Give Woodworkers Guild of America a try for a whole year for only $3.49

Several months ago they came out with a promotion that you could sign up for free.  After I signed up I immediately started getting an email about every other day offering to sign up at the bargain price of $3.49 for a year which I did not do.  I have watched a few of their videos and I am not impressed.  I constantly get emails from them on special tool offers and they are still trying to get me to bite on the $3.19 deal.  I am trying to unsubscribe, but so far I have not been successful.  Most of their offerings I have seen seem to be mostly for beginners.  My 2 cents.
  Ron

Facebook comments have mentioned the same thing. This raises concerns about the marketing tactics employed by the responsible party.

One possibility is that they outsourced this campaign to an unscrupulous or inept third-party vendor, leading to such an intrusive and unethical approach.

Somewhat related...

When receiving unsolicited emails from sources you've never subscribed to, it's generally advisable to refrain from using the "unsubscribe" link provided in the email. These links are often phishing attempts by individuals or entities that have acquired email lists through illicit means.

By clicking the unsubscribe link, you inadvertently confirm that your email address is active and monitored, essentially validating your status as a "live target." Consequently, your email address may be added to a curated list of verified addresses, which can then be sold at a premium to other unscrupulous parties seeking to exploit active email recipients.

The prudent approach is to mark such unsolicited emails as spam and avoid interacting with any links or prompts they contain, as this could potentially expose you to further unwanted solicitations or even compromise your online security.

Reddit history of this and other accounts that I've seen call it an arrangement to barrage you to pay something to get credit card information, and then there's a full charge that they say is not refundable and it's not easy to get out of. 

I think it's not worthy of this forum to say the least, nor any of the users here.

@David Weaver,

The guild appears to be a credible organization. Some of the individuals running it are acquaintances of Ellis and have previously been featured on WC chats. Their website (https://www.wwgoa.com/about/) indicates that offering premium services is their business model, which aligns with the prevalent online trend of moving away from reliance on advertising revenue.

Somewhat related to models used to fund a website, such as offering paid premium services or paid ads, this is something I have considered. As for relying on paid ads, there is this:

Currently, our website receives approximately 250 daily views from actual human visitors, which is insufficient to consider pursuing paid advertisers. In the past, advertisers would compensate based on the number of views, but this practice has become obsolete due to the inability to verify the validity of these "views." It is now widely acknowledged that most users subconsciously filter out advertisements, particularly those placed in specific areas of a webpage. Additionally, the number of human visitors is often a mere fraction of the total views recorded by the server, with the remainder comprising bots and potential DDoS attacks.

Nowadays, advertisers only pay for clicks. Their ad URLs will include a tracking tag that allows them to monitor the source of the click, for example: https://www.example.com?tag=woodcentral

The average amount paid per click varies greatly, but probably averages about $0.05 (five cents) per click on websites in our genre of woodworking and DIY.[1][3] However, the cost per click can range significantly depending on factors such as the advertising platform, industry competitiveness, targeting criteria, and bidding strategy.[2][3]

While the global average cost per click is $2.69 for search ads and $0.63 for display ads,[1] niche websites like ours typically see much lower costs due to lower competition and demand compared to industries like law, insurance, or loans.[3] The average CPC for less competitive industries is generally between $2-$4.[3]

It's important to note that cost per click is just one metric, and the ultimate goal should be achieving a desirable return on investment (ROI).[2] A common target is a 5:1 revenue-to-ad ratio, meaning $5 in revenue for every $1 spent on advertising.[2] The ideal CPC depends on factors like the product/service price, website conversion rate, and desired profit margin.[2]

Citations:
[1] https://www.metrichq.org/marketing/cost-per-click/
[2] https://www.webstrategiesinc.com/blog/what-is-a-good-cost-per-click-cpc
[3] https://www.topdraw.com/insights/is-online-advertising-expensive/
[4] https://www.webfx.com/social-media/pricing/how-much-does-social-media-advertising-cost/
[5] https://www.webfx.com/ppc/pricing/

I was a subscriber some time back, and found that the content best suited beginners. Or those who enjoy river tables. For those starting out, it is quite good. This is a personal and subjective decision. 

Regards from Perth

Derek

Review by Perplexity AI:

The Woodworkers Guild of America (WWGOA) website appears to be a platform for woodworking enthusiasts, offering various resources such as videos, projects, and tutorials. However, based on the search results, there are several concerns and criticisms regarding the organization and its practices:

## Questionable Business Model

- The WWGOA seems to employ a questionable business model that relies heavily on promoting paid memberships and subscriptions [3]. Many users report being bombarded with emails and offers for "premium" memberships after initially signing up for a low-cost or free trial.

- There are numerous complaints about the difficulty in canceling memberships and the automatic renewal practices, with some users reporting unexpected charges and lack of refunds [3].

- The pricing for memberships appears to have increased significantly over time, with one user mentioning a 33% increase from $54 to $72 per year without any additional benefits or services [3].

## Quality of Content

- While the website claims to offer a vast collection of videos, projects, and tutorials, the quality and usefulness of this content are questionable. Some users suggest that the content is outdated, boring, or easily accessible elsewhere for free [3].

- There are better alternatives available, such as YouTube channels and magazine websites, which provide high-quality woodworking content and resources at no cost [3].

## Technical Issues and Customer Support

- One user reported significant issues with a Laguna bandsaw they purchased based on a WWGOA review, citing problems with setup, tracking, and guide blocks [2]. The customer support experience was mixed, with initial assistance but no resolution to the root cause of the issues.

- The website itself appears to have some technical issues, with one user mentioning that it is outdated and difficult to navigate unless using a computer [3].

In summary, while the WWGOA claims to offer valuable resources for woodworkers, the search results suggest that the organization's business practices, content quality, and customer support are questionable. Many users advise against falling for their promotional tactics and recommend exploring alternative sources for woodworking information and resources [3].

Citations:
[1] https://www.wwgoa.com
[2] https://www.wwgoa.com/post/laguna-1412-bandsaw-a-cut-above/
[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworking/comments/134xue1/woodworkers_guild_of_america/
[4] https://www.wwgoa.com/articles/product-review/
[5] https://www.wwgoa.com/post/sketchup-guide-for-woodworkers-my-journey-learning-sketchup/

Added later 01 min 24 s:

Moving this topic to the Reviews forum.

Added later 16 min 30 s:

I should not have posted this under the admin account, as that implies endorsement by WC. I am going to change it to my real name so as to not imply endorsement.

I posted it for discussion, not endorsement. I noticed chatter about it in our Feeds section and wanted to get opinions on it.

This is the kind of things people search for: reviews of websites, tools, brands, etc. As I mentioned, it was getting lots of discussion on other woodworking sites (Reddit, Facebook, etc.) and turning up in search results that pushed traffic to those sites. But not to us. Now it is.

Thanks for all the feedback based on experiences. That's what I was looking for.

Added later 16 h 37 min 50 s:

Since clicking on the above ad, which appeared on Facebook, now I'm getting ads for many of the woodworking magazines. Interesting how this works.

Added later 8 h 40 min 57 s:

They all either offer freebies or a heavily discounted rate where normal rates apply upon being automatically renewed.