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My BIGGEST Clickbank Hurdle: Selecting the Product

by overspool
11 replies
I have other Internet "irons in the fire", but I'm having a hard time getting going with Clickbank. My biggest problem can be summed up by a general lack of enthusiasm for Clickbank's products. Aside from my problems with the products, there is the issue of what my conscience will allow me to attempt to sell - as well as feeling substantially under qualified and/or under interested as an enthusiast.

Herpes cure? Really? I never planned on promoting this but just the thought of this being an info product on CB is scary. Tinnitus remedy? These products seem to make exceptionally outrageous claims.

Eating disorders? Anxiety Cures? The former should be dealing with a professional and the latter ...well, its pretty well known you don't cure anxiety, you manage it. Same with the herps.

I don't even want to begin to talk about the MMO products (which guarantee income in the sales page, and subsequently say the can't guarantee income in the terms and conditions).

There is a whole section on new age/alternative beliefs, which, well, to put it gently seems like complete hogwash.

So, simply glancing through the products is enough to turn me off to CB marketing.

That being said, I'm sure some people here sell them, and maybe even sell them well - I mean no offense to you. These products are just not for me. Furthermore, I do believe there are quality products on CB, which I will get to momentarily.

What I am looking for is a quality product, which has value for its clients, in a non-ultra competitive niche (so lets go ahead and knock off health & fitness). I don't have any exceptional technical skills (so lets knock off Software.)

So aside from my conscience and competition, there comes the issue of interest.

Now, I don't know for sure, but let's say for example, the model train niche on CB provides an excellent product to an enthusiastic wealthy clientele. Perfect. Except, well, there is no way in hell I'm joining model train forums to "contribute value", I don't own or know anything about model trains, and have no desire to do so. It seems rather boring and uninteresting to me. It also seems like it would be difficult to know the ins and outs better than a true enthusiast, so it generally leaves me discouraged. Do I just need to get over this and push through it?

Well, this is getting "rant-y", and for the I apologize - but picking the product has been BY FAR the most difficult part for me. I'm ready to pick a decent product that adds value for clients in something I am interested in enough to research extensively. I'm ready to research, learn, contribute, and build relationships with client in a niche. I'm ready to develop quality content, drive traffic, build a list, and promote. However, I'm not ready to sacrifice morals and ethics to do so - and I'm generally not interested in what is left over. I do see some stuff I AM interested in, but regretfully, it has 0 demand.

So, if you're willing to help I'd like to know if you have experienced the same issues and how you handled them. Am I alone here? Have you had to sacrifice some morals or ethics for a buck? Regarding a lack of interest did you say, "screw it" and learn 1,000,000 ways to make paper turtles? Spend extensive time and money to master World of Warcraft in order to sell a game guide?

Sincerely,

A CLEARLY Doomed Aspiring Clickbank Marketer
#affiliate #biggest #clickbank #hurdle #product #selecting
  • Profile picture of the author Ben15
    I actually think this is a very interesting post. It is easy to select a product and try to push it on other people to make money. I'm glad you're not succumbing to that.

    You could try to email creators of products and ask them questions about why they are qualified and how they treat buyers or people wanting returns. You can get the product yourself and make sure it is good.

    There is one Internet marketer I follow more than anyone else. I have never met him, but I feel like all of the content he puts out is awesome. HIs name is Stefan Pylarinos. He actually posts on some Warrior forums. He has a website called project life mastery. And he has a click bank product called K money mastery (K for Kindle). It is not super technical. It seems up the alley of what you're looking for. More than the product itself though, the person behind it is extremely transparent with everything from his earnings to his lifestyle to his fears.

    Next, if you don't like that marketplace, check out JVZoo and WarriorPlus. You may find some of the products to be more reputable.

    Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author overspool
    Thanks. I might have to check out those other marketplaces. I would definitely do due diligence on any products I offered. Maybe I need to skip affiliate marketing all together and just research niches with the intention of creating a product. Might take longer, and I would like to dip my toes in the water with the affiliate route, but creating a product might suit my personality better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alast
    What I am looking for is a quality product, which has value for its clients, in a non-ultra competitive niche (so lets go ahead and knock off health & fitness)
    That's a market, not a niche.

    Try these for some inspiration, maybe:

    100 cheap hobbies - spend time not money - Free in Ten Years
    List of hobbies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    List of Hobby Ideas

    And, instead of looking at it from the perspective of... say.. "basketball" being a niche (when it's really a market), look at it like... "Basketball and ball handling skills for middle aged men" for a more identified target market; a true niche.

    I can definitely relate to this post, though.
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    • Profile picture of the author overspool
      Originally Posted by Alast View Post

      That's a market, not a niche.

      Try these for some inspiration, maybe:

      100 cheap hobbies - spend time not money - Free in Ten Years
      List of hobbies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      List of Hobby Ideas

      And, instead of looking at it from the perspective of... say.. "basketball" being a niche (when it's really a market), look at it like... "Basketball and ball handling skills for middle aged men" for a more identified target market; a true niche.

      I can definitely relate to this post, though.
      Thanks. However, my problem isn't with inspiration or target markets. Its with the products that have been designed to suite those target markets offered for promotion on CB.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by overspool View Post

    My biggest problem can be summed up by a general lack of enthusiasm for Clickbank’s products.
    What - all 15,000+ of them?

    I hear you, actually: I don't disagree with the examples you've mentioned, at all. Those illustrate the potential perils of some products in specific health niches. (There are very few "MMO" products left on ClickBank, these days, since they've been cleaning up their act, but of course that niche is famous for its revoltingly non-compliant and deceptive claims, too, and is obviously one to avoid.) I also completely agree with you that the "new age/alternative" stuff includes a lot of hogwash (as of course it does everywhere).

    However, there are also hundreds of other niches represented by ClickBank products, too, which you haven't mentioned at all. Just an observation.

    Originally Posted by overspool View Post

    Anxiety Cures? The former should be dealing with a professional and the latter ...well, its pretty well known you don’t cure anxiety, you manage it.
    If you're dismissing all the "anxiety" products there, then you're overgeneralizing (as, possibly, you may be with a couple of other niches, too?). There are one or two that perfectly ethical, decent, honest psychologists and doctors promote and recommend, too. So the picture you paint, although I do agree with much of what you say, may perhaps not be entirely representative?

    Originally Posted by overspool View Post

    let’s say for example, the model train niche on CB provides an excellent product to an enthusiastic wealthy clientele. Perfect. Except, well, there is no way in hell I’m joining model train forums to “contribute value”, I don’t own or know anything about model trains, and have no desire to do so. It seems rather boring and uninteresting to me.
    To me, also.

    And still, I've managed to make (most of) my full-time living promoting ClickBank products as an affiliate for well over 5 years now. So it's just as well there are all those other niches.

    Yes, it's true that "finding niches" and "finding products" is a very time-consuming business indeed. Over the years, I've spent many hundreds of hours doing just that. The people who are making a living without promoting hogwash tend to have done that. It's a big effort. (But very, very worthwhile! ).

    Originally Posted by overspool View Post

    Do I just need to get over this and push through it?
    One way or another, yes - if you want to make a living from it.

    Originally Posted by overspool View Post

    Well, this is getting "rant-y", and for the I apologize - but picking the product has been BY FAR the most difficult part for me.
    You've done well, actually.

    Unlike many people, you've realised how difficult and time-consuming it is, to do it properly, and you're not shooting your business in the elegantly high-heeled foot by "making silly compromises over things, through exasperation, and just hoping for the best". And you're right. But it can all be done.

    Thoughts about selecting niches (inluding further links): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8561081

    Thoughts about selecting products: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post2161932

    Originally Posted by overspool View Post

    A CLEARLY Doomed Aspiring Clickbank Marketer
    Not so "doomed", I think. I hear and sympathise with the rant! But I also read between the lines, and I think that in the long run you're going to do just fine. And I wish you well.

    .
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    • Profile picture of the author overspool
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      What - all 15,000+ of them?

      I hear you, actually: I don't disagree with the examples you've mentioned, at all. Those illustrate the potential perils of some products in specific health niches. (There are very few "MMO" products left on ClickBank, these days, since they've been cleaning up their act, but of course that niche is famous for its revoltingly non-compliant and deceptive claims, too, and is obviously one to avoid.) I also completely agree with you that the "new age/alternative" stuff includes a lot of hogwash (as of course it does everywhere).

      However, there are also hundreds of other niches represented by ClickBank products, too, which you haven't mentioned at all. Just an observation.



      If you're dismissing all the "anxiety" products there, then you're overgeneralizing (as, possibly, you may be with a couple of other niches, too?). There are one or two that perfectly ethical, decent, honest psychologists and doctors promote and recommend, too. So the picture you paint, although I do agree with much of what you say, may perhaps not be entirely representative?



      To me, also.

      And still, I've managed to make (most of) my full-time living promoting ClickBank products as an affiliate for well over 5 years now. So it's just as well there are all those other niches.

      Yes, it's true that "finding niches" and "finding products" is a very time-consuming business indeed. Over the years, I've spent many hundreds of hours doing just that. The people who are making a living without promoting hogwash tend to have done that. It's a big effort. (But very, very worthwhile! ).



      One way or another, yes - if you want to make a living from it.



      You've done well, actually.

      Unlike many people, you've realised how difficult and time-consuming it is, to do it properly, and you're not shooting your business in the elegantly high-heeled foot by "making silly compromises over things, through exasperation, and just hoping for the best". And you're right. But it can all be done.

      Thoughts about selecting niches (inluding further links): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8561081

      Thoughts about selecting products: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post2161932



      Not so "doomed", I think. I hear and sympathise with the rant! But I also read between the lines, and I think that in the long run you're going to do just fine. And I wish you well.

      .
      Thanks for the vote of confidence. And to answer your question, not yet - I am on product 13,789.

      You are probably right. I am probably over generalizing and lumping some good stuff in with the bad. I will try and work on that.

      I will continue my quest of ploughing through CB products looking for a quality product, within a niche and market I can tolerate/find interesting enough to develop content, that has multiple products I can offer at varying prices, that has hungry buyers waiting, without getting discouraged enough to throw my laptop out the window.
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      • Profile picture of the author kilgore
        Originally Posted by overspool View Post

        My biggest problem can be summed up by a general lack of enthusiasm for Clickbank's products. Aside from my problems with the products, there is the issue of what my conscience will allow me to attempt to sell - as well as feeling substantially under qualified and/or under interested as an enthusiast.
        I can totally sympathize. When I found the WF, I heard a lot of the talk about Clickbank and so I decided to check it out. My impression of the products on offer was pretty much in line with yours.

        Unlike you, however, my business model was already pretty well established, so it was easy for me to take quick look, decide Clickbank wasn't for us, and move on. Which is something you may want to consider too.

        Alexa makes some good points. There are 15,000 products on Clickbank, some undoubtedly legitmate and high quality. But they're also not the only game in town. With some large exceptions notwithstanding, most things you can buy on the internet, you can also do affiliate marketing for.

        Right now, the majority of our revenue is earned as an Amazon affiliate. But even with Amazon's 10 gazillion products (actually it's up to 10.2 gazillion since I started this sentence, but I'm rounding down), there are certainly products that our customers want that Amazon doesn't sell. In that case, we'll join whatever affiliate program we need to.

        So that's another way you can approach this. Rather than browsing an affiliate program (like Clickbank) to find a product sell, find a product you think your customers will like and buy and figure out which affiliate program you need to sign up for. In reality, we do both when finding products -- but if you're stumped on Clickbank, trying this approach might help you to find the an affiliate program that works for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      (There are very few "MMO" products left on ClickBank, these days, since they've been cleaning up their act, but of course that niche is famous for its revoltingly non-compliant and deceptive claims, too, and is obviously one to avoid.)
      Yeah there was one or two I saw that were worthwhile. But for the most part I say stay away from these hyped up MMO products at CB.

      I found Warrior Plus has some really just solid products that are very reasonably priced. I have purchased numerous products from highly respected Warriors that have been invaluable to my education. Really !

      But like I said stay away from MMO CB products, whether it be for promoting or for educational purposes. The Value and the Pricing lacks,imo



      - Robert Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author Ross Dalangin
    Think of what you need. Solve that and sell your solution. Many people in your niche would probably need it too.

    Create a case study, if it's working then it's gonna be sell-able.

    Or, simply create a product similar or better than your "GURU" is selling.

    Most probably they already did their research.

    Ross
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Originally Posted by overspool View Post

    I have other Internet "irons in the fire", but I'm having a hard time getting going with Clickbank.
    I didn't read any further than this because the answer is obvious. Find another affiliate network where the products are more suitable.

    I went to Clickbank last week to do some research and it was like stepping into a time machine going back to 2001.

    Same spammy looking sales appeals with the same worn out hype. The only noticeable difference was that many of these pages have short (or long) videos up front.
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  • Profile picture of the author King Manu
    Let' start with a little quote for this situation:
    ” Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matter of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs
    This is what I think also but let me get into details a little bit from my own experience.
    Forget about choosing click bank products, I will talk even on larger scale: I had the same troubles when first starting out making money online. Why?! Because there's so muchhhhhh stuff to do, it's incredible. And as a beginner I was like : "I like this one, but this one two... and that one! Damn, I can't do all of them!" .
    So yea I did in the past things just for the sake of money and the idea is this: I got so bored that I just dropped the projects eventually or I did them so poorly that they failed because I wasn't excited about them; and went to the things I like to do, to talk about and create a business around that! I don't know how some people manage to involve into something just for the sake of money, I can't! It bores the crap out of me
    Try to figure out what kind of person you are and what you like to do ( any hobby will work) and focus on that !
    Just my opinion
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