Should I Stay Or Should I Go – Wealthy Affiliate

Digital Matrix Cafe General Chat
1

My Wealthy Affiliate membership is due for renewal at the end of the month, I am wondering whether I should stay or should I go.

Before I say any more, this is not meant to be a post that is running down Wealthy Affiliate, as I have enjoyed my time there, which is coming up for ten years. I know that things change quickly in this day and age, but at the same time, it’s important to be honest and, if we make mistakes, to own up to them.

I joined Wealthy Affiliate back in November 2014, I was already making money online and really liked the idea of being around like-minded people and having up-to-date training. Prior to that, I was on the smaller Internet marketing training platform, which was great, but it was a much smaller and the owner seemed to stop adding training. The name of the owner was Chris Farrell; it was a genuine platform. So, I then decided to move to Wealthy Affiliate. At one point, I was a member of both platforms, but that was far too much.

When I first started researching Internet marketing, I started out the hard way. I had no one to help me, no one to turn to and I didn’t really know what was right or wrong when it came to Internet marketing. However, I could see the power of the Internet and I knew that I had to take advantage of this great invention.

It was when I had my first broadband connection that changed everything for me. Prior to having broadband and using dial-up was just painful, but broadband changed the face of the Internet and literally opened up endless opportunities. Unfortunately, I brought into lots of scam products, but some of them did help me learn something! However, I do like the idea of being on a platform like Wealthy Affiliate that has all the training in one place, etc.

Something that I have appreciated about Wealthy Affiliate is the genuineness and the friendliness of the platform. It has been great to read over the years member’s success stories and also to help and encourage members.

I generally start my day by looking and commenting at a few Wealthy Affiliate blog posts over a cup of coffee, which helps me wake up and gets me going in the morning. However, I am commenting on less and less blog posts now because many of the blog posts are AI posts, which are pointless. And for some reason, some people like to put their Facebook type posts onto an Internet marketing forum, which, in my opinion, most of the time, shouldn’t be there. There is literally very little to comment about now.

I used to really enjoy reading the regular success stories and wins on Wealthy Affiliate, but it’s not really happening now. It was also good to be able to encourage people who were perhaps struggling and helping them to move forward. But what’s the point of responding to an AI post.

I find it absolutely incredible that members will write, “fantastic and informative post” or something similar when it’s just a load of AI drivel! Can people not see that so much content on the platform is AI, or is it just me?

However, sadly it appears that the platform is going downhill, which I believe a lot of this stems from members using AI to write blog posts on Wealthy Affiliate and their own personal blogs.

I have tried to mention this to Kyle in a polite way on many occasions, and he agrees with me, but they still keep encouraging members to use the AI writer. Now, I appreciate that with the AI training on Wealthy Affiliate, they tell members to make it their own. However, and it’s what I expected, members do not make the content their own; changing a couple of words and adding a photograph doesn’t make it your own content.

A couple of months ago, I wrote this blog post entitled, “Are you really feeling the benefits of AI” you can see the blog post below. All of my blog posts at Wealthy Affiliate enter the top ten, however, this post did not get into the top ten as I’m guessing it didn’t suit the narrative.

I have a Google alert set up for “Wealthy Affiliate” and “Wealthy Affiliate Review”. I’m probably guessing that I set up this alert when I first started with Wealthy Affiliate to get an idea to see what other members were writing for their review. Just recently I have started to take more notice of these alerts.

I find it absolutely amazing that 95% of the Wealthy Affiliate reviews are just blatant AI content, which will never rank very highly in Google, as everyone’s review is almost identical! A review should be something that is based on something that you have genuinely reviewed and had experience with. Just like members used to write before we had AI on the Wealthy Affiliate platform.

I have questioned a few members about their AI content, but they are adamant that they make it their own! Sadly, for many members, their Wealthy Affiliate experience is going to end in tears and wasted time, just because no one told them the truth about the AI writer.

I don’t know how many Wealthy Affiliate reviews are written each day, but I’m guessing quite a few. I believe I heard about 30 a day from someone, but with 95% of reviews being almost identical, it won’t end well. I could go on, but I won’t.

Recently, I looked at a member's blog post as they were asking for comments. I don’t actually give comments, but I just took a look. The blog post was blatant AI content; 80% of the comments were blatant AI content and the comments on the comments were blatant AI content! Unbelievable!! Seriously, is anyone going to read that rubbish?



Now To The Positive Side Of Wealthy Affiliate!



I really like to communicate with like-minded people on the platform, although there seem to be fewer and fewer like-minded people. Another thing that I really like is having good quality training in front of me. So, for example, I might want to know how to do something within WordPress, or something else Internet marketing related. It’s useful to be able to watch the training at any time.

Vitaliy is also creating some quite honest training videos, which I believe are based on his genuine experience, having been hit big time by the Google update.



To Conclude



Internet marketing is a big subject and we can all make mistakes however experienced we are. I believe it’s good to be able to stand up and say that we got this wrong, as that to me, gives genuine credibility to a website. I sometimes listen to “Income Schools” YouTube videos, even though I have never been a member of their platform. I have often heard the two owners, although I think it’s only one now, stand up and say, “We actually got this wrong”! I admire them for being man enough to stand up for the truth when they got it wrong.

Despite saying the above, I genuinely like the Wealthy Affiliate platform and will probably try it for another year. I just wondered what other people think and are there similar alternatives?

Just regarding the hubs, I will sometimes build a website on Wealthy Affiliate, but I don’t really use the hub feature. If I’m going to grow a website, I then move it to my dedicated server. I must admit that the Wealthy Affiliate writer, which I believe is called “Site Writer” that came out several years ago, (well before the AI writer) never ever worked for me, it was a total waste of time. It appears to work for some people and not others.

Sorry, this post is a bit longer than I expected, but any thoughts are appreciated, please.

Thank you for reading.

Roy

2

[quote data-userid="47" data-postid="2002086"]

Despite saying the above, I genuinely like the Wealthy Affiliate platform and will probably try it for another year.

[/quote]

Hi Roy,

I read your post and it really struck a chord with me. It resonated in a way that was both eye-opening and a bit challenging but in a good way. Like you, I've been a long time member (since January 2016 so almost 9 years) and I have truly enjoyed being part of the platform for most of the time.

However, for the past year and half or so, I've come to view it primarily as an income source, as I still have referrals, but I am not gaining much new knowledge from the training they provide.

Since the Google update, everything went in a downward spiral. I used to get 10,000 - 15,000 visits per month, nowadays, it's really NOT that high (without going into details 😉)

I must admit that I failed to do anything about it for the longest time and only started to get back in this new game a couple of months ago. I just kind of said to myself f**k it!

The only reason I'm still in the top 200 at WA is because of some new referrals (coming from Bing) or to answer questions from my referrals.

[quote data-userid="47" data-postid="2002086"]

And for some reason, some people like to put their Facebook type posts onto an Internet marketing forum, which, in my opinion, most of the time, shouldn’t be there.

[/quote]

There is the main part I hate about the blog! A lot of members use it as their Facebook page! There is nothing more frustrating to me than opening the platform and seeing useless stories about their dogs and cat and the weather (God bless his soul he's not there anymore)

[quote data-userid="47" data-postid="2002086"]

I must admit that the Wealthy Affiliate writer, which I believe is called “Site Writer” that came out several years ago, (well before the AI writer) never ever worked for me, it was a total waste of time. It appears to work for some people and not others.

[/quote]

That writer has never worked for me either. I never used it! I find it cumbersome and really not user friendly. Plus, the fact that it posts directly into WordPress using the classic version and not the blocks just doesn't work for me either.

With all that being said, I will probably renew for another year to keep those monthly recurring amounts (My subscription renews in March) and I have time to decide if I keep my premium plus membership or downgrade back to regular premium. We'll see how things goes in the next 4 months.

On a positive note, because of ChatGPT and Co-Pilot, my Bing traffic has increased quite a bit lately. But it's definitely NOT the same landscape as it was back before March 2023.


Have a great Day Roy!

Denis

3

Hey Roy,

I am in a quandary, as well, what to do about leaving WA.

After some deliberation, I have narrowed my 8 or 9 websites down to 5, and will be moving them to WPX. The other sites I have are on hiatus, what I learn with these few websites, I will use with the other remaining websites.

That means, I will renew WA (end of this month as well, 5 years in) only for the sake of the hosting. After this year, I will either delete or move those websites to a different host.

Fortunately, none of my websites were affected by the google dump, only because they weren't as visible then, so I'm gaining on that day by day.

And, I remember Chris Farrell, Roy....build a website by 3:15....grin, I still have that download...lol.

Rudy

4

I was looking into creating a membership for something several months ago, and something that some training I was taking said stuck with me - basically what it said was that when you create a monthly membership, you want to create it in such a way where your members come away saying "I got XYZ (success) through that membership".

And Wealthy Affiliate has done just that to most of us.

Think about it - ever since you start, everything is geared towards those 'small' wins - setting up your site, (and blogging about it), getting indexed, ranking, making your first (pennies) commission. All of that is celebrated on the platform.

But more importantly, most members come away with thinking that their 'success' came through being a member at Wealthy Affiliate.

I feel like that's what happened to me for most of these years ("where else can I find a better community, better hosting, better support, better training?"). I thought most of my success came through WA.

In reality, everything that I've actually done that was successful in my business was not from WA but from things I either personally did, or learned from other people.

I guess I just feel like some times people stick with WA because they think they've found success with them (and only them) - I'm not saying that is what you're doing, but just feel like it needs to be said for anyone reading this who is.

I'm personally leaving in about 2 weeks or so from now (whenever my subscription ends). The main reason I'm leaving is because I finally moved my sites over to different hosting and now have no need for WA (that was the main reason I stayed with them).

But more importantly, I also leaving because, well, their training sucks (for lack of a better phrase). Look, I never want to have people think that I'm coming here bashing WA, but most of you reading this know everything that I'm about to say is true (and so, from that point of view, I'm just trying to state the facts):

Last year, Kyle ran a PPC class to help people get to Vegas. You know how many people (out of the 20-50 people who joined his classes) made it to Vegas? Not. A. Single. Person.

When the Google Algo updates of 2023 were going on, every 'Super' affiliate at WA just said "well, just keep following the training, and posting your articles, and you'll come out on top at some point." Many tried that, and they didn't see any uptick in traffic.

Jay has tried to teach on Pinterest and Facebook marketing - most of what he said is 'okay', as in it will get you started in the right direction. But, honestly (speaking from someone who manages two Pinterest accounts that get millions of impressions each month, and two FB groups that are over 750K members in each of them), none of what he talked about really gave insight into how to maximize on your pin strategies or how to grow a FB group (which btw, he seems to think a FB page is better than a FB group, even though 9 times out of 10 most FB marketers have success with a group over a page).

(Oh, and let's not forget that Jay is also the one who told everyone that you could directly download images from Amazon and then directly upload them onto your site - I did write a response to that as to why that is incorrect, and even Kyle commented on my post saying that I was correct... LOL).

I really think the main reason I'm leaving though is because of the lack of transparency in their business. They can't seem to own up to any of their mistakes or have to brush things under the rug.

You've seen it - Partha, Diane have seen it - they'll immediately remove posts that even question WA authority. They'll write-ban people they don't like, all while pushing the same thing every week "Our platform is the most advance platform, the most advanced hosting, the most advanced AI writer, and in the coming weeks it's all going to be more advanced and better".

I could go on with a few other things that they do, but that'll then start getting a little more biased. But suffice it to say, if there isn't a need to stick around, then I personally wouldn't. But that's just my two cents.

5

Hi Andy,

I already had a couple of websites, one was an e-commerce site, when I joined WA.

I came to WA to learn how to MONETIZE my websites.

So, I was really disappointed in their 3 yr old training, as I progressed through.

Not WA bashing, just stating facts, as they were for me.

I had come away from a book selling venture that cost me financially, yet provided a few lessons I needed, when trying to sell books online through AMAZON.

That's when I came upon a video by (a no longer active) WA member who explained that the training will show you how... thats debatable..

Hey, Andy, I LOVED your post about Jay's video on using Amazon pictures.

I was so surprised that he would tell people that it's okay to take the Amazon pics and use them yourself.

Anyway, I will need some help transferring my websites to WPX. My other sites I will move to A2.

I don't need anything more from WA.

Rudy

6

@andy exactly all of that. Did you know that Jay told me to ‘not bother’ with FB groups? Imagine I’d followed his advise :roll_eyes:

7

I left WA for more than a year ago and moved what I had over to WPX or back to One. It was the best choice I have made since I started fiddling around with blogs and affiliate marketing.

For me it was pure relief to leave WA even if it meant to «leave» people I cared about and consider as a part of my network.

WA basically killed my interest for blogging and online marketing

I know this is not any advice that I am giving you Roy, but if you are considering leaving WA for another hosting provider, it is probably because yoúre not quite happy with WA.

If that is the case go for it, and I would highly recommend WPX as others do. They are great, and their hosting has never giving me any surprises or worries.

Currently my sites are in maintenance mode as I am changing several things around at the same time related to my online efforts.

Good luck no matter what you choose Roy.

8

@deebee150 Thank you for your feedback, Denis, it’s appreciated.

Wealthy Affiliate seems to have cut back on the training a bit, it appears. I used to open Wealthy Affiliate on a Monday morning and there were often five or six or even seven classes to subscribe to, but now it’s just normally 1 or 2 classes. However, some successful members are creating some short training videos which are quite good, I believe.

It does appear that so many of us have lost traffic due to the Google updates. That’s good that you can help your referrals, Denis. It doesn’t take much to have a high ranking at Wealthy Affiliate now, as I don’t think anywhere near the number of people are blogging regularly on the platform.

I’m glad that I’m not the only one who finds off-topic posts rather annoying, it kind of defeats the object of the platform.

I don’t understand the technicalities enough, but I find it amazing how the writer works for some people and not others. Like you, Denis, it was just a waste of time.

I think I will probably subscribe for another year and see what happens. It is handy to have somewhere to host a new website and have regular training and mix with like-minded people. Like I said, I don’t want to run down Wealthy Affiliate, as I know they have helped many people over the years, but it just lost that edge at the moment. Let’s hope things improve.

It’s good that your traffic is starting to increase again. I hope that it continues to increase. I believe that Vitaliy is making some short training videos about gaining traffic, as I know he lost a massive load of traffic on his website, unfortunately. I believe the training is genuine.

All the best to you, Denis.

Roy

9

@rudy Hello Rudy,

I think there are probably quite a few people who feel the same about Wealthy Affiliate, unfortunately, Rudy.

The WPX hosting sounds good, from what I understand.

I must admit that I don’t think Wealthy Affiliate is expensive for what we get, which is why I am willing to try another year. I guess you are thinking along the same lines, Rudy.

I really like Chris Farrell, Rudy, he was a great teacher and his videos were really upbeat and easy to listen to. I purchased a course from Chris about a year ago, which is all about crypto, which is something I’m learning about. I find his information very trustworthy and down-to-earth.

All the best.

Roy

10

@andy Hello Andy,

Thank you for your response, Andy; I appreciate your input.

I must admit, it does make a lot of sense what you are saying regarding everyone having success on Wealthy Affiliate. I think sometimes we are just led to believe it is perfect, when, like everything else, nothing is perfect! I was making money online before I arrived at Wealthy Affiliate, but I also have a very knowledgeable Webmaster; he’s probably a bit like Partha, to be fair! So, in other words, I wasn’t starting from scratch when I joined the platform.

That’s interesting about the PPC class, I appreciate that PPC is quite deep and I believe there is quite a learning curve. Fortunately, my Webmaster deals with my Google ads, I think if you don’t know what you are doing, you can quickly run up a large bill. That’s not a good advert for Kyle’s class!

I think this is one of the disappointing things, Andy, is that we all make mistakes, but it’s important to own our mistakes rather than just brushing them under the table! Things change quickly in the Internet marketing world and also sometimes, what works for one person’s business may not work for another, depending on what their niche is.

I’m thinking about staying for another year as it’s not silly money, but let’s see what happens.

Have a great day.

Roy

11

@roy Hello Roy,

Thank you for taking the time to read my question, it’s appreciated.

That’s hard to believe that you left Wealthy Affiliate a year ago; that’s gone quickly!

I know where you’re coming from, Roy; you have probably made some very good connections within the Wealthy Affiliate community. Why did Wealthy Affiliate kill your interest for blogging and online marketing? Were you spending too long on the platform and getting sidetracked or demotivated?

I would have definitely thought about WPX hosting, however, I already have a dedicated server, which I’m happy with at the moment.

In fairness to Wealthy Affiliate, the platform offers reasonable value for money. I do know that it’s not perfect, but I will probably carry on for another 12 months.

All the best to you.

Roy

12

@RoyBretton -

Hey, Roy, I can't believe it's been a year since you left, lol. My how time flies.

I had considered to stay one more year, then changed my mind. The price was right for my grandfathered Premium membership, yet I moved 4 websites to WPX, and am looking at options for the other domains/websites. I am deciding on which plan from A2 to use.

Note: if anyone has any suggestions about which A2 plan to use, please comment.

I already have a few domains at IONOS, and am thinking about moving/parking them there.

Rudy

13

@rudy I think you are replying to the wrong Roy, Rudy!

14

@RoyBretton -

AHA! You're correct! Sorry about that! {blue}:shocked:

Is Chris Farrell still active?

Rudy

15

@rudy That’s no problem at all, Rudy! It’s not that common to get two Roy’s on the same thread!

He is indeed still active, but not on the actual Chris Farrell membership site, I think that’s been gone several years. He has something now called Project reinvent yourself, which I thought I may try just for a month and see what it’s like. He has a very good way of teaching people and explaining things.

Once again this isn’t to undermine Wealthy Affiliate, but I preferred Chris’s membership site to Wealthy Affiliate. However, Wealthy Affiliate has loads more training. The only reason I went to Wealthy Affiliate was because Chris stopped adding regular training, I guess there was a genuine reason why. Also he was doing a lot of the stuff on his own, so that takes quite a bit of doing, but I believe he was highly successful in that time period. It was also a very genuine training platform.

16

@RoyBretton

Hi Roy

I found WA when I was looking for a way to augment my guitar-playing hobby with an online presence. I was still working full-time as a physician when I joined WA and making quite a bit of money, so online marketing was never meant to be a replacement income.

I'm now semi-retired and will fully retire in 2025. I play guitar for at least two to three hours a day and devote another two hours daily to maintaining a musical presence online. Since this is a hobby, I'm beginning to think that I'd be better off sticking to guitar sites on social platforms.

That would drastically simplify things for me: I would not have to deal with WA, websites, WordPress, hosting, themes, plugins, SEO concerns, etc.

I'll probably stick with WA for one more year while I figure it all out. What's good about WA is that it gave me the background I need to go in any direction I want. For example, I could start a Facebook guitar group and move all the guitar-based blogs I write on WA to that platform.

At 70 years old, it's time to enjoy life to the max with my family, friends, and music.

Frank 🎸

17

@frank and @RoyBetton,

Hey Guys,

I left WA about a week ago. I moved my domain out and placed it at another registrar; now, it's being hosted at another web server.

I wrote a goodbye post last week, but within 15 minutes after posting, my content was removed by K. He censored my content by saying, "No one needs to see this." If I leave WA, "do so quietly". That did piss me off, it made me mad. They were trying to silence me. It worked. As soon as he removed my content, I deleted my account.

It's a good thing I kept everything I had written on WA Blog and have a backup copy.

I did have some good years at WA. To be honest, after the Hub was created and the AI authors dealt with whiteout screens from ban list plugins and the HCU Sept 2023-August 2024 updates, everything went downhill.

I was promoting WA. Sales hit an all-time low for those who were promoting WA. Super Affiliates made their debut long before all the changes happened. While I struggled to convert them to paid customers, The super affiliates were still getting referrals.

There were too many changes; I had to constantly change my screenshots of the Hubs inside my website and post content every week. Too many changes were happening in the Starter account and Hubs, such as adding a new home page, moving things around, and trying new things in hopes of converting well.

I was running paid ads, but they didn't convert well. K helped me with it, but then he turned around and tried to slam my face by censoring me. That was totally unacceptable to me.

The training also went downhill. I miss the old training, which had longer content. The training is so short that many people are still asking questions and are confused by the variety of repetitive answers that lead nowhere.

I'm taking an extended break and will consider what I should do in January 2025. Perhaps I should create an e-course Masterclass of some sort. I know one thing I am good at is teaching. Teaching is my passion. I might go down that road, but right now, I'm just staying away from "affiliate marketing."

Roy, it has to be your personal decision to leave. I am sad I left under "negative circumstances," but it was my best decision. I don't want to waste any more money on my annual membership if the owners constantly censor content and always have to deal with white-out screens that never get resolved. They should be listening to improve the overall platform; changing the Hubs too much is even more confusing and a big mess. I wanted out of that.

I refused to let someone like that control what I could and couldn't say regarding hosting issues. The last I heard, it's still freedom of speech. K did want to listen to the truth as I saw it, so be it. I've moved on now.

I wish you all the best in your decision. Go with what you feel is right for you.

18

@RoyBretton -

Yeah, I remember looking for him online just recently, when I came across his PDF in one of my older folders...lol.

Yeah, Chris's membership was something I did not join, although I wish I had at that time...

I'm still waiting to hear from WA site support about the domain server situation I mentioned earlier, and if anyone who's familiar with the WPX domain transfer process (2 severs vs 3 servers), Please share your progress/process, so I can proceed.

WA was a help in the beginning, but they screwed the pooch when they cut the premium membership to build on the Premium Plus..JMHO.

What is most unfortunate is that the premium plus training is really a higher level (AKA 301 vs 101 education model) and is something people need once they are set up, rather than a regurgitation of the SOS...

Anyway, now that we have the Roy issue squared away...grin, I'm glad to see you here!

Rudy

19

[quote data-userid=“58” data-postid=“2002140”]

@RoyBretton -

Yeah, I remember looking for him online just recently, when I came across his PDF in one of my older folders...lol.

Yeah, Chris's membership was something I did not join, although I wish I had at that time...

I'm still waiting to hear from WA site support about the domain server situation I mentioned earlier, and if anyone who's familiar with the WPX domain transfer process (2 severs vs 3 servers), Please share your progress/process, so I can proceed.

WA was a help in the beginning, but they screwed the pooch when they cut the premium membership to build on the Premium Plus..JMHO.

What is most unfortunate is that the premium plus training is really a higher level (AKA 301 vs 101 education model) and is something people need once they are set up, rather than a regurgitation of the SOS...

Anyway, now that we have the Roy issue squared away...grin, I'm glad to see you here!

Rudy

[/quote]

I'm sorry, but the premium plus wasn't worth it at all for me, besides a few classes from Vitaly, and the lucky shot I got because he was talking about the modeltrain niche.

On the contrary, Eric Cantu's videos only got on my nerves, especially at the start he was only talking about pretty girls he met on holiday and didn't deep dive into anything, at all. Also, just one extra PP class per week, to pay so much more monthly, is totally not worth the money.
I get much more for free out of Youtube videos and marketeers online, for free.
Oh, and one very good teacher on PP was BenjisDad and WA threw him out for some reason.

About site support, please keep insisting and message them every day, if needed several times a day. Tell them that they have done this for other people as well (as I showed you in my copy paste private messages when I switched hosting). It is no time to be patient anymore with them, I have learned that the hard way.
Lizzy


20

@ohnoo_not_her -

THanks, Lizzy, I will get on them again.

Benji'sDad got booted? How rude...

Eric didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, however, there was one concept that his explanation helped me...Other than that, boring...

Fortunately for me, my websites were not affected at all by the Google shenanigans because they were way under the radar...lol. ie no traffic..

However, now that I finally got on board with GCS, my softball website continues to pick up clicks, going from 7 to 19, to 23 to 40 clicks in a 28 day period...so I'm doing something right...grin.

Anyway, thanks for the reply, Lizzy.

Rudy