How WA Members Can Use Their Skills to Pay for Their Membership (Without Waiting for Traffic)

When new members join Wealthy Affiliate, there’s usually one big goal in mind:

“I want to start making money.”

And that’s great—but many people think they have to wait months for blog traffic before they earn anything. The truth is… You don’t, it takes time, sometimes a long time.

But there's good news.

The skills you’re learning inside Wealthy Affiliate are valuable right now. And not just inside WA—these are real-world skills used everywhere.

Knowing how to build a WordPress website or blog is something small businesses, organizations, and individuals need every single day.

You don’t have to wait for traffic to start earning—you can start small, build confidence, and even cover your WA membership along the way.

Let me share a few simple ways to do that.

A Real Example: Simple, Sustainable Income

Here’s what I personally do.

I used one of my extra hosting slots to build a website for an engineering client.

I charged:

• An initial setup/creation fee to build the site (I created 3 "looks" for the owner to choose from)
• A yearly hosting and maintenance fee
• And I also charge separately for the domain renewal, which I manage through WA

Each year, I offer to make small updates for free. If the changes are larger, I charge extra.

This works well because:

• There’s no daily pressure
• No constant deadlines
• Just steady, predictable income

That alone helps cover a big portion of my WA membership.

Don’t Forget What Your Membership Includes

A lot of new members don’t fully realize what they already have access to.

• Premium Membership includes hosting for up to 10 websites
• Premium Plus Membership includes hosting for up to 50 websites

That means you can:

• Build your own sites
• AND still have extra hosting space for clients or projects

Most people never use that extra capacity—but it can actually become a small income stream.

Simple Ways to Earn While You’re Learning

Here are a few beginner-friendly ways to start earning without waiting for Google traffic.

1. Offer Basic Website Setup. You can build simple WordPress websites for:

• Friends and family
• Local businesses
• Churches or community groups

Charge a small setup fee and optionally offer yearly support.

1. Use a Hosting + Maintenance Model (Low Stress)
   This is what I do.

Offer:

• Annual hosting
• Minor updates
• Peace of mind for your client

Charge extra for:

• Larger sites
• Extras like email newsletters, image creation, facebook posts, PIN images and regular site blog creations (make sure the owner is involved with choosing what to blog about and approving each blog post)
• Creating promotional images and ads
• Domain renewals
• Larger changes (creating pdfs, special images, editing/cleaning up their own product images

This keeps things flexible and manageable.

1. Help People You Already Know. Your first “clients” don’t have to be strangers.

Start with:

• Friends
• Local contacts
• People who already trust you

These are often the easiest opportunities.

1. Earn Through WA Community Credits. WA now rewards helpful participation.

You can do various things to earn credits:

• Answer questions
• Write helpful blog posts
• Create training
• Engage in the community

I set myself a simple goal of earning around $0.65–$0.70 per day.

That adds up to about $20/month—which helps offset my membership cost.

1. Do Small Freelance Fixes. You don’t have to take on big projects.

Offer small tasks like:

• Fixing menus
• Adding images
• Cleaning up pages

These are quick, low-pressure ways to earn.

1. Use Your Skills Outside WA. This is important.

WordPress skills are used all over the world.

Businesses everywhere need help with:

• Websites
• Blogs
• Content updates

What you’re learning isn’t just for affiliate marketing—it’s a real, marketable skill.

A Better Way to Think About WA

Instead of thinking: “I’m paying for WA…”

Think:

“I’m using WA as a toolbox to create income.”

Inside WA you have:

• Training
• Hosting
• Tools
• Community support

And multiple ways to turn those into small, steady earnings.

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to wait months to make money.

• Start small.
• Use the skills you’re learning right now.

Even earning enough to cover your WA membership is a huge win—and it builds the confidence you need to grow further.

That’s exactly how many successful online businesses begin.

One small step at a time.

Feedback

Please give me some feedback. What have you done to help earn and pay for your WA membership?

-Shirley