How effective is GSA these days?

The SEO game has changed a lot in the past years and it's becoming tough (or impossible) these days to rank a site with pure spam. 2 years ago I used to rank pages just by hitting them with a few high PR links. Early in 2015, I've seen people ranking fresh sites with loads of spam links from GSA, but I have never used the software because I always work for long term ranking. I was wondering if GSA and the Churn n Burn strategies still work these days? Just want to know what you guys are thinking.

Yes, work for minutes then killed
use GSA only for TIER 2-3

SEO is becoming increasingly reliant on CONTENT.

That's right - you can't just spin the same old junk and rank with it anymore, not unless you've got $$$ to throw at the problem (like Amazon does!).

I would suggest you find a reliable writer, as well as get into the process of creating a PBN.

PBN's are the real deal, and at this rate, it really does seem like they are the "next big thing".

A good PBN can be somewhat pricey though, so do a little research and find a writer that's ideal for you (both in terms of money and quality).

GSA is good tool for tier 2 but I think for money link GSA is a bad idea.

Content is king focus on developing a good authority website that benefits your target audience and you'll be just fine.

Very few try GSA directly on money sites. But it should work even today for a short period of time (if the domain has already passed the sandbox or you have bypassed it) and if the link velocity is constant. But in the long run, you are definitely going to be caught.

GSA works fine for automating tier 2. And they update it almost everyday, which is awesome considering that it's a one-time payment.