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A Caveat and Affiliates

First off, a little caveat: within my articles you will find affiliate links, meaning if you buy them, I get a small commission. Your cost is not affected. In addition, I am an Amazon Associate and I earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon.

And yes, if I say that I recommend a product here, it means I truly believe it is a good product. I refuse to recommend any product that I have not researched and believe to be a good value.

Even better, I provide you with a very clear picture of the product, it’s use, and the probable value.

Earning your trust is important to me. I run this website myself and the commissions and donations help support the site.

Sound reasonable and fair enough? Let’s continue to the article.

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Contents

My Honest 5 Reasons You Should NOT Join Wealthy Affiliate

 

Honest Fact: I have been a member of Wealthy Affiliate since 2016. Obviously, I believe in the program or I would have opted out long ago. But I believe there are 5 reasons you should not join Wealthy Affiliate. That’s right, not even the free part.

I’m not trying to confuse you or anyone here. In fact, quite the opposite. I’d like you to consider all the facts, the pros, and the cons, before jumping in. After all, even the free option takes your time away from other parts of your life.

So let’s get on with the actual 5 reasons you should not join Wealthy Affiliate.

  • You need to make money from day one.
  • The monthly fees are impossible. You cannot afford the paid version at any time in the foreseeable future.
  • You don’t have access to a computer or even a tablet to use.
  • Time to devote to a website is impossible to budget. You can’t find a few hours each week.
  • Reading, writing, researching are all skills you detest and are certain you will not keep up with.

 

Let’s look at each one individually.

affilliate

 

You need to make money from day one.

Unfortunately, affiliate marketing is a business model, not a job. As such, you need to invest time and probably a small amount of money before you will actually make money. That’s just the honest truth.

Are there ways around that? Sure, if you get creative. I know people who use their other talents, such as writing content for others or creating images to make money to pay for expenses and keep afloat until their websites begin producing. While you are building your site, you are also building your skills to use with your own site and getting paid to do so.

 

 

What about the FREE version of Wealthy Affiliate?

That is not a scam. You can actually join for free (no credit card required!) and stay free forever. In your first week, you will have access to the first 10 lessons, live chat, and other features. It’s a pretty good example of what Wealthy Affiliate is all about.

However, if you are serious about making affiliate marketing work, I strongly suggest you take the early bird special and join as a premium member before the trial week is over. If you stay with the free membership, you have very limited access to the platform. Move up to premium and for $19 for the first month, you will have access to the entire premium platform.

NOTE: There is also a premium plus membership that is a bit more. For a starter member with money concerns, I would stay with the premium at first and get your site going. You can upgrade later when you are ready.

 

 

You cannot afford the paid version at any time in the foreseeable future.

As I explained in the previous section, the starter membership is a good way to see if Wealthy Affiliate is a good fit for you. And some members choose to stay with the free starter membership. I’m not sure how well they do. I haven’t seen any statistics or information regarding that.

But I explain to everyone who asks, I truly believe that for timely success, the premium membership is your best option. And for that, you need $19 the first month and $47 each month thereafter. Or, save some money with the yearly membership which currently costs $470/year. (That’s 2 months free if you pay for a year.)

Ok, the annual is a big bite for those just starting out. But when you look at the $47/month, that is actually not a huge amount for the average worker. Forego that lunch out (bring one from home) or the daily premium coffee stop and you have your membership fee.

However, for anyone already on a belt-tightened budget, if you cannot imagine having $47 per month, you might think twice about joining for now. At least understand that you will have limited access after your first free week.

 

 

You don’t have access to a computer or even a tablet to use.

And then, how would you actually build a website? I suppose it is possible to use your phone, though I cannot imagine the challenges that would bring.

Now, some people have access to library computers or a very accommodating friend. That would work for a temporary solution. But the truth is, you need to have a computer. I know some use their tablets. Not as challenging as the smartphone, but not easy, I’m sure.

For an inexpensive option, the smaller Chromebooks are quite easy to use. I found this one today on Amazon for about $200.

You can sometimes find them a bit less, too. Yes, I know $200 might seem like a month’s supply of food. Again, if you don’t have it and cannot borrow a computer to use, you might need to raise some money first.

 

 

 You can’t find a few hours each week.

Time might be premium in your life. If you have 4 kids and 3 jobs, you might not be able to find even 5 hours a week. I understand. But if you cannot find time to devote to the training and also to building your site, doing research, etc, you will not succeed.

Think of it like making bread. It takes time to mix the ingredients and allow the bread to rise. In fact, most types need 2 rises. Then they need to be baked before they can be enjoyed. Unless you are at the store in the bakery aisle, there is no 5-minute yeast bread.

Affiliate marketing is like that. You need to learn how to do the work and take the time to actually do it. That wonderful first bite will come, but not until the bread has risen and baked.

 

 

How can you make time?

I suppose most of us wish we could find a time creation machine. But the truth is, you have to decide to set aside the time needed. If you can and will do that, great. But if it is not possible in your life at the moment, then you might need to find another way to earn money. Or at least delay until you can set aside a few hours each week.

 

 

Reading, writing, researching are all skills you detest and are certain you will not keep up with.

Be honest here. If you won’t read through the lessons, research your keywords and topics, and write at least a couple of posts a week, affiliate marketing, using Wealthy Affiliate or any other program, might not be the best fit for you.

With Wealthy Affiliate, the technical portions can be learned and the online support is excellent. The lessons often include video clips to help explain the written portions, but you still need to read and follow through with each task. And researching topics, information, and keywords might take as long or longer than the actual writing of the posts.

My advice here is simple. Think about the actual work. In fact, take the free trial week and give it an honest effort with the lessons and tasks. Then consider whether that is something you can do week after week.

There will always be some tasks you like better than others. For instance, I love writing and researching. But I am not so fond of the social media aspects. I do them. But if that’s all there was to Wealthy Affiliate, I would not have joined.

The fact is, like any business, you will find that you like some facets more than others. Some restaurant owners prefer cooking to serving. And that’s ok. As long as you are either willing to do the parts, whether you like them or not, or can afford to outsource them, the system works.

 

 

5 Reasons I Suggest the Wealthy Affiliate Program

1. The lessons are done in small chunks, making learning a progressive, step-by-step process. The small bites include both written and video that guide you through the necessary tasks.

2. The Wealthy Affiliate Community is Fantastic! I actually believe it is second to none. When I have a question or need a little advice, I can post to either the “Ask a question” or for more immediate help, ask in the “Live Chat” section. For technical support, the Support Section has never let me down, either!

3. Members are encouraged to add information and training to the platform. That gives a wider range of information to draw from.

4. The training modules are being updated and added to. While some had been a bit stale, most were still quite relevant, and now, with the updates, even better.

5. Members support one another through comments, ideas, and general camaraderie. This includes commenting on each others’ websites and posts. I’ve found this to be incredibly helpful. But I also enjoy helping others in a similar fashion and have learned a great deal in doing so.

BONUS:

If you decide that Wealthy Affiliate is worth trying, join with my link and I will be your mentor and coach, too!  While I won’t claim to be available 24/7, I am on the platform frequently during the day and can also be reached via the private email option.

 

 

So, Should you Join or Not?

Only you can truly answer that.

However, I’d suggest considering that if you can tackle the 5 points above, you consider joining. At least consider the Free option. Try it for 7 days to see if it’s a good fit. In my opinion, Wealthy Affiliate has a lot to offer beginners and advanced affiliate marketers who can get past the 5 Reasons You Should NOT Join Wealthy Affiliate I’ve provided.

Have you tried the Wealthy Affiliate program? I’m interested in your experiences, too.

 

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reasons not to join wealthy affiliate