Welcome to my review of Affilorama, you are probably thinking of starting an affiliate marketing business and want to know if Affilorama can help you.
The good thing is, Affilorama is one of the oldest and most trusted affiliate training programs that has helped thousands of people over the years start their first online business.
In an industry that is rife with get rich quick schemes and outright scammers, Affilorama stands out as one of the few online training programs that has stood the test of time and consistently been ranked as one of the best in the market.
However, It is not without its faults and in this review, I will cover everything Affilorama has to offer including its free and paid programs and if it is worth joining.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Since you are reading this review, I assume you have an idea on what exactly affiliate marketing is and how you can make money through it.
However, if you are still unsure of the mechanics of how affiliate marketing works, I’ll give you a brief explanation.
Affiliate marketing is simply a business model based on referral commissions, you promote a product or service through a special affiliate link and anytime someone buys through that link, you get paid a commission.
Now, that is the simplified explanation, to become a successful affiliate marketer will require more than just sharing affiliate links.
You will need to find a profitable niche, build a website, write articles, generate traffic to your site, build an audience, find affiliate programs to promote and then finally make some money.
This is where the Affilorama training program comes in.
Who Is Mark Ling?
Before I review the Affilorama program, I want to say a couple of things about the owner.
Mark Ling is the brains behind Affilorama, he is an internet millionaire and has been making money online for nearly two decades.
He is a New Zealand native and co-owns a couple of other companies along with Affilorama.
He founded Affilorama in 2006 along with Co-founder Simon Slade, Mark is also part owner of Traffic Travis, an SEO/PPC software and Salehoo which is a dropshipping supplier directory.
Mark recently started producing a documentary series on Food and health which is due to be released sometime this year.
Suffice to say he is a very successful businessman and a respected affiliate marketer.
What Is Affilorama?
Affilorama is a membership site that offers affiliate marketing training through videos, articles and PDF reports.
According to the website, it has over 750,000 members and its aim is to minimise the obstacles to becoming a successful affiliate marketer.
Founded in 2006, it is one of the oldest online companies that provides training for aspiring affiliate marketers.
Affilorama has several products inside its membership area, they provide an 8 part free affiliate marketing training program that consists of video tutorials and articles.
They include the following modules;
1. Introduction to affiliate marketing
2. Market research
3. Content creation
4. Building a website
5. Promoting your website
6. SEO
7. PPC
8. Outsourcing
Each module consists of several lessons that all include video tutorials as well as written articles.
Although I had actually joined Affilorama a couple of years (after I had escaped the MLM industry), I never watched more than a few videos and didn’t make most of the free training they provided.
However, to provide a comprehensive review, I sat through all the videos and read most of the articles.
One thing that stands out more than anything is that the videos and articles have not been updated for a few years.
That is not to say the information they provide is outdated or irrelevant, most of the training material still applies today.
Mark certainly knows his stuff and has made a ton of money through affiliate marketing, so it would be wise to follow what he teaches.
The free lessons provide a solid foundation on how to start affiliate marketing by building a niche website and producing high-quality content.
It touches upon the foundations of SEO and PPC to generate targeted traffic, there is also some good material on promoting your site through inbound marketing and social media.
There are however a few things that could be improved, for example in one of the lessons in the PPC module, it talks about creating landing pages. The basic principles are sound but the landing page examples they provide are not optimised for mobile viewing which will have an adverse effect on your conversions.
There is a whole module on website building that consists of 19 videos, I enjoyed this module but I was disappointed in their choice of website builders.
They mention complex website builders like Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web and Kompozer ( Kompozer has been discontinued but the article has not been updated to acknowledge this).
I really don’t understand why it does not mention WordPress ( which powers nearly a 3rd of the web) and is very easy to learn. Not to mention all the other benefits that come with using WordPress such as its SEO friendliness, modern themes, extensive range of plugins and support.
There are a couple of comments on the article asking why WordPress wasn’t included, a moderator replied that it would be soon but to this date, there is no mention of WordPress.
Overall, the free lessons are decent but nothing you wouldn’t find on popular internet forums or on YouTube. It would be helpful if they could update some of the content the reflect the more recent standards for affiliate marketing.
The Affilorama Forum
As a free member, you also have access to the forum, however, this was another disappointment.
If you search for certain topics, you can sometimes find pretty good posts and conversations, but the forum is not as active as before. As you can see from the image below, there are hardly any replies to new posts and posts that have multiple replies are few and far between.
Pathway to Passive
Cost – $37
Pathway to Passive is an in-depth report on how to start an affiliate marketing business that will give you the best chance at success.
It has a pretty standard sales page with Mark explaining how he got involved in affiliate marketing and how his first affiliate site was a failure (mostly because he was lazy and also he didn’t follow the training he was getting).
The report covers 4 topics related to starting an affiliate marketing website, the topics are as follows;
1.Finding profitable niches and high converting affiliate offers
2.Attracting the right customers for better conversions
3.Conversion optimisation
4. Creating high-quality content that attracts natural backlinks and more traffic.
Although the guide is targeted for beginners the sales page suggests that even advanced marketers can benefit from the content.
Affilo Jetpack
Cost – $997
This is Affilorama’s own business in a box solution, it’s a system designed to make it as easy as possible to start an affiliate marketing business.
They provide everything for you which includes the following:
1.Niche selection,
2.A 90-day email sequence
3. High converting squeeze page
4.Cheat sheets for content ideas
5.3*10,000 word reports to help you build an email list
Theirier own premium WordPress theme
7.12 Months of web hosting
If I was a newbie and had the budget to invest in something like this I would have done so. However, after a couple of years of experience, I know that there are no short cuts to affiliate marketing success.
Notice I said ‘no short cuts to success’ many people who purchase products like this have the impression that the money will start rolling in after they purchase this business in a box type of product.
It doesn’t help that the sales page gives of this impression as well but there is a lot of work to be done even after you purchase a done for you system like Affilo Jetpack.
You will have to create lots of high-quality content, for some this may come easy, however, speaking from personal experience, publishing well-written content on a consistent basis is tough.
Building an audience whether it be through SEO, social media or Video marketing also takes times, especially SEO since Google is always updating its ranking algorithm and it takes longer than ever to start ranking for your target keywords.
This can be helpful for people who just do not have the time to learn and build a website themselves but I personally think it will be more fruitful if you did it yourself.
Affillo Tools
This is a set of web-based SEO tools that comes free with an Affilorama membership.
With Affillo tools you can do the following;
Keyword research
Rank tracking
Backlink analysis
Analyse your website health
Facebook and Twitter analytics
Integrate with Google analytics
I was surprised by the quality of this tool, it comes with a lot of features and is completely free.
Although the free version does come with limitations, if you are just starting out, it provides more than enough data to get you started.
There are three paid options if you want more access to all the features.
Final Thoughts
In a nutshell, if you are new to affiliate marketing, Affiloramas free training will provide a solid foundation on the basics of starting an online affiliate business.
Affilorama are part of a handful of online training programs that have been in business for over a decade that teach you how to make money online the proper way.
Others have come and gone but they thrive because their teaching method is solid and do not promote the mentality of getting rich quick (a mindset that has poisoned this industry).
Having said that the free training is decent but some of it needs to be updated and the forum could do with more interaction.
Although I do think this is a good program, I would not recommend any of the paid products ( apart from Affillo tools), this is because of two reasons.
The first reason is that I honestly believe there is a better alternative in Wealthy Affiliate, they are a similar company but they are constantly updating their training and always making improvements.
The other reason is to do with Mark Ling, like I said he is a very successful businessman and runs several other online businesses’ and has recently started making a documentary series.
I am also on his email list and I know for a fact that he launches one high -ticket product every year and promotes a couple of others. In other words, he is a very busy man and it may be one of the reasons that the Affilorama training hasn’t been updated for so long.
That is the main reason I would advise against purchasing any of the paid Affilorama products because I really can’t be sure whether they are updated on a regular basis or not and you don’t want to be paying for stuff that is not relevant for the modern affiliate marketer.
So, in ending this review, I would say that Affilorama is a legitimate system that has some good training material but I believe Wealthy Affiliate offers the superior option for affiliate marketing success. And to show that Wealthy Affiliate really works, here is my personal results which I achieved by implementing their training on a consistent basis.
This is a very thorough review of the Affilorama system, having over 750,000 members tells me they are doing something right. I will check to see if their free lessons is good and try out the free Affilo tools, that looks good and it may benefit my website. Mark seems like a very busy man with all the businesses he is running and promoting, it will be good to learn from his knowledge.
Dear Minhaj,
Thanks a lot for the very through and comprehensive review post.
To share my experience…
Couple of years before… When I did my research and realized in order make money online in the longer run, I need to have my own website and I was searching for a genuine training platform where I can learn about website building, affiliate marketing etc., I came up with Affilorama, Wealthy Affiliate, Chris Farrell Membership seems to be genuine platforms and now I have to choose one.
Finally I chosen Wealthy Affiliate.
Although Affilorama is genuine the reason why I haven’t chosen it is because…
Upselling and the products are expensive (I was on a budget), as you correctly mentioned Some out dated information i.e some methods may affect our business (PLR articles – Private Label Rights) etc.,
Thanks for the helpful review and saving people time.
Much Success!
Paul
Hi Paul
Thanks for your comment, I didn’t see anything about PLR, they may have updated that section and although the information is old, from what I gathered most of it is still legit, but it would be good if they would update their videos, some of the stuff looks ancient.
All the best
Thanks for the honest review! I heard about affilorama in March 2018 or so, when I was considering starting an affiliate marketing biz. I liked the free info but the paid products didn’t really appeal to me. Fast-forward to February 2019. I can boldly say I’m doing fine when It comes to affiliate marketing, thanks to wealthy affiliate community.
Hi Faftop
Thanks for commenting, yes I agree the free info is decent but I wouldn’t with any of their paid products. There is a better solution in Wealthy Affiliate.
All the best
Hello Minhaj,
I did not know about Affilorama before reading your review. It is really nice to know about Affilorama and Mark as well. I liked their training method and their tools. But, it is very annoying when a website is not updated since a long period of time. I liked your alternative suggestion which is Wealthy Affiliate. I am a beginner at WA and I am loving it day by day as well as making money. I started earning since the 5th day of joining. It is the best place for both learning earning through affiliate marketing.
Thanks for such a nice review. 🙂
Radeet
Hi Radeet
Thanks for your comment and I wish you all the success for your business.
Very thorough review of Affilorama, I have been aware of this program but never joined. I might join and test the Affilo tools, it seems like it can provide data that can help me rank better. As for the free content, if it is sound, then it doesn’t really need updating but if the data is outdated, then, of course, they need to rectify it. This was a good review, thanks.
Hi Ajibola
Thanks for your comment and I agree with you about the content not needing to be updated if the information is sound, which most of it is but some of the training will be better of it had a redo, just my opinion.
All the best
This is a well-thought-out review, I have heard of Affilorama but have never signed up for their free lessons. I may do so after reading this review, they seem to have some good training and tools that may be useful in my affiliate marketing journey. I really liked your honest approach to this review, thanks very much.
Hi Kehinde
Appreciate your comments
All the best
Interesting review, I hadn’t heard of Affilorama, which is a surprise since they have been in business for over 12 years now. I like the program and have checked out the free training, as you say it does seem a bit old but the training is still relevant. I like Affilo tools, it has some great features I especially like the rank tracking feature.
However, I don’t think I will be taking any of their paid products, I too am with Wealthy Affiliate and feel that it is the better option.
Hi Dapoach
Thanks for your comment, wish you all the best for your business.
Hi Minhaj
This review highlights some really interesting points. For example, even though Affilorama is over 13 years old, the user engagement is really poor as indicated by forum responses. This also highlights that the owner is no longer actively involved in the day to day running of the program.
The free lessons look decent but need to be updated and Affilo tools look like something that may be useful but I am happy with the tools I use at the moment.
I may give the free lessons a try but the paid products don’t look appealing.
Thanks for the review
Hi Dave
Thanks for your comment.
All the best
Thank you so much for this honest and unbiased review of affilorama affiliate marketing training program. You have done an excellent job for the detailed review. I once heard about the affilorama affiliate marketing training from a friend, although I the free training is good, like you say it does need updating. I too am a member of Wealthy Affiliate and have to agree with you, they are constantly updating and improving the platform and I do prefer it over Affilorama.
Hi Abiodun
Thanks for your comment.
All the best.
This is a thorough review of Affilorama, it seems like a good program but the fact that they are no updating their content on a regular basis puts me off from actually buying any of their paid products. I might try the free training and check out Affilo tools, I have to agree with you on Wealthy Affiliate, I am a current member and the platform is fantastic value for money and as you say, they are constantly improving. Thanks for this review.
Hi Polycarp
Thanks for your comment and I am glad that you see the benefits of a Wealthy Affiliate membership.
All the best
Great post and good info.
I know this platform is good and has a good level of training, but as you say, it needs some serious updates.
I joined wealthy affiliate because of the reason you stated, up to date training and ever-improving platform.
Affilorama is a good platform for beginners but there is a far better alternative in Wealthy Affiliate
Anyway, thanks for sharing!
Hi Emmanuel
Thanks for your comment, I agree with you that Affilorama does need some updates to some of its training.
All the best
That’s an awesome review of Affilorama. I myself took a look at it and I love how there is free training. The only thing that does not make sense to me is that they offer FREE training but not FREE tools to actually try and apply what they teach within the training. On that count, I much prefer Wealthy Affiliate.
But there’s no denying the wealth of information on Affilorama.
Hi Reyhana
They do actually give you limited access to Affilo tools and it is a pretty decent SEO tool. I too prefer Wealthy Affiliate but Affilorama is a good program but I wish they updated their free training.
All the best