What Does Being An Ambassador Mean to Me?
Am I an Ambassador at Wealthy Affiliate yet? No. I haven't deserved to be given the title yet. I would like to tell you what it means to me even though I am not (but will be one day!)
What Does It Mean Me?
Being an Ambassador will mean much more to me than just a title. It will mean that I have set a goal and worked hard to achieve it. Yes, I work hard now, according to my standards, but only sometimes. I do not spend the hours needed to achieve the goals I have set for myself and those that are expected of me to become an ambassador. AND I KNOW IT!
Of course, it is more than just "putting in the hours", It is making an earnest effort to contribute, help, care, share, and ask within one of the best world wide communities anyone can be a part of. Wealthy Affiliate is focused on being a pay-it-forward community and awards their Ambassadors for sharing that same focus.
What are the Incentives?
First off, for those who do not know, an incentive is a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something. There are two types of incentives:
Tangible Incentives: Can be translated into a cash value
- Salary
- Pay Raise
- Fringe Benefits
In-Tangible Incentives: A form of psychic income earned in recognition of
superior performance!
- Thank You Letter
- Public Acknowledgement of Accomplishments
- A Special Private Lunch (just an example, I have my eyes & heart on Vegas baby)!
- Encouragement to Pursue Ideas
- Personal Development Opportunities
Are there tangible incentives offered at Wealthy Affiliate? I don't believe so. Why not you may ask. Does Kyle and Carson pay you a salary, give you pay raises and fringe benefits? NO. YOU make your own salary, you yourself earn pay raises, and fringe benefits (paid time off, pensions and insurances) are up to you.
Are there in-tangible incentives? You betcha! How does brand, trust and a show of expertise sound? This leads to a greater following which leads to a greater reach.
Ranking and Statistics
As a member of Wealthy Affiliate, are you looking at this? I didn't pay it much mind when I first started until, I realized how powerful it is. Let's look at each one individually.
Helper Rank - This shows the points that are awarded to you for responding to discussions, helping people in the live chat, and helping people who ask questions
Creator Rank - This shows the points that are awarded to you for creating training resources, creating blog posts, and being a contributor in discussions within the community.
Activity Rank - These are the points that are awarded to you for participating in live chat and discussions, and how many followers you have. Pretty much your overall interaction within and the use of the system that is provided.
All of these ranks work independently BUT all contribute to your overall Rank within Wealthy Affiliate.
To me, these graphs are motivators. It keeps me on trace and shows me where I may have slacked at reaching my goal.
What Does Ambassadorship at WA Mean To Me?
Being an Ambassador at Wealthy Affiliate means I have set a goal to "pay-it-forward" and I have achieved it! It means that I am recognized as someone who can be trusted (that is a biggy for me!). It means that I have helped others and contributed to their possible success. Being an Ambassador means that I have humbled myself to the point of asking questions and seeking help from other members, which in turns, could be possibly helping some else at the same time. It means spending time in an awesome community with awesome members, giving them my all! Okay, maybe not "my all". Got to save some of that "all" for my family and my two, always-improving, websites.
Recent Comments
29
Hey Suzette,
I really enjoyed the read... and I relate 100%.
As a matter of fact I was considering somne type of post or evena tutorial about the rankings and my opinion on them. I was searching because I did not want to create duplicate content and I came across your post.
I have heard from several members about how rankings don't mean anything and you are here to make money and that does earn you money. Things of that sort... As you title indicates, it's not just about what rankings mean, it is about what they mean to me.
I interpret the things it takes to improve ranking inside WA as practice, rehearsal and training for what it takes to be successful in this business. Heck any business for that matter.
Anyway, enjoyed the post... thanks so much!
Stephen
Thanks Stephen, I am glad you enjoyed it. I like the idea of "practice, rehearsal, and training". Would make for a good topic for your tutorial!! Hint, Hint :). Let me know when you get it posted.
What a lovely post Suzette, it is very much a community of paying it forward and it is nice to be able to help others
Thanks Katie. I appreciate that! My family thinks I am weird because I am always talking about how wonderful everyone is here and yet they all are on facebook constantly dealing with everyone's drama and personal lives all the time. LOL.
lol this is far better than fB eh no dramas learning and earning and good open discussion, positive and encouraging you are right so much better here
Wonderful Blog Suzette,
I too had this as one of my goals when starting here almost 6 months ago. Here I am now on my 78th day as an Ambassador.
Keep sharing & caring my Friend, We are all Ambassadors here at WA - The Greatest Community online & in the World.
Thank You Suzette,
Tony
Thanks Tony, and congrats to you my friend! So So True about the greatest community! I honestly don't think I could stop sharing and caring. When I have had to take time away from the community and building my websites for personal reasons, that all I could think about. It was frustrating for me not to be here and doing what I love to do.
Great blog. You bring up so many great points for being an ambassador. Things we should all strive for. I wish you success in achieving your goals to get there.
Thank you Ron. it may take me a while, most things do LOL, but I will get there. I have no plans of leaving WA anytime soon. Who knows, I may just be a lifer here.
Hi there! I enjoyed reading your blog. I think everyone should strive to become an Ambassador, but I know not everyone is capable of giving so much of their time to the community which could be spent working on their websites. Perhaps there should be a financial incentive? Just a thought...
Ed
Yes I realize love is free but it cost to live, otherwise none of us would be here building our websites trying to earn a living. What I am saying is if we are going to divert most of our time to helping the community and neglect our business as a result, there's nothing wrong with a small financial benefit. Besides I threw that out there as a thought. Would I be an Ambassador under the program as it stands today? Yes!
Ed
If that belief is your own then I can't see how that can be wrong. We all have our own goals and visions. People join WA for many reasons. Many are beginners, many are experienced, many are looking to get rich quickly or have someone else do the "work" for their success (which they will not find here). I myself would like to make money of course (and I have) but I also enjoy learning and interacting with like minded people.
I agree Ed, love doesn't pay the bills :). But as stated below. There are members who join for many different reasons. I am fortunate enough to not work outside of the home so I understand I have more time to devote to helping with the community then others may. Do you have to become an ambassador to become successful? I don't believe so. But it is a goal of mine and it helps keep me motivated and also dedicated to helping others like I have been helped thought out my beginning year and many more I am sure.
Hi again Ed. I do appreciate you thoughts! I also respect that everyone has their own opinions just as they have their own personal goals. As far as a financial incentives, what could be some financial incentives that you can think of? I am not being a smarty-pants LOL, I really am interested in your thoughts.
I hadn't thought it all the way through. I know in one of Kyle's training he said something to the effect that being an Ambassador will include a financial incentive. As I stated above, my goal is to reach the level of Ambassador and I would accept it under the current status. I do know they have to spend a lot of time online helping and answering questions, that would take time away from writing content etc., so I don't see anything wrong with them benfiting some financially. But again, I will do it without pay. Hope that clears the air a little bit regarding my thinking on this matter.
Ed
Hi,
Enjoyed your post as always.
It is hard sometimes to reply to everyone that you would like to help. Having two websites now myself, it is time consuming to create the content I know I need to create. This leaves less time for other things like helping in live chat.
Sometimes I wish there was more time in the day!
Sincerely,
Xin
Thanks Xin! I know it's hard Xin. Trust me, I have issues with this as well. I put in late hours, and start early in the morning.
I don't work outside of the home but sometimes I think it is harder to work from home. It certainly takes more discipline and organization.
I am not a big fan of live chat myself but have made myself frequent it more often and do not allow myself to be consumed in it.
I wanted to add to my last comment. I don't know how others feel about this but I don't normally give feedback or leave comments unless it is in SiteComments & SiteRubix.
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Love your post. I also am looking forward to becoming an ambassador soon. Much success in the future. Deanna
Thank you Deanna, much success and happiness to you as well. :)