This Clickbank review will cover the ins and outs of making money on Clickbank, and whether I recommend this network or not. ClickBank Affiliate Network is probably one of the most recognizable among the largest affiliate networks today.
Connecting Merchants with Affiliates in both physical and digital products such as software and eBooks.
Clickbank has reliably paid out over 4 Billion Dollars to affiliates around the world.
But before I talk any more about Clickbank, I need to be frank with you. I have major concerns with this affiliate business model.
Be aware that the main way you will make money with this is by selling other people’s products and collecting a commission. My main concern with this is that you have very little control over what you are selling. Product owners may not pay you. They may change their commission structure. They may remove their products from the market. Instead, learn a business model that puts you in total control. You keep all the profits and you own all the products. And it takes less time to setup than an affiliate business. It uses a loophole in the google maps system to get you autopilot monthly payments. Video Here.
My own teenage kids even make money with this business model!
Here’s a video of my daughter’s business using this :
Click Here to Get The Course My Daughter Used.
The course my daughter used above is much better than ClickBank Affiliate. But since you are here to learn about ClickBank Affiliate, lets get back to our review of that:
The company was created in San Diego California in 1998 and the original parent company name is Keynetics.
ClickBank was founded by Timothy and Eileen Barber.
Many may not realize that Tim is an inventor. He created device fingerprinting along with many other devices that have helped shape eCommerce as we know it today.
He is even in the Technology Hall of Fame in Boise Idaho.
Tim also founded Kount.
An Artificial Intelligence Cyber Security Company that was just acquired by Equifax in Jan 2021 for over $600 Million.
Tim has used his exceptional mathematical mind in other endeavors like this Castle home he built that has floors heated naturally by underground water.
But the company was started in Tim’s Garage in 1998 in the garage of his home at that time…
After Tim and Eileen Incorporated they moved the company out of the garage and headed to Idaho.
In Idaho Tim began hiring brilliant people that were focused on the new “Internet” and it’s potential.
Tim was a genius at figuring out equations and right after that figuring out ways to monetize.
This resulted in the Birth of An Affiliate Network known as ClickBank.
Is it Legal? Yes Absolutely
6 Million Affiliate Entrepreneurs on the this Platform in some Capacity
87th largest retailer on the Internet in region of North America
200 Million customers and over 276 categories with 21562 listings generating over 200 Million Dollars annually.
However there are still some areas that may say they are available but may still have challenges signing up.
Here is a screen that some affiliates outside USA and Canada may encounter…
Initial Sign up Advantages…
- Huge Commission Rates.
As High as up to 75% and even 100% on Front Ends.
- Payment is Fast as well can be weekly if you meet your minimum caps.
- It is drop dead easy to join. They keep it simplified as possible.
There is a huge selection with Thousands of Products to choose from.
Initial Sign up Disadvantages…
- Top quality programs will have some pretty fierce competition.
- There are some products that are Question Marks on Quality the appearances are so vague and poorly designed. It can be overcome with attention to detail.
- Customer Services could be a bit swifter.
- They do charge fees if you join and do not have any activity over time. For example after 3 months a dormant account meaning account with no earnings would be charged $1 a day!
- 180 days of inactivity would amount to $5 a day!
- After a year of no sales $50 a day.
Requirements…
- Reside in eligible Country
- Have a tax ID if residing in USA or Canada
- Enable Cookies on Browser
What Affiliate Programs are Available?
Whether you are a tentative newbie who wants to dip a toe into this make-money-online thing or a veteran digital marketer who wants to grow her earnings, they’ve got you covered.
There are many affiliate programs and multiple products and categories to choose from:
- Betting Systems
- Computers/Internet
- As Seen on TV
- Arts & Entertainment
- Games
- E- Business & E -Marketing Internet Marketing
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Fiction
- Employment & Jobs
- Languages
- Home & Garden
- Green Products
- Mobile
- Education
- Business Investing
- Health & Fitness
- Reference
- Parenting & Families
- Self Help
- Politics/Current Events
- Travel
- Software & Services
- Sports
- New Age & Alternative Beliefs
Payment Methods
They have several methods to get paid….
The default method is Snail Mail. Paper Checks.
The address on your account will be mailed your due commissions.
Wire Transfer
You can receive payments via wire transfer.
For Countries not included in Direct Deposit.
Direct Deposit
In the U.S.A. and other Countries selected with no additional fees.
Usually only takes 1 to 2 business days.
Payoneer
Payoneer Mastercard is an international money transfer service available to you for free. It allows you to open a bank account and your money will be deposited.
Is Clickbank Free to Use?
The payment threshold can be as low as $10.
$2.50 subtracted for pay period processing fee for every payment.
You can adjust your payment threshold (the amount of money that must be in your account before it issues a payment).
You can adjust your payment methods if you need to but it may take a few days to take effect.
This function will have a delay to protect against fraud if you change your password or email address.
Here is what your daily Sales Could look like inside the Dashboard…
Another factor to examine as you shop products and vendors will be refunds.
Some Vendors have refund guidelines on their Website but many Customers do not realize no matter what the vendor displays the customer just needs to go direct to ClickBank instead of the vendor for a refund and they have 60 Days to apply.
That is one factor that still allows for ClickBank to have a reliable rating even though there are some less than stellar vendors, products, and customer experiences over the years.
How Do I Sell On Clickbank?
Some Strategies for Affiliates to Separate the Gold from any possible Fake Gold
(Meaning Solid Legit Vendors VS Questionable Vendors)
Definitely seek to try the product out or have someone else do that you can trust for honest review.
Internet Marketers may be promoting something for the opposite sex or maybe has to do with an ailment they do not currently have like acne or diabetes.
1. Try the product first
You genuinely want to help people, right? Then why not ask for a review sample product from the vendor to see if it’s the real deal. If they say no, buy the product yourself. This way, you’ll be sure of the product’s authenticity.
2. Check the Gravity Score.
Gravity is something real that the product has had a positive outcome for several different other affiliate marketers and they have made sales.
This may add in the trustworthiness of a product and vendor.
3. Do a Search and check for any product reviews you can find. Including print, video, and audio.
Not just from other affiliates that could be slightly biased but from customers as well.
4. Watch out for Vendors that seem to be Black Hat types.
I noticed a product where the creator claimed he had earned Millions of Dollars as a Copy Writer but used a picture of himself hiding his face behind a huge Coffee Cup. Would have been better to show your face or not show it all rather than hide your face. Try to find some history of a Vendor online.
5. Exaggerations of “Making It Rain” Over Night Riches.
But If a program promises you a million dollars and their presentation is not even high caliber quality of someone with million dollar resources you may want to keep doing some digging on that person and the experiences of previous customers.
The same is true for becoming a top affiliate.
Scamming and spamming will only lead to a hit it and quit it mentality and lifestyle while building no trust or positive reputation.
Overtime, your reputation will become an Asset that can earns you increased commissions and opportunities.
6. Pay Attention to how the Vendor is treating his Leads and Customers.
Is the Sales Page over the top too hyped.
Are there any complaints about customer service and communication.
Even try to join the email list and check out their style and email sequences.
It would also be a good idea for YOU to collect that precious email address maybe in the form of a free Bonus Offer.
That way you get additional opportunities to promote.
Setting up your Account..
Just visit the website and click Sign Up.
If you can’t click the Country for the dropdown menu then you may not be eligible at this time.
If you can Select Country you are good to go then proceed..
Step 1: Fill in your personal info
Step 2: Carefully do provide all your bank details
Do not forget to check the box to comfirm that you’ve read the terms and conditions.
Step 3: Create your NickName
Nickname is your user ID. It is visible to all customers, so good idea to not to make it too detailed and personal.
Quick Tip…
Always create a Nickname that will look like it is part of the Product url.
Your Hop link could be something like “Index”
Like www.ProductName.com/Index.
“Index” if it was available would be your affiliate ID. Just look around and click some ads and you will see some clever IDs at the end of an affiliate promo that give you some good ideas.
Get familiar with the important Terms…
- The Gravity is very popular– It gives an indication of how many affiliates have actually had success selling the product in the past 12 weeks. A high gravity score is indicating increased chances of success with that vendors Product.
- The Initial $/Sale – Is the average dollar value of an initial sale, then excluding rebills, credited to you the affiliate.
- The Avg %/Sale – is average affiliate commission percentage for a sale, this would be including both the initial commissions and rebill commissions.
- The Avg %/Rebill – is average total affiliate commission percentage for a sale, including only rebill commission, for a recurring billing product from a vendor.
Clickbank Marketplace
There were 2 products that made millions a while back.
One was Millionaire Society…it had one of the best highly detailed Affiliate Training Sections ever. Print eBooks, Videos, email sequences/swipes, banners, keywords, demographics of your idea prospect, press releases, you name it.
Another was Truth about Abs and the guy was making almost a million dollars a month but he had top quality email Training for his affiliates sharing every cutting edge detail to increase conversions.
Be sure to find all the vendor training you can find. Each Vendor may have some sort of training….but remember this training is like a free University and can be applied to other products, and other internet marketing endeavors you may have.
Take advantage of all the helpful free training you can get your hands and eyeballs on.
Many vendors are seasoned marketing vets. They get paid by helping you get paid.
Keep in mind, your success will be as unique as just about any internet marketing experience.
It will vary with Budget, Strategy. Experience. Resources like, do you already have direct access to an audience like a database of subscribers, groups, followings, media, banners, etc.
Many factors can catapult you into success or lack of them could hamper your success.
But the challenges of last week do not have to be the same this week. We educate ourselves.
We get more budget. We continue building paths to our affiliate links.
If you do not have a niche selected and you just want to find a product to promote from the marketplace you can simple filter the results by “Gravity”. This is a great indicator that many people are actually making sales with this product.
This is also an indicator that this product will be COMPETITIVE.
You will be going up against people with deep and wide budgets to spend on ads and an assortment of other affiliates trying every avenue they ca think of to promote.
*One clever way to meet this challenge is to combine the High Gravity of a product with the START DATE a product began/was listed.
Then you will have a proven hot based on the number of affiliates actually making commissions on a product that has just started gaining momentum and pretty new to this platform.
A cool FREE tool that can give you some leverage is CBSnooper
It quickly and easily gives you not just rising performing products but also falling products that are losing popularity and totally FREE.
There is an Option to Join ClickBank University
Is it worth it?
This will be concise and to the real deal point….It is not worth it.
At $47 per Month, with upsells that would bring you closer to $200+ monthly then forced drip fed content that forces you to keep paying monthly you would be much better off just utilizing the Free Very detailed Step by Step Content on YouTube.
The training is a little lacking. One example would be Traffic. Very little training and details on Free Methods that may be important for some newbie affiliates.
At every level you attain there are step by step tutorials on YouTube that are easy to understand and implement totally free.
Check out some of the topics already uploaded below….
Save the monthly fees and absorb the YouTube Goodness.
Are you familiar with Launch Jacking?
This is being aware and setting up funnels of upcoming products, services, apps etc in advance or getting your fanbase warm and presold for the launch day.
Websites like Munch Eye will share the dates and details of many products that may be added to Market Place.
Is Clickbank Legit?
You’ll make more money if you take time to custom fit the right products to the right audience. And also the right time…if you can pin point that a customer is actively searching to buy something.
If you yourself are planning to find training about selling with ClickBank then that just could be a perfect product for you to promote as well.
Your success could be a case study for others to learn.
- Be Creative.
- Choose the right product for the right Audience not just the hottest selling product.
- Try the product.
- Research the Vendor as best you can.
- Test different Platforms Strategies
- Build Your own List for additional opportunities to Promote.
Once you hit a homerun as an affiliate did you know sometimes you can possibly negotiate for higher commissions?
Just wanted to finish off with a little extra incentive to succeed.