If you’re looking for a thorough Clickbank Affiliate Network review, you’re in the right place.
It’s likely if you’re looking for a review of Clickbank affiliate network you’re:
- Interested in making money as an affiliate (possibly with Clickbank and others)
- You may have studied affiliate marketing and you want to improve your earnings
- and, you may have heard of others making money with Clickbank (even tens of thousands of dollars daily!)
About 18 months ago, I began studying heavily into affiliate marketiing and Clickbank is a behemoth in the industry. I’ve learned how to make money as an affiliate and my income has been growing month-over-month. I love sharing how it’s done and how to use affiliate networks like Clickbank.
In this Clickbank Affiliate Network review, I will tell you:
- What it is
- How it works
- Pros and Cons
- What it does well and what it does not
- What others are saying (good and bad)
- My Recommendation
- And, Alternatives (in case you want to do some comparison shopping)
An Overview of How Affiliate Marketing Works
I’ve went into much more depth in other posts and I coach affiliates thru Wealthy Affiliate, so if you’re interested in learning step-by-step how to become an affiliate and have accountability along the way, I’d love to be your coach!
In this post, I want to give you a simple birds’ eye view of how affiliate marketing works.
In affiliate marketing, you typically have three parties: the affiliate, the tracking software or affiliate network, and the merchant. The affiliate builds an audience with a problem and recommends a solution of the merchant, the tracking software will record when the customer takes action, and the merchant will deliver the product or service. The end user gets a product or service that solves their problem, the affiliate gets paid a commission for recommending the solution, the tracking software gets a commission for tracking the transaction, and the merchant gets a sale of their product or service. It’s a win-win.
What is an Affiliate Network?
The affiliate network is the middleman between the merchant and the affiliate. They help the merchant to recruit affiliates, to set up their affiliate program, and they help by providing tracking software that records each conversion action. When a conversion action is recorded, the affiliate network makes sure the affiliate recieves their portion and the merchant recieves theirs.
What is Clickbank Affiliate Network? An Overview
I’m sure you’ve seen a Walmart or large distributor of products or services, right? Well, imagine a distributor that only sells digital products and that has an army of virtual salespeople who help get sales for those products all over the world–that’s Clickbank in a nutshell.
Clickbank Affiliate network is a platform that helps promote collaborations between digital product creators and affiliates who can help them get more customers and sales. They are very flexible about what products can be put on the platform, and there’s not an extensive vetting process.
As a result, it’s ideal for entrepreneurs who want to quickly launch a product into the market. On the other hand, Clickbank also has many low quality products on the platform because people either take advantage of the ease of entry into the market, or they create products before they’ve established the commensurate skill level the market expects.
How Does Clickbank Affiliate Network Work?
There are two major uses for Clickbank: product distribution and affiliate marketing
For Product Distribution
If you’re familiar with creating digital content, creating a digital product for Clickbank may be a breeze. You’d outline the delivery of your content, then create your written, audio, or video content.
Once you’re product is complete, you’d create a “Thank you” page and a “Pitch” page. You’d set up your checkout experience and affiliate links in Clickbank, get your product approved, pay the $49.95 setup fee, and begin promoting your product.
For Affiliate Marketing
You’d do your due diligence to identify products that can solve pain points for your audience, apply for the affiliate program, and create content to promote your partner’s products.
How Do I Get Started with Clickbank Affiliate Network?
It’s very easy to get started with the Clickbank Affiliate Network which is why many instructors recommend affiliates get started there. There is a high percentage of people who are approved when they apply, so there’s a fairly low barrier to entry.
Who is Clickbank Affiliate Network For?
Clickbank is ideal for:
- Affiliates who can find relevant quality products to promote on Clickbank
- Those who don’t mind doing their due diligence to find quality products to promote
- Those who know their audience would benefit from information products
- Merchants who create digital products and would like access to a rolodex of affiliates
Clickbank Affiliate Network Tools & Training
Clickbank offers Clickbank University as a training course that teaches you how to be successful on the platform.
Clickbank Affiliate Network Support
One well-known benefit of Clickbank is their refund policy and adherence to it. All product creators who sell thru Clickbank are required to maintain a 30 day money-back guarantee. If a customer doesn’t like a product sold thru the Clickbank platform, they can submit their refund request and get their money back.
Clickbank also offers phone support at 1-800-390-6035
They have a knowledge base, email, and love chat support.
What Does Clickbank Affiliate Network Do Well
- They enforce a money-back guarantee that eliminates some of the risk associated with buying digital products online
- They have a reputation with many affiliates earning 7-figures or more
- They’ve been in the affiliate marketing industry for a long time
What Doesn’t Clickbank Affiliate Network Do Well
- They don’t filter out low-quality products
- They don’t host affiliate programs for very well-established brands
- They don’t have physical products or many services
Clickbank Affiliate Network Review Roundup
Clickbank has very mixed reviews. Some people are doing very well and many others feel they’ve been scammed there. Here is a look at the search results as of this writing:
Common Positive Feedback
When reading reviews about Clickbank, you’ll see people who say good things like:
- I’ve made alot of money selling Clickbank products
- It’s easy to get products to the market
- I’ve found some products that are gems
Common Negative Feedback
Unfortunately, you’ll also see people who say not-so-good things about Clickbank like:
- Lots of products are low quality or scammy
- Many of the product creators sell products that promise you can “get rich quick without much work”
- Lots of false information sold there
Most Helpful Positive Clickbank Affiliate Network Review
Some affiliates on Clickbank talk about making lots of money. Here is an example of a positive Clickbank affiliate review:
2014 was the first year we tried to make some money off the platform. We ended up making $37,075 off it without trying very hard (ClickBank has always been a secondary monetization method, so far, for our businesses).
As we saw the affiliate marketing revenue from Clickbank grow we paid more attention to it and decided to optimize the process so we can make more money online with Clickbank.
After a few months of hard work, we managed to transform this small income stream into something a lot more sizable.
Gael Breton, Authority Hacker
Most Helpful Negative Clickbank Affiliate Network Review
Trustpilot had quite a few negative complaints about customers who felt they were scammed: both affiliates and buyers. Here is one that shows what buyers who had bad experiences would say:
Worst SCAMMING COMPANY EVER!!!!!!!!
Scam! There should be a zero star honestly. Dont fall for anything that pays through this company. Paid £44.13 and got scammed. I searched for months for another number/email after i tried emailing with no response (I found this cery strange)….found a number wnd spoke to someone and asked for a refund…. this was denied and they closed my case. Scamming comoany that works with other scammers. I am appalled by what this company is doing and as you can see I’m not the only one thinking so. People work hard for their money NOT TO BE SCAMMED. I will be escalating this matter further to court if this isn’t resolved and it will be for more than £44.13 now.
Originally Published 18 June by Samu on TrustPilot
Clickbank Affiliate Network
Price
Clickbank is free for affiliates, but it’s a $49.95 one-time setup fee to sell products on the platform.
My Final Opinion of
Clickbank Affiliate Network
Overall, Clickbank has very mixed reviews. Many people are experimenting in affiliate marketing and Clickbank has alot of hype. It is a credible platform, but there are repeated customer support and product quality issues you should be mindful of in advance.
If you’d like to learn how to make money with affiliate marketing at Clickbank or elsewhere, check out my #1 recommended affiliate marketing training program.
Top Alternatives
If you’re looking to be successful in affiliate marketing, but you’re wanting to:
- Learn how to master the career
- Wanting to hone your skills
- You need a supportive community
- Or, you want alternatives to the digital products on Clickbank
Top Clickbank Alternative
My #1 recommendation is Wealthy Affiliate. It’s a training platform that shows those interested in affiliate marketing how to be successful, where to find good affiliate programs (at Clickbank or elsewhere). There’s a community of 1.9 million+ affiliates there so you can have great networking and community support. See my full Wealthy Affiliate review here. Here’s what’s included:
Other Clickbank Alternatives
These are other affiliate networks that offer physical products, services, and hybrids. You can find affiliate partners in various niches, so if you’re looking for solutions to present to your audience, below are great options to consider. Each link is clickable and takes you to a review where you can get more information about these recommendations.
VERDICT: Recommended
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Clickbank Affiliate Network
Pros
- Many inspiring affiliate marketing income reports from users
- The pricing is very reasonable for selling digital products in their marketplace
- Low barrier to entry
- Not lots of loopholes to publish products
- Your affiliate account can be banned without warning
Cons
- Lots of scammy or low quality products
- Lots of overhype on courses
- Mixed customer satisfaction: from customers and affiliates
Reader Interactions