I’ll be honest.
Answering email is one of my least favorite tasks, simply due to the volume of messages I receive from those who want something for nothing.
I have no patience for that kind of mentality.
I’d rather spend my time helping people who genuinely want to do the work needed to succeed, not those expecting handouts.
So I was already a tad bit frustrated when I stumbled upon a message from a guy who questioned my integrity because I promote ClickBank.
His email read…
Hi Lisa,
Love your work, but was quite shocked to see that you promote a program like ClickBank. I have been an affiliate for at least 5 years and have sent thousands of visitors to them and have not received one single sale. I have concluded they are a scam and removed all my links.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. In fact, my YouTube videos on ClickBank often generate the same kinds of comments.
And quite coincidentally, as I was polishing up this post yesterday, I checked my Facebook page and Clarence Middleton posted this…
First of all, I’ve got to give props to Clarence for at least admitting he may have taken a sip of the Hater-ade. 
But he’s not alone, and it’s not usually about hating. There’s this attitude that develops with some marketers who believe…
If I can’t make money with this program then it must be a scam.
If this sounds like something you’ve said, in reality, the real problem may be one or more of the following…
- Your marketing strategy needs adjusting
- Perhaps you are promoting products that don’t align with your reader’s needs
- You need to build more targeted traffic
- You haven’t established enough credibility to convert the sales
Now, I will say this. You have to be careful because ClickBank does have some less-than-stellar products in their marketplace. But it’s up to YOU to ensure that the products you promote meet a certain quality standard.
My ClickBank Strategy
I’ve done very well with ClickBank over the years, and for those who call it a scam, I’ve been a member since 2000 and have never had a problem getting my payments.
I don’t promote a lot of their products (no more than 2-4 per site), but I own the ones I do promote and make sure my readers know that.
For example, I’ve had pretty good success with referring Jim Edwards’ book, How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook in as Little as 7 Days.
Take note of my very simple strategy below…
I always make it clear that I actually purchased the book by giving specific details. Doing so will increase your conversions because it makes the review seem more believable and credible.
Knowing specific problems your audience struggles with helps too.
One reason I chose to add that last paragraph about not knowing enough to write a good book is because that’s exactly what my readers are constantly telling me via email and Jim’s book covers this issue very well.
The Concept is Actually Very Simple
As you can see, my strategy is not rocket science. And if you talk to anyone who succeeds with affiliate marketing, I bet they will tell you they do something very similar.
In fact, the affiliates who do the best promoting my two books (Niche Website Success and WP Starter Guide) often use a very similar approach.
Most of them write reviews that are very similar to what I did with Jim’s book above. They highlight specific, audience-relevant benefits they know will be valued.
When you have enough targeted traffic and find products that align with your visitors needs, affiliate marketing is actually not hard at all.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s not going to take work and time to promote your site and figure out how to convert your audience.
To Sum it Up
ClickBank is no more a scam than Amazon’s or Commission Junction’s affiliate program. It’s simply an affiliate network of digital goods. You choose the products you want to promote and if they convert, you earn a commission.
It’s as simple as that.
In 12 years, I’ve never seen any evidence of ClickBank being a scam, and it’s not fair to use that label just because something is not working for you.
By that logic, there are a lot of things I’ve encountered in my life that I could call a scam.
See my guide to making money with Clickbank.
Hi, my name is 
Hey Lisa,
It’s interesting how people think sometimes when things don’t go their way. We try to justify our lack of skills by calling these programs scams, and hate to admit that the problem is actually us.
But.. we’re human. It’s how we’re wired. I take the exact same approach with any product I promote. I make sure I have it, first. Then talk about my experience using it.
The good, and the bad. People appreciate that a lot.
Hey Hector,
Yeah I agree that it does seem to be the way that we’re wired. It’s much harder to say that “I messed up” and easier to point the finger somewhere else.
Dear Lisa,
College of Content could not imagine you failing at Internet marketing, especially with using ClickBank for making money on the World Wide Web. When you are super successful with blogging, affiliate marketing and Internet content promotion efforts, anyone’s e-mail inbox gets flooded with numerous messages they can’t answer at once. That’s the beauty and the side effects of being successful as an Internet marketer… LOL
It’s a good thing to know you are succeeding using ClickBank. College of content agrees that many Internet marketers need to change up their approach when deploying online marketing methods to make money on the web. Keep up the good work in your blogging and affiliate marketing efforts, Lisa. You are surely inspiring everyone on the web to be their own boss, and start their own Internet businesses!
CollegeofContent.com
People can be way too quick to proclaim that soemthing ‘doesn’t work’, when the truth is, it’s just not working for them. You see this all the time on the internet. I just think it’s a shame because it could discourage other people from trying things like Clickbank out.
Liz,
This is very true what you said about “people can be way too quick to proclaim that something doesn’t work.” It goes to show that mulls folk at times tend to come to conclusions too quickly. some people assume things based off of what they hear from others also. What people need to do in cases like that is keep trying until they succeed, until judging an online marketing program as potentially being a sham.
It took me a couple of years to actually make enough from Clickbank to meet the payout requirements.
That all changed about two years ago when I found an excellent product that fits perfectly with one of my niche sites.
I now get checks in the mail every payout period.
I learned early on from Lisa the importance of checking out the product before promoting it.
Clickbank as a company gets five out of five stars from me.
Yay, that’s awesome you’re getting checks regularly now Jordy!
great post. Lisa, you’ve done a fair job of highlighting a very common and instinctive human behavior at play here. we are quick to blame the system when things do not work out as envisioned.
i am a big fan of clickbank. i have over 20 ebooks on their platform that are not only selling well organically, but i am a huge fan of the affiliate network because i am getting a ton of sales resulting from affiliates promoting my ebooks.
clickbank is not only a good platform to host and sell ebooks through, but also great for distribution, accounting and automated and seamless affiliate management. all that combined can be a full time job if done manually.
yes there is a cost, but it is very minimal and well worth what you get out of it. the beauty of the system is that as you create income producing assets (i.e. ebooks), the incremental work on your part (the entrepreneur) does not change much.
after setting up the product once, you have potentially established a stream of passive income (of course the marketing aspect has to be done as well which you have very nicely demonstrated in your soft sell approach).
finally, to Jordy’s point, it is important to have a product targeted to your site’s audience. relevancy is huge. though i see ebook sales come through platforms like kindle and nook, i see more success in some of my niche sites that cater to a very specific audience with a very specific product that addresses a very specific need.
great post, great reminder
Couldn’t agree more.
I am going to be honest Lisa, I have not made much money with Adsense but I still believe in the program. I believe they want me to succeed they make money when I do. I have to improve my site not blame the advertising programs.
Right on, Michael!
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for sharing this story. I had a similar run in with this. I was an affiliate for over a year, sent over thousands of people and not one sale! However, I tried to do other promotions such as Market Samurai, sent over 12 people and got a few sales. I was shocked. I guess it really depends on the market and what you are trying to sell and how well your pitch is.
Indeed. Also, when the product is more expensive like Market Samurai you REALLY have to work hard at building up credibility and convince your readers why it’s valuable.
I’ve made 1 sale from a ton of visitors. Not scam, just bad audience. I closed the site and tried with another site and things are going a lot better.
Some people expect to earn a ton of money without doing anything..
Bill,
you should NOT have closed the site, but yet, changed up the content you’ve created and targeted another audience, also using the power of YouTube. Just a thought.
I love Clickbank, just got a check few days ago and I love those CB check days, lol. I learned about how to promote products from you and it applies to any program I use, same for CB. I promote products I own and like. I promote them honestly. It is actually a way better source of income for me than CJ or Amazon so should I call those two a scam? No, because I just do better with CB because I do more detailed promotion of their products.
Also some of the best stuff I promote are from CB and I love the 60 days money back guarantee which takes the risk off people who buy anything.
Anyway, obviously I am agreeing with you, lol. And as fat as HATOR-ade goes, I took a sip regarding people that don’t want to do anything but want piles of money coming in… good luck with that…
My sales are actually higher at Amazon, but my earnings are better with Clickbank just because of the high commissions. Gotta luv that.
I have a blog that I use to promote organic baby clothing, and I have to say that I too feel that clickbank is a rigged system. It seems to me that my contemporaries and I cannot seem to get a single sale; however, my husband’s blog, which sells hunting gear, happens to get a ton. I’m not sure as to why this is, maybe its just industry demand, but with so many mothers looking for baby clothing, it HAS to outweigh hunters, right?
I’d approach clickbank with caution.
We tried using clickbank on our blog, and hired an internal SEO guy to help optimize and make it work for us. What we found was that for our purposes, there was too much invested in clickbank to make it worth it, but it did in fact send us sales.
If you commit to clickbank, you can make a ton of money, its just putting in the effort, like in ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE.
Great post Lisa. I haven’t started REALLY using ClickBank yet, and when I try and research it the search engines are just so over-saturated with people saying it’s spam. Honestly, you are the only person I would turn to for advice on this. Also, you don’t have to be a certain age to be a vendor of CB, so that’s a big + for me!
I’m on about my 3rd year with CB.
My Ex wife created an amazing ebook, with after some promoting ended up with one sale, to a friend of hers.
Then we got divorced and I took it down and tried promoting other products. After a year & a half I finally sold enough products for CB to send me my first check for $205. Seemed like a lot of work for that little.
But I continued on.
I’m up to $140 balance now when I stumbled across a marketer offering to teach people how to make money online… Like I haven’t seen enough of these… But he was offering to teach people for $1 (which is going to World Teacher Aid) for 30 days of training to make money online.
So I said I’d bite, $1 what could it hurt… Well I’m 15 days into the course now and I’ve pulled in $70+ in sales already. I was kind of in shock that a course actually worked and wasn’t just another scam.
The stuff he teaches isn’t hard, it isn’t rocket-science it’s just stuff I never thought about or even knew was out there.
Yes I’m sure there are many scams out there, but for $1 for 30 days and I’ve already made $70. Doesn’t seem like a scam to me.
I hope you’ll check it out.
Thanks ==> http://dot-com-secrets-x.com
you know Lisa i really appreciate what you posted here about click bank as you increased my previouse self-made trust towards them, also i liked your way of helping people who needs your help and not those who want it for nothing, i know you are experienced enough to talk about your success, visit my website and give me a feedback and that will be the best help you can do for me, wish stronger students can help you find a way and wish you best of luck
I have made a lot of sales through Clickbank. I helped edit a marathon program, which is really well written, and then I sell it on my running site. It’s the product your selling, not Clickbank, that matters.
I think you mentioned something really important (intentionally or not): if you want to successfully sell a product, you should own it yourself. Your review/ad will always be better if you have read the ebook yourself for example. Sure, it’s a small investment, but it’s usually worth it!
Definitely, Andy. And if you don’t like the product, Clickbank will give you a refund so there’s no loss.
I tried to promote clickbank product, i thought it is easy to earn from promoting their products. But because i have no idea how to promote it in a right strategy I failed.that is 1 year ago..
Wow, that’s fantastic Lisa, good information. I am struggling myself, mainly because this is a part time thing for me.
I received an email from CJ the other day saying that they were going to drop me because I’ve made no sales yet.
I need to find more time and start putting all your great advice to use to turn this around!
I have never made a sale on clickbank … but i only have tried a few product it doesnt mean it is a scam …. if it was a scam they would not get so many good reviews ….
This is a great ideas, I know that this way o what they called programs scams will bring a huge to help to all on the alarming status of scams…
Lisa, great article!!!! Excellent actually..even with some humor!!! God bless Clarence for his honesty and truthfulness!
I take a more “researched” approach to things as you might have guessed…before i try something I usually look into that thing and try to find credible sources of information and credible people who have demonstrated that a particular system works….if I discover that it is the case…then I make an educated assumption that that particular system works..to whatever degree and that it is indeed NOT a scam but that it just means you have to market the system or product correctly. My experience with it is irrelevant…except to me personally…which means I may not use it if it doesn’t produce enough fruit but I don’t doubt that it is a credible system if credible people use it and produce fruit from it. That’s just me…so I trust that ClickBank is credible and works…within the boundaries you mention…why? Because I have found you to be credible along with a number of other credible marketers out there. Simple Really. Blessings!
Some people are shame because it could discourage other people from trying things like Clickbank out..but good for you you help people to succeed in their goals even if their are trying to discourage you…
You mentioned CJ as not being a scam, so I thought I would mention that It is not CJ, but some of the advertisers that do the scamming. An example that I will site from personal experience are the CJ Pay Per Call programs…In one situation a friend of mine needed some advice on a particular financial problem that one of CJ’s advertisers could possibly help with. I admit that I explained the criteria to her for me to earn a commission such as the time she was to be on the phone with the sales person. She far exceeded this time. Just prior to her meeting the retired time, she was cut off after having given the rep her return call. This eliminated my commission due to the call back. This made me suspicious, so I myself decided to test the service. Because I have the gift of gab, I was able to exceed the posted time criteria, but I too was cut off in mid call.. Little did I know until I checked my stats that the initial call did not even show up! When I got the return call, I was able to keep the rep on for an extended length of time being the Arkie Hillbilly I am…lol and I was able to earn a commission. But since the deal was obviously a scam, I removed them as a vendor from my site. My commission was $35.00 of which I have not collected. I inturn am using another CJ Account for my other sites and will close the account I used for the test as not to commit fraud by actually collecting the commission. Even though I was jipped out of a commission in the first place.
I bet many people think that when things don’t go their way or won’t work for them it must be a scam, I wonder how much this effects conversions.
Hey Lisa
Totally agree with what you’re saying – except when Clickbank can be a little scammy if you are promoting stuff that is in itself a little scammy.
There are products I’ve started promoting for myself or clients and sure they convert and you make a tidy sum but you have a slightly bad taste in your mouth. Then its the moral dilemma between earning and scamming your visitors – I’m talking high payout “get rich quick” type schemes, or one-click systems of which there are still many on clickbank.
That’s where clickbank is different to CJ or Affiliate Window or whatever.
Me personally, when I have a bad taste in my mouth – I let it run for a while, earn and then if refunds get above 35 percent I pull the product.
sorry I used my bosses e-mail in that last comment by mistake it must have been pre-filled – could you change it from alan to amac many thanks!!
Lisa
clickbank does work I have made thousands on top of thousands of dollars on clickbank, as matter of fact clickbank work so well that now I’m creating my own product line to sell in my blog
and I will be creating one big traffic very soon to put on clickbank.
the key you must set up a solid system on how to sell these products
Hi Lisa, first of all if clickbank were a scam it would have been shut down a long time ago, I do not understand this attitude.
If you are an affiliate and can not make money with clickbank, then you are a bad affiliate and in the wrong game.
Clickbank is amazing. Yes it has a lot of bad products but it is our job to find the best, try them ourselves if we are going to promote them.
Also, while we are on the subject of CB, I have noticed recently a lot of vendors tricking the system and turning their CB products in to Amazon products. So a lot of people (like me) would build a whole campaign around a CB product, only for the vendor to eventually turn the product in to a Amazon book so you lose out on the whole commission. It’s a disgusting trick, and I have been in contact with CB about it so it is something to watch out for
I don’t consider clickbank a scam.They are just a hosting conpany really.(a middle man sort of) But I do consider most “how to make money online ” products a scam.And the ones that are not are still extremely difficult if you do not already pocess certain skills or have a natural apptitude for Internet marketing.And worse a complete idiot like me LOL. But no, clickbank is no way a scam.
Agree, Joe and I think that’s what many people are referring to. For example, if you researched a “how to make money online” product and you happen to find it on Clickbank, you may think that Clickbank is the creator when they are just the middleman. So you chalk Clickbank up to being a scam instead of the book creator. A lot of people don’t realize that Clickbank didn’t create the product.
I’ve been creating websites and have been online since 2007, but I only recently started promoting Clickbank products. I started using Clickbank this past February 2012. I actually have the products I promote and so that is not an issue. However, I have only made 1 Clickbank sale in the past 5 weeks. I have several different types of sites and am promoting different types of Clickbank products and so I’m not sure what is wrong, but I think it must be something about my marketing method (I just don’t know what). I do make sales via the Amazon affiliate program with no problem at all.
Hi Lisa,
Great post. It makes me feel bad now that I email you and ask you questions. I won’t do that anymore, lol. Thanks for the info. I don’t think people really give Clickbank a chance. Either that, or they’re simply not working them the right way.
Hi Scarlet,
I wouldn’t lump you in with those who want something for nothing. Those are the emails that frustrate me the most.
Hi Lisa:
We all know ClickBank is real, and does pay out commissions. The more important point is something you pointed out. The marketing strategy needs to be worked on. The copy needs to be written for that specific person so that it will strike up their emotions.
That’s why it takes research to study your target market. What makes them “tick?” What lingo do they use? If I am targeting 45 yr old women and and say they will look “beast” in these pants, they will not relate and “feel” me.
It is a skill and like all skills it takes time. We all want to make fast money, but we all know that is few and far between.
If you love the idea of making money online, you will not quit (b/c you can just “taste” the day you start making money). And if you don’t quit, you can never fail.
You will learn a lot as you plug away. I hope your emailer guy didn’t quit.
You are living proof that you CAN make it in the online money making world.
Thanks for your posts!
Hi Lisa,
I would say, some people just don’t know how to fight with fail. We all fail sometimes but we should learn from it and try it again just different way.
That’s true. Failure is often hard to swallow.
Clickbank does work and it has worked for me, even though I haven’t done much marketing with them. But I have some dollars in my account but not ready for my check because I am letting it add up.
In order for Clickbank to work for anybody then they have to know the audience that they are marketing to. Take time out to work on their blog’s or website’s traffic so that it makes marketing much easier for them.
It is just like any other affiliate program. You have to find the right products to market in your niche or you will never make a dime.
Great post and awesome tips, Lisa.
Thanks Kharim! Great to see you here.
You’re welcome Lisa. I’m always here on a regular basis (even though I may not comment all the time), but your articles are always great. I get them via RSS
You are right my dear friends, Whenever the people come on the internet they think join any affiliate program. Just write down a smart review and that’s it. Thus say , this is a fake.
As you mentioned in your comment right product and right audience is vital to generate money.
Not sure if someone said this already, but I think that the email you got from that guy hates CB is simply because he necer sold anything, lol. Seriously, I think that whatever “bad vibe” people get from CB is not because of CB itself but rather the way affiliate marketers promote the products available on CB. Some just send emails without a clue of what they are promoting.. Oh well!
Like you said, there are good stuff and bad stuff, and they are all over the place. A careful selection combined with a quality marketing strategy can be beneficial in the long run and that applies to all networks and not just CB. For the record, I have been with CB for 3 years and selling some stuff quite well. No problems whatsoever in getting my paychecks.. so that’s that.
I agree, DiTesco. Great points and thanks for stopping by.
It really irritates me when people cry ‘scam’ because they have not used a product correctly. It isn’t just Clickbank, I’ve seen people state that Adsense is a scam!
Same here, Dean and I almost mentioned that about AdSense in this post.
I agree so much with you… I met some people that said JUST THAT.. And they didn’t even stop to evaluate why they failed, they just gave up and left for good… a shame actually because potential and successful people leave the business with the very first rock they encounter.
Lisa your are right absolutely.
Numbers of people think like that..
i am a blogger a beginner i want to use adsense on my blog i request to all have a look
and comment me on blog is it good for adsense? or it can get approve for adsense
my blog is
Programming Blog For Beginners
I’ve just started earning money from clickbank so it’s definitely not a scam.
People stumble across Click Bank from some ‘Get rich with passive income’ ebook, create garbage content that they put zero time and effort into, and then are shocked when they aren’t raking in a fortune by the end of the month. Hence, it’s just a big scam. You can tell people the secret to success is hard work a million times and they will still never believe you. Reminds me of SEO work; they tried it for a week and weren’t at the top of Google so it’s pointless. Makes you crazy.
Hello Lisa,
I’ve actually just sat here and read most of these comments and have learned so much!
I am very new to all of this, as a matter-of-fact, I never knew what affiliate marketing was until I found you on Youtube. (Until now the only work I’ve done from home is customer service.)
This is another world for me, with a different language included, but I’m committed to learning more (and doing the work..I promise).
Thank you for for breaking it all down!
If it’s possible…I am a FAN.
Keep doing what you are doing.
Well just hang in there with me and I’ll show you the way, Victoria
Thanks for stopping by.
If at first you fail, try again. Too many people have made money with Clickbank for it to be a scam. Failing is not falling down, failing is about not getting back up after falling down.
Scams are alarming but we should ready for it.and you must have a patience.people now are want to discourage the work of others…
Need to read more about the scams and about click bank. when you fail because of scam just focus in your work don’t loss hope to succeed in your goal.
I believe all things need time to work, we live in a I want it know so society. Some people refuse to do the work or they do not give the program time to work.
I just had my first click bank sale last night. It was pretty exciting! I also got my first direct affiliate sale two weeks ago. This was after about 6 months of publishing articles to promote the products, so it definitely can take some time!
Really It is a scam i also use it…
I think one of the reasons people call it a scam is because it sounds so easy in the clickbank intro. You have at least actually made it clear it takes lots of targeted traffic and hard work. Your advice about buying the book yourself is something Clickbank doesn’t mention (at least not in the quick intro). I think if you’re right about buying anything you want to promote from Clickbank. It does make it more authentic of a pitch.
And they should mention it. Heck, they’d probably make more money if they encouraged their affiliates to actually know what they are promoting.
I never thought of that Click bank is a scam maybe people will say this because it is not working for them because they did not made the right thing. When all things are done properly nothing is wrong with it.
The scammers will always be there, and unfortunately that becomes the focus and present an unbalance view about Clickbank. Be selective of the products you promote. Ideal if you can review the product yourself, and give an unbiased view and value to your users. Bonus if you are good and pursuasive in your writing.
I never thought it’s really a scam, thanks for the information, now I know!
You can do article marketing. This is where you write articles related to the product and put a link back to click-bank with the hopes that the reader will buy your product.
Learning our capability and skills is the most important.. Accept our fails.. and learn from it..Thanks for the interesting post..
Awesome information I do believe it takes a lot of effort at affiliate programs like ClickBank to succeed, and not everyone succeeds it takes determination.
Hmm it looks like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any recommendations for first-time blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.
Hi Lisa It’s sooo true don’t know how many times I’ve heard that, it’s not a scam you just have to know how to affiliate market successfully and then you will make money from it
…
Thanks
Joe Elliott
Amen Joe!
Hi Lisa, When I started with Clickbank I have done some research, most of the places over the net it reads like a way people are not happy with the services.
I agree its about finding the correct product and promoting it and I think one of the places where clickbank needs to improve is marketplace, they need to tied there search function…once you have correct product you can promote it to good effect.
I never had any luck with clickbank, But Looks like I need to try it after reading your blog post.
Well, all I know is that I’m getting regular income from clickbank so whoever calls it a scam clearly dont know what they are talking about or they are doing something really wrong. To be honest with you, I don’t own all the clickbank products I promote but they still convert. The funny thing is that the ones I own don’t convert as well.
Credibility is the key, when your readers trust you they’ll follow your recommendations.
Hey Lisa,
I recently began making Clickbank Sales, but before today, it was really hit and miss.
So what am I doing differently?
This time a round, I am using 2 EXTREMELY IMPORTANT marketing techniques to boost my sales with Clickbank.
1 – I am making Youtube videos –
Although blogging is a great way to make money online, establishing credibility and getting traffic to your blog for that matter is much more difficult. This is because the amount of writers compared to video makers is HUGE!
In fact, I found a niche on Youtube which only has 10 videos, tops! But if you look on Google, there are millions of competitors for that same niche.
The great thing is, Youtube videos usually rank on page #1 or #2 of Google, depending on how many views, likes, comments, your video gets. They only take 10 minutes to make, and don’t usually require any backlinks.
2 – I am capturing subscribers –
It is said that a buyer has to see a product 7 times before making a purchase. Well, how are you going to show that buyer a product 7 times without some way of keeping in touch with them?
Aweber is a great solution for building subscribers and selling them products.
Unfortunately, people ABUSE Aweber, and think that it’s simply to SELL, SELL, and SELL… When this definitely isn’t the case.
Summary -
I’ll say it again, because I have said it before. If you’re going to be successful in this business, you need to become an AUTHORITY.
How do you become an authority?
You become an authority by showing people that you have been at POINT A (where your readers currently are) but have gotten to POINT B (where your readers want to be.)
i.e. if you’re in the fat loss business, make videos showing readers how to lose weight, show them before and after pictures of how you lost weight, and then link to a free eBook in the description of your video (where readers have to enter their name and email to get your book.)
Once you have become an authority and showed them that you know how to do what they’re trying to do, you have to gain their trust. The first 5 to 7 emails that you send them should BE FREE VIDEOS of things that they can begin doing right now to change their lives. After sending the readers these videos (and they trust you) you can begin promoting products every so often.
To promote products, you want to PUSH THE READERS HOT BUTTONS! One of my best converting emails told the readers that they were going to FAIL! And actually described life to them as if they were to fail, and never reach their goals. At the end of the email, I showed them the solution to their problem. Let’s just say that the conversions were high, and my buddy (the guy who created the program I was promoting) was shocked by the results.
I apologize for the long comment. Once I begin making a lot more Clickbank sales, I’ll be releasing an eBook on exactly how to make money with Clickbank. But for now, I want to make more sales, and show people that I am actually an authority – going from no sales, to maybe 1 or 2 sales at the least, every other day.
Great post, Lisa,
Taylor Thompson
91 Day Challenge
Don’t apologize for writing such a useful post! Thanks for sharing that detail about your email campaign. Fantastic strategy and shows how you have to get creative and learn what your readers need!
This is the first reply from a big name blogger that I have ever received in a comment. I have done guest posts for John Chow, but I have never once received a replied comment. Thanks for the reply. I’ll be reading your blog more often.
But not too often though. Otherwise, I will never implement what I learn into my strategy lol
I’m not an affiliate of ClickBank myself, but I did make a purchase a couple of months ago from a popular affiliate marketer and was cheated. Long story short, did not get a refund and ClickBank response was indifference. So I’m not anywhere near those guys even they offer me free money.
I’m surprised you didn’t get a refund going directly through ClickBank. Was it within the normal ClickBank 60 day refund timeline? I’ve never seen a person have a problem get a refund directly through ClickBank. If you’re in the U.S. or Canada, they have a toll-free number: 1-800-390-6035 (which I wasn’t aware of until a commenter posted it at my blog a while back).
“But it’s up to YOU to ensure that the products you promote meet a certain quality standard.”
Nothing could be truer. They’ve definitely been trying to clean up their marketplace in various ways, with the FTC compliance for vendors post and the refund rate monitoring, but it’s a huge marketplace and tons of bad apples still squeeze through the cracks.
I am amazed at how personable and committed you are to your followers considering the ridiculous amount of traffic you must get here.
When things aren’t turning out the way that you wanted to, it doesn’t mean that life is scamming you, right? You just have to change what you’re doing. We have the time in the world to fix whatever we did wrong; it won’t matter if it’s only for a short moment.
= Gerald Martin, Resell SEO =
My first online sale back in the day which got me hooked on internet marketing was from ClickBank and I still make money with them even for products promoted on year old posts and I can count on less than one hand how many refunds there were SO for lack of a better phrase: whoever sent that email to you was tripping!
Hey Lisa,
I also started with clickbank but very frankly, not a single sale in two month and the most shocking part is that I am on 3rd in the first page for my keyword. May be my content is not appealing or might something else. Anyway After reading your article, once again I am going to start with clickbank. Hope this time I will make some bucks
Great article and just wanted to add that I can relate to your opening statement. I get loads of messages from people who have not even bothered to read my blog posts properly and then ask me stupid questions or asking for something when they haven’t even bothered to read one word of my site and what I am about. Keep up the good work.
I have to admit that I signed for Clickbank about 4 months ago and so far I have earned “zero” but I know it’s me. I don’t have a good strategy in place. It is very frustrating and it takes hard work, time and you need to be “a patient worker” I agree with Lisa 100% with this post.
Four months, shucks it took me 4 years to make my first sale! LOL Once I really started finding products that fit with my audience and actually owned the products I promote, things turned around.
Indeed you can make good money with Clickbank if you know how and if you choose good products. But there are also lots of junk products out there (like the ones promising to make you rich over night, betting systems, forex, penis enlargement etc) and that’s why many people became suspicious about Clickbank. That’s also why Google hates lots of sites promoting Clickbank products.
I have been promoting Clickbank product for awhile, but I have not made any money. However, I know people who are making money with Clickbank so I did not think it was a scam. It takes time to make money with any product.
Clickbank like anything else requires discretion. There is a lot of junk on Clickbank that I would not want to advertise or review on my website because they look like spam and often have manipulative webpages to keep users on the page or annoying videos and audio. These are very common in my niches of forex and penny stocks.
Yet there are quality products out there. Part of it requires honing your efforts to find them but also using them yourself. A little experience helps
I haven’t tried Clickbank. It is a subject very popular though (perhaps because people are not ok with their job and try to have an extra income from home).
This is not an evaluation, right? Mostly a tutorial, I think.
Very useful, I’ll give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
Please do not think that you can make money on clickbank as Lissa do. Lissa can speak and write in english well, but me “NO”, and i know only French and i made some sales and i earned 380$ check. but these days i dont make any more sales erevything is gone i am very pissed off with clickbank!
I have never used click bank but considering it. Is it as simple as Copy and pasting a “hoplink” on my website from clickbank?
ClickBank is not my favorite affiliate platform but the ease of which a person can join and sell any product without jumping through any approval hoops makes it easy to test products. They are a reputable company and handle the sales process very well, including refunds and payments.. etc. You never have to worry about not getting paid. The key to success is as you say Lisa, selling relevant products that your audience want.
There is one market where it doesn’t work too well, and that is selling products to existing affiliate marketers who have ClickBank accounts. If you email them an offer about a new product related to their internet marketing business, once they see the ClickBank order page, they can simply find the product in the ClickBank marketplace and then buy the product through their own link. This is not against ClickBank policies and makes sense as to why people would do it.
Yeah so true. Some companies like Commission Junction don’t allow people to do this. I wish CB would implement the same policy.
Love this Blog Post and all of your work on youtube Lisa.
Clickbank is a gret place for anyone who is looking to start making money online very quickly.
With a bit of learning and taking action almost anyone can pick a profitable product and start making commissions from sales generated. The key is targeting your target prospect and getting traffic in front of your offer.
Discover How to start right now here:
ClickBank Secret Formula
haha I’m a total clickbank hater-ade drinker!! no but honestly, I think what the main problem is is that clickbank is over-saturated with GARBAGE eBooks. Finding the right ones to promote can be the hardest part of it. It certainly isn’t impossible. I just wish there was some sort of quality control on their part…do u agree?
Yes I do agree on the QC but they have a 60 day money back guarantee. So if you buy something you want to promote and don’t like it, just get your money back. It’s really that simple. That way you aren’t promoting garbage and you’ll have an easier time converting because your credibility will help you convert even more.
HI lisa!
I am an affiliate of clickbank and i wanted to ask about the autopilot system of clickbank.Is it a scam ? But I havent found any negative reviews about it. Can u please give me advise on that.coz it seems too good to be true.!!!
Hi Silk, never heard of this but I don’t like products that use “autopilot” in the title. LOL Always sounds like it’s a get-rich scheme to me. Not saying that’s the case because I’ve never used the product.
I was also trying to sell ClickBank stuff for the last several years without success, but very honestly, I never criticized them because, so many people are making money that I am not, means something got wrong with me, and it is an encouragement for me to open up my own website, just to see whether it works.
I’m new to this affiliate marketing thing and just last week I do not even understand what a niche is -,- (having a retarded moment). Saw your videos lisa and I must say that your one of the few people I’ve seen so far that’s honest. Never had the guts to make my own website but after seeing your videos and reading your articles I am going to give it a shot
. I know it wont probably work but I will keep on trying until it works. Thanks for the encouragement lisa even though you dont know me, you my friend has helped me a lot.
pls i really need one on one coaching on how to make money from clickbank.frustrated
we must take verything as a business : it means it requires time and investement (in affiliate marketing we don’t need lot of ressources ). and making money online is a reality and every oe can do it
Hello Ms.Lisa, I really like your posts and your sites that give so much info and the fact that you keep it 100. You are not on here selling that get rich quick @h%T, i read and study every day so i can get a ubderstanding of the affiliate marketing business. I need your help with a thing or two,they say to write about what you love,that would be music,can you give the best place to really understand content writing? I also want to understand whole thing about building a niche site? By the way do you take on students? If so please let me be one. Keep up all your hard work and PLEASE,PLEASE,keep it on 100.
Hi Lisa, I watch many of your Youtube tutorials, I’m also interested in the video you made about Clickbank. But I have to know a little more about it first before signing up. I wrote down a few notes about Clickbank after watching your Youtube video, thanks so much.
Hi Bree, I just published this new article here http://www.2createawebsite.com/money/clickbank-guide.html That should help!
Great post and a really good reminder that hard work is always required, not excuses. Thanks and keep up the good work!
I am new to online work. I have tried other stuff and have lost my shirt, pants, shoes; well you get the point. Financial I am at a point where I have to start brining in an in come before I can put money into a system. So my question is, how can I make click bank work without putting any money into it just yet? I am not stranger to hard work. I work full time, go to school full time, and I am a single mother with three kids (a 5 year old and 11 month old twins). I am willing to put in the time (and money once I have it) but I do not know where to start at no cost to me (just yet). I have a click bank account, but when it comes to marketing products I am at a lose where to get started. Can you help me?
You can target the search engines and spend very little if any at all. The tricky thing about today is that search engine optimization is a lot more challenging than it used to be. So let’s say you have a blog on how to manage your money and stay out of debt. You could build a bunch of useful content around that subject and promote Clickbank products that relate to your niche.
I don’t consider myself a marketer. I’m a teacher. So I write about things I know and casually recommend Clickbank products that are relevant to what I’m talking about. The most challenging part is getting traffic. I have an entire traffic section on my site here http://www.2createawebsite.com/traffic/index.html
I just wanted to say that clickbank is definately not a scam i have a site that makes me money on clickbank every single week. I do have to be honest though i can be rather lazy at times(ok most of the time) and im going to go against the grain because i know lisa always says that it takes hard work but actually i dont do anything but spend the money once it gets deposited into my bank account every single week. I can offer a suggestion though and im sure lisa already knows this but always target subscription based clickbank products. I mean it makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Ok heres a little example suppose this month im just starting a clickbank account and i got 5 people sign up for a subscription that costs $14 per month, ok thats $70 i think(im not that smart so i know you can do it) ok come january you get 5 more subscription sign ups and to make a long story short it continues on through out the year i think you can see how you can make some easy money here, well this is basically how i do it.
Blah, Im wondering if clickbank is broken. Ive had 48 click through from my wood working project website to a wood project plans click bank offer and no sales)-:
I cant help to wonder if someone really did purchase but I didnt get credit. Im converting the site to adsense.
Hey Jason, sorry but 48 clicks is not a lot AT ALL. If you figure a GOOD promotion may get a 2% conversion, but the average person usually converts less than that. Now if you are getting hundreds or thousands of clicks and no sales then that’s one thing. But I wouldn’t be alarmed quite yet.
I dont have a website yet. I just trying to figure out which way would work for me there are so many different ways to make money online and also everyone say that i need a website and thats cool but i don’t know on what topic i could build one and how to constuct it so that it can be affective kinda need a guilding hand to get started and was wondering if you had some tips or a begining direction so i can get started on geting a wwebsite together and how to make money with it using clickbank and any other options for a beginner to use to start out with…
hi Lisa,
I have to say this is an awesome site, full of great ideas and help, so thanks for that.
re the clickbank affiliate, what about the dreaded chargebacks, there are so many scammers out there?
It happens but it’s only a small percentage — at least in my experience.
Nice post, hopefully this clears up things for a lot of people. Clickbank is NOT a scam. I too, get tired of people saying that clickbank doesn’t work. It takes hard work and sweat to make a sale. And Lisa, that was a nice tip of how you give specific details to prove your readers you actually bought the product. Cheers!
HI.
so i just started for one month now , and am with clickbank for 48 hours so far, since making money with Adsense is almost impossible for me , however i am really lost here i choose the right product with most sells % on the market and even bought a Template for my blog so it looks Unique .
so whats left for me to spend more money on to make some Sells on my blog for clickbank?
Buy Alexa Ranking?
Buy some SEO?
Buy 100s Of Backlinks?
all the above i bought it for adsense so i can have some high CPC, and red 100s of articles on how to do this and that with adsense and nothing actually worked out so i hope Clickbank is not the same thing.
Hi,
I just brought 2 items on my click bank promote link to test it out and it never told me I have made a sale or see the money showing up does it take a few days to show up?
please post here when it does show up or if it did, if in few days it didnt , then i think clickbank is scam
no I was feeling wierd because I was getting order impressions but no sales and most of the time when you visit the order form at least a couple will be sales. I asked clickbank and they said it shows in 2 to 3 hours of the sale. Make sure your affiliate name is on the bottom of the order form
For some odd reason, I was denied a click-bank account.
Wasn’t given a concreate reason. Just that it couldn’t happen at this time…
Does anybody think HubPages “punishes” a Hubber, for turning off
th Hubpage ad program?
I had it off for a month; and I received nothing from yhe AdSense ad’s that were running on Hubpages.
I know for certain AT LEAST 50 ad’s were cliced on my Hubs that month. More like 100.
Is it really coincidence I would get ) clicks/ 50?
I’d rather post the same article on my Blooger blog. I trust Google slightly more than HubPages
Oh, slimlink is TOTALLY worthless. I have made .00 on that bad boy.
Plus, iy looks ugly.
-Napedog
Really? I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone getting declined.
is there another program like clickbank that has product that pay you for just email sign-ups
Hi Lisa, Thanks for putting your experience. Actually, my website is a Technology Blog having Tips, Tricks related to internet, Windows, Mobile OS, Social Networking, Blogging and a bit about Making Money. I am using Google Adsense on it. Pageviews are around 45k per month but I am generating an average of just $10.00 per day from Adsense.
So, I was thinking to move to Clickbank. Yeah, I am having enough visitors but they are not that quality visitors for ClickBank Type Programs. Should I start using Clickbank on it?
I am enough hard-working but not gaining good results. What you think ? Shifting from Adsense to Clickbank would be good ?
Please Reply!
Dear Lisa
I’m trying to understand how to create a Niche Website? I haven’t made a Dime on Click Bank. So I’m a Beginner. I ‘ve register ClickBank Months Ago. I kinda understand How to Promote the Products. But the problem is i’ve to paste the URL link of a ClickBank to a Niche Website so i can earn Commission. Please i Beg you show me how Niche Website works? I’m a poor guy who have Financial Problem. Please Reply Back.
Best Regards
Noah Sahle
Hi Lisa, Thanks You For Sharing Your Experience. I Also Have Doubt That ClickBank Is Scam That’s Why Never Tried
Time To Join Click Bank And Read Your Guide About Click Bank.
My Twitter Username is OshoGarg89 I don’t how it added “russellworld” in above comment by default :O
Hey Lisa, What do you think about Jvzoo ?
Never used it, so I don’t know much about it.
I came to know about clickbank affiliate program around 2 months ago. I then created a website http://www.magyjobs.com and placed several clickbank affiliate links with bannners, widgets and text ads. I then published an ad on our local newspaper. Guess, what? My expectations were crushed !!!
No commisions at all. I am sure people would have bought the products as these were employment, work from home related products. However clickbank did not even give me a penny.
Getting people to buy takes more than just putting up links, banners and ads. I NEVER sell anything that way. If you look at this blog, there is a ton of content on my personal experiences. I build credibility by giving away information I’ve learned. Every now and then I will weave in related products and THAT’s how I sell Clickbank products and Amazon. If I used the strategy you mentioned, I’m not sure I’d have much success either.
The key to selling ANYTHING online is to build a niche website around the products you promote and build credibility. You also need targeted traffic then to test, test and test.
I also don’t think a newspaper ad is a good strategy for this kind of marketing unless you know you have a very targeted audience. It could work, but a lot of testing is required.
Wooooo. Made my first sale on ClickBank yesterday! I found out about ClickBank through you on YouTube and read all your posts on it. The funny thing was that I thought I would never make money from it because I didn’t think anyone would buy these eBooks. And then I read a post about positive/negative thinking in IM and why it’s the “missing link”. I was defeating myself before even trying. Well not anymore.
That’s great Dan! Yes, success is largely mental. If you believe something doesn’t work you will continue to look for evidence to support your theory. Fortunately the opposite works too! Glad you didn’t give up!
Hi Lisa,
I just signed up for Clickbank thanks to you and your posts about hard work and success! Hey, we have all got to start somewhere, right? I was just outlining a review and now am at the stage where I am ready to buy the product. Do you ever just ask the vendor for a free review copy, do you purchase via your own link on your webpage or buy through CB marketplace? Funny (ok, maybe just sad, lol), I just realized I’m not exactly sure how to make the purchase. Thanks for all you do!