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U A Vendor? How Clickbank can KEEP you from going pro

by Paul Tai
18 replies
Hi,

Just a quick rant on Clickbank HIGH fees. (I'm paying them 11% of every dollar I make)

The biggest "scam" about clickbank is this: "It will open you to a huge affiliate network, bla bla bla..." Lol,

Don't take me too seriously, but consider this... 95% of affiliate marketers are not pro; The 5% are hard to find, and are busy people.

Clickbank doesn't protect you from spammy affiliates; you know... those who use keywords like "[product name] + download" or "[product name] + reviews"... and use blackhat SEO tactics to beat you on SERPS... you know why? Because they can AFFORD to do blackhat SEO... their business doesn't depend on their robot-like sites... they can build a new one tomorrow...

Examples:
http://www.hit-reviews.com/ ; http://www.my-reviews.net/ (these are AUTOMATED from CB's Marketplace RSS feed)

These guys did NOTHING to generate interest in your product, they want to TAKE your money, and TAKE advantage from the interest YOU generated towards your product. Did they send you traffic that DID NOT know you already? Of course not.

Anyway; add this to the fact that most affiliates are plain amateurs... you get into a position of WHY?

Why the hell would you stay with CB's INSANELY HIGH FEES? I think I'm switching away from CB in a matter of weeks.

Game on! Good luck with your 2014 sales!
#clickbank #pro #vendor
  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    They provide a service, You need to pay for that service. The Fees are not a surprise, you know what they are when you go in. They do not "Take" your money. You pay them the agreed upon fees.

    I guess you believe you are owed something from everyone

    al
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    "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Tai
      Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

      They provide a service, You need to pay for that service. The Fees are not a surprise, you know what they are when you go in. They do not "Take" your money. You pay them the agreed upon fees.

      I guess you believe you are owed something from everyone

      al
      You're right, I knew about it going in... as a NEWBIE. Now, things are different.

      Of course, CB is a legitimate biz, no question about it.

      It's just that from a product VENDOR's perspective, with a long term perspective, CB's huge fees are a bad investment.

      And you guessed wrong, I'm not owed anything; I'm just sharing my thoughts on the "amazing affiliate network" that CB has... it's rather disappointing. (with all due respect to serious affiliates)
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      • Profile picture of the author agmccall
        Originally Posted by Paul Tai View Post

        You're right, I knew about it going in... as a NEWBIE. Now, things are different.

        Of course, CB is a legitimate biz, no question about it.

        It's just that from a product VENDOR's perspective, with a long term perspective, CB's huge fees are a bad investment.

        And you guessed wrong, I'm not owed anything; I'm just sharing my thoughts on the "amazing affiliate network" that CB has... it's rather disappointing. (with all due respect to serious affiliates)
        But, As a vendor you will fork over 40,50,75% affiliate Commission without batting an eye.

        Try running your own affiliate program in which you will have to have $oftware, $ecure Hosting, Backend co$ts of maintaining the database of affiliates and making sure you send them the proper tax forms at the end of the year. Not to mention the support, Also you need to have a merchant account that means a gateway fee of around $30.00 per month as well as around 2% processing fees Don't let Clickbank or any other affiliate Network "Take" your money. Do it yourself. I myself will gladly pay the 11%

        al

        al
        Signature

        "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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        • Profile picture of the author Paul Tai
          Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

          But, As a vendor you will fork over 40,50,75% affiliate Commission without batting an eye.

          Try running your own affiliate program in which you will have to have , Hosting, Backend co of maintaining the database of affiliates and making sure you send them the proper tax forms at the end of the year. Not to mention the support, Also you need to have a merchant account that means a gateway fee of around $30.00 per month as well as around 2% processing fees Don't let Clickbank or any other affiliate Network "Take" your money. Do it yourself. I myself will gladly pay the 11%

          al
          Say you want to offer 100% or 150% commission and profit on the back-end...
          Say you want to offer a one-click up-sell to your 200$ product (>150$)...
          Say you want to offer your product for free, 0$, and charge a few days after the sale, if they don't cancel...

          You can't do these things with CB. Those are things that most newbies don't even care about... right! So, if they want to stay noob, they can stay with CB. Lol
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          • Profile picture of the author agmccall
            Originally Posted by Paul Tai View Post

            Say you want to offer 100% or 150% commission and profit on the back-end...
            Say you want to offer a one-click up-sell to your 200$ product (>150$)...
            Say you want to offer your product for free, 0$, and charge a few days after the sale, if they don't cancel...

            You can't do these things with CB. Those are things that most newbies don't even care about... right! So, if they want to stay noob, they can stay with CB. Lol
            All those things are good, and if Clickbank does not offer those solutions for you, then you either find another platform or, like I said in a previous post, you do it all yourself. Either Way it will come at a cost.

            and just because a vendor does not want to offer 100 or 150% commissions, offer the one click upsell, or delayed payment does not make them the "NOOB" and you the "Super Star Clickbank Pro Guru" It just means you market differently. There are hundreds of vendors on Clickbank making alot more money than you and I and they have conversion rates well passed 4%, they do not mind the fees so they stay.

            al
            Signature

            "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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  • Profile picture of the author MilesBaker
    I'd have to disagree that ClickBank keeps you from going pro. There are a lot of people who are making a lot of money on ClickBank.

    I'll agree however that their fees are higher than other options such as PayPal. They're not 11% however, they're 7.5% plus $1 per transaction. In exchange for this you receive quite a lot in terms of management, for example they handle all your affiliate payments to affiliates all over the world, they collect and remit necessary taxes, they allow you to accept various credit cards from all over the world, not just paypal or the major cards, they allow you to have an easy affiliate program, you get access to their network, you can use their upsell system, etc. etc.

    If you have a problem with Spammy affiliates you can Whitelist your affiliate program so you can turn on and off any affiliate you wish at will. Otherwise, if you have a spammy affiliate you can contact ClickBank about the issue and have them removed. I've had them do this in the past a few times, never was a hassle.
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Tai
      Originally Posted by MilesBaker View Post

      I'd have to disagree that ClickBank keeps you from going pro. There are a lot of people who are making a lot of money on ClickBank.

      I'll agree however that their fees are higher than other options such as PayPal. They're not 11% however, they're 7.5% plus $1 per transaction. In exchange for this you receive quite a lot in terms of management, for example they handle all your affiliate payments to affiliates all over the world, they collect and remit necessary taxes, they allow you to accept various credit cards from all over the world, not just paypal or the major cards, they allow you to have an easy affiliate program, you get access to their network, you can use their upsell system, etc. etc.

      If you have a problem with Spammy affiliates you can Whitelist your affiliate program so you can turn on and off any affiliate you wish at will. Otherwise, if you have a spammy affiliate you can contact ClickBank about the issue and have them removed. I've had them do this in the past a few times, never was a hassle.
      Thank you for the input. I think Whitelisting can make things worse. What it does it that, when people go to google and type your name, find those spammy sites, and click on their links....

      The drama happens: they get a message warning them that "this affiliate is no longer allowed to promote this product." That message is designed out in an amateur 1995-style that makes people SKEPTICAL about the whole thing... that's what happened with me.

      Now about the commissions...
      When you sell a Niche-targeted eBook at a 35.5$ price range, as a NEWBIE... that makes the commission 7.5% + 1 $ === 3.6$. That's 10.3% commission.

      Most newbies start with a low-priced product, which makes that 7.5% + 1 dollar actually a big deal.

      I agree that some people succeeded while staying at Clickbank. That's why I said it can prevent you from going pro, and not it will.

      All those good sides will pale in front of real math; I say anyone should run their math and see if it's worth it. Because I think that "affiliate network" advantage is way overrated. If you don't have an affiliate-acquiring system (and I really mean a system, or habit), then it's not worth it.

      At the same time, affiliates will O*N*L*Y promote what converts! And how do most newbies sales pages do in terms of conversions?... Now you get the picture.

      If most newbie sales pages are NOT converting that well... the good affiliates will NOT promote them... and so on; the cycle continues: why stay with CB in that situation? I see no reason.

      But I might be wrong, this is just my opinon.
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      • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
        Originally Posted by Paul Tai View Post

        I think Whitelisting can make things worse. What it does it that, when people go to google and type your name, find those spammy sites, and click on their links....

        The drama happens: they get a message warning them that "this affiliate is no longer allowed to promote this product." That message is designed out in an amateur 1995-style that makes people SKEPTICAL about the whole thing... that's what happened with me.
        That will only happen if you whitelist a product after it has been publicly available to affiliates in the Marketplace.

        If you submit a new product and whitelist from the start it will not be possible to get an affiliate link without being approved.

        .
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Tai
    Thanks for the clarification, Harvery; unfortunately, I discovered the spammy sites months after publishing the product... which meant that my product was ALREADY in the RSS.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Tai
    Come on, I'm not saying that that I'm a superstar marketer... I'm just a tip beyond a noob.

    Again... these 4%-converting marketers NEED clickbank... because pretty much EVERYONE would love to send traffic there! Duh! (CB is the place that people trust the most, when it comes to commission; and it's so easy to manage affiliates, like you said.)

    For the noobs, pretty much no one will promote your stuff, so why stay there? I just see no reason.
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  • Profile picture of the author brutecky
    Originally Posted by Paul Tai View Post

    Hi,

    Just a quick rant on Clickbank HIGH fees. (I'm paying them 11% of every dollar I make)
    MAIN FORUM RULE

    If you have a problem with another Warrior, a Guru, or God, take it up with them directly. Not here. No exceptions.

    --Only mentioning this because I really dont think that this is a place to 'rant' about not liking a fee structure you agreed to. I think this is the place to talk about making money online.--
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    Join over 7500 marketers on my Facebook group and also get tons of free tutorials and software to help you with your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Tai
    Alright, I'm not trying to be negative here, I'm just like reviewing a service; it's not a complaint at all; CB is great if you need them! I really like them as a company/people... never had an unexpected problem with them. I still have no problem with them, they're straight forward people.

    In fact, if I was to launch a medium/big affiliate program, where people who don't know me well will be promoting, I'll use clickbank, as it's the surest way to get paid as an affiliate.

    I'm just reviewing that, for a newbie vendor, it's HIGH priced, for little added benefits.

    But I've seen numerous threads reviewing services here, so I'm assuming it's the right place; no?
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Free sales for me from affiliates.... cant beat that. Builds up my backend business while i sit back and watch food network all day.
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    ==>> Free book reveals make money with affiliate marketing
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    • Profile picture of the author Offerit Vlad
      Just run your own affiliate program.

      We take care of the hosting and software. You focus on recruiting your own trusted affiliates and making more money.

      At the end of the day you are saving a ton of money by not giving an X percentage to the affiliate network.

      We make things easy, manageable, and affordable in running your own affiliate program.

      Let me know if you want to discuss more.

      vlad[at]offerit.com or skype: offerit_vlad
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      • Profile picture of the author OnlineAddict
        Originally Posted by Offerit Vlad View Post

        Just run your own affiliate program.

        We take care of the hosting and software. You focus on recruiting your own trusted affiliates and making more money.

        At the end of the day you are saving a ton of money by not giving an X percentage to the affiliate network.

        We make things easy, manageable, and affordable in running your own affiliate program.

        Let me know if you want to discuss more.

        vlad[at]offerit.com or skype: offerit_vlad
        What are you talking about? Clickbank is not charging fees for the affiliate program, but for billing. You mix apples and oranges, unless you are merchant charity and process people's credit card transactions for free.
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        From1toMillion Forex EA
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    I like Clickbank because I don't have to worry about waking up one morning and having my account frozen...

    Clickbank pays me like clockwork every Wednesday by direct deposit to my bank.

    The fees are worth the service in my opinion.

    Cheers,
    Coby
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  • Profile picture of the author OnlineAddict
    Clickbank's fees are one of the lowest on the market, not counting paypal, but real payment gateways. But go get your own merchant and see for yourself. Even with your own merchant account, you will end up paying 5-7% to the bank + big penalty fees for chargebacks, so in the end you don't save a lot. I used to pay 15-25% fees for high risk businesses, thats something to complain about. But 7-8%...no way.
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    From1toMillion Forex EA
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