Over 2,900 people per month active search for “Clickbank Scam” on Google.
Which is pretty funny, if you ask me, because according to Clickbank…
ClickBank is the Internet's leading retailer of digital products. Whether you're looking to sell, promote, or shop for digital goods, ClickBank is for you.
So calling Clickbank a scam is like calling Walmart or Kmart or PetCo a scam.
They simply cannot be a scam because they do not offer a business opportunity of any kind – they retail digital products provided by other sellers and manage the affiliate programs for these sellers, if required.
Commission Junction, PayDotCom.com, LinkShare and the WarriorPlus all offer similar services:
An all-in-one sale, delivery and affiliate management system.
So now that we have the “clickbank scam” issue out of the way, let's talk about how you might earn some extra income by leveraging their system.
Clickbank Marketplace
There are over 10,000 digital products being offered through the Clickbank Marketplace.
You will find ebooks, video tutorials, membership sites and even software there.
All of these products were created by… and are offered by… any number of SELLERS – the people who pay a fee to have their products featured in the Clickbank Marketplace.
Which means, of course, you might buy one of these products and that product might leave a little to be desired. And if that is the case, you can ask Clickbank for a refund and 9 times out of 10 – you will get a 100% money-back refund within 7-10 days. In fact, over the years I've asked for maybe a half dozen refunds (because the product was crap) and it was granted each and every time.
So one way to make money online would be to create your own digital product and offer it through one or more of the affiliate management programs available.
Becoming a Clickbank Vendor/Seller
The benefit to becoming a vendor is two-fold. First, you are truly entering the arena of doing business online. You are moving from being a consumer to being a producer. And producers get paid.
Second, as it related to marketing, you are getting your product EXPOSED to a large number of active “affiliate marketers” who make it a goal to sell other people's products and services to earn a commission.
Selling your digital product through ClickBank is one of the best ways to quickly get exposure and sales for your product. Within a few business days, you can be up and running and have your product promoted by our huge network of affiliates.
Here are the easy steps for getting set up as a ClickBank vendor:
- Sign Up as a Vendor
- Create a Sales Page and Receipt Page
- Make a Payment Link & Add to Your Page
- Complete Product Profile within Account
- Complete Company Profile within Account
- Test Your Payment Link (Paypal is Default Option)
- Request Product Approval (Takes 2-10 Days)
- Pay One-Time $49.95 Activation Charge
- Wait for Approval
You can also sell your products through multiple affiliate directories so don't think you are limited in any way by creating a vendor account. Depending on the shopping cart/order processing software you use, you can offer potential customers a choice of where they make their purchase. You can also create any number of sales pages – one for clickbank, one through an ebay store, etc.
Becoming a Clickbank Affiliate
Most people who first get started online do not have their own digital product, membership site or software to sell. Instead the sell other people's products and services in return for a commission. This is commonly called becoming an affiliate marketer and could be one of the reasons why you hear “clickbank scam” on occasion.
What happens is people will buy into a particular “make money” program that teaches them how to become an affiliate marketer and these products usually encourage beginners to start by promoting Clickbank products. So the new person follows the instructions, does not have any great success and then screams “clickbank scam” out of desperation. When, in fact, their failure had absolutely nothing to do with Clickbank. But it had everything to do with their marketing methods and the instructions of the product they purchased.
Becoming a ClickBank affiliate is a quick and easy process. By following the three simple steps below, you’ll be on your way to becoming a successful affiliate in no time! If you’re looking to get started creating and selling your own products as a vendor, click here.
- Create a FREE account – To get started as an affiliate, first you’ll need to create a free account. This takes just a couple of minutes and when complete, you'll be ready to start marketing and making some money.
- Find a Product or Two to Promote – Once you have a Clickbank Usersname – you're ready to find a product to promote. The best place to start is to venture into the Marketplace and go through the various categories. Another option would be to sign up for a Clickbank management tool like CBengine.com which gives you an inside into the best selling products, which pay the most commissions and which offer a nice monthly residual.
- Start Marketing – Once you have picked a product you will be given an affiliate link to promote. Now you simply share that link on forums, via youtube videos, on your web site or blog. Write a product review and maybe even offer a bonus. You can also consider running some paid advertising if that makes sense.
Clickbank Scam or Not?
As we have discussed, there is no way to the “clickbank scam” accusations make any sense. Clickbank is simply a retail seller of various products and an affiliate management system. In fact, one telling point is they have paid their affiliate on time, every time for over 14 years – which says a lot.
However, some of the product you may purchase through the platform could be rightfully called a scam – or at least not worth the price you might pay. But, again, this isn't Clickbank's fault. And you can always ask for a refund which is usually promptly given.
Bless and be blessed,
PS – Russel Brunson is a multiple million dollar affiliate marketer. He got started in his early 20's and made $250,000 his first year. If you are looking to get started in affiliate marketing to take your income to the next level, check out Russel's DotComSecrets raining program because what you are about to discover my surprise, even SHOCK you at just how easy it really can be to make money online.
This would not the responsibility of Clickbank, but rather the VENDOR that is using the Clickbank platform. Contact the VENDOR and things will work out better.
I bought a cheap little flashlight for about $5.00 and was somehow signed up for some sort of membership for $14.95 a month. They show a chat option to interact, but so far nobody’s home. Am having to open a paypal dispute, which is a whole ‘nother can of worms. As far as I am concerned it is surely a scam.
EVERY company that offers an affiliate program… not just Clickbank… can cancel your account with or without cause. That’s the nature of the beast. It does not happen often and, in fact, I’ve had it happen just TWICE in over two decades of doing business online. Once as paypal that froze an account and one was another payment processor that went belly up and just took monies.
Great article, I think it’s also very important for affiliates who promote Clickbank products to know that Clickbank can simply decide to SUSPEND their affiliate account and keep their commission without informing them. They treat their affiliates like garbage, giving only canned responses. You simply don’t get paid. So, not only do they not want you if you’re not successful, but also if you are successful. Once you have enough money in their allowance, they simply close your account and keep the money for themselves. I have found that communicating with them is impossible as they think they know everything and their way is always right.
They are also clueless with respect to all the Merchant fraud against affiliates, employee fraud against affiliates, and negative SEO fraud out there.
Advertising clickbank products is a huge risk, as you can be spending money, which they keep as an “allowance”, which they also keep when they suspend you. So you can be out 3 months worth of commissions at their whim.
CLKBNK ClickBank.com allows/enables software manufacturers to ad on a 2 year extension of their product services for a standard fee of 49.87$ I have three of these charges I did not knowingly order. It is a scam enabler.
If you are REFUNDING on a regular basis, you are stealing. Plain and simple. I have purchased HUNDREDS of products over the years and have returned only TWO… ever. And if you were found stealing from me… I would cancel your account as well.
Click bank makes money from successful MARKETERS only, If you are not successful marketer than Click Bank receive request from customer to refund payment, in this case Click Bank does not make money.
So logical think is that if you are not successful marketer Click bank should cancel Marketer account.
But this is not a case. Instead Click Bank will suspend customer account if customer asks for several refunds due to unsatisfactory product.
SO CLICK BANK IS A SCAM
Thanks for sharing but the challenge with review sites are most reviews come from the creator and the affiliates. Pretty tough to find real user reviews.
Great article. Obviously the question “is clickbank a scam” does not make any sense. But there is also a way to verify that any product on clickbank marketplace is scam or not. I found a site where people rate clickbank products upon various factors. Should have a look there before buying any clickbank product.