Sweet 16: We Have Outlived ALL of Our Competition!
I got caught up with a busy week last week, so I didn't get the opportunity to do my annual "birthday" post at Wealthy Affiliate.
16 years ago (on September 10, 2005) Carson and I clicked the "publish" button on our WealthyAffiliate.com venture. At the time we had no idea what it would become, and frankly we were quite naive to running a business in the "opportunity" world. We didn't realize who was in this industry, how it was run, and the evolution that was going to take place before us.
All we wanted to do is help others accomplish the same level of success that we did within the affiliate marketing space, so we started a platform to do that.
So here we are, 16 years on...and still at it. The official Wealthy Affiliate Birthday.
One thing stood out when I sat down to write this Birthday post, that I want to discuss in a bit more detail: the changes here at Wealthy Affiliate, and the big changes that have taken place in our industry over the past 16 years. A lot of our "competition" has come and gone, and there is of course some new players in the industry...
Where Has the Competition Gone From 2005?
Prior to starting Wealthy Affiliate, Carson and I were both independently very successful affiliate marketers. We created Wealthy Affiliate with the intention of helping others achieve the same level of success we achieved. At the time this was in the Pay Per Click world, using primarily Yahoo at the time (as it was the most popular search engine).
Over the years, our platform has evolved drastically based on what our users wants and needs were. Sometimes a lot of our projects seem overly ambitious, but alongside the BIG IDEAS we also grew our development team helping accomplish more platforms and developments.
We actually never looked at our competition for ideas, as we have never felt we had any other competition other than our own internal desire to get better. Our competition is perfection, and though that is impossible, it gives a continual goal to work towards. The reality is, we built Wealthy Affiliate to what it is today on the basis of OUR customers, our community, and the the many points of feedback that we have on a daily basis as to how to best serve our audience better.
That is HOW we build our business, and how we have effectively stayed way ahead of the competition. The companies that were in this industry back in 2005 when we started out, no longer exist. They likely put MONEY at the focus of their business, and as a result customers grew savvy of what they were trying to do...and moved on.
We do things a little differently though...and I want to take a moment to outline what you can expect out of us, and how we plan to stay "light years" ahead of the competition as we march forward into our 17th year.
Training is Our Future.
We have made many radical shifts over the last 16 years with our training at Wealthy Affiliate. We initially had very rudimentary training, and a platform that didn't offer much sophistication as to how the training was implemented. In 2005, we were a keyword list service, and we had some really basic PDF tutorials showing people how to create successful ad campaigns. That was it!
Through time we have polished the training environment here at Wealthy Affiliate, and also evolve the types of training that you can get.
Our focus on "current' training has always been at the forefront. Keeping YOU ahead of the curve helps you ultimately master all aspects of your business and lead to a higher success rate.
Last November we launched the Classes platform and this has been a huge hit, now with 250+ live expert classes (that are pure value) each and every year and over 500 past classes, you are never going to be short of education. The Classes platform will continue to evolve in terms of better designs, more experts, and of course the regular addition of brand new "series" of concepts delivered to you. It is next level training, and unparalleled in the industry.
We are also tackling a significant "refresh" to the CORE training modules at Wealthy Affiliate. This includes the Online Entrepreneur Certification and the Affiliate Bootcamp training. I mentioned these a few weeks back, and you can expect these being rolled out with frequency in the coming quarter ahead.
Training is going to be something that is always on our radar, and something that we are advancing on a daily basis. You are never going to be short of new things to learn, and new techniques/strategies that you can implement in your business to yield a higher rate (and more) success.
Technology is Where Our Roots Are.
Carson and I both went to college for computer science, and over the years we have built a team of very skilled engineers that are constantly working to advance the technology here. We in essence take ambitious ideas that we have and turn them into tangible platforms that YOU can leverage for more efficiency and success in your business.
Last fall, we released our current version of the user interface here at Wealthy Affiliate. That was a big undertaking and took close to a year to redevelop WA from the ground up. It was a move for the future technology of Wealthy Affiliate. We are now working off a 2021 technology framework and foundation that is going to allow us to improve our services and technology here at a faster pace than ever and set us up for the next 5 to 10 years of development.
An idea is just an idea if you can't take it through the implementation stages. Our intimate understanding of technology and the capabilities thereof...alongside our growing team of all-star engineers, you can expect some big advancements out of us in the coming year (and beyond)!
Helping People is How We Grow.
As I mentioned earlier, our business decisions are never rooted in "making more money". We see far too often that people get into business to make money, and that becomes their only focus. The problem with that approach is that the MONEY comes after your ability to help people.
Money has never been the main initiative with our developments here within Wealthy Affiliate, though it is a side effect of creating a service that people love. That is why we have remained the most proactive in the industry in terms of our overall offering, yet have remained the most cost efficient.
Our focus has been, and continues to be, helping YOU build successful businesses online. We do this through our education, through our platforms/tools we develop, and through the various lines of support. We also do this by helping you keep ahead of YOUR competition with the latest techniques and strategies that you need to utilize in your business.
Offering the most help possible is at the core of our ethos and is the basis of every decision we make. Expect a lot more of this as we continue to move forward in the year ahead.
A year literally goes flies by, and though we often times don't meet all of our goals, the past year has been a very productive one here within WA.
As we move into "Year 17" of the platform and business here at Wealthy Affiliate, you can continue to expect great things out of us and out of the overall environment here at WA.
I just wanted to leave you with one question here, on the topic of constant improvement. So I have a few quick questions for you.
- What is your favorite aspect of Wealthy Affiliate?
- What are some things that you would like to see here within Wealthy Affiliate in the year ahead?
- What are some topics you want to learn more about through classes or training?
As always, your feedback is valuable. We appreciate you, and thank you for being a big part of the overall WA family!
Recent Comments
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You two have done an amazing job with this company. Many of us have benefited from your training, and will continue to do so.
I do believe that one of your strongest assets is the way you have structured the training. It was good when I started and you keep making improvements. Wish my day had more than 24 hours or that I didn't have to sleep so could spend more time learning from you. Nonetheless, am happy to partake of the feast you have offered us.
Thanks so much Fran, and we plan to keep it this way. We have an exciting slate of projects that are going on behind the scene to further advance the platform and community and you are going to see these rolled out on a regular basis in the upcoming months and years ahead.
Our foot is always pressed down full on the gas pedal, looking to make LIFE for you easier as an online business owner!
Congratulations to you and Carson, on this 16th year establishment of Wealthy Affiliate platform. The site will continue to wax stronger by the special grace of God.
Wealthy Affiliate is unique for prompt attention to problems by the two Co- Founders and the community at large. This gives all, a sense of belonging.
May i suggest that new premium Wealthy Affiliate members, be given additional days of grace to effectively utilze their first premium payment. This Will give apple time to grab some basic knowledge that will help their website (s) to be up and running and possibly start rolling some income, which will make subsequent premium payment easier.
To easily learn how to set up a newly created website, for SEO/ Google ranking via insertion of meta home page title/description
Thanks for the kind words and the suggestions, we appreciate it. We do give people a grace period with the first month upgrade if they cannot make it, so that is already something that we institute within WA.
Congratulations and Happy Birthday (sweet sixteen) Kyle and Carson for creating the WA baby.
I am glad I found this platform as I was looking for online business and WA grabbed me.
The training is professional and as a complete novice, I am loving it and have learned a lot with a lot more to learn.
An awesome platform with an awesome community.
Thanking both of you.
Awesome, so glad you are enjoying your experience Helen and I hope that to be the case as you do move forward. We have a lot of exciting stuff planned in the coming months and year ahead. :)
Woohoo! Congrats on 16 years!! I'm glad that I found WA and am enjoying going through the training (although at a rather slow pace).
My favorite aspect of WA so far is the structured training and ease of getting started. It definitely helps a new member a lot (like me).
As someone mentioned previously, a phone app would be awesome, and I'm also looking forward to updated training material/info.
Being new, I can't think of topics I'd want to learn more about. Right now, I'm just going through the training and soaking up knowledge.
Again, congrats and here's to another 16 years! :D
- Robert
Yeah, we are considering a phone app, but we want to first focus on the mobile experience. There is a lot we would have to sacrifice with a phone app, it would likely be more for notifications and communication versus all encompassing.
Appreciate your feedback Robert and we really look forward to what the future holds!
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The thing I have had the most problems with are in the niche area. I have been stuck at niche choice for about about a day and a half. I sincerely hate being the one in the class who always needs help. I've chosen How to reverse type two diabetes and have been stuck.
Any help getting over that bump would be most appreciated.
-Terry
Very common Terry. People tend to "overthink" a niche, seeking out the perfect niche. The reality is that all niches can be highly profitable online, and it is your commitment to your niche that will make all the difference in the world to your success.
A niche can honestly be anything, what are you passionate about? What are you interested in?
When deciding on a niche and trying to narrow down to a more specific niche, I recommend you ask yourself the following question:
I want to help people that ______________.
Fill in the blank and you are going to be much closer to a specific audience. After you do this and if you want to run any further ideas by me, let me know and I will give you a hand. :)