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The 5 Best Affiliate Marketing Courses (From a 7-Figure Affiliate)

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best affiliate marketing courses reviewed

The 5 Best Affiliate Marketing Courses (From a 7-Figure Affiliate)

Home / Business / The 5 Best Affiliate Marketing Courses (From a 7-Figure Affiliate)
best affiliate marketing courses reviewed
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I’ll never forget my first $1,000 profit from affiliate marketing.

Nobody ever does.

I couldn’t believe it was real. I can still feel the goosebumps on my arm as I clicked “direct deposit” from the dropdown menu and sent it flying towards my mom’s bank account (I was 12 or 13 at this stage).

I’m getting them as I write this!

“Is this going to work? Is this ACTUALLY REAL MONEY?”

It was real.

And nobody believed me, either!

“Affiliate marketing? SEO? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”

My friends thought my parents gave it to me. My dad thought I stole it from my friends.

My mom thought I was dealing drugs.

“Where does a 12-year-old Estonian kid get ONE THOUSAND EUROS? You can’t make money playing on your computer!”

I probably should have just kept my mouth shut, but I was too excited.

Did I mention I was only 12? Seriously. I started making money from my first affiliate website when I was 12. That’s how easy it was to break into digital marketing.

Next summer break I started 20 sites at the same time. It was stupid easy back in the golden age of SEO.

Guess what? 17 failed miserably.

But I managed to push a few into the stratosphere by just figuring everything out on the fly. And I mean EVERYTHING.

Which niches were profitable and which were a money pit (tarot cards, Karl? Really?).

How to do keyword research the right way.

How to structure a website so Google actually ranks it.

How to beg for links politely, strike super affiliate deals, write content….

EVERYTHING.

I had my first six-figure exit when I was 17. Even now as a successful entrepreneur, I’m super proud of that.

But I have some bad news…

IT AIN’T THE GOLDEN AGE ANYMORE. 

No 12-year-old kid can make money “playing on his computer.” At least not with affiliate marketing.

Hang on. Let me clarify something…

There’s more money to be made now than EVER BEFORE. There’s infinite opportunity, and it keeps growing.

There are even elite affiliate marketing courses that show you exactly step-by-step how to build, rank, and flip affiliate sites for 7 or even 8 figures (I’ll get to that in a second).

Now is better than ever, actually! But it’s so much harder.

You can’t figure it out on the fly — no one can.

  • Every niche is more crowded than a Tokyo subway car.
  • Jeff Bezos is a real-life Tywin Lannister hoarding all his gold in Casterly Rock (aka Seattle). He just slashed Amazon commissions big time!
  • Google is 15 years older and 15 years wiser. You can’t game the algorithm as easily anymore.
  • Consumers are way smarter. They won’t buy from “BestApplianceGoodPrice.Co.Tv”

And, every expert that’s figured out the game is sharing their secrets. I wish I had that when I was 12!

Not only is it harder to rank and make a sale but your competition is buying elite training courses, so they know all of the latest techniques.

Which leads me to my point: ALL OF YOUR COMPETITORS ARE TAKING TRAINING COURSES. IF YOU DON’T, YOU’ll ALWAYS BE ONE STEP BEHIND.

You 100% need a training course. I’ve had 6-figure exits, been partners on 7-figure sites, and built and sold several marketing agencies. And I still learn new tricks and strategies from internet marketing courses.

The only problem is, there are a lot of snake oil salesmen out there.

Only buy from a name other affiliate marketers trust or you’ll waste thousands of dollars, months of time, and even hurt your websites in the long run. You don’t want to end up restarting from scratch in a year with nothing to show for it.

Don't spend endless hours sorting through courses on Skillshare, either. Just because it's called a masterclass, doesn't mean it's worth much.

I’ve been in this game since I was 12. I know what works and what doesn’t. I know what makes a 7-figure exit and what makes a 6-figure money pit. I also know who to trust and who’s full of S**T – I've met most of them in person and know them well.

If you want to fail at affiliate marketing, go at it alone. If you want to build a cash cow that sets you up for life, take one of these affiliate marketing courses.

The Best Affiliate Marketing Courses of 2023 – Overview

Here’s a quick rundown if you’re in a hurry.

The 3 Best Affiliate Marketing Courses:

  • The Affiliate Lab – Matt Diggity The Best Affiliate Marketing Course Overall
  • Authority Hacker Pro – Authority Hacker – The Best Online Business Resource
  • The Authority Site System – Authority Hacker – Best Bang for Buck/Beginners (Great UX – No Boring Videos)

My 2 Affordable Alternatives

  • Income School – Project 24 A Good Course for Half the Price
  • Savage Affiliates – Franklin Hatchett – The Most Affordable Course (That Actually Works)

Looking for a free affiliate marketing course? Everyone is.

But these are the ones that work – that don't waste your time and will get you where you're going.

I’ve spent the majority of my life in this industry. I’ve either taken these online courses and/or know the creators personally. I’ve been to all the big conferences and talked to countless students, so I’ve got a good feel for who to trust.

Which is why I have no choice but to put the following 3 courses head and shoulders above the rest:

1. “The Affiliate Lab” by Matt Diggity Review: The Best Affiliate Marketing Course Ever

Matt Diggity’s Affiliate Lab is the best affiliate SEO course on Earth when it comes to quality, digestibility, and availability (You’ll understand when you read option #2).

I’ve been in the game since I was 12, and this course made me feel like a beginner the first time I saw it. It’s THAT comprehensive. My friends and I joke that it’s an unfair advantage in the affiliate world.

Even experienced marketers testify they make up to 400% MORE after going through it. That’s insane value.

the affiliate lab testimonial

I swear after some of the modules I found myself saying, “OH, WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?!”

If you’re a newbie that wants to learn a proven blueprint for building a 6-figure site, this is not optional—it's a must (if you can afford it). 

In just a few days, you’ll know more than enough to leapfrog 90% of your competition. Trust me, if you have the money, you’ll look back in 6 months and wish you had this guidance.

the affiliate lab review - matt diggity

What is The Lab?

what is the affiliate lab

The Lab is a step-by-step blueprint for building, ranking, scaling, and flipping affiliate sites for 35x monthly revenue based on thousands of tests from hundreds of successful websites.

Plus an active community of nearly 4,000 successful affiliate entrepreneurs all helping each other succeed in places I failed at the beginning.

That means he shows you exactly how to build your site from scratch to $10,000 a month, then sell the damn thing for $350,000.

Matt starts by showing you exactly how to select his ultra-lucrative “OH SHIT!” niches and avoid nightmare ones. Then he walks you through his bulletproof recursive keyword research process.

From there, the course goes through content, social media, on-page optimization, affiliate offers, and every other affiliate topic in existence. He also gives you plug-in templates straight from his agency, outreach scripts, and SOPs.

I don’t want to oversell it, but pretty much the only way you fail is if you quit.

Why Is It My #1 Recommended Affiliate Marketing Course?

the best affiliate marketing course - the lab

Matt Diggity is known as THE affiliate SEO guy and one of the only “gurus” (I hate that word) that gives you proven facts based on empirical data.

Almost everyone else just gives you their “expert opinion.” The whole course is basically him holding your hand and walking you step-by-step through exactly how he’s built sites worth $500,000 or more.

That’s what makes this course so valuable. Matt’s been running thousands of tests since 2011, so he knows exactly what Google likes. It’s like he went to Mountain View, broken into Google’s HQ, and leaked the inner workings of the search engine algorithm to the world.

The members-only Facebook group is worth the price alone. Imagine a month from now when your site is getting off the ground, and you start running into SEO issues. Instead of struggling for weeks and failing or shelling out thousands of dollars for a service, you just pick Matt’s brain or ask other students who've been through the EXACT SAME ISSUE. They show you how to fix it, and you’re good to go.

Plus other students share helpful tips or case studies of how they increase rankings or sales.

how to optimize affiliate content for conversions

What You Get in The Lab

This is the last affiliate course you’ll ever take. The Lab covers everything you need to know about affiliate marketing, plus a ton more you don’t get in any other course:

  • How to structure your site the way Google loves
  • The exact templates and SOPs Matt uses on his own websites, including web hosting tips
  • Matt’s own niche site grading tool that helps you identify the perfect niche fast
  • How to uncover hidden keyword opportunities that most others miss
  • How to create content that ranks AND SELLS. Plus, how to outsource to writers and ensure high-quality while avoiding time-consuming bottlenecks
  • Step-by-step guide for building your site from scratch
  • His secret dirt-cheap alternatives to expensive SEO software
  • How to protect yourself from business-destroying negative SEO attacks

And that’s just scratching the surface.

Matt and his business partner Jay Yap cover everything from building a bulletproof social media persona that encourages people to buy from you to “conversion rate optimization” where you make more money online almost overnight from traffic you already have.

You can even join the guys in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a drink and dinner during the winter. Matt runs the Chiang Mai SEO conference, one of the most important SEO and affiliate marketing conferences on the calendar. Trying to build your affiliate network? Be there.

Last but not least…

Matt also continuously updates the lab with new results from his tests. He’s like a mad scientist in his lab (pun intended) constantly figuring out what Google is doing and why.

Every time he learns something groundbreaking, he updates the lab. It’s basically like he tests everything for you and notifies you when a strategy changes.

Guess what? That puts you one step ahead of everyone who isn’t testing Google 24/7 (basically everyone).

Here’s the thing: Google's search engine is constantly updating its algorithm, and it usually TANKS a lot of sites’ rankings. With The Lab, Matt figures out what changed and how to adapt, then tells you exactly what to do to stay in business. #BOSS

What Others Are Saying

The Affiliate Lab’s reputation is airtight and backed by the #1 source of proof on the web: SCREENSHOTS.

reviews of the affiliate lab by matt diggity

“The best one I have ever seen.”

best affiliate seo courses

“Best investment in terms of SEO. education”

improving SEO results

Jumping 182 spots to #3 in a competitive niche.

how to grow a website

This one speaks for itself! “Like seriously, WTF!”

how to start a website from scratch

“Exactly how to start a site from scratch…to making money as soon as possible.”

And it’s not just me or The Diggity Clan that loves it. Check out Hustle Life, a notoriously stingy review outlet:

the affiliate lab reviews

4.8/5. Not bad!

Pros

  • The most comprehensive course available
  • The most trusted name
  • Thousands of successful students
  • Step-by-step blueprint
  • Lifetime access to updates
  • Everything is a proven fact. 0 theory or “expert opinion”

Cons

  • Pricy

Lastly… I gotta mention this again – buy it through my link and you'll save $200 off the original price. (Thanks Matt!)

He's recently also added a 30-day money back guarantee so you really can't go wrong.

2. Authority Hacker: Authority Hacker Pro Review – The Best Online Business Resource

authority hacker testimonials

Imagine an online affiliate marketing training that walks you through how to start a site, drive organic traffic, and earn thousands of dollars a month in passive income.

Sounds good, right?

Now, imagine that same training PLUS business processes optimization, webinars, a library with proven templates for emails, opt-ins, lead magnets, and an active, thriving community of entrepreneurs motivating each other and driving you to achieve early retirement.

Uhhuhhh….

That’s Authority Hacker Pro… and I haven’t even mentioned their link building or content marketing resources yet.

Authority Hacker Pro is the biggest, baddest, most authoritative affiliate resource ever conceived. It’s beyond authoritative—it’s DICTATORIAL.

What is Authority Hacker Pro?

What is Authority Hacker Pro

Authority Hacker Pro (AHP) is a suite of eCommerce training courses encompassing affiliate marketing strategies, SEO, link building, email marketing, business optimization, internal processes, and general website growth. And unlike most other training courses, AHP is mostly for intermediate or advanced entrepreneurs and bloggers whose sites are already profitable.

The Affiliate Lab is a beginner-friendly, step-by-step blueprint for building, growing, and flipping high-income affiliate sites.

Authority Hacker Pro is like a high-powered nuclear fusion reactor for businesses: You insert your site and BOOM, the power multiplies exponentially… if you listen to the Authority Hacker guys, of course.

First, it shows you how to build an authority site (a site Google loves). Then, it walks you through the strategies Mark and Gael use on their own sites.

You get training covering:

  • Content marketing
  • Keyword research
  • Side speed optimization
  • Email marketing
  • Guest posting and blogging
  • Social media marketing and engagement (using quizzes and other techniques to improve engagement)
  • Diverse monetization methods (lead magnets, display ads, affiliate partnerships)
  • Selling your site

From there, you get regular access to their growth webinars full of juicy, cutting-edge info straight from their own sites that you can apply to your own for faster growth.

Finally, you get access to their Facebook community, a library of proven templates, and an inside look at their processes for content creation, link building, and building a team.

Why Do I Recommend Authority Hacker Pro?

authority hacker pro review

Authority Hacker Pro is more than “just a course.” It’s a training program with an entire SUITE of courses.

Each module is like a course within a course with detailed, in-depth coverage of every topic.

That means the content marketing module is actually a complete content marketing course.

The email marketing module is an email marketing course.

The social media module is… OK, you get it. It’s a ton of next level info.

For example, the content marketing module doesn’t just teach you how to create quality content for affiliate SEO. It goes way beyond that. It teaches:

  • How to brainstorm ideas
  • How to create content people link to
  • How to set an editorial calendar
  • How to build a content team
  • How to improve processes
  • How to research lucrative keywords for high-conversion articles
  • How to write specific types of high-earning content (product reviews, comparison articles, etc.)

Then they give you plug-and-play templates for everything so you don’t have to do any of the hard work!

Mark and Gael, the founders, show you how to do everything, give you templates so you can’t screw it up, then coach you on advanced topics so you can optimize your processes and make 10x your income. Plus, you get a thriving community.

Every time I need a template or want to brush up on the latest in the affiliate world, I go AHP. At the click of a button, I’ve got a high converting template that basically eliminates my risk of screwing up. Or, I watch a webinar with proven tips from real tests in the wild.

What do you get with AHP?

Authority Hacker Pro is too comprehensive for me to cover here. I don’t have the will to type that much today. But let’s run through some important stuff.

#1 – The Authority Site System – How to Build a Profitable Site From the Ground Up

The Authority Site System - How to Build a Profitable Site

AHP starts off with a blueprint for building an affiliate site on WordPress or elsewhere, just like The Lab.

This beginner-friendly blueprint walks you through keyword research, landing pages and site structure, content creation, link building, SEO tips, social media, and everything else you could possibly imagine.

Actually, it’s like Mark and Gael are building your site. You’re just clicking the buttons.

I’ll be honest, it’s on a similar level as The Lab when it comes to stuff but has higher production quality.

It covers:

  • Niche research
  • Keywords research
  • Tech setup
  • SEO
  • Branding (including photos!)
  • Content
  • Link building

And a ton more. I’ll cover this in much greater detail in the next entry. Let’s move along for now.

how to create content for SEO purposes

#2 – Blueprints – An Easy-To-Read Map to Profit

Mark and Gael hand wrap their blueprints for their own sites and gift them to you so you can run your business the same way they do (Merry Christmas). By the way, they’re insanely successful, so listen up.

These blueprints include:

  • Content
  • SEO
  • Social media
  • Business optimization
  • Monetization

And that’s just scratching the surface.

Let’s take a sneak peek inside one of the blueprints – Evergreen Funnels

how to create evergreen sales funnels

Just to show you how in-depth this is, I want to show you the Evergreen Funnels blueprint. There’s so much funnely goodness that you need to see (I’m nerdy and like sales funnels…I have friends, though).

This module lays out how to build a sales funnel that brings you recurring income with 0 extra effort. As you can see, it walks you through funnel structure right up to retargeting. Along the way, you get a set of easy-to-complete steps to get you from A to B. Super easy, aye?

Let’s take a deeper look:

Here in the Funnel Structure lesson, you get a super helpful video going over the topic with a real look inside AH’s funnel.

funnel structures, splinter funnnels, and creating tripwire products

In the rest of the lesson, they drop KNOWLEDGE BOMBS:

  • How to create scarcity
  • How to create a “tripwire” product
  • Checkout hacks to encourage sales (plus a page template)
  • How to upsell to make even MORE profit

Now imagine this for 9 videos…and that’s just 1 blueprint. You’ve got 16 MORE blueprints to go!

#3 – Webinars – Get the latest info before your competitors

One major advantage over other courses is the quality of info in these webinars. It’s all directly applicable to your business and available in perpetuity.

Recently, they’ve done webinars on HARO link building and content optimization. So, not only do you get the info, it keeps on giving you more tips on a regular basis.

#4 – AHP Community

authority hacker pro facebook community

Honestly, I prefer The Affiliate Lab community, but the Authority Hacker community is right up there. In fact, these two are the only affiliate groups I still engage in today.

Each day, successful members of AHP share success stories, concerns, hacks, growth tips, and case studies to help motivate you and improve your game. If you’re ever stuck, one of the Authority Hacker geniuses will help guide you to the solution.

Where was this when I was starting out?!

What others are saying

I’m just going to let these reviews speak for themselves. Both the Affiliate Lab and Authority Hacker Pro have airtight reputations, and the names behind both courses are as trustworthy as it gets in this business.

Authority Hacker pro testimonials

successful authority site testimonial

how to build an authority site from scratch

the authority site system results

third party authority hacker pro review

Both The Lab and AHP have equal reputations in the industry, but Matt’s Lab is just closer to my heart since it’s the first course I ever bought, and I know so many of the other students personally.

But if you go to the AHP page or FB group, it’s a never ending flood of success stories:

affiliate marketing case studies

What I Don’t Like About Authority Hacker Pro

Authority Hacker Pro is unlike anything else online, but it’s not perfect. Here are a few of the downsides:

  • It’s EXPENSIVE: It already costs thousands of dollars, and the price is set to go up again soon.
  • It’s not always available: They only open enrollment a few times a year to keep everything manageable. If it were always open, too many people would sign up! Honestly, if it were open more often, it would probably go ahead of the lab because of all the extras you get. You can’t go wrong with either.
  • It’s not beginner-friendly: The Lab is a simple, step-by-step blueprint. AHP is more for intermediate to advanced marketers who don’t want “rails” guiding them where to go. That’s fine for me, but probably not for most of the people reading this article. IF you’re already having success with affiliate marketing, AHP is absolutely for you. Don’t worry, there’s good news in my next entry. Skip ahead to #3.

Pros

  • The most complete affiliate resource on the planet
  • Everything from building your site to optimizing your processes
  • Fill-in-the-blank templates
  • New webinars regularly
  • A thriving community

Cons

  • For intermediate to advanced users
  • Expensive + not always open to new students
  • Information overload

3. Authority Hacker: The Authority Site System Review

the authority site system review

If you’re a beginner who only wants a blueprint for growing their first authority site, I recommend The Authority Site System (TASS) by Authority Hacker, not Authority Hacker Pro.

TASS is the beginner-friendly blueprint for starting and building high-quality affiliate websites that’s included in AHP without all of the bells and whistles, webinars, and templates of the PRO version.

You still get insane value for the price tag ($997).

120+ over-the-shoulder videos across 5 in-depth modules showing you everything from unique market research to putting together a rockstar content team that makes your articles better than the top Google result.

It’s equal to The Affiliate Lab in value, but in a different way (I’ll explain that in a moment). I will say this though: TASS production quality is better.

What is The Authority Site System?

The Authority Site System is an affiliate site blueprint

The Authority Site System is an affiliate site blueprint. Think of it like buying one item a la carte from Authority Hacker Pro…a very important item, though.

The production and usability are unrivaled. Each course is broken down into easy-to-complete subtasks clearly explained in high-quality video tutorials. Then, you’re given copy/paste templates to make your tasks as easy to execute as humanly possible.

Work your way through each module step-by-step, and at the end, you have a profitable affiliate site. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

The progress/goal tracking makes it so much easier to succeed, and completing small tasks motivates you to complete even larger ones. I love procrastinating, but even I flew through from start to finish in just a few days.

The Authority Site System

If you’re a very visual learner that needs a strict, goal-driven system, you’ll flourish with this course and struggle with most others.

What You Get With The Authority Site System

What You Get With The Authority Site System

I’ve already covered a lot of what you get in TASS in the AHP section, but I’ll break it down a bit further for you here:

  • Module 1: Learn all about the affiliate business model and how Mark and Gael structure their sites to make as much money as possible.
  • Module 2: Learn how to discover lucrative niches and plan content so you jump to the top faster and earn more when you get there.
  • Module 3: Learn the ins and outs of technical site structure and on-page SEO so your site outranks 90% of competitors.
  • Module 4: How to create a writing team that actually produces quality without breaking the bank.
  • Module 5: The best link-building tutorial on the web. This will teach you how to grow your site from 0 to Google darling without pissing people off or wasting time.

This is literally how to go from “What is affiliate marketing?” to “What’s next now that I’ve mastered affiliate marketing?”

Why I Recommend The Authority Site System

Why I Recommend The Authority Site System

Mark and Gael broke the mold with this course.

They started a site for about $10 just to get into their customer’s shoes, followed every one of their tips, wrote down every concern, noted every challenge, and analyzed every roadblock they faced along the way.

They turned all of the info into a course that helps you grow faster while jumping over those roadblocks to success. I can’t think of any other course built that way.

That’s why it’s so beginner-friendly.

That and the production quality is Ivy-League level. The videos, the lessons, the interface, the EVERYTHING.

Even though the info isn’t as nuanced as The Affiliate Lab’s, TASS comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so your investment is RISK-FREE. That’s not to say this isn’t extremely detailed. Check out all the extra value they give in each module. Most courses would just talk about link building. TASS talks about building links and then what to do next:

Why I Recommend The Authority Site System

Not only will you get better rankings and more money but your link building will be better than the competition for this year and next.

What others are saying

Again, I covered most of this in the AHP section, but Mark and Gael are boss level. They aren’t movie star celebs with their own SEO conferences, but they have one of the most popular podcasts on site building and growth.

The results speak for themselves:

Snapshot of one of the most popular podcasts on site building and growth of Mark and Gael

The result of podcasts on site building and growth of Mark and Gael

The result of podcasts on site building and growth of Mark and Gael

And SmartBusinessTrends loves it!

SmartBusinessTrends loves The Authority Site System Review

SmartBusinessTrends loves The Authority Site System Review

Pros 

  • From 0 to profit in 5 modules
  • World class support
  • Brilliant production value
  • Broken down into mini-goals for easy completing
  • A self-motivating course that flies by
  • Mark and Gael are two of the biggest names in the business
  • Money-back guarantee

Cons

  • The email list and content sections are lacking a bit (but that could be a good thing…)

The Lab vs. TASS: How Are They Different?

I said that these two courses were equal in value. So, why one ranked #3 and the other #1?

It’s hard to explain, but let me just give a bit more detail to clarify.

The Lab’s email and content modules are better than TASS’, but that’s actually by design from Mark and Gael.

Their philosophy is to keep things more basic and easier to understand. They found that students wasted too much time trying more advanced tactics right off the bat rather than doubling down on the basics and achieving real success.

Their solution? Make The Authority Site System more grounded in the foundations of a successful site that is guaranteed to result in success.

Is that making sense?

So in a way, Matt’s course is adding a lot of extra info that might not be applicable for you in the beginning whereas TASS is keeping it as simple as possible so you put the right foundation in place first. Since I’m not a beginner, I really can’t say what’s better for you.

NOTE: TASS’ support is beyond outstanding. Listen to what you get:

  • Full-time support team answering questions in 3 hours or less
  • Monthly email roundup addressing the most common user concerns
  • Member of the Month award to keep you motivated (social media recognition!)
  • Regular surveys so Mark and Gael know what to improve in the course

So yeah, I give Matt’s Lab the slight edge because I could actually use all the content. But Authority Hacker has better support, digestibility, and production value. In that way, they’re equal.

Wanna try TASS? Check it out here.

VERDICT: Which Affiliate Course is Best for Me?

I know that was a lot to take in, so let me break this down quickly. Each of these courses has its strong points, and just because The Lab is the best doesn’t mean it’s the best for you.

Here’s which course is best for you:

Get The Affiliate Lab if…

You’re a beginner that wants the most comprehensive blueprint to building your first affiliate site, and you’re a go-getter that wants to change their life forever. The Lab’s level of depth is unrivaled and Matt bases everything off of thousands of real Google tests, so it’s proven to work.

Get Authority Hacker Pro if…

You’re an intermediate to advanced affiliate marketer and you’ve already got a site, but you want to put it into a hyperbaric chamber for a few months and turn it into an unstoppable beast hellbent on destroying your competition.

AHP is more than an affiliate course. It’s a complete university’s worth of online business training, videos, webinars, templates, and blueprints that will make you the most dominant force in your niche.

Get The Authority Site System if…

You’re a complete beginner that wants a beginner-friendly blueprint with insanely high production value. If you want a course that easily guides you through each of the modules and gives you mini-goals to keep you motivated, I highly recommend this course. Diggity’s Lab has slightly more information but TASS is just so brilliantly designed and has incredible support for beginners, so I can’t really decide what’s better.

The Best Affiliate Marketing Courses of 2023: Affordable Alternatives

No other affiliate marketing courses come close to the top 3.

They’re the only ones giving 100% facts based on real testing. And no other courses provide everything you need to scale from the ground up and beyond with the level of depth needed to succeed in today’s landscape.

They’re the courses that every other course wishes they could be.

However… I understand they are not cheap. Why should they be? They’re literally showing you how to build a 6 or even 7-figure eCom site based on years of experience.

The following 3 courses are much more affordable. If you have the money and you’re on the fence, do not waste your time buying one of these courses. You will regret it.

If you really don’t have the money to spare, these will get you off the ground.

1. Project 24’s Income School

Price: $449 for the 1st year.

Project 24 is a super successful (yet controversial) YouTube channel and 7-figure web company with a flood of successful students claiming to have fully replaced their incomes with an online business.

Their “Income School” is a less technical guide that teaches you to build an affiliate site, learn SEO, harness the power of video, and eventually monetize with affiliate offers and display ads.

If you’re not into technical detail, this might actually be better for you.

This course is a little bit “old-school” or “nuance over numbers,” if you catch my drift. Income School DOES NOT like keyword tools or link building—two things that my top 3 courses are obsessed with (and that are proven to work…).

Instead, they give you:

  • A 60-step blueprint: Complete these 60 steps to go from absolute beginner to affiliate, SEO, content, and video expert and prime yourself to succeed.
  • Multi-platform expertise: YouTube, Pinterest, Google—you’ll learn how to diversify traffic streams.
  • No-nonsense SEO: This module teaches SEO basics. It’s seriously lacking in my opinion.
  • Email marketing 101: An excellent email marketing module teaching you the who, what, when, and how of successful emails.

Plus a ton more.

One thing I really like about Project 24 is how transparent they are. Everyone in affiliate marketing guards their sites like they would their children. Project 24 is open and honest about which sites they own. That’s a huge confidence booster.

After going through the course, talking to friends in the industry, and watching their channel regularly, I’m 100% confident you can build a successful affiliate site with this course.

I just have a few concerns:

  1. You’ll lose out to people with more refined technical skills
  2. You’ll cap your Google traffic earnings without keyword optimization
  3. Growing without link building is REALLY HARD
  4. The subscription model leaves a bad taste in my mouth

This course is easy to follow and has a ton of good info on YouTube and Pinterest, but it might severely limit your earning potential.

Pros

  • Easy to follow
  • Not overly technical
  • Great YouTube, Pinterest, and email modules

Cons

  • Keyword and link building is super important – they ignore it
  • Subscription model means you pay every year
  • Lacking business processes optimization
  • No good templates, blueprints, or webinars

2. Savage Affiliate – Franklin Hatchett 

Savage Affiliate - Franklin Hatchett

Price: $197 or $297

Franklin Hatchett knows his S**T, especially when it comes to marketing funnels. Basically, a marketing funnel is just like a funnel your mechanic uses to put oil in your car.

The mouth at the top is wide and it slowly gets thinner, guiding the oil into your engine. Marketing is the same. You bring a bunch of mildly interested traffic in at the top and “funnel” them down to your offer. By the time they get there, they’re so interested that they can’t help but buy.

His Savage Affiliate System is the only “cheap” affiliate marketing course I’ll ever recommend, and it’s just for that reason. It’s not as good as the other ones from a content, technical, or niche selection perspective. But he’s great at funnels and he’s a good teacher.

The result of Savage Affiliate - Franklin Hatchett

If you’re on a shoestring budget and want to get an affiliate marketing foundation quickly, this is a great course. I personally know a lot of people, from beginner to advanced marketers, that have got a ton of value from it.

The amazing result of Savage Affiliate - Franklin Hatchett

Is this like other “cheap” courses?

Savage Affiliate - Franklin Hatchett is not like other “cheap” courses

No, definitely not. This is not one of those $12 Udemy or Skillshare courses. And don't get me started on free affiliate marketing courses.

Franklin covers affiliate marketing from 0 to your first commission, all with tons of testimonials and plenty of in-depth data to prove it.

You’ll learn:

  • Funnels
  • Clickbank affiliate techniques
  • SEO
  • Technical structure
  • Marketing
  • Facebook Ads and Google Ads
  • Launch Jacking (An awesome technique that earns low-competition, buy-now traffic)
  • Niche research

And this is so much different than other cheap courses for one key reason:

Franklin does a lot more than just throw a bunch of pre-packaged videos at you. He actually works all day answering your questions in his Facebook group. I really don’t know how this guy even does it. That means you get an endless “pick his brain” session from a guy that’s been there, done that.

The Review of Savage Affiliate - Franklin Hatchett

For the price of about 4 dinners at a mid-range restaurant or a weekend out on the town, you get a complete affiliate marketing blueprint for generating passive income. It’s hard to argue with that.

What I don’t like…

Franklin put a ton of work into this course. He even gives you his marketing funnel template, pre-made ClickFunnels funnels, and his awesome Launch Jacking blueprint (all available in the SUPER package).

But there’s a reason it’s only $197 or $297. There’s not as much detail, structure, or actionable advice compared to The Affiliate Lab or anything from Authority Hacker. This is especially true for content, link building, and SEO. By the way, those are the 3 most important parts of affiliate marketing.

If you’re a smart, go-getter that can take this foundation of knowledge and build upon it on your own, go ahead and give it a try. But I don’t see 6-figure potential for most students, at least not nearly as fast as you’ll get in The Lab or AHP.

Pros

  • Extremely affordable
  • Tons of great info for cheap
  • From 0 to profitable blueprint
  • Expert funnel mastery

Cons

  • Not as in-depth or comprehensive as my top 3
  • The content and SEO modules are lacking

Closing Thoughts: You Can’t Go Wrong With The Lab

There are plenty of good affiliate marketing courses out there, but The Lab is the only one that’s 100% unassailable. Plus, buy through my link and you'll get $200 off the original price.

Everything is proven to work on real affiliate sites, and the sales page is full of successful students raving about how streamlined, detailed, and actionable each video is. Most of them tell the same two stories: Either “I went from 0 – profitable affiliate site fast” or “I went from profitable affiliate site to VERY profitable site quickly”.

I still can’t believe it’s ONLY $997. I’m sure Matt won’t keep it at that price for very long. It’s worth every penny.

Did I mention it's only $797 through this link? 🙂

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