If you’ve ever asked,”Is Keala Kanae a Scam Artist?” then this review is for you.
It’s likely you might have come across his Youtube ads where he’s talking about laying in a bed of checks or showing you a tour of his mansion, and you’re wondering whether or not his methods work. In this Keala Kanae review, I’ll tell you:
- Who is Keala Kanae?
- What Courses Does he offer?
- 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)
Who is Keala Kanae?
Keala Kanae was raised by his mom in a low income neighborhood with no idea he would become interested in business.
At 18, he and some friends got into the world of nightclub promotions where he says “it failed miserably”, but as a result, he learned more about his passions and professional interests.
As recent as 2012, he worked for minimum wage in a coffee shop, and didn’t even have money to give his girlfriend a birthday gift, but in 2017, just 5 years later, he’s reported having a multi-eight-figure business.
How did he do it?
The answer is…
Between 2012 and today, Keala Kanae learned internet marketing. He and the co-founder of his company, Kameron George, joined a company called Empower Network, a multi-level marketing company (that sold very similar products to the ones he sells today) and when the company went bankrupt, Keala and George decided to start their own company and AWOL Academy was born. Keala learned how to use the internet to reach people, and the knowledge has given him lots of access, interest, and sales.
What Courses Does Keala Kanae Offer? An Overview
Keala Kanae took the knowledge he acquired, and created courses.
You can see a little information about his company and his courses here:
AWOL Academy
His most well-known courses are a part of his company: AWOL Academy. I’ve written a full review of AWOL Academy here.
In summary, AWOL Academy offers:
- Pro Academy
- Internet Income Explained
- Inbox Academy
- Conversion Academy
- Traffic Academy
- and, Masters Academy
Each course sells you a core competency required for making money online. You learn about creating a website, website monetization, traffic generation techniques, email marketing, and conversion optimization.
Personal Development
In addition to training on internet marketing, Keala says it’s a legacy-mission of his to inspire people. He enjoys encouraging entrepreneurs and those considering business.
Digital Publishing
Keala published content on his blog and he’s talked about the possibility of publishing digital books.
Marketing Agency
In a video interview, Keala Kanae disclosed that he also plans to offer services to business owners.
How Do Keala Kanae’s Courses Work?
Keala Kanae’s courses work on an upsell and qualifying model. As a result, when you leave his ad and go to his website, you’ll be given the option to sign up for a freebie. When you sign up, you’ll get to access his freebie, then immediately served an upsell. Since he has several upsells, then you’ll be presented with each of them consecutively until you decline an offer. Additionally, when you continue following Keala, you’ll be re-marketed his products in effort to sell them later down the line.
Who are Keala Kanae’s courses For?
- People who are inspired by his story of going from poor to rich
- People who want to learn his methods for selling online
- Those who are willing to take action to follow the methods he teaches
I wouldn’t recommend Keala Kanae’s course for those who have an existing business (or business concept) and want to learn how to use internet marketing to get sales. His course doesn’t currently offer much proof to satisfy people who want to optimize an existing business or an alternative niche to make money online.
Keala Kanae’s Support
Keala offers more support based on the tier of membership or product you’ve paid for. His support includes coaching and live events. There’s not many reviews that disclose a high level of phone support, email, support or otherwise aside from the product and service fulfillment. It’s typical whether you fly first class or buy a luxury car that the higher ticket prices offer you additional services and support. Unfortunately, there aren’t reports available that disclose students who rave about a high level of support in Kanae’s programs (aside from service delivery).
What Does Keala Kanae Do Well
- He generates alot of attention
- He sparks interest in internet marketing
- He’s a credible instructor and has earned lots of money online
What Doesn’t Keala Kanae Do Well
- I haven’t seen success stories of people who bought his course and applied it to another niche aside from Internet marketing or Make Money Online
- He has done alot of deceptive advertising (like saying a webinar is live when in fact it’s pre-recorded, making claims of making people $10,000 in 3 months without being transparent about the requirements to cash in on his claims, etc.)
- He doesn’t sell based on the features or skills you’d acquire from his courses. Instead, he sells by showing basic internet marketing information and his material possessions and lifestyle. As a result, he doesn’t appeal as much as he could to people who genuinely want to learn the internet marketing skills.
- He doesn’t offer many low-ticket or free options (not much free content online to build trust or credibility, etc.)
Keala Kanae Review Roundup
Here are the positive and negative reviews I’ve found of Keala Kanae.
Video Reviews
Third Party Reviews
There are many people who leave comments on Youtube reviews of AWOL Academy saying they were disappointed and asked for refunds. There is a minority of people who seem to be satisfied with their purchase of AWOL Academy. Here’s a screenshot of some customer reviews:
Common Positive Feedback
- The courses are legitimate
- You can learn from the courses
- Keala is a legitimate person whose doing alot of good things
- He actually wants to help people
Common Negative Feedback
- He says he doesn’t mean to boast or brag, but he’s continuously talking about his lifestyle and his material possessions
- It’s too expensive
- Their marketing practices are dishonest
- Their ads come up in almost every video I watch!
- He said the free webinar would teach valuable skills, but it was just a sales pitch for his $99 program
- He pitches his next tier program before giving enough time to get proof or results with the initial offer
- They’re basically teaching you information, then pushing you to turn around and sell their courses
Most Helpful Positive Keala Kanae Review
So a couple months ago i was looking for Reviews on AWOL, I almost didn’t buy in thnx to your review and the comments below. I Am both a member of WA and AWOL now, I got both AWOL 101 and AWOL Pro for 99… Best 99 bucks ever spent… it opened a whole new world for me… I’m going through the trainning and I found out one important thing… No one that has actually stuck to the training and followed it is unhappy with their decision…
So yeah… my review… AWOL is not for those who are looking for just a little side gig, or for those who are not ready to commit soul, body and wallet into their new business… AWOL is only for those who are ready to change their whole lives and never look back… It’s hard but dang worth it!
On becoming an AWOL affiliate, I probably will, because I genuinely want to share this new way of life with others, plus i don’t have 15K lying around so I might as well earn them as I get the skills… and I will also be a WA affiliate; for those who are not yet ready for a hardcore commitment and just want to wet their toes in the industry, or for those who cannot spare for the initial training (Everyone’s situation is different and I want ppl motivated and inspired, not desperate and stressed).
Jorge Adolfo Caballero Palafox, Youtube commenter
Most Helpful Negative Keala Kanae Review
I have a friend who is in deep financial debt because of AWOL. How AWOL stays rich is by selling their âknowledgeâ to people so that they too can be rich. They have a guarantee that youâll make your money back if you follow their â5 pillarsâ….which consists of Reading business books and listening to entrepreneur podcasts every day…no really this is part of how they say you will be successfull rich. They are probably betting on the fact that you wonât succeed so that youâll always be tied to them, giving them money. Iâm not sure how people even come across AWOL but they prey on people who are desperate to do anything. Keala gives the âi was so broke i couldnt buy my girlfriend a giftâ speech, but I wonder if he realizes that there are individuals out there who are dead broke, up to their ears in debt because of the dream AWOL is selling. Itâs sad.
Frosty Mar, a Youtube reviewer
Keala Kanae Price
The AWOL free webinar leads you to a $99 upsell, then the following upsells go up to $15K. Pricing is subject to each business, but Keala isn’t transparent with prospective buyers at all about the pricing going from free to $15K.
My Final Opinion of Keala Kanae
He’s Hardworking and Achieved A lot of Noteworthy Things
I think Keala Kanae is a hard-working entrepreneur that’s put alot of time and effort into growing his internet marketing education business. I respect his effort and I admire some of his accomplishments. The skills he’s learned have given him the ability to have an admirable amount of influence. It seems that he sells courses that are valuable and do teach legitimate internet marketing skills.
His Sales Tactics Seem Shady
I personally don’t like his selling style and I wouldn’t buy his courses because I look at his style and what he does, and I don’t want to be taught to imitate what he does. I’m immediately turned off by internet marketers and salespeople who use disruptive tactics and continually impose rather than acting after being given permission–that’s my personal preference.
His Advertising is Disruptive
His videos pop up in the middle of shows (even my daughter’s nursery rhymes…haha), and his ads are very long where they volunteer information about his life without the viewer having expressed interest in knowing about his life. It seems selfish to think that the Youtube viewers who are studying about other things would want to be interrupted for 10 minutes or more to listen to his personal life story or see how he uses his money (especially when it can be in contrast to their financial or life goals). Other advertisers have shorter and more concise videos, they don’t seem braggadocious about material possessions, and they ask for permission before divulging so much information.
He Exaggerates, Omits information, and makes Unsupported Claims
I find it false advertising how he says he’ll do a live webinar, but the webinar is in fact, pre-recorded. It’s innecessary to lie to sell. He could tell viewers that the webinar is pre-recorded rather than attempt to fabricate the feel of a live webinar. I also think he should be honest about realistic expectations of cost versus return customers can expect to get rather than making claims that they can get $10K in 3 months then not being transparent that they’ll have to buy a $10K course, spend nearly 40+ hours/week listening to audios, reading books, and doing the work required, and the results still may not happen.
There are Higher Quality Courses for a Lower Cost
Added to that, I’ve seen higher quality courses sold for lower cost, so I think his courses are overpriced. It’s evident that many people are buying his courses because they are high ticket, and they have hopes of turning around and selling them for high commissions. It’s not evident that the courses are valuable enough to warrant the pricing. However, every entrepreneur is able to choose what pricing they feel is appropriate for their products and services. In context, Kanae’s courses are sold at prices comparable to Coach in the world of purses.
I don’t think his Products Warrant the High-Ticket Price
High ticket or luxury items have to warrant the added costs by way of reputation, customer service, features, credibility, customer satisfaction ratings, and quality. Unfortunately, I don’t see how his reputation, the success rates of his students, or any other factors account for the higher ticket pricing like luxury products do in other verticals. However, if you’re inspired specifically by Kanae’s brand story, that’s not replaceable by signing up for a different course.
I wouldn’t recommend Keala Kanae’s courses. Instead, I’d recommend you look into other alternatives.
Top Alternatives
I prefer to recommend training products and services that:
- Have lots of success stories
- Make people money without selling the product/service
- Advertise in an honest and ethical way
- Have high ratings of customer satisfaction
- Are competitively priced
- And, let you try before you buy
My #1 Recommendation for Internet Marketing training is Wealthy Affiliate.
What’s Included with Wealthy Affiliate?
VERDICT: Is Keala Kanae a Scam Artist?
To Some. He does use Dishonest Sales Tactics and I Don’t Recommend his programs.
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Try My #1 Recommendation Instead
Keala Kanae | Internet Marketing Instructor
Pros
- He's a credible instructor who has made money online
- He's accomplished many noteworthy things
- He has many material possessions he uses as proof of his success
- He has a compelling story of going from broke to rich
- He's effective at reaching lots of people with his ads
Cons
- Teaches basic and intermediate internet marketing skills
- His products are some of the highest for the core competencies he teaches
- There are little to no success stories of students who used his training to be successful in multiple niches (outside of make money online selling his course)
- He uses disruptive and dishonest sales tactics (omitting information, offering results for a price then upselling the strategy, etc.), and seemingly flashes his possessions
- You have to pay to be a part of his affiliate program--whereas, you don't have to pay to be a part of thousands others online
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