money.
Once you have learned how to drive traffic to your website, there are many, many ways to make money from it. And with the help of Wealthy Affiliate, you can look into what works best for you. Just through the WA platform, there are over 10,000 affiliate opportunities you can look at, and join the ones that work for you and your business. But overall, there are over 550 MILLION products or services that you could promote on your website and be an affiliate for… the opportunities are endless!
Starting out with the initial training here at WA is a simple process. This is helpful so no matter what level you are at in your knowledge, you will not be overwhelmed. This opportunity is for EVERYONE, even if you are arriving here with absolutely no experience in the online business world.
You will never be left hanging, not knowing what to do next. The video tutorials are step by step, there is a community forum where you can ask questions and get pointed in the right direction, and you will never feel like you are not supported. You will even be supported by the owners… I remember Kyle sending me an email with an offer to help in the beginning. It made me trust WA even more, because it wasn’t some faceless bot, but real people!
But I understand if you are hesitant, because there are so many scams out there, promising you wealth and prosperity if you just buy “this water system” or “virtual gold” etc.
That is why I recommend trying Wealthy Affiliate for FREE (NO CREDIT CARD REQURED). Everything can sound great, but you don’t know if its right for you until you can get a feel for what it’s going to look like!
Let me go over Wealthy Affiliates Membership Tiers, the benefits, limitations and value of each, and then you can decide for yourself.
Exploring Membership Tiers: Options and Opportunities
Starter Membership Price: FREE
When you are ready to start with Wealthy Affiliate, the beginning process is completely free. You will go to the website, create a “starter” account, which will take you to the Business Hubs Wizard. This will initiate your fist steps:
- Introduce you to the platform.
- Help you choose a niche.
- Help you choose your initial brand.
- Help you build your first website.
- Show you the back office of Wealthy Affiliate with your Business Hub.
Five things, but they will literally only take minutes. Don’t spend a lot of time choosing your first niche. You can change it later on and you will likely have lots of ideas down the road,….your first one doesn’t have to be perfect!
This is trying out this online business world before fully committing. You can build a website, access the initial core training, try out the business hub, and just get a feel for what Wealthy Affiliate is all about!
This is what you get with the FREE Starter membership:
- Basic features and core training.
- One website and one limited business hub.
- Limited access to research, writing, and AI tools.
- 300 Bonus Word Credits (3 article outlines)
Plus, the AI tech at WA is going to make niche, brand, and website suggestions. So have fun with it, and if AI suggests something that jumps out at you, go ahead and try it out!
If you want to own your own business, work from anywhere in the world, at the hours of your own choosing, you have nothing to lose. Check it out today!
Premium Membership
Price: $49/month or $497/ year
If you are ready to commit to your business and live your life on your terms in regard to time and finances, then the Premium Membership is the most cost efficient price option.
When you sign up for the Premium Membership, you will immediately get access to exclusive community features, the full core training, and the ability to create 3 potential online businesses.
There are also weekly classes with the top marketers in the world and access to the Jaaxy Lite research tool, which I use all the time!! Oh, and 1500 word credits per month, which gives you 15 article outlines! I personally have used this, especially on those days where you want to put out content, but the brain isn’t firing with all cylinders.
Here is a breakdown of some of the key features offered within the Premium membership.
- Advanced features, hosting, and training.
- 3 websites and 3 business hubs.
- One expert class per week.
- 1,500 Word Credits Per Month (15 article outlines)
- Jaaxy Lite for research.
- Access to all AI platforms.
- Exclusive community and support access.
Premium Plus+ Membership
Price: $99 monthly or $697/year
When you have achieved success at the premium level, then it might be time to think about “leveling up”!
Premium Plus gives you access to many services used by the most successful marketers in the world. With Premium Plus you will be able to build up to 10 websites with 4-5 expert classes weekly! And you will also have access to the Jaaxy Enterprise research tool, which is incredibly efficient. It will save you hours of online research. This membership cost just over a few dollars a day and is the most popular membership with Wealthy Affiliate! Plus you get the highest level of support and access to the most elite tools available.
Oh, and double the word credit, so you will get 30 article outlines with the Wealthy Affiliate AI Article Designer! (Can you tell yet that I love the AI with WA? I love writing, but its like writing prompts, so I don’t have to think quite as hard….)
Here is what you get with the Premium Plus+ membership:
- Extensive features, tools, and highest level of support.
- 10 websites and 10 business hubs.
- 4-5 expert classes per week.
- 3,000 Word Credits Per Month (30 article outlines)
- Exclusive community and support access.
- Advanced training resources.
- Jaaxy Enterprise for advanced research.
- Access to all AI platforms and first access to BETA platforms.
Unique Selling Points: What Sets Wealthy Affiliate Apart
So why choose Wealthy Affiliate to help you build and streamline your online business?
- Business Hubs (AI). This your command center. I was always hesitant about AI, but here, you control every aspect of your online business. You can fine tune your website, have access to the best niche and keyword research, and have help structuring and organizing your website topics. It’s the efficiency every online entrepreneur dreams of. It is driven by the latest technology and Artificial Intelligence. Research and building out your online businesses has never been done with this efficiency and speed, and done well.
- The Article Designer (AI). I have mentioned the AI Article Designer a few times now. This is the key to unlocking seamless, SEO-friendly article outlines almost instantly. If you are like me, busy with family and life stuff, or just not someone that easily comes up with content, WA Article Designer is going to streamline the research and content structure process. What used to take hours to get your content ready to write…is now done in seconds.
- Expert Classes. Weekly classes with some of the world’s leading authorities within the online business world are available with WA. Each session is full of insights, strategies, and the latest information designed to keep you ahead of your competition. These classes offer insight on everything from Search Engine Optimization (SEO), to Youtube, Social Media Marketing, E-Commerce and Paid Advertising Strategies. There is also 100’s of hours of past classes available to you to watch at your convenience.
- Site Content Writing Platform (AI). This platform has been specifically designed to simplify, and to speed up your writing and content creation. The built in features help you streamline the publication process directly to your website, and all without needing to know coding! In Site Content, you can organize and manage your content, which will help you be more efficient.
- Website & Managed WordPress Hosting. It is very important that you are getting the best possible service for your website, as it is your website that is the foundation of your business. That is why Wealthy Affiliate provides the latest and best website and hosting services around. They are committed to reliability, speed and security, ensuring your business foundation, which is your website, is solid.
- Affiliate Opportunities. Maybe you are unsure of where to find affiliate opportunities. With a Premium or Premium Plus Membership, you will have access to Wealthy Affiliates huge database of over 10,000 of the worlds top affiliate programs. These affiliate programs were chosen for their profitability, commission structure, location and quality.
Wealthy Affiliate Unboxed: Weighing the Pros and Cons
There are Pros and Cons to any large company, and sometimes its easy to shine the light on the Pros and keep the Cons in the dark. But if the cons are kept in the dark, they won’t have the opportunity to be turned into pros!
Pros:
- Wealthy Affiliate has been around for over 18 years, and is the most comprehensive platform in the industry
- Technology and training are the most up to date available.
- The training, classes and community support are second to none.
- Great community support and active success stories.
- Exceptional affiliate incentives, State of the art tools and Hosting services.
Cons:
- All of the features and training services can be overwhelming for people when initially signing up. I know that was the case with me!! But,
- Wealthy Affiliate just updated their core training that is now in the Hubs platform, which is where you are creating your business. I have been with WA for 4 years, but went back and did more training for my website, and found it SO much more user friendly! So, hardly even a con anymore!
- Sometimes when platforms change, the training can get outdated.
- But again, WA has been working on a solution for this and have initiated a policy that no training can be more than 10 days outdated before deleting it or replacing it.
So no, Wealthy Affiliate isn’t perfect (shocker, I know). But what I love is that they are always striving towards that goal.
They take community feedback, criticism, and suggestions, and turn that into weekly updates, bug fixes, new training and new platforms!
And they take pride in being the most progressive and innovative platform in this space.
So, is Wealthy Affiliate Right for You?
Try it and find out!
With the free Starter Membership you really have nothing to lose. You will not be asked for a credit card number so you will not have to remember to cancel anything.
If you try it and find that it isn’t the right fit for you, then you move on, nothing gained nothing lost.
That is the only reason I created a starter account 6 years ago. I was tired of “Money Back Guarantee” because I never went through the process of trying to get my money back for a product that wasn’t right for me!
I wanted to try it with no commitment, I wanted to get a taste of the online business world, without having to pay.
I knew within a few days that Wealthy Affiliate was right for me, I signed up for a Premium Membership and I haven’t looked back.
I am confident you will feel the same way!