Good Bye Wealthy Affiliate - After 4 years
Hi all.
This is not the first time I wrote this, but I think this time will be my last.
I have been here for 4 years but I haven't been active at all for 2 years. Some of the old members might still remember me as a very active member during my first 2 years.
Now it is finally time to say good bye. Why am I leaving after all this time?
The thing is that I'm not using any services from WA anymore. There are only 2 of my sites hosted here at WA and I can easily move them to my other hosting provider. I am also not using Jaaxy anymore and I am not joining the live classes.
I also don't really promote WA.
So there is nothing that keeps me here and I can save 300 bucks a year by doing so.
Did WA help me at all?
Oh yes. It definitely did. I still think it is a great source of information if you are completely new to online marketing.
This and the tools you get as a premium member, makes WA great for someone that needs the complete package.
But you should never stop learning and evolving. You should also accept that WA doesn't teach you everything.
At least not when I went through the training. There are many other tricks that help you rank a site and you should experiment with different things and test for yourself.
What works for one might not work for the other.
My main issue with WA
There is one thing WA does very good that is actually not good for you:
How much time do you spend on the platform and in the chat? Answering questions of other members?
Those hours could be better spent on your own website! You can make hundreds or thousands of dollars from a website. How much do you get for spending time on WA?
WA is a bit like Facebook. It is engaging and fun. And it doesn't let you go easily.
The positive side about this is, that you get help quickly.
However, not everybody that gives you help, actually knows what he is talking about. Many members are still very new and think they know but actually they don't.
False information spreads easily and fast.
What am I doing now?
While my main income doesn't come from my websites, I am living the laptop lifestyle. I am self-employed working 100% from my laptop.
I have multiple income streams ranging from customer support, over offering several services, to generating income with websites
You see?
You should always have multiple income streams. Once one is up and running, try to create another one, and another one, ...
Always focus on one thing at a time. When you have mastered it, you can try something else.
I am not dissing WA!
While I gave some negative feedback above, I still like WA.
It is just not for me anymore.
When I joined, I only knew how to build websites.
Now I know multiple ways to make money online and WA started it all.
For that I am grateful but it is time to move on.
I don't use any of the offered services and I am not engaged with the community anymore.
My membership runs out in August, but I will cancel it in a few weeks. Mainly because I don't want to miss the deadline.
If you still know me, I'll be happy to hear from you in the comments below.
If you don't know me, I'm curious about what you think about what I wrote.
All the best.
Moritz
Recent Comments
33
The complete support that is found in WA is very effective in producing both short and long term members. Some grow and develop in one way, some in another.
Best of luck to you, and remember like any well-founded home base, you can return if you need or want to.
Sami
Hi Sami.
Thanks for your comment. I can't promise I will be back who knows what the future holds. :)
All the best,
Moritz
Sad to see you go, I learnt a lot from you when you first told us about Colorzilla. :-)
It's good to know that you have greatly benefited from WA and that you can become self-employed from it.
Well done for following your passion!
Send me a PM, let's stay in touch!
Edu
Hi Moritz,
Sorry to see you leaving. But, I’m pleased your leaving for the right reasons.
I feel the social engagement and community spirit here in WA, is essential for newbies. Without it I would have given up long ago!
Starting anything new, and moving out of your comfort zone, is distressing, and it is so easy to just let it drop.
If the social engagement hadn’t been here for me, I wouldn’t be building the future that I dream, as I am doing now. WA has help me a lot in overcoming my difficulties, and I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.
All the best,
Paul.
Good points, Paul.
The social aspects of WA can be great as long as they don't draw you in too much.
Use them wisely and they can work well for you.
All the best,
Moritz
Hi, Moritz...
All the best and I can understand your reasoning and know that for you ending your membership makes sense. There are many ways to earn online, and it sounds like you have tapped into a few...
Some of the points you mention are spot on. The real business is done on your websites, and if you spend too much time on the community platform, that can get in the way.
Like you, I do not spend much time on the social side of WA these days, I truly have too many other things to do that take up my time. As much as I enjoy that relationship building and commiserating with like-minded people, time limitations limit what I can do...
The base of information/knowledge that you pick up here may or may not apply to some revenue streams that are available out there. I have found that many of the principles and guidelines transfer well to other lines of income, but not all.
Even so, in my case, after almost 4 years I still use certain features and tools found here that make it an easy decision to stay, and it is essentially at no cost (between commissions and etc.).
I have I think 9 sites hosted with SiteRubix, but another 20 that are hosted elsewhere. For them all, I use some of features and tools found here, i.e. the content creation tool, the comment feature to give and receive comments (from SiteRubix hosted sites), domain purchases (I use comment cash credits), and from time to time I get information and answers to questions I may have...
Most certainly, like you, I have developed several recurring and dependable streams of income (i.e. drop shipping, training, offline consult services, etc.) over the affiliate marketing angle.
Affiliate marketing has never produced the majority of income as consult work and etc. has been a bigger source for me...I have used some of the concepts as I develop products I am selling, as having affiliates help you sell is a great deal for both sides.
I do still review and recommend products from others that I personally use for the business but not that much. Our business itself has evolved too over the past 4 years, and we now are using a brick and mortar/online model versus strictly an online model.
So like you, I essentially have all the benefits of the laptop lifestyle but only have minimal overhead costs by mixing the two models (offline and online). It works out great and we can tap into the power of the internet globally.
As an example, for online aspects of the business we are using VAs, websites, have digital products and services we are selling, and we focus on content creation, social media, and using the internet for lead development...
In regards to the offline aspects of the business model we have developed, we established an LLC, with an office that costs $60 a month (yes can you believe that?) providing me with an address and banking info and payment gateways that are more familiar and comfortable with that type of business.
You get the idea. I have had to go through quite a few changes to get to the point where we now find ourselves, but the sky is the limit, and I am building for the next generation at the moment.
In any case, I wish you all the best and stay in touch, never say never, perhaps we shall meet up one day again either online or offline...
Cheers!
Dave : )
That's awesome, Dave.
You are doing great and have forged your own path. Very creative!
Creating my own products and use affiliates to sell them is something I should try one day, too.
Thanks for the input and all the best to you.
Cheers,
Moritz
Hi Moritz,
While I don't use WA full services as much as I used to, or engage with other members as much, I still like WA for its hosting. The ease of logging in or changing passwords and the attention to Wordpress security makes it worthwhile for me to stay. I like having a million royalty free images to choose from for my posts, too. Lastly, I enjoy knowing the community is out there if I ever need to reach out with a question, or...
to get some input by way of comments or feedback- even if some are not that great at it.
I do however, fully understand your reasons for moving on, and it's true... you can get most of what you have here much more inexpensively elsewhere.
Here's to your continued success and wishing you good fortune moving forward!
Hal
Hi Moritz
I joined, what feels like not too long ago, but I remember you well, since you left a comment that helped me. So thank you for that!
I wish you all of the very best and much success!
Sharlee (Chocolate IceCream)
Moritz, I am a newbie and am enjoying WA. I am glad I read you post. Sorry you are leaving. If I may ask I agree that there are multiple ways to make income online and you should have multiple streams of income. My goals are of course to be successful in making good money but I also want to learn all kinds ways to make money online. I believe these are skills and knowledge that can be learned. So if you have the time I would appreciate if you could tell me other ways I should look into and where when I am ready which will be further down the line.
Hi Marc,
That's a dangerous question for a newbie. You really should focus on ONE thing first. If you try multiple things at once, you will become overwhelmed and, most likely, nothing will work at all.
Then you will be frustrated and stop with online marketing.
Don't jump from one thing to another. Stick to one thing until it shows results.
I'd suggest that you start with the training here at WA. And I suggest that you start with the "Online Entrepreneur Certification" course. The one that is teaching you how to start a niche site.
Choose a niche that you are interested in.
But there also must be a market for it. So, do keyword research (as shown in the training) and make sure that enough people are interested in your niche.
And that there are good products in that niche you can promote. Don't promote items that are too cheap or you won't earn much from one sale.
If you can promote high-ticket items, you might generate fewer sales but your commissions for each sale will be higher.
Sorry for not giving you other ways of how to make money online. I just don't want you to fall into the trap of wanting to try everything at once.
I hope you understand. :)
No problem I understand I was going to concentrate on WA for now anyway. I like the tutorials and community. For now I am taking in slower and learning one area at a time or trying to.
Of course, I still remember you, Moritz. I wish you all the very best with all your endeavours.
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Makes sense to me. The individual who referred me to WA has moved on and produces her own trainings, promotes others' training and is all in all successful/financially independent.
I still need WA but hope one day I won't!
I will always recommend it to beginners/mid-experience peeps.
Best wishes!
Hi.
I don't want to encourage people to leave WA. Only if you feel like you don't need it anymore (or you are not referring new members) it might be a good idea to leave.
If you use the tools, profit from the training and live sessions, there is nothing wrong with staying.
And I agree that it is a great resource for complete beginners.
Cheers,
Moritz