Wealthy Affiliate - A Newbie's Perspective

byMBowers1

76 followers

5 years ago

Now that I've had some time to experience some of what WA offers, I thought it time to offer a few of my thoughts.

My Initial Reaction

WA appeared in my life at a time when I was thinking about creating a greater online presence. My initial motivation was partially about money. The main motivation was more about increasing my audience online for myself and for the things I love most in this life.

Many things have changed in my life in the past six months. Very positive changes. Life changing changes. Mostly stimulated by, what most would term, going backward to a more simple life. This move actually caused far more progression in my life than if I were to fight and strive for more in my life.

I came to WA through a “like” on one of my blog posts. Like I said, I was ready to expand. I thought it interesting that this opportunity came to me at that particular time when I was writing about these thoughts for the first time. I treated it as a “sign.”

When I arrived at WA I felt very uncomfortable. I’m just a simple artist and this was all about making money. My first thought was that it reminded me of online courses I took in college. This didn’t help because I really didn’t enjoy those courses.

I decided to give it a try for free.

Diving into the training, it didn’t take long for me to see things that I’ve been wondering about for a while. I was seeing the very basics of setting up a site and building it for a greater online presence. Still, I didn’t feel all that comfortable. Enter your own correction... am skeptical of any money making concept, because I’m spammed all the time with get rich quick schemes, I took it step by step with a very skeptical view on it.

“Getting Started” Training

Starting the training I thought, “I could get all this from other sources and not have to pay for it.” Then I thought of all the sources I might have to research in order to find my way to this information that was being offered to me with such simplicity. I could just follow along and do each step with the training. Stopping it where I needed. Going back when needed.

The Community

Then the community began welcoming me. Many telling me that I’ve made a great decision. I was still wondering if it was a great decision. The one thing I’ve learned is to not believe what others tell me. Only results will convince me of anything.

Receiving such a warm welcome from so many people did spur my curiosity. Reading their profiles I found so many wonderful everyday people simply wanting to add something to their lives in various ways. People of many different backgrounds, some having dealt with various difficulties in life. All of them simply wanting to break free of the 9 to 5 and get on with their lives.

This gave me mixed reactions. I enjoyed reading their brief biographies and feeling a connection to many of them. Then I thought, again going back to my skepticism of money making concepts,“WA better not be exploiting these wonderful people for profit.”

Standards and Values

This caused me to seek the standards of WA. I first saw the WA standards in a response to a question in the chat. A person asked about promoting himself here. The response was that if you spam anyone here then you won’t last long. I enjoyed seeing this from a community member.

I then found the standards of WA when it comes to the community. A very well written and detailed standard that I could definitely respect in all ways. Reading the standards I started to feel more comfortable.

I could see that WA doesn’t judge others for what they might want to do online, outside of WA. I saw some blog posts and other communication where people might be trying to use methods that I might find unethical. I’m not one to judge others for what they are doing, as long as they leave me out of it. I like that WA allowed this as long as it didn’t affect anyone here in the community. What they do outside the community is their business.

Becoming A Premium Member

I then decided to become a premium member because I wanted the full experience to truly make my decision. The fact that WA offers a discounted first month was a plus in making my decision. This opened the doors to exploring more deeply into the system and get the full experience.

What I found was very grand in scale. From blog posts about most anything I might want to learn to detailed training. I was impressed.

Still, I thought, “I could find all this information on my own, without paying for it.” Again I thought about how much research this would require. Here it was all at my fingertips.

I’m not one who asks many random questions. Not of others. I am an independent learner, thus my dislike of college courses, where I was forced to interact when I really didn’t feel it necessary. I enjoy the research in seeking my own answers. This enables me to form and answer other questions along the way.

I then found the search bar at the top of the WA page. I started entering things I have been curious about learning for many months, even years. Each time I put in a term a long list of answers appeared before my eyes. From YouTube and all forms of social media to more advanced site building. Very detailed blog posts from other community members and very simplified training answering most any question I could have at this time and for at least the near future.

I enjoyed reading one of Kyle’s blog posts about Facebook. It was straight forward. It didn’t just say, “This is how you can use Facebook to make money.” He gave his thoughts about Facebook, going into the value it might have and also that it could be a waste of good productive time spent on other things of more value. It was a very informative piece, giving me information as to how to use Facebook as well as the value of Facebook. This allows me to make my own decision as to if and how I might want to use it.

Where I Stand Now

After reading many blog posts about people finding some success with their sites, some seeming a little meager for the amount of time that had passed, it caused me to rethink my own perspective. My initial desire was to go in and build my site and do all the things I wanted with it. If I were to do this it would be very broad in scope. I also wanted to know that I would be able to make more money than what I was seeing in some of these posts.

This was the first evolution of my perspective here at WA. My first thought was, “Is WA worth the money even if I don’t make a dime?” I found this question to be very important to making my decision. I spent even more time exploring the site. Viewing other community members. Looking at all the resources offered here.

This brought me back to my main goal, to broaden the exposure of my own writing and using this exposure to help others to get greater exposure of their art. To be honest, this is the true wealth that I am seeking. If I make money, and I’m sure I will, then this will help me to have more time for my own art and in helping other artists.

After creating the foundation of my site, it came out far different than I originally envisioned. I took Kyle’s advice and took it down to niche. A niche that, at first, I felt was very limiting because I have so many other things I want to express. As I thought about the concept, suddenly I could see how it could do many of the things I initially envisioned and even more. Even to the point of being able to offer a product, or products, for the visitors to purchase through my site. All relating to my niche.

One thing that many people might underestimate in me is how much I can write. I spend a lot of time writing.

I write about anything and everything. I am a writing addict. Inspiration of things to write hit me all the time. Like while walking through the grocery store and I see an item left out of place. My mind forms the story of the person who left it there, what they look like, seeing them place the item on that shelf. Then my imagination goes into their life and the people they were with at the time and the things they were talking about, their children at their feet, the troubles they might be experiencing in their lives. There is a story in everything.

Inspiration even hits me when I’m sleeping. They wake me up, causing me to have to get up and write it down else it won’t let me go back to sleep. Because of this my mind and body has adjusted over time to go with little sleep at times. Writing is a way of life for me though I’ve never sought to make money with it. I simply love to express myself. Maybe this will change now.

This being said, I would have no problem providing content for two or three sites. This would allow me to cover all the topics I want to explore, learn more about and express to others, while focusing on particular niches that I enjoy very much.

Right now I will start with one site based on my true strength and later build from there. I am new to all of this I think it is better to create a successful site before moving onto other things. Other ideas might stem from focusing on this one site. I can always continue to explore my other passions through simple blogs, using the things I have and will learn here. I want to focus seriously on my site here so I can truly experience the results of what WA offers.

This is one of the first valuable things that WA has given me. It has focused my writing. No longer do I simply seek to write whatever is on my mind at my personal blog, though I keep it for this very reason because it helps me clear my mind and find even more inspiration. Now I’m enjoying focusing on a niche. Just one of several that I want to express to a broader audience.

So, the answer to the question, “Is WA worth the money even if I don’t make a dime?” is yes. WA would help me to proceed with my aspiration to get on YouTube. To learn about, use and broaden my social media presence. Basically, WA could do all of this and more.

With the training and, as I have seen, through the knowledge of a huge community of people willing to help with their expertise Here at WA I can find the answers to most any question I have now and will have in the future.

This caused me to think, “The word “Wealthy” in the name almost takes away from the impact this program could have for other people. People like me who don’t view money making concepts with much regard.

This program is very broad to the needs of anyone. Not only in making money but in building their online presence so they can gain greater exposure for whatever it is that they are passionate about in their lives. Online success for most any defintion of success. Adding in the money making concept is a great addition to help give the people more time to enjoy their passions and their lives in general.

Basically, WA offers a path for anyone to go out and do what they love online. This is what I was seeking when I came to WA and, at this point, I see no reason why WA won’t assist me in achieving this goal. It is built in a way where the only thing standing in the way of achieving this goal is the amount of commitment a person is willing to give in order to achieve it. Everything else that is needed is here at our fingertips. We need only press the keys and we will find the answers we might need to get there.

At this point, I truly believe I made a great decision. I will know for sure once I see the results.