I have read a lot about affiliate marketing and one of the big names in the game is ClickBank. As you’ll know from my other posts, I’ve been testing out various affiliate programs for my blog, and after my lackluster experience with Amazon Affiliates, I thought Clickbank might be the ticket. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. Let me tell you why I’m not a fan and if you’re considering this as your next hustle, read on—this might save you some time and frustration.
The Setup Struggle: Forms, Fees, and Frustrations
Getting started with Clickbank was anything but smooth. Right off the bat, I was hit with a barrage of forms and questionnaires. It felt like applying for a high-security job rather than a simple affiliate program. After jumping through all those hoops, the platform suggested I buy one of their courses to “get the most out of it.” Um, no thanks—I don’t have the time (or the desire) to shell out money for yet another online course. I skipped that part and pushed forward, but it left a sour taste.
Oh, and did I mention how awful the site is on mobile? As someone who rarely uses a laptop/desktop PC, trying to navigate Clickbank on my phone was a nightmare. Clunky interfaces, tiny text, and endless scrolling—definitely not user-friendly for phone users. See the image below as an example.
Then came the verification process. They required me to upload a driving license or passport plus a photo for identity confirmation. I get the need for security, but handing over that much personal info to a platform just to promote products? It felt invasive, like they’re collecting way more data than necessary. Privacy red flags all around.
Browsing the Marketplace: Spam City or Hidden Gems?
Once I was in, I trawled through the marketplace to find products to promote. Clickbank is known for digital products like e-books, courses, and supplements, but honestly, the selection left me underwhelmed. A ton of the promotions were in the health and fitness category—think weight loss supplements and “miracle” pills. I have no idea if these are legit or safe, and morally, I just couldn’t bring myself to push something sketchy to my audience. That’s not my vibe.
I switched over to the e-marketing category, figuring it would align better with my blog’s focus on online business and side hustles. But everything looked confusing and spammy. The product descriptions were vague, the sales pages screamed “get rich quick,” and I wasn’t sure what I was even supposed to do with them. As I’ve mentioned before (and will probably say again), time is my most precious resource. There was zero chance I’d sit through their tutorials to figure it out—this all felt way over my head.
After some digging, I finally found something I could get behind: an app reviewer program. It’s basically a side hustle where you review apps and earn cash, which ties in perfectly with the hustling theme of my blog (I might even give it a go – new blog post incoming). Score! I signed up to promote that one and got my unique affiliate link (called a “hoplink” in Clickbank lingo).
Promoting on Pinterest: Pins, Problems, and Patience
With a ‘product’ in hand, it was time to promote. I headed to Canva and created 10 custom Pinterest pins—eye-catching graphics with calls to action, which I was pretty pleased with (I love designing graphics). This took way longer than expected; designing stuff that’s pin-worthy isn’t quick when you’re not a pro graphic designer, even when you do find it enjoyable.
Uploading to Pinterest was another hurdle. At first, it rejected my links because they were “hoplinks,” but I found a workaround: fill out the title and description before adding the link, and it magically worked. To make things easier, I even enlisted Grok (any AI tool will work) to generate 10 Pinterest-ready titles and descriptions. That saved me some brainpower!
I didn’t want to risk getting my account banned—I’ve read horror stories about Pinterest cracking down on spammy uploads—so I scheduled them over a couple of days.
The Results: Tumbleweed
Fast forward to now: I’ve made exactly £0 from this. Zilch. Nada. Not even a single save on those pins to someone’s board, which is super discouraging. It’s like shouting into the void. Much like my Amazon Affiliates experiment, it seems like affiliate marketing requires a massive audience or endless promotion to see any returns. Without dedicating a ton of time to SEO, traffic building, or paid ads, I can’t see how this turns into real money.
Final Verdict: 1 Out of 5 Stars
Overall, I rate the Clickbank affiliate scheme a solid 1 out of 5 stars. There are just too many things I didn’t like: the complicated setup, privacy concerns, lackluster product options, mobile unfriendliness, and the sheer time suck without any payoff. If you’re a beginner like me, this might feel overwhelming and not worth the effort. Maybe with more experience or a niche audience, it could work, but for a quick side hustle? Pass.
Have you tried Clickbank or other affiliate programs? Drop your experiences in the comments—I’d love to hear if anyone’s actually making money with this. In the meantime, I’ll keep testing and reporting back. Until next time!
