PRODUCT NAME: ClickBank University
Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
Price: $47/month
Upsells: $297 per year for the Website Builder from ClickBank and another $97 one time fee for the Advanced Master Class
Owners: Adam Horwitz and Justin Atlan
Website: www.clickbank.com
MY VIDEO REVIEW OF CLICKBANK UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
ClickBank University is an online learning platform that has been around for 17 years where you can either be trained as a vendor on ClickBank and sell your own digital products or you can be trained to be an affiliate and promote other people’s products on your own website. If you have your own digital product such as an e-book, online training or other similar product, ClickBank University can be a great way to get the help you need in learning how to market your product.
Adam Horwitz and Just Atlan are the creators and educators of ClickBank University. They provide the training. There is a beginning and advanced course. The beginning is included in the $47 per month, but in order to access the more Advanced courses, you have to purchase their upsales. With the affiliate training, you are shown how to promote ClickBank products and only ClickBank products.
HopLinks
You are shown how to use the HopLinks to promote ClickBank products. HopLinks is a name specific to ClickBank. It is was ClickBank refers to their affiliate links. One nice feature with the HopLinks is that they are easy to create without using long complicated affiliate links that have a long string of random numbers in them. The easy format of the HopLink is as follows:
You simple enter your ClickBank nickname or username and than the username of the vendor you wish to promote. There is no need to copy and past long confusing strings of numbers and letters. That is one thing I believe is unique to ClickBank, because as an affiliate marketer, I do not like having to use those long ugly URLs. I have a plug-in for my WordPress site called PrettyLink that allows me to re-create those ugly affiliate links into “pretty” links, but with ClickBank that is not necessary.
PROS / CONS
Pros
- Both ClickBank Affiliate Marketers and ClickBank Vendors can benefit from the training offered at ClickBank University.
- Has been around for 17 years, so you know it is legitimate.
- HopLinks will take away the frustration of dealing with long-stringed numeric affiliate links.
- Justin & Adam are active within the platform. Many training programs of similar nature, the creators are not present.
- Video tutorials are easy to follow with some PDF guides to help.
- Live Weekly Webinars from experts covering different topics.
- Discounts on yearly membership fees
- ClickBank used to have limits on the number of tutorials you could watch per week, but that has recently been lifted to allow students to move at their own pace.
- Huge database of recorded webinars to listen to.
- University Talks – safe place where students can learn from more experienced and successful affiliates and vendors.
- They are honest in telling new students that this is not a “get-rich-quick” scheme and they will need to work hard and be patience before they begin to see results.
- Easy drag-and-drop interface to make building your pages easier.
- Each video is between 3 to 5 minutes long so you are given enough information to learn a new skill, but not overwhelming.
- Offers a 60-day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.
Cons
- You can only promote ClickBank products through their training. They do not show you how to promote products that are not with ClickBank.
- There are many expensive upsells making the program highly costly for what you get.
- There does not seem to be any detailed training on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which is a critical aspect of building a website and growing an affiliate marketing business.
- There is no LiveChat in which you can get immediate assistance.
- They used to have a 1-week trial period for a $1.00 but they did away with it and now you have to buy into the full program without getting an idea of what you are getting for your money.
WHO IT IS FOR?
ClickBank University is for two different types of people who are wanting to build an online business. The first type is for those individuals who wish to be a vendor and sell their own digital product, such as an e-book, online tutorials, etc. The second type of person that ClickBank University targets is the affiliate marketer, the person who wants to promote other people’s products.
TRAINING/TOOLS OVERVIEW
The training you receive at ClickBank University is conducted by Adam and Justin and only Adam and Justin. Sometimes it can be helpful to get the perspective of another person because everyone has a unique teaching style and philosophy and not everyone learns the same way. Many newbies to affiliate marketing need some hand-holding and to be spoon-fed. ClickBank University does not cater to those individuals. The training is not as straight-forward and step-by-step as I have seen with other programs.
Check Out My #1 Recommendation
SUPPORT
Other programs that I have experience with have a strong community involvement, because it is helpful to bounce off ideas with other members and ask another the more experience members about things that may be confusing. This kind of community support is essential in achieving success, because without the support and encouragement of others, you are likely to give up.
Technical support seems to be inconsistent to many of the reviews I have read. They seem to come from other students instead of the creators, Adam and Justin.
FINAL OPINION/VERDICT
Over time, with all of their upsales, it can cost you well over $1,500 per year. Most people cannot justify that type of expense for what you get. That being said, I do believe ClickBank University is a legitimate online opportunity.
My personal opinion is ClickBank University might be a good choice for you if you are a vendor wanting to sell your own product, but if you are wanting training on how to start an affiliate marketing business, I would recommend you look more closely at Wealthy Affiliate.
Thank you for checking out my review today of ClickBank University. I would love to hear from my readers. Please leave a comment or question below and I will respond shortly.
22 thoughts on “Review of ClickBank University: Scam or Legit?”
Hi Steph I really like your reviews on Wealthy Affiliate and Click Bank University. right now I am currently paying for Click Bank University. I didn’t get to all the info they had because I have been too busy with Wealthy Affiliate. I think I am gonna cancel CBU. You did good on comparing both. I am glad I got to read it. Thank you very much for taking the time to write this review.
Best, Michelle
Hi Michelle:
Thank you for stopping today and reading my review of ClickBank University. I am glad you enjoyed the comparison between Wealthy Affiliate and ClickBank University. I do not feel it is necessary to belong to both ClickBank University and Wealthy Affiliate, so cancelling one is a good idea and you have made a great choice in deciding to cancel ClickBank University. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Steph
Hi Steph!
I heard about ClickBank University, but never got around to it. Instead, it is been a month that I am with WA community. I totally love it!
Either way, thank you for your review! I will keep it in mind whenever I get to ClickBank promoting websites again.
Zarina
Hi Zarina:
I am glad you enjoyed my review of ClickBank University. I have tried to provide as much information as possible on all of my reviews so everyone can make the best possible choice for themselves and their growing online businesses. Wealthy Affiliate is of course my number one recommendation and the one which I encourage everyone to first try out. You can join for free and upgrade when and if you are ready. But since you are already a member for a month now, you already know that. Please come back and visit again soon.
Steph
Hello Steph,
Great review for Clickbank University. I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate now for 2 weeks and I am happy with what I learned from it till now, I heard about Clickbank and I am happy that i found a good & honest review about it, but i agree Wealthy Affiliate is amazing. Thanks for sharing & keep it up!
Ehab
Hi Ehab:
I am glad you enjoyed my review of ClickBank University. When I write reviews I try to make them as honest as possible. I do not wish to steer my readers in the wrong direction. It sounds like you are pretty happy with Wealthy Affiliate and I am glad to hear it. You will get lots of training and a massive community willing and ready to help. Plus, the best thing about Wealthy Affiliate is that there are not the upsells that you will see with many other affiliate training programs like ClickBank University or Affilorama.
Steph
What a great review! I am so glad I came across it, I have been thinking about joining Click bank university but it seems like Wealthy Affiliate is a better match for my needs. Thanks for making my decision easier for me. Will be checking back often for other reviews.
Hi Eloah:
You are most welcome. Yes, if you are an affiliate marketer or wish to learn how to make money through affiliate marketing, I would suggest my Number#1 recommendation for getting started. Have a wonderful day!
Steph
Excellent review, love the overall structure and information provided! I did once look at Clickbank University a while back and nearly signed up it! Now reading your review I’m glad I never as I’m more interested in starting an affiliate marketing business.
Will be visiting back to your website for more updates! 🙂
Hi Kevin:
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate the compliment and glad you thought it was an excellent review of ClickBank University. If you are interested in starting an affiliate marketing business, my number #1 recommendation is Wealthy Affiliate. There are too many scams out there and I like to provide my readers with my honest opinion about what works and what does not work. I can tell you that pyramid schemes do not work and are illegal in the USA. If you have a good idea of what your niche will be, you can build an affiliate marketing business with the assistance of WA. Wealthy Affiliate will teach how to build a website using one of the most common website building platforms available on the market, WordPress.
I hope that gives you some guidance.
Steph
This was a good review of Clickbank. I used Clickbank for a short period of time. My reason for not continuing with Clickbank is just as you say in the review. “Too Many Expensive upsales.” Expensive upsales usually turn folks off. In a side-by-side comparison I like to use the same WA comparison you show. However, I rate the review based on the 10 points provided, with 1 point for each check. This would mean I would have only rated Clickbank a 5 of 10. Just my thoughts.
Hi Ken:
There are indeed too many upsells on ClickBank University. The reason for giving them a higher rating than what the comparison chart showed it to be was I thought there could be other points of comparison that should be added to that chart which ClickBank University offers. For example, CLickBank uses what is known as Hoplinks which are neater and more professional looking than other affiliate programs to include Wealthy Affiliate. ClickBank is the only company I have seen to use a neat and tidy affiliate link as opposed to a long string of random numbers. For that, I think the deserve a couple more points. I aim to always be fair and respectful and consider all points when evaluating products and companies.
Steph
Good review, and your comments are fair and straightforward, Steph. Not long ago, I thought about signing up for the University but as “luck” would have it, Wealthy Affiliate came into my line of sight and I couldn’t resist. Maybe I missed it….can Wa-ers promote Clickbank products other than the University? For example, if there is an e-book available on Clickbank that’s relevant to my niche, could I promote that on my WA website? Just a thought.
Hi Tom:
Yes, you can be a member of Wealthy Affiliate and promote ClickBank products. You do not need to be a student at the ClickBank University to promote ClickBank products. You can sign up to an affiliate with ClickBank and promote their products while learning how to build a website with your niche and an affiliate marketing business at Wealthy Affiliate.
I hope that answers your question. Thank you Tom for asking a really great question.
Steph
It’s the second review I’m reading about ClickBank University. At first I thought it would be a great program for me, but now I’m more and more convinced that it’s not. What is that Wealthy Affiliate thing you mentioned at the end? Is like ClickBank university?
Hi Guy:
I think ClickBank University is a good program if you are a vendor wanting to promote your own digital products on ClickBank. It is a legitimate opportunity, but I think the money they are asking for and the upsells are a big turnoff. Most people are immediately annoyed and put off by upsells. They are misleading and a form of dishonesty.
In answer to your question, Wealthy Affiliate is an open education project. One of the big selling points for Wealthy Affiliate is that you can try it for free for as long as you like. If you decide to purchase the premium package within the first 7 days, you will receive a discount for the first month of only $19. After that, it goes up to $47 month. I will be completely honest. There is one upsell with Wealthy Affiliate. That is the Jaxxy membership. However, you are denied accessed to any of the training if you decide to not get Jaxxy. Jaaxy is a keyword and SEO tool. Wealthy Affiliate also has it’s own built-in keyword tool plus ample training on keyword and SEO techniques. Jaaxy has a reputation of being superior to the WA built-in keyword tool, but like I said, you are denied access to anything with the Wealthy Affiliate platform should you choose to not go with Jaaxy.
I hope I have answered some of your questions.
Steph
Hi Steph
Nice review of Clickbank! I have promoted products from Clickbank but I have never had any product to sell. I like how they have a variety of products to sell even though it can be somewhat hard to find if you do not know the seller’s name. I have not done the training but I have liked the experience I had so far. Any advice on how to find products by categories faster?
Hi Emily:
Thank you for your comment. I too promote ClickBank products and have been an affiliate but not a vendor. I have considered someday writing an e-book or doing computer tutorials to sell on ClickBank. There could be a market for me there. Right now, many of my computer tutorials are available for free off this website.
In answer to your question, I too find it difficult to find products to search using the Marketplace – the interface for ClickBank affiliates looking for appropriate products to promote off their website. I have found the categories listed do not seem to match when you click on them to peruse the products they have. But, if you are willing to spend the time hunting for the right ones, you do eventually come across them. So, no, I do not have any advice on how to find the appropriate products for your niche more quickly.
Steph
Hi Steph, I would like to thank you for taking the time to write up this information in such a user friendly way. I had often wondered about ClickBank as I have heard it mentioned many times but never really understood what it was. i now have a relatively clear picture in my mind and from what I have heard about Wealthy Affiliate I would have to agree with you. I think I’ll keep my $1500 a year in my pocket thanks!
Hi Brad:
Thank you for checking out my review of ClickBank University. I have thrilled you enjoyed it and was able to clear up the mystery of what is was. ClickBank is legitimate, but I think it is too expensive for what you get. Like you said, better to keep your $1500 in your pocket. Wealthy Affiliate is the better deal. You get much more than you would with ClickBank University.
Steph
Good review on Clickbank University! Sounds like a pretty good program to give a try. I’m a visual person like most people so I love tutorial videos a lot. Knowing that they have been out for seventeen years shows viewers that they are to be trusted overall. Wealthy Affiliate sounds like an amazing program too 😉 lol great review!
Hi Storm:
I am glad you found the review of ClickBank University valuable. ClickBank University is a legitimate program with much too offer. I think if you are a vendor and you have a digital product to sell, you should consider it. However, if you are an affiliate marketer, I would consider Wealthy Affiliate. Have a good day!
Steph