Today, I came across a negative review about Wealthy Affiliate. It was bound to happen, wasn’t it? The internet is swarmed with glowing reviews of this affiliate marketing platform, there has to be something that may perhaps not be so great, right? Wealthy Affiliate negative reviews appear just like 1 star reviews on bestselling books. There are always unhappy customers, and truth be told, Wealthy Affiliate isn’t for everybody.
So, I was curious. I read the full article (it was quite long) and then I googled more negative reviews. I also found some bad Wealthy Affiliate reviews on Quora. In a nutshell, they all criticized the same points, which I will address in this article.
Before we begin, I have to tell you that I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate, and yes, if you decide to sign up through one of my links, I get a commission. I will be truthful in this review. As I said in the introduction, Wealthy Affiliate isn’t for anyone, and I suppose that this is where the complaints come from.
So, I will address the complaints and see what they are based on. After that, I will look at the good stuff Wealthy Affiliate includes. With that, I hope you’ll have enough information to make a thoughtful decision about whether you’d like to sign up or not. Sounds good?
To answer a first doubt that you may have, if Wealthy Affiliate is legit? Yes, it is. For more information about this platform and everything it offers, feel free to read the following article I wrote on that topic: Is Wealthy Affiliate Legit? Find Out Here
The Bad
- The first complaint was about the inability to make money within the first two or three months and sit back and relax for the rest of your life.
- There were also references to Wealthy Affiliate getting their members to promote the platform with the goal to obtain more members.
- The website building promise is “deceiving” …
- Training is outdated
- Some people complained about the Premium membership and the fact that when you cancel you cannot go back to a free membership.
Is it all that bad? Let’s see and find out.
1. The inability to make money within a short time period. In one article the blogger complained that the main sales page is “a bit misleading” and that it “oversimplifies the process of establishing a profitable site”. According to the blogger, Wealthy Affiliate doesn’t make it clear that building a business online takes time and hard work.
I remember the day I signed up for Wealthy Affiliate. It was 23 March 2019. Like you, I was sick and tired of all the scams, and as we all know, the internet is teeming with sites that promise you quick money with no to little effort. I came across a review of Wealthy Affiliate, and out of curiosity I clicked on the link.
At that time, I knew nothing about affiliate marketing, but I knew that it was a good way to make money online and I was interested in learning more about it. I also remember my first reactions when I landed on the Wealthy Affiliate main page. I’ll list them here, exactly as they came to my mind:
- “Nice, a free trial, with free training, and no annoying upsells”
- (after clicking on first training video): “this training is actually providing me value.”
- “A welcoming community, wow, people are nice here!”
- “Hey, the founders of this are very accessible, unlike most other sites I have come to.”
- “I can really learn something here”
- After one week: “wow, I learned a lot!”
At no point in that first week did I ever think that it was going to be an easy ride. Sure, I hoped to make my first affiliate commission after three months, because I didn’t know any better. Nonetheless, the founders, Kyle and Carson, never gave me the idea that the process of running a successful website would be quick and easy money. From the beginning they made it very clear that this takes time, effort, and patience.
That last point was a huge one for me, their honesty. There were no promises of quick money “with no to little effort”. On the contrary, they were very transparent about the fact that it could take 6 months or even a year before your first commission comes rolling in, but if you stick with it, you can make it.
The truth? There are members on the WA platform who after several months still have not earned anything, and there are other members who have been able to quit their day time jobs since their websites are bringing them 4 to 6 figure numbers.
One thing all the successful affiliates agree on: “You have to stick with it, and give it time. Don’t give up.”
In conclusion, this first complaint is only valid if you are expecting a “get-rich-quick” scheme like all the online scams are promoting. Wealthy Affiliate is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
“No complaint is more common … than that of a scarcity of money” – Adam Smith
Think about it. As of 2020, there are 1.74 billion websites. Let that sink in for a moment … 1.74 billion! When you perform a Google search, you only see about 9 or 10 websites on the first page. How did the website owners get their sites on Google page 1? Not in one month, not even in two or three months. To be on page 1 in the Google search (or Yahoo or Bing) among 1.74 billion websites is not easy. It takes hard work, and you need to be consistent before Google begins to trust your website as an authority.
2. Wealthy Affiliate as a niche, to promote the platform. The Make Money Online niche is a difficult one, and WA offers Bootcamp training to guide you to build a MMO website and promote Wealthy Affiliate as a niche. For a newbie this is not easy. There are success stories and there are others who have simply given up.
Many give up, that is a fact. I remember the welcome speech we got in my first year at university. The words “90% of the people standing in this hall will give up by the end of this year,” reverberated in my mind.
Would giving up be the university’s fault? I was one of those 90%. I failed my exams, because I spent too much time partying. Being away from a very strict home for the first time, I went a bit overboard. My failure in my first year at university was entirely my fault.
Failing at a restaurant … would the fault be the amount of good movies Netflix has on offer, stopping customers from coming to your restaurant? Could failure at your day time job be blamed on the terrible meetings with your boss? It is easy to blame others; you end up looking better for it (at least, to yourself)… but in the end, it all depends on ourselves.
Although I am well aware that WA Bootcamp is perhaps not for everyone, and that you shouldn’t start it if you are not 100% convinced you want to promote Wealthy Affiliate as a niche, there are WA members who are making a good income in the MMO niche.
3. The website building promise is “deceiving”.
OK; I know, “build your website in under 30 seconds” sounds a little out there. It doesn’t mean, however, that within 30 seconds you have a website with blog posts that is going to rake in thousands of dollars. It means that you have the basics for your website, and you can start building from there.
That was how I understood it the first time I saw the slogan “build your website in under 30 seconds”. The work that is required to make your website successful naturally takes a lot more than a mere 30 seconds. I think that that is quite clear from the beginning, so perhaps there is a misunderstanding or misinterpretation here.
4. Training is outdated
Yes, many of the training videos were recorded in 2015 or 2016, and they could use a new recording. Some things like Google Analytics have changed a little, and Google + is no longer around, so those things can certainly be updated. But honestly, do we need someone to hold our hands all the time?
Although the training could use some updates, it is still relevant, and only within your first week of training, you learn a lot of valuable information. I have learned so much in this one year that I have been a member, and I am still learning. It is an ongoing process. Considering how much knowlege I have gained, I can look past a few imperfections.
When I have a doubt or question, someone in the community will answer it for me, and you can also ask Kyle or Carson directly.
“If you’re not helping to make it right, then stop complaining about it being wrong.” Creola Dockery
5. Canceling your Premium membership doesn’t allow you to return to a free membership.
The free membership is great, but if you truly want to grow as an affiliate marketer and learn all there is to know, it is recommended to sign up for a Premium membership, which unlocks more advantages. The cost is $49 per month. With the yearly membership the cost is around $41 per month, which is a good deal.
If you decide to cancel Premium, you lose your account, there is no going back to a free membership. That may be a downer, so I advise that you back up your websites and export them to a new hosting platform before you cancel.
The Good
Wow, that was a long text about the bad stuff. Why then, am I still a member? Have I been “brainwashed into the 
WA cult” like some ex members like to claim? Certainly not. Wealthy Affiliate has simply given me the opportunity, training and support I have been looking for. It is important to be critical and have certain expectations, but I believe that too much cynicism is just going to block you from achieving your own goals.
Here are the good things:
- Training
- Weekly webinars
- Excellent site support and hosting
- Supportive community
- Low membership rate
- No upsells
- Excellent keyword research tool (Jaaxy)
- Access to 1000s of affiliate programs
- Premium membership includes 10 WordPress websites
Training
Woah, wait a minute, wasn’t there a huge complaint about the training being outdated? So, why am I mentioning it as a good point?
The negative things were listed according to the complaints I found online. They are not my complaints.
Although I agree that some training (but not all) should be updated, the video tutorials, reading material, and the webinars have provided me with a wealth of knowledge that has helped me with my websites and increased my book sales. So, the training is useful and will give you clear instructions as to how to go about setting up your website, blogging, inserting affiliate links, Google Analytics and Google Search Console, social media, and so on.
Weekly webinars
Every Friday, Jay Neil hosts a live weekly webinar which is attended by 100s of active members. He addresses several topics such as successful pinning on Pinterest, email marketing, SEO, and other useful themes. Jay’s webinars are structured, lively, and engaging; and at the end of each lesson, there is a live Q and A session. Every webinar is recorded and is posted in the WA classrooms, so in case you missed a Friday live class, you can always watch it later at your own time.
Excellent site support and hosting
Whenever I had a technical issue and I contacted site support about it, I received a reply within minutes. Their quick response time has always impressed me. I think that we can all relate to help desks that send you automated replies but then fail to get a human to deal with your issue (it has happened to me) or it would take 3 days before I finally got an answer. It depends on the platform, of course.
Some platforms have terrible response times, and others have a marvelous customer service. Wealthy Affiliate is among the latter.
Hosting is also superb. In all honesty, I do not understand the complaints about “bad hosting”, because in my case and many others, the hosting for my websites has been absolutely great.
Supportive community
The community on Wealthy Affiliate is extremely helpful. If you have a question, someone within the community will answer it. You can also share your progress on the WA blog or blog about related topics, and WA members will reply to it, offer advice if it is required, or cheer you on.
Although you start this online journey alone, it is good to know that there is a community of people that have your back. Family and friends may not always understand why you started “this online thing”, but on the platform you will find like minded people who have understanding for what you do and perhaps even why you are doing it. And let’s face it, what better motivation is there to find yourself surrounded by people who will support your endeavor and help you with advice and even more.
Low membership rate
Like I already explained in a previous paragraph, the monthly membership costs $49 US. The yearly membership is $ 495 US and every November there is a Black Friday which will give you an incredible discount on the yearly membership.
When you start out as a free member, you also have the option to get your first month as a Premium member for the introductory rate of $19 US, if you sign up within the first 7 days.
No upsells
This is a huge one for me. No upsells, no hidden surprises, no “but wait, get this unique extra for that special price and unlock more tools of our program”. No, none of that misleading crap. Pardon my language, but if there is one thing that makes me click the hell away, it is certainly upsells.
At WA, what you see is what you get, a one time price.
Excellent keyword research tool
For more info on Jaaxy and its benefits, please see my article about Jaaxy here.
Access to 1000s of affiliate programs
Within the platform you can research thousands of affiliates and sign up for them. This is a great help which saves you time. You can research affiliates in different categories such as health, finances, fashion, pets, jewelry, etc.
Premium membership includes 10 WordPress websites
Need I say more? 10 websites is a good amount. I doubt that you are going to use them all, but then again, everyone is different. Managing one website already takes up much time. I currently have four and I am running a fifth website for a friend. It keeps me busy, believe me 🙂 I enjoy doing it, though. 🙂
In Conclusion, The Truthfully
Do I recommend Wealthy Affiliate? Yes, absolutely. Do the complaints I found online have a valid basis? They do, if you have a “get-rich-quick” perspective.
If you are willing to invest time to build and work on your website(s), learn and grow, and put in patience and effort, then Wealthy affiliate is for you. If you want quick money, then I think it isn’t.
Be very wary of those programs that promise you quick results … 
Sure, there are other affiliate platforms that are just as good, better, or less good than Wealthy Affiliate, but in the end that will depend on what you are looking for. For some, Wealthy Affiliate is the perfect fit, and for others something else is. If you want to see for yourself, why don’t you try out the free membership and see if the training and everything else on the platform is a fit for you?
If it works for you, that’s great! And if it doesn’t, you can still opt out. Even if you decide to cancel your membership, you’ll leave with a lot of gained knowledge which you’ll have acquired in the process and which you can use for your own online business.
All good and valid points.
It doesn’t matter what the system is, there is never going to be a ‘one size fits all’ solution. We are all different and therefore have different expectations and apply ourselves to varying degrees, and this is why there will always be those that complain.
It’s like trying to cook eggs in a restaurant to suit everyone- Some will send them back because they are underdone, overdone, not enough, too much……for any and every reason imaginable.
Wealthy Affiliate, in my two years of being a member, are doing an outstanding job of providing a leading-edge business support structure for those of us who are serious about creating our own home based business for the long term.
Does it annoy me when I look at some of the older training modules and they are showing an old version of a page that does not relate to what I am looking at on my screen? Yeah, sometimes, but it’s ok. I can normally figure out what they are trying to teach me, and if not, I go to the live Q&A with the ever helpful community members, or direct to ‘Site Support.’ It seems that there is never an issue that cannot be resolved.
I’m grateful for ALL that I have learned from WA and for all that I still have to learn, and am grateful for the support of so many enthuastic older, experienced members who are willing to share their knowledge for free with all who ask for help.
Hi Andrew,
I like your example with the eggs in the restaurant. We all have indeed different expectations.
The live Q and A on the platform always helps solve any doubt there is, very true. WA members have always helped me with any doubts or questions.There is a lot to be grateful for, I agree.
I think this is one of the fairest WA review I’ve read for a while, particularly coming from a member.
I’m also a WA member, but it never struck me that I’m obligated to promote Wealthy Affiliate. I’ve built 3 sites in different niches and learnt loads along the way.
If I’m promoting Wealthy Affiliate, it’s the learning opportunities that it provides, and not some fancy overnight success promises.
Thanks for making your stance to the public.
There will always be some ‘haters’, people who didn’t succeed in a short period of time. I agree with you, there’s always good and the bad side. Honestly, there’s so much potential and I think it’s definitely worth money to join the community. For me its a number one and I am really happy I came across such a supportive community.
So many people think that making money online is a one-night gig and that’s why they usually preffer to say that so many affiliate courses are scams. Don’t get me wrong, scams do exist, but Wealthy Affiliate is not one of them.
I myself am a member of Wealthy Affilaite and can personally vouch for the content that’s inside. You want my advice? If you think you’ve got what it takes to succeed with WA, go for it. If not, don’t even bother!
Hi Gorjan,
I couldn’t agree more 🙂
Love your article, Christine, it’s good you addressed the criticism and commented on it in a respectful way. I think, if there were no negative reviews at all about WA, then there would be reason for suspision, don’t you agree?
I already am a member of WA (so unfortunately I can’t use your affiliate link – because that is also a hallmark of the community; we wish each other our success and our earnings) and I back you up on almost all your positive points.
The only thing I disagree with you about is the hosting. I don’t call it bad, mind you. The respons time is indeed really quick.
But I can’t install the plugins I want to have. I understand their reasoning for this: if everybody can do whatever they like on their website it can cause problems for others. But I fail to see why this should be the case, as I can do the things I want with my other host, not causing any problems for the other users.
But as said, I agree 100% with everything else you said. Great review. 🙂
Hi Hannie,
Thank you for pointing that out about the hosting. I wasn’t aware of it.
Christine,
I just read your very thorough article. I have been a Premium member of WA since April 2020 and I agree with everything you have to say about WA. I am VERY glad to be here!
I absolutely agree! I love WA! Right from the beginning, I never felt pushed into anything. They didn’t ask for my credit card details just after I signed up. The platform is nice and clean with a very discreet reminder in the corner ticking away how much time do you have left till your free membership expires. Unlike some other companies that ask you for all your information first and then they give you nothing. I have learned so many new amazing things. I have not made a sale yet (member for only two months) but it’s all about getting better at what you do and building your own website. I knew right from the beginning that this will be a marathon not a sprint. I agree that people should do research and try out the free membership. If it’s not for you then don’t sign up. No reason to leave a bad review. Thanks for this article again! Good read.
Every platform has its pros and cons. But I think it is important to look at the big picture. When you look at the big picture I believe that WA offers so much more in terms of value than many other platforms out there. If you simply consider the value you get in terms of the hosting, Jaaxy, domain names at a flat rate and above all the excellent community spirit then you already have so much value right there.
Overnight rich success was never the promise and in fact this is a massive plus for WA in terms of honesty and transparency about the truth. The truth in regards to hard work and dedication is required for online success. Why complaint about the truth? Do they want WA to lie to them telling them they are all going to be millionaires over night when they join WA? Lol.
In fact, to the contrary, you should be complaining about similar platforms that outright lies to your face telling you how easy it is to generate money online in a blink of an eye. Those that are lazy and do not want to put in the hard work are the ones that complaint as they want money to be offered to them on a silver platter without lifting a finger. That unfortunately only happens in movies and in the terminology of scammers.
It is time to get real, get off your backside and make your dreams happen through hard work and dedication. Nothing comes from nothing.
Best Wishes
Schalk
Very well put, Schalk. I couldn’t agree more. Thank you for your comment!
Hi Christine
I was going to leave WA but I‘m still there for a while at least. I couldn’t leave because I realised it’s a bit of a safe place for me. The internet can be a bit like the wild Wild West 🙂 I hope things are going well for you. Lovely writing style 🙂
Deb
Hi Deb,
I’m glad you’re staying. You’re very right about the internet being like the Wild West. Some say it’s a jungle online. It takes a while to find honest and legit platforms and Wealthy Affiliate is one of them 🙂
Thanks for visiting my blog!
Hi Christine,
I am also a WA premium member, so I think I have some experiences to resonate with what you mentioned here. Indeed, Wealthy Affiliate is not for everyone, especially those who like to pursue a get-rich-quick scheme.
Affiliate marketing takes time and hard work to see positive results; some made it quickly, while others made it slower. This all depends on how much time and effort you input into your online business. WA made me earn my first commission in less than one year, which I never think I can achieve, and those training courses, LIVE training sessions by Jay, and good support are the key factors that keep me stay with it.
So far, I haven’t met a platform that provides the same quality services at such affordable subscription fees. I suggest everyone who has concerns could join for FREE first to know how good it is to, then become a premium member. That is better for everyone.
Anyway, you are doing a good job by helping people to solve the questions they might have, I can see you are providing value today. 🙂
Cheers,
Matt
Building wealth is like building an empire,it’s not something that happens overnight. It takes time but majority is looking for money aboard, something that will happen suddenly. In the midst of it all, wealthy affiliate remains the best. Almost everything that exists have good and bad side but the main thing is that the good should be more than bad. Thank you for this review. You remain the leader per excellence
Thank you for this article. I am a member of wealthy affiliate platform and to be honest I know that in everything, people always have their negatives vibes about something. These negative reviews about wealthy affiliate is just a way to discredit the platform. Saying that it uses its members to promote the platform should not be a bad review because advertisement is the sole of business. Even with these reviews , I am still a full member of WA.
I absolutely agree, Maureen. Thank you for your comment!
Great review Christine,
Wealthy Affiliate is definitely one of them if not the best Online Business platform I’ve come across to date. The highly targeted content strategies lessons, the boosting features like that of the website health checker, and the warm community are what I believe brings the whole idea alive. Proud to be a WA-er 😀
I liked your post very much because you state things clearly. I feel there are a few negative reviews but the vast majority are positive comments about this platform. And I feel it’s nonsense that somebody may think they can have a site with posts and content up in 30 seconds. We’ll they could if it’s duplicate content. And that’s not good.
Christine,
This the best review I have ever read about wealthy affiliate. I’m a member of wealthy affiliate, I have written a review for wealthy affiliate too. But I must say you have addressed in detail every question someone out there may be asking about wealthy affiliate before deciding to sign up or not to sign up.
Every platform have their pros and cons. wealthy affiliate is not get a rich overnight platform. But if you stick around with the training and implement what the platform teaching you will have a long term success by all means.
Thank you, Albright! I’m glad you liked my review. 🙂
When I come accross this complaint of inability to make money on time, I laugh. Why? I see them as hungry and people who are not ready to work. I made my first 8USD from a wealthy affiliate in my sixth month, and after the next came at 8th month. Wealthy affiliate is not a quick-rich scheme, you should be ready to learn and work before you start making money.
Hi Christine,
Cannot thank you enough, what an amazingly thorough review you have done on Wealthy affiliate. Yes there would always be haters for sure. I myself just started with wealthy affiliate, The people of this community are always out to help you. Kyle , Carson always close by, randomly drops words of encouragement. Its been awesome few days. I just completed the creating of my website today. I am ready to put in the hardwork