A few months back, I attended an all-women entrepreneurs’ conference. It was touted as a way to get your business off the ground by providing sessions on business and marketing strategies from women who were already successful.
I walked out of the event with mixed emotions.
First, I felt horrible that all these women just spent their hard-earned money to go to this conference to learn basic marketing tactics they could have found out on their own for free, by spending some time online. What aggravated me further, was that these women were subsequently being up-sold into “coaching” programs starting at several thousand dollars.
I guess what made me most upset was that the women that attended the show, were being taken advantage of by other women. (There’s a special place in Hell for women that do this to other women, in my opinion).
Now, it’s not to say that no one received value while they were there. I’m sure that for some, it was a great entry point and a way to meet other like-minded people that they could potentially work with in the future.
For me, the value I received was the kick in the ass that I needed to make sure that I do my part to ensure that every woman involved in online marketing, no matter what stage in their journey, has the opportunity to receive the networking, resources and education they need so that they may create a better life for themselves, their families and their communities — without spending a small fortune to do it!
Like many other women, when I first started in online marketing in the late 90’s, there were very few gals around to network with and learn from. Fast forward almost 15 years later and the landscape has changed dramatically; but, there’s still a long way to go for us. Women online marketers need other role models they can look up to and learn from.
And that’s what I hope to achieve by starting JoinWOMU.com (Women Online Marketers United) – a forum which provides opportunities for networking and peer-to-peer education to women online marketers for free.
Let’s face it; none of us knows everything there is to know about online marketing. But together, with other women in the same field, we have the opportunity to learn from each and enrich all of our lives.
I know first hand, that nothing feels better than paying it forward, especially to other women. And, you never know who you might meet in the forum.
It’s my sincere hope that JoinWOMU.com is to able to help some of the fantastic women online marketers that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over the years and the ones I look forward to meeting.
I hope to see you over on the forum or on our JoinWOMU Facebook App.
Written by Missy Ward. Missy Ward has been in affiliate marketing since 1999. She is the Co-Founder of Affiliate Summit, GeekCast.fm, FeedFront Magazine, itsaWAHMthing.com; the Co-Publisher of Revenews.com and Revenews.org; Founder of joinWOMU.com and AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com and manages many of her own affiliate sites.
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Lovely idea – I’m off to join up!
Thanks for the info! I’m just starting out as an affiliate marketer and this post was very useful 8)
I posted about this on my blog. I have mixed emotions as well, but when other women do it to take advantage of other women, yes I agree there’s a special place in hell just for them.
Great post!
Thanks…Valarie
I can fully understand your anoyance at these women who want to learn basically being used as ‘fodder’ to line other people’s pockets. There is nothing wrong with charging for these events so long as you are getting something you could not really get for free. As for signing them into courses costing thousands well that does make my blood boil a bit as most of this stuff can be learned online – also some of these expensive courses really don’t teach people the skills they need to succeed because thats not how the people running them are making their money.
Great post Missy! It is disheartening the price and education that heart centered women are paying. I know first hand many are spending their life’s savings to launch a business that may or may not even be viable. Thanks for taking this head on!
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