There are many affiliate marketing programs out there that promise high returns for little investment – be that of time or money. Some make high groundless claims that they can easily surpass your current income and give up the day job and sit at home watching the money roll in. My thinking with Success with Anthony is that this program is probably one of those.
On your first visit to their site, you are immediately hit with a string of superlatives – which instantly raises my suspicions. If someone claims to be “the best” or the “perfect formula”, in my experience it usually isn’t! And the sign-up sales video on the homepage doesn’t make me feel any better… more about that later.
But schemes like these can be very hard to judge until you’ve actually invested some of your hard-earned cash in them.
Furthermore, Success With Anthony also makes certain claims that simply don’t hold water, something you’d only recognize if you’d been in the industry as long as I have.
Website: www.successwithanthony.comPrice: $7, $147, plus many $1,000’s in unethical pricing and upsells
The information available to members comes from the affiliate membership – and many are very poorly written and stuffed with keywords for search engine benefits!
Yes…. you read that correctly. Clickbank, the world’s largest affiliate network or products removed Success With Anthony in May 2012 Here is a screenshot of the email that was sent to all Clickbank affiliates:
Whilst we do not know the official reason for this, there are typically one or a combination of reasons why Clickbank would close their program there. These include:
The first thing to highlight with SWA is that it’s not for beginners. For example, one of the modules on the course leaps straight into profiting from search engine optimization, employing some technical and unorthodox methods – not something for the feint hearted, and certainly not a beginner.
Needless to say that a certain level of digital marketing understanding is required, or as a minimum, a level of commitment to in-depth learning will be required by any affiliate marketing newbies.
The basic training comes in three modules, which are all made up of PDF documents, videos and weekly training resources. The three modules include:
Module 2: Social Media Marketing Profits: This is made up of four sections covering Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube. This module also comes as four eBooks and videos.
As well as the three basic modules, you also get access to additional affiliate member-provided training programs, many of which are quite good, though sometimes poorly written.
When it comes to providing support, SWA is certainly lacking – especially if you’re a beginner. Unlike most good programs, there doesn’t seem to be a member community or forum where support from fellow members can be accessed. All support goes to their support desk. And if you want to communicate with Anthony himself, then think again – he’s not available or accessible!
Ultimately, when you buy into the SWA program you are pretty much left to your own devices. This may suit some people, though for most it isn’t the best learning environment. Furthermore, it’s content is mediocre to say the least. And to be honest, there are many far better programs out there.
Answer… not that cheap! The trouble with SWA is that what you pay in the beginning, isn’t what you will have paid, come the end. What’s more, if you don’t pay their initial costs, the more you try to leave the program, the more they drop the price to make you stay!
In one example we heard about, the price started at $19 and then dropped to $7 on a “only for me” deal, and “only for a limited time”. And the more you try to leave, the offers keep coming, with an offer of $48 from Anthony’s own pocket if you stay. You will also get an offer of a money-back guarantee at the end of your first year, and $100, if you do not make a success of the program.
This wreaks of desperation to me and leaves me feeling very uncomfortable. In my view, such aggressive discounting strategies also devalues the product, and makes it less credible.
And the opportunity to spend more, doesn’t stop there. If you buy the basic product, you can expect an instant one-time-offer of $147. This sounds fine, but what you may not realize is that the form you are required to complete asks for personal details like your address, telephone number and email. In the industry of making money, this usually means one thing – your details will be used for marketing new offers to you and extract more money from your wallet. Furthermore, you can expect to receive calls from mentoring companies offering coaching that can range from between $1,000 and $5,000.
So whilst things start very low cost, they soon escalate upwards, and your personal details are there for third-parties to exploit.
Whilst the SWA program has a few good points, mainly the quantity of information provided, it does also have its downsides, such as erratic pricing and poor support. This to most is a red flag. You should also be aware that you don’t get five free websites, as is advertised prior to sign-up.
Another concern is that it is not made clear that you will have to pay for some of the traffic generation. This lack of transparency is highly irritating and for me certainly rings many alarm bells.
And being removed from affiliate program networks, in itself, tells a story about the product and the organization. And to top it all, selling information on to third parties is not only illegal in most countries, it down right dishonest. For me, this has all the hallmarks of a scam. My recommendation would be to steer well clear of this program.
If you have had experience of the Success With Anthony program, then I’d be delighted to hear about your thoughts in the comments below. Perhaps you’ve experienced the tutorials or have a view on the support you’ve received? Whatever your experience with SWA, I’d love to hear about them – it all helps our readers.