Affiliate Institute claims to be the most advanced affiliate marketing education center out there. But does it really live up to those claims?
In this Affiliate Institute review we'll reveal what you need to know about this program before you sign-up. If you're struggling with the decision to buy Affiliate Institute, this review should clear some things up for you.
Affiliate Institute Review Summary:
Rating: 20/100
Pros: None.
The Cons: Numerous. Sign-up button leads to a free download, that download leads to a webinar, the webinar leads to a coaching service. Shady business practices, not recommended.
The Bottom Line:
If you're looking into Affiliate Institute for the money making opportunity, you should check out my top recommended training instead. It has all the tools, training and support you need to build a successful online business. Plus 10 free classes to get started!
More...
What is Affiliate Institute?
On the surface, Affiliate Institute looks like an educational platform for people looking to learn how to make money as affiliate marketers.
The website is well designed and resembles a classic affiliate marketing training course. They also promise flexible lessons, and easy-to-understand training material. On the other hand, when I dug a little deeper, I noticed some red flags.
Right off the bat, I noticed quite a few typos on their website. For a company that claims to be the best affiliate marketing training center, I find it strange they couldn't hire an editor.
That's a strange way to spell the word "Position".
How could they miss these obvious mistakes? A little strange. Of course, that's not enough to label the Affiliate Institute a scam, but it's not a good sign.
Moving on. When you click the sign-up button it takes you to a different website (2019affiliateplaybook.com), with an offer a free eBook download.
What's the Playbook?
The eBook is called The 2019 Affiliate Playbook and it's a 10-page PDF file which is basically an introduction to the affiliate marketing business model, and the people behind the product.
Here's the PDF file for the 2019 Affiliate Playbook if you want to see what I'm talking about. Very little information about the actual system, much less any training material or strategies.
And then, at the end of the eBook, there's a link to sign-up to a free webinar class. The webinar registration form requires your phone number, and you can bet someone will call and try to sell you on the program. After these three funnels... it became clear to me what Affiliate Institute is really about.
Affiliate Institute is all about creating sales funnels. I mean, to access the program you have to enter your email address twice, and you can bet you'll be receiving marketing emails from two different campaigns. And that's only to access the webinar.
I didn't have time to watch the webinar, but it seems like it teaches you how to create similar sales funnels, and drive traffic to them with ad-campaigns. You'll also learn how to set up email marketing campaigns. Need more info on email marketing for free? Check out this article on How to Build an Email List.
But I digress, there are some more suspicious things I noticed about Affiliate Institute that you should be aware of.
Affiliate Institute (More!) Red Flags:
In addition to the typos and extensive sign-up forms, there are a couple of other red-flags you need to know about.
1. Redirects to Ultimate Affiliate Academy
For one, when I received their invitation to download the eBook, at the end of the email they suggest looking at testimonials of a product called Ultimate Affiliate Academy to make up your mind.
For starters, what is Ultimate Affiliate Academy? Didn't we sign-up to Affiliate Institute? I found a Kindle book called Ultimate Affiliate Academy which has 0 reviews on Amazon. And then I found another course under the same name that costs $10,999. Weird.
2. The "Playbook" is Useless
On to the other issue, the problem is the short eBook they send you doesn't reveal any marketing strategies. It basically only talks about the person who made the book, their success, and then leads you to the webinar registration page. It looks like a lot of marketing hype to me. I still don't know what is Affiliate Institute!
What we are seeing in action here are sales pages that are pointing to random products but don't deliver on any promises. It's confusing!
Who is Julian Sherman?
On every website in the funnel you'll see a picture of someone called Julian Sherman. Searches for Julian Sherman and Affiliate Institute didn't deliver any relevant results, but I did find out something useful.
As it turns out, there was another product he created called Global Affiliate Zone which was a essentially a multi-level marketing platform. Members would make money by selling subscriptions to the course and building a down-line.
It's unclear if the platform is still active, or went underground, either way the information about it is sparse. It seems like it was quite similar to a product called My Online Business or My Top Tier Business (2 interconnected scams that have been busted by the Feds - click the linked reviews above to learn more).
Wait a Minute!
Promoting a MLM Company is NOT a good idea.
The good news is Julian does seem to be a real person, he has an Instagram and Facebook page, although his last posts were from five weeks ago.
What it Comes Down To:
From what I could piece together, it looks like Affiliate Institute is not really a program, but rather a website used as a funnel. More like a distraction. They make you think you'll be signing up to a great educational course, but once you click the sign-up button it takes you to the eBook, and then a webinar, and then god knows where.
I also noticed a few other websites that advertise Julian's playbook. It looks like Julian lets people use this super-short PDF file to build a list which ultimately leads people to a webinar. It may be these people are affiliate marketers for Julian's webinar class?
Is affiliate marketing legit? Read this post... Is Affiliate Marketing a Scam to learn everything you need to know about this form of internet marketing - before you put in the work.
And where does Global Affiliate Zone come in? As it turns out, the Global Affiliate Zone website redirects to the Affiliate Institute website. So it's clear what happened, the creators changed Global Affiliate Zone (either it died, or they aren't public) and redirected everything to Affiliate Institute, a site that's used as a funnel to build their email list.
So again, "What is Affiliate Institute?"
What it looks like is Julian is creating funnels that act as full-scale products but actually redirect to other products that he's promoting as an affiliate. Or maybe the funnel is just outdated. I don't know, but what I do know is you should avoid this program.
Is Affiliate Institute a Scam?
Based on what I could find out, Affiliate Institute is not even a program. None of the features listed on their website are real, it's more like place-holder content. With that in mind, I do believe Affiliate Institute is a scam.
There are too many red-flags, funnels linking to other products, and random typos here and there, and very little information about the so-called program. Even the pricing details are no where to be found.
To me, it looks like a half-done website. Maybe they're still working on it, but at the moment, it's not something I recommend. The fact that Global Affiliate Zone, a multi-level marketing company, redirects to Affiliate Institute isn't a good sign either.
An Affiliate Institute Alternative:
Overall, researching this program left a bad taste in my mouth. Something suspicious is going on, and my gut tells me it's not good.
A quick word of advice, when deciding if a course is worth buying make sure that the details on their website are actually accurate. If they hide the pricing information from you, that's not a good sign.
Don't let Affiliate Institute jade your perspective about affilaite marketing. It remains one of the best ways to build a thriving online business without much risk. You can create success in affiliate marketing if you're willing to work at it.
As a matter of fact, take a look at these regular folks, from all over the world, who've done just that...
Affiliate marketing success stories!
~ real people, real work
4 - 5 figures/month online!
If you're looking for a good Affiliate Institute alternative? I recommend Wealthy Affiliate. In my opinion, it's the best platform to learn how to make money online. If you think I'm biased, before you click the sign-up button below feel free to check out this article about my top Wealthy Affiliate complaints.
But if you're curious, hit the button below. Create a free account, and take a look around. You don't need to buy anything and you won't be bombarded with emails or phone calls.
Affiliate Institute
Unknown Price?
Pros
- None.
Cons
- Not an Actual Educational Course but a Funnel.
- Redirects You to Expensive eBook and MLM opportunity.
- Looks to be a Replacement Business for Ultimate Affiliate Academy (MLM)
Thank you for the review, I am always suspicious of these get rich quick schemes, which is what Affiliate Institute sounds like! Way too many red flags and almost no reason to believe you will actually make any money. I have heard about the Wealthy Affiliate before, I am going to read your review on them in a moment, see what your thoughts are there.
Awesome Travis, thanks for your feedback on our Affiliate Institute review. Love to get any feedback on the other reviews I linked as well if you like. Either way, thanks, it helps get the word out.
Cheers,
Todd
Hello
Thank you so much for this well written and enlightening article. I was wondering about Affiliate Institute but I kept my reservations. Now I’ m sure that this is a scam. I agree with all your observations about the obvious mistakes, the Playbook and the owner of this platform. They are all confusing. I also do agree with you about Wealthy Affiliate. I appreciate that you give us your own experience at the end and emphasize the importance of this very useful platform.
Thanks again, Thodoris.
You bet Thodoris and thanks for your feedback on the review. Just got keep an eye out and avoid programs like Affiliate Institute.
Cheers,
Todd
What a mess is Affiliate Institute! I had been considering trying out the internet marketing course but had reservations about it. Thank goodness I found your affiliate review. So now that I know Affiliate Institute is a major shady scam, what training program can you recommend to me? I’m on a pretty strict budget so what is the most effective and best affiliate marketing training course?
Thanks for your comment on Affiliate Institute. Yeah, go with Wealthy Affiliate. I find them to be the best value and return on investment. There’s also a handful of other decent products that you may want to look at to compliment your online business. For that, check out my top recommended programs.
Best,
Todd
Obvious spelling mistakes in any business is just an indication of recklessness and a ‘don’t care’ attitude. This really goes to show that Affiliate Institute is not serious at all. Dealing with two companies inside one platform creates confusion a lot. Affiliate Institute not being able to deliver what it promises definitely makes it a scam. Thank you for your in-depth review of this confusing program.
You bet Carol, it’s a bit ridiculous isn’t it. Affiliate Institute is similar to other sales funnels I’ve seen to buy expensive online training programs. Always with the ploy of teaching people how to make lots of money online and/or build their dream lives.
Thanks,
Todd
Thank you for the warning re Affiliate Institute. I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate and they have wonderful training but when I saw Affiliate Institute I thought maybe they would have additional training and more to learn.
I am glad I found your review before wasting my time watching the webinar. I have always known that I am in good hands with Wealthy Affiliate but I often wonder if I should be looking for additional training.
Thanks Michel for your feedback on our Affiliate Institute review as well as working with Wealthy Affiliate. I agree, best platform there is for the money. It’s tough to find one place that has all the tools and support you need to build a successful online business.
Thanks,
Todd
It’s true that the price is nowhere to be found. On top of that there’s very limited actual information about the product. Why would you buy something online without fully understanding whats inside. Really insightful review, thanks for that. More people should know to stay away from Affiliate Institute. It’s good know that the eBook from them is not helpful at all. It adds one more reason not to buy into it.
Thanks Alex, problem is most people land on the ebook and fall for the hype. It’s all pretty much hype. It takes a more discerning eye to wade through the bs. Those that do get on track faster to build their online business.
Cheers,
Todd
Thank you I could tell this research was really done well and not just someone saying stuff they know nothing about. I guess I was going to be wasting my time at this site if it wasn’t for this review, yep looks like real wastage of time. I think I’ll just stick to the information I already have on affiliate marketing until I find some more suitable tool that can help me further increase what I already gained from wealthy affiliate.
Hey Donny, after you get into WA’s training for a while. Like when you’re building out your site and getting targeted traffic. Or when you start to think of building an email list. You might want to look into Thrive Membership Training (review linked). It’s got some great training on improving one’s copy writing skills as well as some amazing themes and functional aspects that allow you to create membership sites, digital products, email optin’s and so forth. Probably a bit advanced for now, but something to look into..
Best,
Todd