Product Name: Clickbank University
Product Website: clickbankuniversity.com
Product Owners: Adam, Horwitz & Justin Atlan
Type Of Work: Product Creation/ Affiliate Marketing
Price To Get Started: $47/ month or $797 yearly
Overall Ranking: 4.3/ 5 Stars
What is Clickbank University and how exactly do you make money with them?
If you have been on the internet for any amount of time, chances are you’ve heard of Clickbank. This program was started in early 2014 by Justin and Adam from CB.
Clickbank university or CBU is a training center where you are going to learn how to create your own digital product and how to market it to your targeted audience successfully. There’s also training on how to sell other people’s product through Affiliate Marketing.
You make money by learning how to create your own digital product and market it successfully in the CB marketplace.
What group of people is CBU geared towards?
If you have ever tried making money on CB and wasn’t successful with it then this program is going to cater to you or anyone who’s looking to be successful with ClickBank. This program is geared towards beginners as well as people who have some experience in product creation.
Here’s what I liked about it
- In-depth training on how to create your own digital products
- Awesome training on how to get other people to sell your product for you and make you more money
- Their training is user-friendly and geared towards newbies
- Their website builder is point and click, and drag and drop based which I found easy to use.
- Comes with a full 60-day money back guarantee
- Live weekly webinars where you can get any questions you have answered
Here’s what I didn’t like
- Locked training modules. You only have access to 1 set of training modules per week. (You can’t work at your own pace)
- You need a premier account(Yearly membership) to unlock all of the training in the members area
- Lack of support
- Doesn’t come with the required tools you need to get started. This needs to be purchased separately (This is an upsell)
- They no longer offer the $1 trial for you to try it out
Do they have any high-quality training to get you started?
As I was going through the training offered at CBU I noticed that their training was put together pretty good and it was very informative as well. There’s a video that goes along with each lesson. I really liked this for the simple fact that, no matter what way you learn best it’s covered in the training.
Their training is broken down into 3 sections which you will see below:
Starting on the left here right under the beginners tab, you will find training on how to create your own digital product. You will also be trained on how to sell it in the Clickbank marketplace. This is an 8-week course which you are forced to go through only 1 course a week.
If you made your way through it in less than that time then you need to wait for the other courses to be unlocked. This has really put a bad taste in my mouth and I hate it when they drip feed the training to you.
Here’s the breakdown of everything you will learn below:
This includes:
- Your first product- This gives you some ideas of how to create your first product(Week 1)
- Packaging your product- getting your product ready for sale to the general public (Week 2)
- Sales pages+upsells- This is training on how to create your own sales pages along with creating your own upsells to go along with it (Week3)
- Convert your visitors into buyers- This training focuses on the importance of writing high-quality content. Turning your traffic into sales.(Week 4)
- Product pricing+ sales funnels- Within this training you are going to be learning how to create sales funnels as well as setting prices for your products. (Week 5)
- Building a list- Here you are going to be learning how to get started in email marketing and how to build your first email list. (Week 6)
- Getting approved- This training module shows you how to get approved for a variety of different marketing channels and ways to grow your business.(Week 7)
- Leveraging JV partners for maximum conversions- Within this training module you gain access to another platform you can use to sell your products through.(Week 8)
In the advanced section of their training, you are going to be introduced to more advanced ways to get traffic to your products and how to get them to convert at a higher rate.
A few things that are covered in this section are
- Paid traffic(PPC)
- Search Engine Optimization(SEO)
- How to leverage social media to get traffic to your website
- Using JV (Joint ventures) as another source of traffic
- Some strategies that are used by the top sellers in the CB marketplace
The affiliate section is ideal for anyone who’s not ready to create their own product. If you are more comfortable selling other people’s products and making a commission then you are going to love this.
Even though, I don’t think they go into enough detail about how affiliate marketing really works. I still think there’s some decent training to be found in here.
Here are a few things that’s covered in this training:
- List building(Email marketing)
- Squeeze pages
- Capturing emails
- How to manage your list
- Driving targeted traffic to your website
All of this is very important when you have an online business. When you are first starting out though, you should be focusing on content creation and getting traffic to your site first.
What they are doing here is putting the cart before the horse. I don’t understand why everyone thinks you need to build an email list first. You shouldn’t even be thinking about this until you at least have the foundation of your business in place, and you are getting a decent amount of traffic. (200-300 visits per day)
With no traffic who’s gonna sign up for your list?
Looking for better training, better tools, and a thriving community of help and support? Click here to find out how YOU can get started for FREE!
Do they provide you with any tools?
From what I was able to find out they don’t offer you any tools when you join. The only tool they have from what I was able to find was their website builder. This doesn’t come with your membership, this will set you back an extra $297 a year.
You will also need to buy your domains and anything else needed to get started.
Website Builder- CBU has their very own website builder where you can create sales pages, squeeze pages, and opt-in forms. You can also create as many websites as you want and hosting is included in this package.
The thing I loved about this was that it was setup so all you need to do was point and click and drag and drop.
How’s their support? Are you able to get help when you need it?
There are a few ways to get help and support at CBU and I will list them below.
- Community- Basically this is a forum where you can ask questions, get answers and network with other successful entrepreneurs within the CB network.
- You can send their support team an email whenever you have questions that you couldn’t find an answer to in the forums.
- You can also chat with Justin and Adam at certain times of the day
While I was browsing their support section I found many questions that hasn’t been answered for days. Most of the time, the members of the community will answer your questions, but the staff is active in the forums at certain times. As I browsed even more I did see a few replies that came from their staff.
Here’s what other people are saying about their help and support
I also had a hard time getting support from them. I emailed them a couple of questions and I still haven’t heard back from them yet. I’m sure as time goes on their support will get better but right now it’s not the greatest.
How much is this going to cost you to get started?
CBU has a few price points that you need to know about before you decide if this opportunity is for you or not. I will list all of this below and show you how much your gonna need to invest if you want to make any money with this program.
- The basic membership will run you $47 a month
- The yearly membership(Premier membership)will cost you a whopping $797(This also unlocks all the training modules so you can work at your own pace)
Are there any upsells?
Surprisingly I was only able to find a couple of upsells within this program which is shocking compared to the other programs I have reviewed.
Upsell#1
Clickbank’s own website builder- I already mentioned this above but basically you can build as many websites as you want along with free hosting for $297 a year.
You can also create membership sites, product and sales pages as well as affiliate product pages.
Upsell#2
Advanced Master Class- This is an advanced training course where you’re going to be learning more about email marketing, list creation, and list management. There’s also training on how to create a popup exit box.
You know those annoying pop-ups that come up when you try to exit the page? Don’t you just hate those things?
Anyway, this will set you back another $97, but it’s only a one-time fee.
Let’s calculate how much it’s going to cost you if you purchased both of these upsells and joined as a basic member.
$47 a month x12 months= $564+$297 +$97= $958
Your cost to do business for the year has almost doubled when you add these tools. Another thing to keep in mind is you got all this money tied up in a website builder that’s more than likely tied to Clickbank.
If you would ever decide to leave you would have to transfer your website to another hosting company. I would also find out if you can take your web site with you when you leave.
Let’s see how CBU stacks up to my #1 ranked opportunity online
My Final Conclusion
There are good things and bad things about CBU. If you are looking for training on how to create your own digital product and sell it on the CB marketplace I would highly recommend Clickbank University.
You can also learn how to get other people to sell your product for you and make even more money. This would be the opposite of affiliate marketing where you would be the vendor instead of the affiliate.
Having your own product also comes with lots of headaches. I know that many people would feel much more comfortable selling other peoples products as an affiliate marketer.
That’s what I do and I make a full-time living doing so. If this sounds interesting then keep reading cause you’re going to love this.
To be honest with you, I think CBU is a great program if you want to create your own product. But not everyone wants to do that and I can understand why.
Why would you pay more money and get less? With Wealthy Affiliate you get:
- 10 FREE starter lessons with instant access to hundreds of training modules
- An actual community of internet marketing experts to answer any questions you have and help you 100% of the way
- Instead of paying $958 per year you only pay $359
- More high-quality training and tools
- No locked training modules (Move along at your own pace)
- Around the clock 24/7 live chat. Get your questions answered instantly
- Personal one on one help and support directly from me
- A 59% discount on your first month (Normally $47 comes out to only $19)
You also get training on how to be an affiliate of ANY product, not just ClickBank products.
I really hope this review has helped you out and helped you make a decision as to whether this program is going to be a good fit for you or not. Are you a previous member of CBU or have you been thinking of joining?
I would love to hear about your experience below and I’m sure everyone else would as well. Feel free to share your experience with everyone in the comments below.
Has this review helped you from making a potentially bad decision? Why not share it with everyone so you can help other like I have helped you? Click the share buttons below!
Doug
Scott,
Excellent review of CBU! I had no idea that CB spun off part of their business into CBU…until now. I guess you learn something new every day. If I ever decide to create my own product then I will definitely check into Clickbank Uni.
However, I like the whole concept of affiliate marketing so much better. I agree with you that WA offers you the best training on how to be successful online with affiliate marketing. Thanks for keeping us informed about these programs and keep up the great work!:)
Doug
Scott Newkirk
Hi Doug,
I’m glad that this review has helped you out and has informed you about CBU. If you want to get trained on product creation, and how to market them on the CB platform. I would recommend CBU as a viable option. Many people have no interest in doing this and would feel much more comfortable selling other people’s products.
Wealthy Affiliate is an all in one solution which caters to just about any kind of marketing you can think of. I want to thank you for dropping by Doug and chiming in on this discussion. If you ever need a hand with anything let me know and I would be more than happy to help you out.
Cheers
Scott
Peter
Hi Scott,
Clickbank University is a good training program for creating and marketing your own digital products. But only having access to one training module per week is something that I find disappointing.
I am surprised that the website builder is an upsell, it makes the program quite expensive and as you point out you probably won’t be able to transfer your sites from Clickbank.
For someone who wants to learn affiliate marketing, Wealthy Affiliate is the only program you need to be successful online. The step-by-step training takes you from the debut of picking your niche onwards in a chronological order, you can work as fast or as slowly as you want and their site builder isn’t an upsell it’s actually FREE.
It comes with your free membership which I think is awesome!
Thanks for a great review, Peter
Scott Newkirk
Hey Peter,
I agree that CBU is a good program if you are interested in creating your own product. I can understand them wanting you to take things slow but only giving you access to 1 module per week is downright ridiculous. While I wasn’t able to find that many upsells at CBU the ones I did find were quite expensive.
A website builder is one of the main tools that should naturally be included with any training package. The site builder you get with WA’s starter package is free and comes with everything you need to get started. Thanks so much for stopping by Peter and sharing your thoughts on this program and I hope your business is doing good.
Do let me know if you ever need a hand with anything!
I’d love to help you out
Your Friend, Scott
Tom
Hi Scott- Another great review and I mean it! Very thorough and understandable (unlike click bank) and yes I tried click bank and found their support really non-existent. Like you say, they teach the cart before the horse, as I was never taught about either building a site or adding content with their program. The single most important lesson to learn in any online marketing is knowing how to write good content, even if eventually you are going to farm it out. Since my fiasco with click bank, I joined Wealthy Affiliate and have truthfully learned more in three months than I had in years with other affiliate programs. I can build out my own site, know exactly how to write good content and reviews and am well on my way to a successful online business! Great job!
All the best-Tom
Scott Newkirk
Hey Tom,
Clickbank university isn’t for everyone because let’s face it lot’s of people have no interest in creating their own digital product. I have also experienced their lack of support as well, along with many other people so you aren’t alone. It’s seems like Clickbank and many other internet marketing programs seem to forget that before you can build an email list, or do anything they have listed in their training you need to have lots of content and a solid foundation on your website.
This is something they seem to skip over and I never have understood why. I am so glad you have been learning a lot at Wealthy Affiliate and as you continue through the training you are going to expand your knowledge even more.
I’m glad that this review has helped you out and thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your experience with everyone here on CBU.
To your success online
Your Friend, Scott
Guido
Interesting, never knew ClickBank had their own training site. I might want to learn about creating my own digital products in the future. So it looks like you won’t be able to go through the entire training in just one month? I’d only consider getting a membership there for one month, learning everything, and getting out of there ASAP. If that’s not possible, it’s not for me.
Scott Newkirk
Hi Guido,
If you are interested in learning how to create your own digital product then I would highly recommend CBU. However, if you want to be successful in creating your own product based website or any kind of website it’s going to take you a whole lot longer than 30 days to do it. Building an online business selling other people’s products or your own products is going to take time.
I always tell people to give yourself at least a year to reach any level of success online. I have been in this business for over 2 years now and I haven’t even begun to learn everything. If you aren’t willing to put in the time and effort that’s required then you will never achieve any level of success online.
If you are interested in joining an affiliate marketing community that walks you through the process of how to create an affiliate marketing business you should definitely check out Wealthy Affiliate.
I really hope this has helped give you a better understanding of how online business works and shown you how much time you need to invest to be successful online.
I do want to thank you for dropping by Guido and sharing your thoughts on CBU with everyone here.
Cheers
Your Friend, Scott
Leo Emery
My business partner and I used click bank when we had our membership site and it was a great service for doing all the heavy lifting when it came to marketing, payments and such.
So I will agree if you want to promote your own product using click bank university would serve you well.
But even with that said I hate the fact you have to pay a premium and to me it’s an upsell to unlock all the training.
So if you can’t afford the upsell you’re now forced to take the training at their pace – one a week for 8 weeks. Not cool.
I also agree with you that the focus is ass backwards – you could have the best website on the planet and the absolute best offer to join your mailing list.
But if you have no traffic your site is completely useless. Think traffic first the rest can come later.
Like I said great program if you want to sell your own product. However it falls flat for teaching you how to be a successful affiliate marketer.
If you want that training, Wealthy Affiliate is the place to be. Plus it’s way less expensive, live chat support and you get everything you need to build your business and you don’t have to pay extra for it.
And best of all since we all learn at a different pace you can take the training at your own pace.
Great review Scott – keep them coming.
Cheers
Leo
Scott Newkirk
Hi Leo,
Clickbank can be a pretty powerful network if you are looking for training on membership sites or creating your own product. I also hate upsells and can’t stand it when you pay money to join a program, and they don’t give you full access to what you need to succeed online. I can understand that they want you to take things slow but having locked modules is never a good idea.
It seems like 95% of internet marketing products out there are ass backwards and I never had understood why they never mention the most important things you need to know to build a website.
These are: Creating content
Keyword research
Getting ranked in Google
They seem to skip over the most important things you need to know and go directly to creating a list and building a squeeze page. I agree that Wealthy Affiliate shows you the right way to build a successful and very profitable affiliate marketing business. I do want to thank you for dropping by Leo and sharing your experience with CBU here with everyone today.
To your continued success online
Your Friend, Scott