Wait, a review of Spark by ClickBank… from ClickBank?!
Yep, that’s right! In this updated Spark by ClickBank review for 2023, I want to provide context about where the Spark affiliate education platform came from, what it’s all about, who it’s meant to teach, and how it’s evolved since we launched it way back in 2020.
But first, in the spirit of full disclosure, I want to let you know that ClickBank owns and manages the Spark education platform, along with the associated ClickBank Accelerator page builder – and I personally work with the team behind these products.
So, while I’ll do my best to offer an unbiased look at the program, my proximity to Spark is something to keep in mind. Now, let’s dive into the review!
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What is ClickBank?
In case you’re unfamiliar with ClickBank, we’re an affiliate marketplace and e-commerce platform that helps connect sellers (i.e. people or brands with products to sell) and affiliates (i.e. marketers looking to promote products).
There’s a thriving world of online business that you can be a part of on ClickBank – either by selling your own product or by earning a commission when you sell other people’s products. A lot of everyday people don’t even know about the incredible opportunities online – or if they do, they’re not sure how to make affiliate marketing work for them!
So, if you’re new to this “affiliate marketing” thing and want to learn how it’s done? That’s where Spark comes in!
What is Spark by ClickBank?
Spark is the official affiliate marketing education platform from ClickBank. We teach affiliate marketing concepts to help people like you build a successful affiliate business online!
In a nutshell, Spark is an online community and education platform with video training on everything you need to know to make money online as an affiliate – and it’s designed to pair well with an optional page builder and email tool called ClickBank Accelerator.
Currently, Spark offers have courses on the foundations of affiliate marketing, gaining free traffic with an SEO blog or TikTok, and utilizing paid traffic channels like Facebook Ads – along with more advanced concepts like copywriting, funnel building, email marketing, and the entrepreneurial mindset.
The Spark brand and program was launched in October 2020, and since then, our students have racked up some MAJOR wins! Check out these numbers:
- Over 1.3 million people have trusted Spark by ClickBank as their affiliate education platform.
- Spark students are 222.86% more likely to get their first sale than the average ClickBanker (calculated over the last 12 months).
- Spark students have generated over $7.7M in sales on ClickBank’s platform.
- Spark students with sales make an average of $3,543.49.
- Since the launch of our new curriculum, over 40% of Spark students are reaching their first paycheck and making money on ClickBank’s platform.
- We have over 1,500 active community members engaging daily on our Discord platform.
And the milestones are only continuing to grow as we improve Spark’s offerings with better coursework, tools, and community. Spark is bigger and better in 2023, and the team is looking to push it to new heights from here and help more people find the life-changing success they’re seeking online!
How do Spark and ClickBank work together?
Spark and ClickBank are a powerful combination. ClickBank gives you free access to a wide range of quality affiliate products you can go promote to earn affiliate commissions, and Spark provides the step-by-step education you need to find success.
ClickBank is a popular affiliate marketplace that’s been a leader in the space for more than 25 years. The marketplace looks like this:
With ClickBank, you can quickly find quality, high-converting affiliate products in more than 20+ categories and dozens of subcategories. When you see an offer that looks good, you just hit the “Promote” button and instantly generate a unique affiliate tracking link (known as a HopLink on ClickBank) that you can place online to start earning commissions!
Where Spark comes in is providing the knowledge and skills you need to place those affiliate links in the right places online! We’ve even broken it out into free traffic vs paid traffic, so you can choose the path that’s best for you. With Spark, you can learn how to be successful with a range of proven approaches to affiliate marketing, including affiliate blogging, paid media, or becoming an influencer.
Ultimately, ClickBank makes it super easy to get credit for the affiliate sales you generate and get paid – and Spark teaches you what you need to know for affiliate success!
What makes Spark different than other affiliate courses?
Spark by ClickBank is radically different from other affiliate marketing education out there. Unlike the standard “guru” courses you’ll find advertised on social media that focus on one very specific tactic, Spark leverages a team of experienced instructors who all bring their own diverse expertise – and you get to choose the path that you want!
Plus, while the principles in Spark can apply to any affiliate marketing or digital marketing endeavor, if you’re wanting to find success on ClickBank specifically, Spark is tailor-made to show you how – and our accompanying landing page builder tool Accelerator will help you execute on your plan.
Another huge benefit of Spark is that it gets frequent updates and enhancements. It’s far from a static product – Spark is truly a dynamic education platform featuring new coursework, quality tools, and a robust community that all evolve as affiliate marketing continues to evolve.
There’s one other standout feature in Spark that you won’t see in most online education products. We’ve designed Spark with five user-friendly formats to cater to various learning preferences:
- Visual: High-quality videos for those who learn best by watching.
- Audible: Auditory content for those who prefer to listen and learn.
- Read: Comprehensive transcripts for those who learn best by reading.
- Guides: Detailed, step-by-step guides with images, ideal for self-paced learning.
- Searchable: An efficient search function to find specific content quickly.
Thanks to our experienced instructors (both in-house and outside industry experts), regular updates to the material, high-quality learning resources, and a wonderful range of community and tools, Spark is truly unique in the world of affiliate marketing education.
Your success in affiliate marketing starts here, with Spark by ClickBank.
To show you what you can learn with Spark, I’ll talk through a few of the most important courses you’ll gain access to when you sign up.
The Affiliate Foundations Course
What you’ll learn:
Once you complete Affiliate Foundations, you’ll understand how to pick a product, create your own affiliate link, and build your landing page!
This will set you up for the traffic courses, where you will learn how to create content and drive traffic. There are the first 3 steps in your Affiliate Journey!
Chapters and learning objectives:
- Module 1 Lesson 1: Orientation – Making the Most of Your Spark Education
- Module 1 Lesson 2: What You’ll Learn + Expectations
- Module 2 Lesson 1: The Basics
- Module 2 Lesson 2: Utilizing Your ClickBank Account
- Module 2 Lesson 3: Picking a Niche
- Module 2 Lesson 4: Picking a Product
- Module 2 Lesson 5: Creating Your First Affiliate Link
- Module 2 Lesson 6: Building Your First Landing Page
- Module 2 Lesson 7: Goal Setting and Accountability, Creating a Killer Affiliate Mindset
Free and Paid Traffic Course Options
After you’ve learned the foundations of affiliate marketing, it’s time to pick a traffic channel that you can use to promote affiliate products!
These are generally broken down into two types: free traffic and paid traffic. Free traffic includes things like blogging, TikTok, and email, while paid traffic includes Facebook Ads and other paid ad platforms.
Inside of Spark, we have in-depth courses covering many different traffic channels, so you can pick the route that’s best for you. Here’s what you can expect!
Free and Organic Traffic with Paul and Shreya
This course is designed to give you a comprehensive step-by-step process for starting your own affiliate blog, complete with how to build the website, choose a domain, and create SEO content that ranks (including with the latest AI tools!).
Who Are Paul and Shreya?
Paul Counts and Shreya Banerjee are Co-Founders of Marketing Counts™, Fractional CMOs, advisors to influencers, and consultants to top companies. Their methods and strategies have generated well over $100 million for their clients, customers, and their businesses in nearly every niche imaginable, from fitness to telecom.
They are teachers at heart who are passionate about helping entrepreneurs and students grasp proven marketing concepts through their Marketing Counts Podcast, Amazon Series, and numerous online courses and training programs.
You will learn:
- How to build a website/landing page
- How to select a ClickBank product
- How to collect emails
- How to generate traffic from multiple traffic sources
- How to find, create, and apply keywords
- How to drive free organic traffic to your site
By the end of this course, you’ll have a fully operational blog monetized with high-converting ClickBank products and full of content ready to rank in Google!
Getting Traffic with Facebook Ads with Jake Newby
This course is designed to walk you step by step, A to Z, through “never touching a Facebook ad in your life” all the way to being able to run and scale ads to a spend rate of $100/day.
Who is Jake?
As the Senior Performance Marketing Manager, Jake manages all of the paid demand efforts for ClickBank. Buying ads on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google, the paid media team is focused on acquiring new business for ClickBank as well as effectively distributing content that is made in house.
He is also heavily involved in Spark, helping the team drive more revenue through CRO, testing new offers, and developing action plans based on data. He also enjoys supporting Spark students to make their first sales with paid media.
What you’ll learn:
- The basics of a paid media funnel and the most important strategies and terminology that you’ll need to know.
- How to actually set up your Facebook Business Manager, company page, pixel, and ad account.
- How to prepare and launch your first ads and show you exactly how to choose your audience and targeting, create your own campaigns. You’ll even see some examples of winning ads and funnels that affiliates have found success with, plus the psychology behind why they convert.
- What to look out for as you are running your ads and how to avoid common blockers such as ad account bans, tracking issues, ad declines, and more!
By the end of this course, you’ll know exactly how to get up and running with Facebook Ads and even scale your campaigns to $100/day in ad spend!
How to Grow & Monetize on TikTok with Rachel Pedersen
This course is designed to help you grow and monetize a following on the popular social media platform TikTok.
Who is Rachel?
From her website: “I’m Rachel Pedersen, ‘Queen of Social Media’. I am an expert in all things social media – like literally every platform! I delight in empowering businesses with social media strategies that support MASSIVE, needle-moving growth… & I teach busy parents (like me) how to find freedom by becoming SUCCESSFUL social media managers – without sacrificing the things that matter most – including family, friends, and their dreams.”
What you’ll learn:
- The latest TikTok strategies and how-to’s
- Foundational techniques to kickstart your TikTok success
- The upsides and downsides of TikTok
Additional Spark Features
Career Starter
If you opt for the Career Starter package with Spark, you get access to all of the above content, plus exclusive access to:
- ClickBank Summit 2023 replays
- The 5-point hot offer checklist
- A 90-minute guided funnel workshop (with real examples!)
- Max Finn’s Facebook Ad Mastery Class
- Dominate the Inbox with Ian Stanley
- Copy that Converts with Anik Singal
- Exclusive Discord community
Super Affiliate
As a Super affiliate, you get everything from the Side Hustle and Career Starter levels of Spark, plus:
- 1-on-1 group coaching with bi-weekly team coaching calls
- Advanced insights to boost your business growth fast
- A VIP Discord community with CB experts
Discord Community
We’re proud to have a strong affiliate Discord community exclusive to Spark students. Not only do you get to see other affiliates and their success, but you also get access to a range of ClickBank experts to get your questions answered.
The Discord community also holds frequent live events, including Q&A sessions called Weekly Pulses featuring internal ClickBank paid and organic traffic experts giving their best advice to the community on their campaigns.
ClickBank Accelerator
The sister product to Spark, ClickBank Accelerator is a funnel builder made specifically for ClickBank affiliates!
Accelerator is an all-in-one landing page and email marketing tool from ClickBank, and it was designed from the ground up to complement ClickBank and Spark. Accelerator comes with one of the most powerful features in the business: a custom funnel generator.
We did the hard work of analyzing all the funnels that our most successful affiliates use and distilled them down into a handful of different templates by niche and traffic source.
Now, by answering a few quick questions, you can quickly generate a pre-loaded template for your chosen traffic source!
The Benefits of Accelerator
- All-in-one affiliate tool with landing page building, funnel building, email marketing, and contact management
- Pre-written email sequences for the latest top ClickBank offers
- Done-for-you templates included
- Great for both beginners and experts
What Accelerator Clients Are Saying
Where to Get Accelerator
If you’re interested in Accelerator, you can get access to it along with all of the education and community from a Spark membership here.
Or learn more about Accelerator here and pick it up as a standalone product.
How much does Spark cost?
Spark by ClickBank is a full-featured affiliate education platform that. can help you start earning your first affiliate paycheck fast!
Right now, Spark is available in three different tiers:
- Side Hustle: $47/mo (or $297/yr with annual pricing)
- Career Starter: $97/mo (or $497/yr with annual pricing)
- Super Affiliate: $1997/yr
Each plan is available at a monthly price or an annual price, except for Super Affiliate, which is only available to purchase one year at a time. You can save more than 40% on your purchase if you opt for annual pricing.
Note that each of these packages includes invaluable courses, community, and tools to help you find success – but you can also purchase any of the items in these bundles individually by hitting the “Buy Individually” link under the item.
Of course, the courses, community, and tools all build on each other, so one of the three bundles of Side Hustle, Career Starter, or Super Affiliate is going to give you the best value!
To see the pricing in detail, please visit the Spark by ClickBank page.
Meet the Spark Team
Taylor Utt
Hi everyone, I’m Taylor!
- I am an adventure-loving outdoor enthusiast with a passion for creating content.
- Outside of work, you can find me hanging out with my great Pyrenees Stanley and my amazing girlfriend traveling around in our campervan anywhere you can find lakes, mountains, and steams. We love the outdoors and try to camp as often as we can.
- Here at ClickBank, I am the Senior Director of Content. I oversee all of the content many of you consume, from the coursework to guides and blog posts and YouTube videos. I am here to make sure you are getting the best education from ClickBank and Spark and make as much money as possible.
Stephanie O’Malley
Hi there, I am Steph!
- I am an outgoing, bubbly girl just out here trying to leave the world better than I found it.
- Outside of work, I coach swimming, I firmly believe I am part mermaid *just kidding*. I have a wonderful husband and a 2-year-old lab pitty mix. We love to be outside and travel! We recently just got back from a trip to Kenya *peep the safari pic*!
- Here at ClickBank, I am the Education Content Manager. That means that I oversee all your awesome Spark curriculum. You can find me in a few of our courses and on our TikTok. I am here to make sure we are providing you with everything you need to find affiliate success!
Chris Ullery
Hello there! My name is Chris, or Christopher when things get serious 😉
- I’m very proud to work at ClickBank in the role of Sr. Director, Brand and Product Marketing.
- On the professional side, I’ve spent nearly two decades (getting old!) working across various marketing disciplines, including brand, content, and product marketing. Some of my previous roles include Sr. Director of Brand Strategy at Nutrabolt, the owner of C4 Energy, and VP of Content Strategy at Bodybuilding.com.
- On the fun and personal side, I especially love spending time with my family, followed by reading, writing, hiking, cooking, and co*cktail-crafting, in no particular order.
Jake Newby
Hey there, I’m Jake!
- I am a 24 year old data driven marketer with a growing passion for all things advertising, sales funnels + experiences, and human psychology.
- Outside of work, I love to fish, hike, watch baseball, and hang out with family/friends. I live in Idaho with my girlfriend and our two dogs, Rocco and Dexter!
- At ClickBank, I’m a Senior Performance Marketing Manager. I’m focused on our paid traffic for both ClickBank and Spark and heavily involved in Spark/Accelerator products, funnels, sales pages, and buyers journey. You can find me inside some of the paid traffic courses inside Spark and in the group coaching/Weekly Pulse calls!
Spark By ClickBank FAQs
Who is Spark By ClickBank For?
The Spark team eventually wants this education platform to feature content for everyone interested in making money online – from total beginner tutorials all the way up to super advanced tactics – but for now, the focus is primarily on beginners and intermediate affiliates interested in learning affiliate marketing.
How has Spark changed since it first launched?
When we first launched Spark in 2020, the core training called Spark Certification was a primer on affiliate marketing in general, and it featured a small but growing handful of “200” level courses you could get access to. But it didn’t yet have a cohesive path from picking up the basics of affiliate marketing to actually getting your hands dirty with a specific traffic channel that you could build your business around.
Now, we have a strong affiliate foundations course to teach you the ropes, plus two separate tracks for either free traffic or paid traffic methods, and additional courses included covering the most important skills you need to see success.
Spark also comes with a thriving community that will inspire you, hold you accountable, and share new tactics to help you get results!
What is Spark by ClickBank vs ClickBank University?
For a full understanding of Spark By ClickBank, here’s a quick look back at ClickBank’s previous education product, ClickBank University (CBU).
The reality is, CBU had a mixed reception, and everyone – including ClickBank – acknowledged it. CBU was a product where we partnered with an outside team, and while it certainly offered value, it felt like too much of a high-pressure sales pitch. We wanted our own education platform to be more informative and useful than CBU.
So, we decided to bring our training program in-house, and launched the new Spark By ClickBank brand.
Is Spark By ClickBank a scam?
Not at all! We have a team of more than 12 dedicated people working hard on the content, the community, and the tools featured inside of Spark. In addition, we’re constantly learning what our students need to be more successful and adding new training every month to make Spark even better.
We encourage you to try it out for yourself and see. Be sure to check the next section of this review below, where we show how real Spark students feel about their experience with Spark.
Is Spark By ClickBank Worth It?
The short answer is yes!
The longer answer is, it depends on where you’re at in your affiliate marketing journey.
I’ve personally been in the affiliate marketing world for nearly five years, and throughout my journey, I’ve read and listened to and watched a LOT of educational marketing content. I’ve also put many of these lessons into practice in my own business. (See more about how I got my first sale on ClickBank.)
The highest compliment I can pay to Spark is the fact that, as Senior Content Strategist at ClickBank and a business owner with my own affiliate website, I still find myself going through Spark materials and taking lots of notes.
So, if I’m learning valuable things from Spark after several years in this industry, then I believe most people will find plenty of value in the program!
What is ClickBank Summit?
Formerly known as Spark Live, ClickBank Summit is an annual virtual event from ClickBank featuring in-house experts at ClickBank and legendary digital marketers and entrepreneurs from around the world. They share their expertise in keynotes, presentations, and live Q&As to help attendees find their online business path.
ClickBank Summit is a one-time event that’s distinct from Spark by ClickBank, but active Spark students are able to attend ClickBank Summit for FREE!
This is a fantastic opportunity you don’t want to miss out on!
What Spark Students Are Saying
We’ve had thousands of Spark students make money on the ClickBank platform after going through our materials.
Below is a small sampling of the positive feedback we’ve seen from real students in Spark and in the Spark Discord Community!
Spark Pros and Cons
Now, the million-dollar question: should YOU become a Spark student?
Here are the biggest pros and cons I could think of about Spark, coming from someone who’s actually gone through most of the course materials to date.
Pros of Spark
- The information is legit. ClickBank is one of the oldest and most trusted affiliate networks in the world. You can be confident that our in-house marketers are true pros, and that we only partner with the best marketing minds in the business for any courses taught in Spark. The strategies we share inside of Spark are legit.
- Get access to experts. It can be difficult to learn something as complex as marketing without a mentor. Thanks to Spark, you get access to industry legends like Perry Belcher. Where else can you ask questions of marketing experts and actually get the answers you need to keep progressing?
- It’s always improving. Spark isn’t just a static membership. In the fast-paced digital marketing world, you need the latest and greatest information. Fortunately, Spark is constantly updated with new material every month – including advanced Spark 200 level courses – and our team will retool or replace old courses whenever information becomes outdated.
Cons of Spark
- It’s still new. While we have a lot of big plans for Spark, the reality is that Spark is still just a few years old. The team is constantly figuring out the best way to teach students about the multifaceted world of affiliate marketing, so there may be growing pains along the way.
- It isn’t cheap. At nearly $50 or $100/month, a Spark membership is an investment in your education. You should only sign up for Spark if you’re truly committed to growing an affiliate marketing income.
- It’s mainly for newer marketers. If you have a lot of experience in affiliate marketing and e-commerce, Spark probably isn’t for you. It’s primarily for aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners who are still learning about affiliate marketing and want guidance on how to get started.
There are probably more pros and cons than just these, but that should give you a sense of whether Spark is a fit for you right now!
Spark By ClickBank Review Wrap-up
Well, that’s all I have for you about Spark right now. I hope this quick Spark by ClickBank review gave you a better understanding of what Spark is all about.
So, what’s the verdict? Should you sign up for Spark?
In my opinion, it is worth a test drive, especially for such a low price for your first month of membership. But even if you aren’t ready to sign up right now, it’s something to think about for the future.
That’s because Spark by ClickBank is still a work in progress… And it always will be!
If you’ve checked out any other prominent reviews of Spark, many reviewers complain about Spark not having enough content or being too basic.
And honestly, they were probably right – based on the version they reviewed in late 2020 or early 2021. But Spark in late 2023 is a far cry from the very first version of Spark, when there wasn’t as much content and before our team got direct feedback from what students wanted and needed to know.
Since then, the product has continued to evolve and improve and deliver incredible value for tens of thousands of students. When Spark started, I think a 2/5 rating would have been fair – today, I would easily give it a 4/5 or higher!
Inside of Spark, you can learn everything you need to start earning affiliate commissions on ClickBank. With a growing selection of in-depth marketing courses, access to ClickBank experts, and a supportive community of fellow students, there’s a LOT to love about Spark by ClickBank right now – and it’s only getting better!
Interested in giving Spark a test drive? You can sign up now with this special link!
We’ll see you on the inside!
