Tried It, Tested It, Talking About It: What you need to know about Wealthy Affiliate University -- A full Review

Wealthy Affiliate University
Overall Ranking: 9.9 out of 10
Price: ~~$47.00 Premium Membership~~ or Free Lifetime Membership
Owners: Kyle and Carson
Website: WealthyAffiliate.com

INTRODUCTION

If you have read my Getting Started page, you will know that I really enjoy being a part of Wealthy Affiliate University. In this post, I'm not only going to explain why I enjoy it, but I'm also going to illustrate what WA is all about. But most importantly, if you are interested in Internet Marketing, I will
show you through this review what Wealthy Affiliate University can do for you to help you attain your goals with Internet Marketing.

First off, here is a small list of what Wealthy Affiliate University is NOT:

It is not a Get Rich Quick Scheme!

You will not find any pushy advertising gimmicks to get you to buy into next best program that is sure to fatten your wallet.
You will not see any up-sells in their back office that will get you on a Fast Track
You will not see fake testimonials, with PayPal Payment proofs showing the $1000's they have raked in
You will not find +Kyle and +Carson (WA co-owners) pressuring you to buy into anything because you won't make any money if you don't do what 'WE' are doing right now.

It is not an MLM company

You will not be pressured to canvass friends, family, neighbours in order to recruit them and have them purchase products.
There is no selling, or purchasing (overpriced) products in order to make any money

Image from Wikipedia Commons Public Domain

There is no purchasing of high priced Branded Marketing Kits, or Business Kits to run your business with

It is not a Pyramid, Ponzi, Forced Matrix, Chain Letter or any other type of SCHEME that's running rampant on the Internet right now.

Wikipedia has a wonderful article on Pyramid Schemes and other Pyramid "type" schemes

I think I just mentioned 99% of the PROGRAMS that are out there in describing what Wealthy Affiliate University is NOT!

What is Wealthy Affiliate University then?

I like to think of Wealthy Affiliate University as a community of like-minded Internet Marketers that are more than willing to assist your efforts in pursuing a career in Internet Marketing -- and that includes the co-owners Kyle and Carson. It does not matter if you are just beginning, or have some experience in IM, or are very experienced and want to gain further insight into IM, Wealthy Affiliate can help.

Wealthy Affiliate University is a school, but not in the traditional sense. There are many, many courses that WA offers on the site, and each is specific to a certain aspect of Internet Marketing. For example, if you want to pursue Niche Marketing, the Certification Courses are targeted to getting you started in Niche Marketing. By the time you have worked through Level One of the Certification Course you will have the frame work built for a marketing website that will be up and running LIVE in the Niche you have chosen to pursue.

Here's a more personal example of what Wealthy Affiliate University can do for you.

Midnight Swim, by Frank Sirianni

I love to draw. I started drawing when I was 37 years old. A friend of mine, who is an artist, got me started with drawing. Other than his initial tutelage, I am self taught in pencil sketching. I bought several books about drawing, and continued using them with a passion to learn more and improve my skills.

After a few years, I started to scan my artwork and save it on computer. I found Picassa where I could store these pictures on-line and not have to worry about my computer crashing and losing all my work. Through Picassa, I found Blogger and started a small blog with the hopes of getting feedback about my work. From there I fell in love with Blogging too. So, I started a couple of blogs (with varying degrees of popularity).

After a couple years, because I love drawing so much, I got the idea of helping people who want to learn to draw. The people who I wanted to help are people that could not get into a formal setting to learn to draw. I wasn't aiming for people who want to become professional artists, mainly I wanted to help people that wanted to learn for themselves.

Because of this, I started to build a real website using a couple of different "free" website platforms. I thought that this website would be all I would need to get my project rolling and help people find resources to help them learn to draw. Boy was I wrong. I knew nothing about getting traffic to my site. SEO, Keywords, or even Relevant Content were foreign concepts to me. Did I ever get discouraged that my sites weren't working. I pretty much gave up on the idea.

But it stayed in the back of my mind that there had to be a way that I could make this idea work.

A couple of more years went by, and trying program after program, I got caught up in Internet Marketing Schemes that did not help with my goal. Instead, they made it seem that my goal was almost impossible to achieve.

Then I found Wealthy Affiliate University. My eyes opened up, but I admit, my brain hurt a little.

There is so much material at WA, that everything I thought I knew about computing amounted to pretty much zilch. But I started to realize by working through the courses offered, that my idea might have a chance after-all.

Raven Clan Talisman, by Frank Sirianni

The courses at WA are broken down into lessons, which also have relevant video tutorials and several tasks to complete. The course I started with is the Certification Course-Level One. This course is about building websites in Niche Marketing and is designed to be Learn-by-Doing. By the time you finish this course you have a real WordPress Website up and running using the Niche you chose to build it for. And it's only Level One!

I don't think I need to tell you what Niche I chose for my first Niche website, but if you want to check out a real result of a WA course, check out my Foxxfyrre's Black and White Art website. It is a young website, but for the first time since I started with this idea, I know that I am on the right track with it. And for that, I have to thank Kyle and Carson at Wealthy Affiliate University.

End of Personal Example :)

So, let's get on with the Review of Wealthy Affiliate University shall we.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

I don't like to think of Wealthy Affiliate University as a product. I didn't join WA so I could have the newest organic coffee flavour, or an Herbal-Something-Something-Shake, or the latest Business-in-a-Box to market. (Here's a really good explanation of what I mean by Business-in-a-Box by Daniel Euregetes).

I much rather think of Wealthy Affiliate University this way:

Wealthy--As in a WEALTH of information at your disposal to learn about marketing on the web.

By utilizing this WEALTH properly, there's nothing stopping you from becoming Wealthy

The sky's the limit!

Affiliate--By simply joining WA you are Affiliating yourself with something very unique in the industry. Although, how to become an effective Affiliate Marketer with any affiliate program, such as Amazon, is part of the course material at WA.

You can also become a Wealthy Affiliate University Affiliate Marketer (that's a mouthful) and base your entire business model on this aspect alone.

Many members at WA are only using the Affiliate aspect of WA for their marketing business. Many have been doing so for years.

University--It may not be a traditional school, but mark my words--you will learn. And Learn-by-Doing

No Research or Term Papers
No tuition fees -- You can join as a Free Member for Life
No Pop Quizzes
Many, many courses in all aspects of Internet Marketing
Active Classes and Discussion groups for every lesson. Discussion is encouraged at WA
Weekly Webinars--or more precisely WAbinars
Help is everywhere on WA if you have problems or get stuck on a concept

A large active forum on all topics
Many members are elite marketing professionals that will help you. All you need to do is pose the question
Kyle and Carson, the co-owners, provide help and answers for anyone on WA, and they are very approachable (on an internet platform kind of way)
Live active chat where you can get instant help on just about any topic. Kyle and Carson are both very active on Live chat

No tests--the only thing you are truly testing is yourself
No Grad Parties, Proms, Homecomings, or Fraternity/Sorority Parties -- Sorry

BUT! BUT! You can EARN an All Expenses Paid Trip to a WA Convention in Las Vegas by Affiliate Marketing with WA

A Truly Tangible Result--A business you have built from the ground up.

I could really go on about what Wealthy Affiliate is, but to really get a feel of what I'm talking about you should give WA the benefit of any doubt and sign in with a FREE LIFE TIME MEMBERSHIP . There really is no risk, no up-sells, and you can get a real feel if WA is a good fit for you.

Wealthy Affiliate University -- The Positives

Again, I think I could go on forever about the pros of WA, but I think I have mentioned a good portion of them in describing WA above. So I'll save you that. I will say this though, I personally believe that joining WA is the best decision I've made for myself and family in a very long time.

Wealthy Affiliate University -- The Negatives

I did a lot of Google searches about WA long before I became a member of WA. I searched for terms like: "Is Wealthy Affiliate University a Scam", or "W.A.U. Review", or "Is W.A.U. for Real." I used many search terms and read many, many opinions about WA. Through reading all of these opinions, one of the most common complaints about WA is that it can be quite overwhelming when you first start out due to the vast amount of material WA has to offer.

This I have experienced first hand. But is it really a negative thing? I really don't think so. My best advice if you do feel like you are overwhelmed is to Take Your Time with the material. Set yourself some reasonable and achievable goals that you know you can accomplish.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. But my Great-Great-Great-Gr.-Gr.-...-Great Grand Father played the violin when it burnt down. Just Kidding! I am of Italian decent, but I think I'd rather have Julius, or Augustus as hopeful Emperors for distant relatives. Joking aside, your IM Business, or the SUCCESS of that business can't be built in a day either. Just like learning the material offered at WA, you have to set real achievable goals for your IM business as well. One well planned step at a time. Success will come.

If you do get stuck on a concept, pose the question on WA either in forums, on chat, within the classrooms or discussions, or even post it on your personal blog.

Yes, I forgot to mention that every member has their own personal blog that every member can read and it even gets indexed in Google. (which I should have added to the Positives). You will get an answer from just about anyone within WA, be it highly skilled members, newbies to IM that just happen to know the answer, or even Kyle or Carson, or even me. If I know the problem and see the question, I sure will jump in with an answer for you. Believe me, you won't be the first person stuck on any particular problem. If you are stuck on a topic, it is highly likely that many members have been stuck on the same thing.

Kyle and Carson are huge believers in helping one another within WA. Without help and support for each other, how could anyone possibly achieve anything in IM? Being stuck on a concept can easily lead to frustration and eventually giving up if there is no support behind you.

Just try to be very specific when posing the question. Even provide an example of what you are stumbling over if it makes your question easier to understand. If questions are too general in nature, it gets difficult for the person who is trying to help you to narrow down the best answer possible.

WHO IS WA REALLY FOR?

One word: YOU!
And I mean that.
Are you and absolute beginner with Internet Marketing? But you have an idea, or a even a dream that you want to work on to start an IM business.
Then WA can help you -- Big Time!

Are you an experienced Internet Marketer, but are needing/wanting to expand your business or IM knowledge?
You will definitely find that WA can help you.

Are you already a successful Internet Marketing Entrepreneur?
Then you will find that WA is an essential tool in your already well stocked toolbox.

In other words, WA is really for everyone that wants to be, or already is an Internet Marketer which includes YOU. Unless, of course, you are the owner of Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Google or any other internet mega business. And if you are one of these Mega-Business-Super-Stars, what the heck are you reading this review for--A little bored are we? But Thank you for reading.

WA TRAINING/TOOLS OVERVIEW

The training at WA is very thorough, comprehensive, and most of all it is current. There is training within WA that is balanced for all levels of member experience. Everyone from a fresh newbie to experienced Internet Marketers will gain from the courses at WA.

The courses and training materials are in many formats:

Live weekly video training classes aka WAbinars
Courses that are task based (learn by doing)
Two streams of courses each with 4 levels
Training videos focusing on different areas of Internet Marketing
Very active classrooms
Tutorials: Video and Walk-through tutorials that are example driven
Interactive discussion
Very active forum--A great place to find answers to problems or share information on every topic at WA

All of these combined result in over 1000 complete training modules. Each one Classroom focusses on entirely different aspect of Internet Marketing. Essentially, you can develop your business model from any of these and generate income from them.

The tools and services at WA are also very comprehensive:

Built in Keyword Research tool
WordPress Express--You can build your website in 3 simple steps.
Low competition Key Word Lists
2 Free WordPress Websites for free members
Unlimited Websites for Premium Members
Unlimited Cloud hosting for Premium Members
Rapid Writer -- A text editor to assist with Articles/Posts that will analyse your content. Kyle refers to Rapid Writer as you contents best friend.
Over 1400 Free Themes for your Websites

WA "REDEFINES" WHAT SUPPORT MEANS

Support is where WA really shines in my opinion. The courses, tools and services are all phenomenal, but their support is far superior than any other program out there. WA has been designed with a focus in supporting its members from the very beginning.

If you have a question--you will get an answer.

If you are stuck on a concept--you won't be for long.

You will be surprised at how quickly someone at WA will help you with any difficulty you may be having. Even if a question that you asked has been answered, you can bet your boots that Kyle and/or Carson will also add clarification and additional information for you. They really are that helpful.

PRICE--How Much will WA REALLY COST

Starter Membership-$0 Free to join (here)

Premium Membership-$47 per Month/$359 per Year join (here)

The Starter Membership

Don't expect something for nothing. Usually, these are wise words to go by.

Wealthy Affiliate University's Free Membership for Life does a complete 180 degree turnabout on that phrase. You can expect a lot from your Free Membership for life. Everything I described in the WA Product Overview is all available with your Free Starter Membership. It's another example of how WA is redefining support for its members.

But to realize any value from their Free Membership for Life offer, you need to join. All you need to do is Click Here

If you join, allow yourself some time to absorb WA fully. If you want to learn to build a website with your own niche, I recommend starting with Certification Course Level One.

Can't find an appropriate niche? Try the Bootcamp Course. It is specifically designed for affiliate marketing with a pre-chosen niche.

The Premium Membership

WA was designed as a platform to help people become successful in IM. The Premium Membership is the real deal in IM. It is so comprehensive and so targeted to help you achieve your goals in IM. The tools, the courses, the video training, unlimited WordPress Website Hosting, and the list goes on..

At this point, I'm going to go to the Horse's Mouth and quote Kyle directly about WA Premium Membership:

"I always say that once you have Wealthy Affiliate Premium, you will never buy another guru book, internet scam, or expensive online success course again. I mean it! Absolutely EVERYTHING you need is at WA, including the 1-on-1 expert help from real living, breathing and proven experts.

You will never get scammed again online if you are a Premium member at Wealthy Affiliate, I can assure you of that".

You can read his entire personal take on Wealthy Affiliate Here

FINAL OPINION/VERDICT

Tried It, Tested It, Talking About It is all about helping people avoid the pitfalls, greedy gurus, or outright scams that are spread throughout the Internet and running rampant.

So,

I've Tried WA, I've Tested WA, and I'm REALLY Talking About WA

My verdict: Wealthy Affiliate University is a totally legitimate program.

That being said, be prepared for lots of work and lots to learn.

But you will never know unless you jump in and experience WA yourself.

Review Summary