3 Tools I Kinda Regret Buying for My Site
Regret is a strong word.
Whatever happens, you always learn, right? So in that way, there aren't really any regrets.
At the same time, if you're new or newish here, I want to let you know the things I regret buying for my site and why.
You may be thinking of buying these things. And you can. They might perfect for what you're trying to accomplish. I just want to give you my point of view in case it helps you save a few bucks in the long run.
It's really just 3 things that I kind of wish I didn't buy. At least not for a little bit.
Let's go...
#1 - Thrive Themes Membership
Oh boy.
I am struggling with Thrive right now. With the Thrive Membership, you get access to a whole host of plugins to help create conversions on your sites. I paid for and have them all, but I only use two.
And the two that I use aren't working well for me.
I use Thrive Architect and Thrive Leads. Architect is causing some things to break on my site (Yikes!), and my pop-up boxes don't always work correctly.
I'm currently transitioning all of my posts that were built with Thrive Architect back to the Wordpress builder.
(And sometimes those posts are so messed up I'm not even sure I can fix them. Where's a cry emoji when you need one?)
It. Is. A. Job.
Jay mentions sometimes that he doesn't like site builders, and now I get it. (Once again, Jay is right.)
P.S. Thrive has fantastic tutorials on their site (some just for members and some for non-members too), so I would definitely recommend checking those out.
P.P.S. Some of our top affiliates here use Thrive successfully, so maybe it's just me.
Question for you:
If you don't use Thrive Leads, what tool(s) do you use for pop-up boxes and lead capture forms? I'm on the hunt for replacements!
#2. ConvertKit
I like ConvertKit a lot.
However:
My list is too little for such a high-priced product.
I wish I would have started with a less expensive option and then moved to ConvertKit if and when it made sense.
- ConvertKit = $29 / month up to 1000 subscribers
- AWeber = $19 / month up to 500 subscribers
- MailerLite = $10 / month up to 1000 subscribers
It's possible that ConvertKit does fancier stuff, but I don't need fancy right now. I just need to send out some emails now and again.
I'm debating about moving to a simpler email service provider for now, but I don't know if it's worth the hassle at this point.
Question for you:
What would you do? Would you move to a simpler email system to save a few bucks, or just keep things where they are since you know your list will continue to grow?
#3. Tailwind
Do you use Tailwind? If not, it's used to schedule pins on Pinterest or posts on Instagram.
I got it for Pinterest.
It's actually a really good tool. If you use it.
I kind of let my Pinterest account go as it just hasn't been a high priority.
I have seen a lot of rumblings about Pinterest and some people seem to be having issues getting traffic from their pins. Some others have been completely blocked by Pinterest (possibly due to spammers stealing their pins and content.)
So I'm not even sure if it's worth it to get back going with Pinterest right now.
Question for you:
Are you still on Pinterest? Is your Account OK? Are you getting traffic? Having any issues with Pinterest blocking your content?
Do you use Tailwind and do you think it's still worth it? Do you think a manual pinning strategy could be just as effective?
Those are the 3 things I wish I would have thought about a little more before buying. Although, with Thrive, I didn't know I was going to have issues until I tried it. Sometimes you just have to experiment.
Have you purchased things for your site that you wish you hadn't? I'd love to hear! Leave your comments below!
- Christina
Recent Comments
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Thanks for sharing your experience. I have tried some of the tools you've mentioned and stopped using them as well (similar to your reasons) such as ConvertKit and Tailwind.
As for pop-up boxes and lead capture, you may want to look into GetSiteControl. It is easy to use, no plugins to install, and they have a lot of options for capturing leads.
Very good post and let me say, I agree with you about number 1. i brought Thrive Membership, and while I like it, or liked it, there were a lot of features I didn't use, so I decided to not renew my membership with it.
This decision was based on the fact that after a ton of research and I do mean a ton of research, found that I gravitated back to Divi Builder, which I still have and it is so easy to use.
Their support is great and so is the pricing
Annually, its $89 or Lifetime is $249, compared to Thrive Memberships $289
I also have aThemes for my main blog, which promotes List building and WA on the same domain
ConvertKit, I didn't have, but have looked at it and have found that within Divi, they have Bloom, which is a great little plugin
Tailwind, I have heard of but haven't used it.
In terms of emailer, well there is a question.
I am using Mailchimp, because A its free, but has a stack more benefits than the others you mention, and while its harder to understand, works nicely when it does.
I have also brought AstraPro and have Elementor too
Thanks for your thoughts, sounds like you have a lot of good experience with tools.
I have heard great things about Divi, but I think I'll not use a builder at this point. I'll stick to good ol' Wordpress builder. I might have to look into something to build landing pages eventually...
- Christina
Hi Christina,
I actually had a Pinterest business account up and running before I joined Wealthy Affiliate. It was geared towards Art and Design, but my niche in my blog is in Photography, and simply added some photography boards to my existing Pinterest account, with pins to my blogs.
I'm not really getting much traffic from Pinterest to my blogs yet, but at the same time - I'm not really being blocked either, which is interesting. I'll keep an eye out for this.
Not everyone is getting blocked, but I think when accounts get big enough and popular enough, spammers steal their pins and put their spammy links on them. So Pinterest blocks the real account because they think they're spamming.
It's definitely an issue they need to fix over there.
- Christina
Christina,
I am with you about Thrives! Started with the membership when I was just understanding Wordpress, and now not using it. Trying to do that website when my other is WP and understandable to me without costing me is not working. It may work best for those who are more IT knowledgable, but time is valuable to me.
Pinterest I am just starting on the business side, and while tailwind has been suggested, I am not there yet in volume but is starting to bring traffic leading to sales so the future perhaps.
Used Aweber in the past for a networking group, and I could pay for it. Now I am trying to decide what I want. Time will tell on that.
Good thoughts.
Bill
Hi Christina,
I like your post because it really resonates with what I often struggle with.
There are so many programs out there, both good and bad. But I find they all have some things in common...they are constantly changing/evolving and require constant updating which is really time consuming to stay on top of. One day they work fine and then the next they are no longer compatible with whatever is out there in the pipeline.
As far as pinterest. I pin a fair amount on 2 accounts, one for camping and the other for health and fitness. I'm not at the point of getting tailwind. You really need at least 1000 followers for tailwind to be viable and be accepted to be a part of whatever group(s) you're in to. For someone doing Pinterent full time as a money making source Tailwind is great.
Pinterest seems to be having some glitches lately and that it is what the grumbling is about. I've heard of some colleagues talk about losing 80% of their following only to have it return a couple weeks later. Must be growing pains. Anyway, cheers.
Mike
You're spot on Mike with talking about these tools and having to stay on top of them.
It actually happened to my chatbot too. I had a chatbot on my site and it was working great. It really was helping me bring people onto my email list.
Now it breaks my site if I try to use it. So that's another thing I have to deal with.
Thanks for your thoughts on Pinterest. I will likely cancel my Tailwind account for now until it makes sense to get it going again.
- Christina
Hi Christina,
Maybe instead of moving all blog posts back to the original wp editor, ignore the reviews that have already died or even delete them entirely as Google doesn't like pages that don't get search volume.. This would be better instead of wasting your time on them.
Amjad
This is a good idea and something I've been thinking about. Can I just move them to "draft"? Does it make a difference?
Thank you for the suggestion!
- Christina
I believe it would be the same.. Bue either way, you will need to delete the links coming to them from other articles that you wish to keep so that Google doesn't see them as broken links..
If this will take long time to do, then an easier alternative would be to leave thse reviews as they are, but at least do noindex, nofollow for each one of them from the all in one seo plugin or yoast, update the sitemap and resubmit it in the search console.
Amjad
I agree with the Thrive themes and such. It's something that should be considered after you make some successes and you decide that you NEED it.
As for mailing lists, go for Mailchimp for newbie sites. It's free up to 2000 subscribers, then you can upgrade.
I LOVE Tailwind! :) it's awesome for both Instagram and Pinterest. Pricey because you need to purchase per account, so I wouldn't recommend doing that until you need it too. There are other tools that can do some of that for cheaper until people can justify spending the money (like deciding to up their Pinterest game). Still an excellent service, though.
I do like Tailwind. Definitely nothing against it. I am thinking of canceling it for my current site and signing up with another site because that one is more Pinterest-friendly.
Sometime to think about...
But yes, I definitely would encourage others to get a feel for Pinterest (and/or Instagram) and make sure you're actually going to use it before signing up.
- Christina
Today has been a day of great blog posts about things I didnt need, things I should or could have resisted and prudence around shiny new objects.
Yours is definitely in that category and I feel the universe is most definitely speaking to me today.
Who knew that you wrote that post just for me.... ha ha..... well that is what it is feeling like today
Thank you Christina :)
Yes, Christina. I am hard disk cleaning now to streamline and simplify tools and strategies so I can execute better.
Tools like tailwind is good to automate and schedule the publishing process but you still Need to prepare the content and more importantly, how best to engage with your target audience.
I find the problem with these tools is I end up throwing everything I can and see what sticks. It is very poor engagement strategy but we all love the automation.
I have since work on developing a strategy first, test effectiveness, then automate.
Your new strategy does make sense, and i think I am a "throw everything I can at it and see what sticks" kind of person. I've got to get better at the way you're doing things now.
- Christina
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Good afternoon Christina,
No, I do not have those 3 things. I never bought anything for my websites as everything I need I find here at WA.
Then I also have the help of my Technical Manager who makes pretty widgets.
My Pinterest is going ok. Some posts are a success and others not so much.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Thanks for your thoughts! I like that you keep your costs down by just using what WA has. Good idea!
- Christina