Wealthy Affiliate Ambassador, Is it Worth It?

Wealthy Affiliate Ambassador, Is it Worth It? (from a Long-Time WA Ambassador)

Is becoming a Wealthy Affiliate Ambassador really worth it? 

Recently I’ve seen more and more new and intermediate members expressing discontent about what their expectations were coming to WA compared to their results.

Experience Wealthy Affiliate

There have been posts by newbie's I read briefly that got me thinking as to what could be an indirect contributing factor to such a newbie member's frustration.

This led me to write my post based on my own personal observations, which comes from what I have witnessed here in my almost 2.5 years with Wealthy Affiliate.

More...

Despite this honest critique post about the current WA Ambassador program, I remain that Wealthy Affiliate is still my #1 Recommended program.

wealthy affiliate ambassador rank #9

Indeed, I  am certainly a person uniquely qualified to speak here, I have been a Wealthy Affiliate Ambassador for 525+ Days, and I am currently ranked #9 Ambassador (out of 1.5 million members).

You can also see I've written 396 blog posts and have over 4K followers in Wealthy Affiliate. 

That's is the vast majority of time I've been a member of Wealthy Affiliate. 

wealthy affiliate ambassador for 500 days


I never used to feel this way, but I honestly now believe that much of this disconnect is indirectly related to the Ambassador program that is currently in place.

There are affiliate links within this post. What this  means is that if you decide to purchase anything through one of my links, I'll be rewarded with a small commission at absolutely no extra cost to you. This small commission helps me run and maintain my website.


wealthy affiliate ambassador is it a double edged sword?

The WA Ambassador Program is a Double-Edged Sword

Stay Focused on Your Business, BUT…….

In order for success to happen for each of us over time, we all need to stay here, complete ALL the Wealthy Affiliate training, and STAY laser focused on our businesses.

And above it, that focus needs to always remain consistent.

I truly love the fact that we here at Wealthy Affiliate are a “pay-it-forward” community that helps each other. It should always remain this way.

Wealthy Affiliate is STILL my #1 Recommended Program to learn how to build a money-making business online.

WA encourages the community to “pay-it-forward” by providing recognition to its members who are the most active here within the community.

 But with the good news, comes some bad news.

Experience Wealthy Affiliate

In other words, those who “do it the most’ and “do it the best.”

This kind of recognition is incentivized through a virtual numerical “leaderboard” based on the weighted average of 3 Criteria: Helper, Creator, and Activity to score the Top 25 Ambassadors of WA.

The Ambassador program has many great attributes. It has a wonderful effect on keeping members active within the community, and to get newbies engaged in the community by:

  • Giving them incentive to create their very 1st blogs
  • To practice developing their writing by more publishing more WA blog posts
  • Give comments on other WA blogs
  • Helping them respond to other people’s comments
  • Motivating them to create WA Training (after 3 months)

Etc, etc…

This is all good news.

wealthy affiliate ambassador program is a distraction

I Hate To Say It…..The WA Ambassador Program is a Distraction

As fun, exciting, and challenging as the Ambassador program is, especially for newbies, it is a distraction away from building a business.

Now I have heard experienced members give much well-intended advice ad nauseum to newbies for a long time (and even other experienced members very correctly might I add).

Here’s what they would say,

“Focus on your business, don’t worry about your rank.”

“Being active on the platform isn’t earning you income.”

“The people making the real money are the ones who are not active here.”

And they are not wrong.

The truth is however, as much as a person is TRYING to focus on their businesses, that ambassador “buzz” is always buzzing somewhere in the background tempting them with a distraction.

There is always the "show and tell" factor looming in the background.

From what I have seen over and over again the past 2.5 years here, it is simply easier said than done to maximize one’s efficiency when there is always something buzzing “in the background.”

And...

Here’s an example.

Maybe we just finished spending several hours writing a great 2000 word post on our website. Great work and we are proud of what we accomplished.

Time to take a deserved break, right?

So what do we do?

We go on the WA platform, only intending to make a few comments for a max. 10-15 minutes – but that doesn’t happen.

The person gets caught up reading (and being entertained) by other member’s posts, making spirited comments on various posts (leading only to more comments)…..

Then after reading some posts, and making these comments, they are suddenly inspired to write their own WA post.

And so on…and so on….

Don’t deny it.

See what was only intended to be a short break for 10-15 minutes making a few comments has suddenly turned into 3 hours of unproductivity!

WA makes up an amazing community

The WA Community: Incomparable

It’s the WA Community.

Sharing, engaging, and helping others by paying-it-forward within the WA community is the most amazing hallmark of WA.

It is something that should never change.

This to me IS the single greatest attribute that differentiates Wealthy Affiliate from other affiliate marketing education platforms.

I also believe this.

The members who give others the most help within the WA community and “pay-it-forward” the most will always give the most help and pay-it-forward the most.

Whether there is an Ambassador program in place or not.

It is in their DNA.

Experience Wealthy Affiliate

Here’s the problem: whenever a company makes a leader board public is when this brings out a less attractive competitive spirit and ego that ends up detracting from someone’s business.

The truth is a few can ignore it.

However most cannot.

Sure there is a fun factor to the Ambassador system that we all love.

However, we all know the reason we came here for: to learn how to create a successful online business for ourselves.

Here are 2 Questions

The question is are we employing a “fun” ranking system at what cost to creating a greater number of successful entrepreneurs coming from WA?

Given this premise, here are my 2 Big Questions:

  • Can we do away with the current WA Ambassador ranking system and create a higher business success rate for WA entrepreneurs who are trying hard to start their own 1st time profitable online businesses?
  • Can we eliminate the Ambassador system and yet still maintain a “pay-it-forward” culture?

I firmly believe the answer to both is “Yes.”

But what are the alternatives?

wealthy affiliate ambassador, should the system be replaced?

A Replacement for the WA Ambassador System?

Here are some alternatives I might suggest that could increase an even greater number of WA success stories and business productivity on a whole:

  • Do away with a public virtual leaderboard that encourages time away from our businesses
  • Replace the Ambassador system with incentive-based credits for offering help by “paying-it-forward” to the community

The key is to eliminate any such public ranking system (an Ambassador system) that creates a distraction from “real” work, which promotes competitive activity on the platform, and to a lesser extent gaming of the system.

wealthy affiliate ambassador? You be the judge!

What are your thoughts here?

Could any such replacement incentive-based system be put in place that would be superior to the Ambassador program to nurture greater “real” productivity and thus creating more WA Success Stories?

You be the judge!

Let me know what you think in the comment section below. .

About the Author

KAJU is the band leader and founding member of OFF THE HOOK, one of the premiere dance party bands in the New York Tri-State Area. After contracting a mysterious hand disorder, Kaju now writes to help other musicians and artists deal with disabilities. Currently he is a Full-time Affiliate Marketer and 1-on-1 mentor at Wealthy Affiliate, a community that can help anyone start an online business without prior experience. This is where he teaches others how to make a great passive income. Read more about his story here!

  • Cheryl Brown says:

    I really think that you have raised a very good point here. I never truly understand the rush to become an Ambassador. Yes, I have been one but it took me over a year to achieve. I can honestly say that it was all down to my own hard work and helping members.

    However, I personally think that it should be taken away altogether and the idea of replacing it with being able to get credits for paying-it-forward, as much as I think this is a good idea I am not entirely sure that it would solve problems.

    I think that it is courteous to help someone if they ask for it, not just so you can obtain credits. We should be doing this automatically without thinking that there is a reward at the end if you help this person.

    Well done for raising this subject and will be interesting to see what ideas are made.

    • Kaju says:

      I totally agree Cheryl, thank you for your very wise comment. I also mention this is the post that the people who are always inclined to help, would help anyway regardless whether there was an Ambassador program or incentive-based program in place.

  • Saane says:

    I totally agree with your alternative solutions and especially the one, where you suggest taking down the public display of ranking.

    In my opinion, any PIF ranking that is publicised in any work place can cause positive and negative reaction.

    Positive – people may work harder towards being better service. It also is a fun way of encouraging people to help others.

    Negative – it can become a contest and as you say, very distracting from the real goals of achievements.

    Once again, even though you have written this review on being an Ambassador ranking at Wealthy Affiliate, the points you made, are true of any work, or business situation.

    We all need that right balance of learning to give and do just enough.

    Thank you for writing another thought provoking blog.

    • Kaju says:

      Thank You Saane, public displays only lead to explorations in vanity.
      We are all human, give us a platform to massage our egos, and things can turn unattractive.

      There are some GREAT ambassadors here (including Muah…HahHa!!), WA truly needs a replacement program to eliminate the distractions. From what long-time members are telling me, people used to help MORE at WA before there was ever an Ambassador program, and more progress was made toward building successful businesses. So many people cannot be wrong.

  • Lynn says:

    I love Wealthy Affiliate and have been a member for many years. I do personally think it’s a distraction. This is because newbies don’t know or understand yet that their rank within WA is not important. The only rank that is important is how Google ranks the posts from your website.

    Because WA rank does not make you money, but a high rank for your website will make you money. However, some people think the WA ranking and Ambassador program are fun. It’s also been in action for several years, so now it’s a little too late to put that cat back in the bag without ticking off the loyalists.

  • Kaju says:

    You make excellent points here Lynn.

    There have been some who have said to me ,”If the person allows this to distract them, the need to learn discipline.” I believe this is being too idealistic. As human beings, when a leader board is made public it is difficult not to be influenced.

    The problem at WA is a systemic one, and YES it is a distraction away from doing REAL business that will make someone money. And it also turns off people that joined Wealthy Affiliate that don’t want that distraction.

    Thanks for a great comment Lynn. So true.

    • Lynn says:

      Exactly, this is not merely a discipline thing, it’s something that people are literally encouraged to involve themselves in. It becomes almost an ego thing in a sense too and people chase the rank….the wrong rank. And others are caught off guard because they didn’t ask for the designation to begin with.

      If a newbie joins, gets dug into the training hardcore and happens to ask a lot of question or blog or whatever….next thing they know, they are top 200, then top 100, top 50 and they don’t understand why. Then people start asking THEM for help, not realizing they are new and are just learning!

      • Kaju says:

        No doubt Lynn, I couldn’t agree with you more. This is an “elixir” that cannot easily be controlled, Saying someone should discipline themselves is simply too convenient! (and I am being euphemistic here)!

  • Vicki says:

    I was an Ambassador with WA for 122 days and decided to focus more on my business even though I love helping people and my business growth has tripled since I made this decision
    I am building my future 1st and foremost so spend 90% of my time doing this now and helping out when I have time

    • Kaju says:

      A very wise decision Vicki. Yes, I personally believe the ambassador program needs an overhaul as it can become a distraction for most people. And to say, “Well, if the person is distracted, they need to learn discipline” is too idealistic. We are all human. Leader boards in general that are made public can lead to distractions away from business. This is a systemic issue that needs improvement.

  • Fran Kelso says:

    Gee, you have posed a hard one!

    After being in Wealthy Affiliate for 10+ months, I finally became an Ambassador. I am delighted by having moved up this far in rank, but I do find that what you say is true in one respect. I do not have as much time as I’d like to work on my site, because filling the ambassador role takes away some of that time.

    I enjoy reading peoples’ posts and I enjoy commenting on them. It’s like finding out what’s happened to the family while we’ve been elsewhere. However, it takes time. Especially now, with the Super Affiliate Challenge going on, it’s even harder to find the time I need. I am keeping two websites afloat. It’s crazy. At least it forces me to make some kind of plan to cover everything.

    As to whether I think we should change the program, I am torn. I think it is good for newbies to know there are folks here who have been here long enough that they can be helpful. I think it is important for ambassadors to spend time with this folks, especially. I think it helps them to know there is someone they can look to with knowledgeable answers.

    On the other hand, perhaps there is a way to come up with some other kind of award for a member’s progress. Unfortunately, though I recognize the nature of the problem, am not sure how I’d change it.

    • Kaju says:

      First Congratulation on becoming an Ambassador! Well-deserved and it is a nice accolade of recognition.
      Indeed Fran, I know the dichotomy of being an ambassador – I have been one for 530 Days and counting!

      However, I do believe as well as I manage it, it can become a distraction for all the reasons I’ve mentioned (both in the post and within other’s comments – you can read them) and there needs to be an incentive-based improvement. We shall see about those details, its definitely a hard one.

  • Nicole says:

    I really don’t mind the Ambassador program personally. It’s up to each member to manage their time and business.

    • Kaju says:

      Thanks Nicole, I appreciate your comment and it makes sense. The problem is many cannot. I’ve seen it many times over.
      It would be easy to say, “Well, if the person is distracted they need to learn better discipline.” But we are all human, and the presence of leader boards can be a big distraction from our businesses.

      It would be easy for me to state I love this program, I have been a WA Ambassador for 530+ days, and I admit it it FUN, but you need to know how to handle and manage it.

      That’s why IMO, this is a systemic problem. Too many people can’t, and there needs to be a new and better solution.

      Kaju

  • Monica Bouteiller says:

    You certainly bring up interesting points.

    I haven’t received that status yet and not sure I want to be an Ambassador. Certainly, folks like you are deserving to have the title because you all have taken the time to help many people like me.

    I think it would be good to have some kind of a more awarding system like maybe a free trip to Vegas while still maintaining the title of Ambassador.

    It’s important to have “Ambassadors” in my opinion, and I believe it’s a real honour to have that title. I do appreciate many of them really go out of their way to help other members.

    Being an Ambassador does require a lot of discipline to allocate so many numbers of minutes helping others while still maintaining their own online business.

    Having said that, this makes me think of what Kyle said in our Super Affiliate Challenge and that is to spend 15 minutes on Live Chat.

    Have you brought your thoughts to Kyle and Carson?

    • Kaju says:

      Hi Monica,

      This is a very controversial and delicate subject,and it always has been since the Ambassador program was implemented.
      It is so delicate (a-hem!) that this was originally a post on WA, but it was taken down. The WA founders love and are married to their ambassador program, and simply do not want anyone to question it.

      Yes, I can see why, it is an incentive for ALL new members to achieve Ambassador, it is a “Status Symbol”, but unfortunately it is an even greater distraction. Too many newbies (nd old-bies) have become obsessed with heir ranking to become an ambassador, it’s an ego trip. From the WA founders standpoint, it attracts lots of new memberships, and keeps many people from ever leaving WA as they are always trying to achieve tha fleeting “ambassador status.”

      But at what cost?

      I love it how so many people will say, “There is no problem with the program. If people are distracted, then they need to learn self-discipline in business.”
      But this is an extremely idealistic point of view.

      When 10,000’s of people (and I see it everyday) are chasing Top 25 “ambassadorship” and being distracted from working on their businesses in the process, this proves this is a SYSTEMIC proble, NOT an individual problem.

      Believe me, I know how tempting and FUN being an ambassador can be, currently at # 9 and holding that title for 530+ days. It affects me too at times.
      You have to manage it properly, I can but unfortunately most cannot.

      I never thought I would say it, but there needs to be a new replacement.

      Kaju

  • Sandy says:

    I agree the ranking system needs to be changed. Kyle and Carson are ranking for the wrong reasons. They should rank us for website creating, and then for helping others in the community, I think the pay it forward is the strongest asset of WA. But I see so many members get caught up in the ranking system. They forget why they are here. To make money, then help. As I stated earlier, I dislike censorship. You brought up an excellent question, that needs attention, by Kyle and Carson.
    Sandy

    • Kaju says:

      Sandy, you are totally spot on. I agree. The pay it forward system is the strongest asset of WA. And the community of 1.5 million as well.
      But too many members get caught up in the ranking system to where it becomes a distraction away from their business. They are too focused on making ambassador, which becomes an obsession. The wrong obsession.

      Sorry, I disagree with what some say, that ‘If someone is distracted, then they need to learn discipline. That’s their problem” Wrong. We are all human, and can easily get sucked in by public leader boards.

      This is a systemic problem.

      And censorship? Forget it!
      This post was originally posted on WA, but they took it down.
      Actually they did me a favor, which is the reason I posted it here.

      Because this is MY real estate now:)

  • Dawn says:

    I’m not sure exactly what this is about. Is there somewhere I can find out more info about this Wealthy Affiliate place? Sounds interesting.

  • Kaju,

    As a fellow member of Wealthy Affiliate and a very recent Ambassador, I fully understand the issues you bring up in this post, especially the comments of others you had cited at the beginning.

    The very successful WA members do focus more on their own business and less on the WA platform and yet once they happen to stop by, due to their roles as super affiliates or ambassadors the pay it forward spirit ensues again and before you know it they get drawn in answering questions, making suggestions, etc.

    I do not feel I do deserve the ambassador title and yet I do not take it lightly as I try to provide value with whatever comments I make on substantive matters, while surely at times there is also the lighter social media aspect of members’ interaction.

    The balance is most likely tilted towards the role of the ambassador than on focusing on my own websites or funnels.

    I am going to ponder on the conclusions and suggestions you have made and return with some more comments at a later date.

    Blessings!

    • Kaju says:

      Gabriel, you are a worthy Ambassador and you carry the torch well by offering genuine hep to others. However, what I most respect about you is that you focus on your businesses most while providing insightful information to others within the community and remaining humorous and light-hearted! Wonderful traits!

  • Vilius88 says:

    Wealthy Affiliate’s Ambassador system has only one objective and that is to keep boosting its site ranks for thousands of keywords. It is to give WA the maximum visibility gained due to fresh blog content, so that more and more people sign up for a free and then a paid membership. WA’s free starter membership converts people who can afford it to Premium very easily. Those who don’t have money can stay on the permanently free membership and convert to Premium when they have money. The effort is to push the incoming traffic in with a free entry to a starter membership and then make them stay on to get them addicted to the community.

    All the publishing features on WA(blog, chat, comments, live help etc) are primed to persuade the newest of newbies to type something and once they start they never stop because they see their ranks going up. Once they are excited and get addicted to commenting, they keep going to become an Ambassador. For them it becomes the ultimate goal. Creating and developing a website and a real business that will earn them money is soon forgotten.

    90% members in the top 200 either have no website or a basic one with a few articles and no earnings. The rest 10% become authentic Ambassadors but only due to being active with useful posts, answering questions about their own success and update posts, training and help that they give in chat.

    It is a vicious cycle that feeds the machine, and the machine only keeps getting bigger with time thanks to the fresh content strategy through daily new WA blogs and comments which gets enough traffic through keyword search results. Another big chunk of traffic is driven by affiliate bootcamp sites with WA reviews funneled from posts about all kinds of products.

    WA is a hugely successful business for its owners and they will probably change nothing that’s on it. They have also created a sub brand around Kyle with a feeling that he is easily accessible. Not true. If you think all of Kyle’s comments(hundreds every day) and private messages are typed by him it is not so at all. There must be a trained team of assistants who work during US day hours to answer each question that is asked of him, and also puts in random comments especially in the comments sections of the training course lessons. His blog posts may be created by him or could be written by copywriters after which he may be taking a look and giving permission to publish to his team.

    While a handful maybe 15 or 20 make it to the yearly Las Vegas conference as success stories(out of members in millions as claimed), a few dozen may have tried earnestly but not made it with their bootcamp sites. The vast majority either have only a few referrals or nothing at all. The community aspect encourages members to publish their success stories but you will see very few from non bootcamp members with niche websites. That is because there are not many niche website owners with success stories.

    The truth about Wealthy Affiliate is that eventually most members end up paying a recurring fee for posting daily posts and comments, becoming WA Ambassadors and then getting busy with retaining their top 200 position. The ranks fluctuate every day and it is a fight to stay at the top.

    It is well known fact that most people who buy courses and training programs do not take action. The owners of Wealthy Affiliate have cleverly converted this aspect into a flourishing business by making them pay for a misconception that they are successful bloggers by giving them blogging space and recognition inside their website.

    • Kaju says:

      I couldn’t agree more Vitaly. You are spot on. Here is a bigger question: Would you say then that the small percentage of WA members who are succeeding in bringing in paid premium WA referrals are only doing so because they are educating themselves through other outside courses and programs and taking action on that education. Is this the main reason why the small minority of the Top 200 is succeeding?

      • Vilius88 says:

        I am not Vitaly, nor the famous Vitaly of WA. I wish to remain anonymous. I hope that it does not make any difference to you or those who read this.

        The best example of an Ambassador gone wrong is illustrated by the top thread on WA today, “Want to make $500 per week?” which has received nearly 275 comments and 250 likes. The blogger who has published it is an Ambassador at rank number 10 and spends 10 hours or more every day commenting and publishing blog posts the latest being Fire in Queensland which has nothing to do with affiliate marketing anyway. As for his affiliate marketing posts, he should be the last person to give any advice on how to earn $500 per week because as per his own previous blog post he has earned an affiliate income of $15 for the month!

        Back to your question. Educating yourself through outside courses and programs is needed to keep yourself updated online where things change so fast. It does not mean that WA training is useless because it does teach the basics, even if some pieces are outdated. But sadly the basics only are not enough anymore for getting sites ranked for earning an income. Hence the need for more education.

        Some of the top affiliates have their own training courses outside WA. One top five Ambassador who has a regular training commitment with WA has his own coaching program on his website also promoted by other Ambassadors that teaches about the importance of backlinks and how to get them, which is just the opposite of what the owners of WA insist on and teach about backlinks not being needed at all. If you really want to succeed like a true super affiliate you need to be ahead in every aspect of SEO and need to go through the latest courses or at least the information published by the top SEO websites .

        WA’s super affiliates are not true super affiliates and Kyle knows that. Any real super affiliate earns high 5 figures and upwards every month which is not the case with WA’s super affiliates who have a long way to go. Taking the highest affiliate commission of $175 multiplied by 300 Premium referrals during the year amounts to only about $4,400/mo. WAs super affiliates are now promoting high ticket programs such as Legendary Marketer and trying to move away from WA for higher commissions. Some of them stop promoting WA after reaching 300 Premium referrals early during the year and then promote other higher paying programs.

        • Kaju says:

          Your points are well taken. From what I understand however, Legendary Marketer has a system where in order to make higher commissions you must pay to be in higher levels through a series of upsells. Some affiliates have paid upwards of $17K just to qualify for those higher affiliate commissions. Many people have outright quit Legendary Marketer for this very reason; they were tired of being “reamed” by the mandatory upsells. I know some of the WA members who have joined Legendary Marketer, now if a Super Affiliate has the money “to blow” then go for it. The program seems like unnecessary high risk though.

          Btw, I’m sure you are a WA member that I know.

        • Kaju says:

          I’m pretty sure I know who you are now M.
          We’ve chatted before on my posts, and I’ve read your blogs.
          You are my online zero to hero:)

        • Jim says:

          It’s amazing how others no more about you then you know about yourself. Yes, it’s me your talking about in your comment above. Boy, have you got it ever so wrong. I have a full-time business that I run. Not only do I work from early in the morning to almost dusk on my bricks and mortar business, I do all my own bookwork, taxes, you name it. I also have a family including grandchildren and great grandchildren that I spend time with.
          I have three websites that I’m working on and yes, I find time to write blogs within the WA platform. I do most of my work on my phone during breaks.
          What a horrible person you are, you sound bitter and very judgemental.
          I wrote about the fires because I was anxious , I have been through a number of terrible traumatic events in my life, particularly within the last few years, and I have found WA to be a great place to discuss this and to rid myself of a lot of other inhibitions.
          You don’t like this? Well stuff you. I’m enjoying being an ambassador at WA. I like helping other people and I will continue to.
          The difference between me and you is that I’m an open person, easily accessed and willing to help others. You’re just a fake profile with a negative attitude that you utilise to judge and insult others.

          • Kaju says:

            Hi Jim,

            Thank You for coming here and standing up for yourself. Very courageous. Kudos! I had no idea who this person was talking about when he mentioned that “Fire” post – I never even saw that post.
            If I knew, I would have defended you, because I know your character. All I will say is that I know you a long-time from WA, and you have always been kind to me and others. And you are always the first to try to help people. I’m happy you are enjoying your Ambassadorship and you truly deserve it. I know you have been through some very hard times in recent years (I did read your post about a dear friend passing away recently), and I admire your strength and goodwill.

            While I may agree with many of the other points this anonymous person has made, I staunchly do not support anyone who makes unbiased judgments and insults others without due cause. There is no need or place for that in our society. The fact that you came to this post openly without hiding your identity and defended yourself I definitely respect. One thing I will say, I don’t know how you even found this post! But I am glad you did:)

  • Vilius88 says:

    LM has changed its affiliate structure last May. There are 2 affiliate levels, one free and the other paid($30/mo). The paid level which they call Pro means 2x commissions as compared to free affiliates. There is no need to purchase anything now.

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