My Unbiased Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Review
Inside: This Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Review answers all your questions. Is it worth the money? Is the course legit? Do you even need it at your current blogging/online marketing stage? One of the most detailed and honest Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing reviews you will find online. Read on.
This post contains affiliate links. It means I may earn a percentage of the sale if you purchase anything after reading my Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Review (which will not cost you anything extra!) Please know that it does not influence my recommendations because I ONLY share what I love and use myself.
If you’re planning to buy Michelle Schroeder’s Affiliate Marketing Course, (which, in case you didn’t know, is a guide on how to make money with affiliate marketing, for beginners and intermediate bloggers, as well as online marketers), there are important details you must know about this course.
I would love it if I could steer you to the best decision according to your circumstances before you spend a big amount (i.e. $197!). Let me help you decide if joining the Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing school is worth your money and time or not.
Let me begin by telling you this, usually, affiliate product reviews are written so they can bring in sales for the author. But although I like the idea of making money, I would love for it to be a win for you just like what I want for myself. That way, I can sleep peacefully with a clear conscience.
I really really want you to read this entire article, I’m not pushing you to buy the course, in fact, I want you to know that $200 is NOT a small amount especially if you are just getting started and I understand your concerns. This course may NOT be for you right now… or ever. Or maybe it IS.
Just READ this review before spending your money. Reading this info doesn’t cost anything!
BIG SALE: $39 Off Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Coupon Code 2019
Is Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Legit or a scam?
The author has received tons of awards and mentions. She was featured on tv too! While you may find better affiliate marketing courses elsewhere, but this course is NOT a scam. Michelle shares all her personal affiliate marketing tips in this course.
(On the other hand, I’ve seen Google searches by people searching for a free download of the course material, please don’t do that. Just not fair for the hard work she put in.)
Why So Many Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Reviews?
Personally, I love Michelle and her course. I haven’t come across anyone who publically regrets buying this course in their review.
But you must know that this can be because of three reasons:
- Michelle’s personal finance niche plus particularly her site gets tons of traffic, and that results in more sales of her course in particular and more people writing about it compared to any other affiliate marketing course
- everyone wants to promote a product which earns them good commission,
- the course (along with its bonuses) IS good.
Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Course Popularity
- Her course on affiliate marketing is extremely popular, just see for yourself how well it has been selling since launch. (I had no other way to show this except to pick Michelle’s earnings from Making Sense Of Cents income reports that come from Making Sense Of Cents Course alone!)
Now the crazy part:
She doesn’t promote this course with ads etc.
No webinars and relaunches.
She doesn’t even do promoted pins on Pinterest.
Not even FB ads!
It is the amazing, gigantic fan following and good word of mouth that does all the marketing for her.
(But I strongly think that it’s karma.
She’s kinder and more helpful than it appears. When you go to her blog Making Sense Of Cents review her posts, she’s a celebrity blogger but very humble. You will not find any pomp or show.
Any given day she’d be helping a complete newbie blogger student hidden inside his email box where nobody is even watching the kindnesses she’s doing! On the other hand, how many bigger bloggers even respond directly?)
You can ask her anything in the FB mastermind group that comes with this course and she responds within a day max.
Now, let’s dig into the meatier part…
Inside The Course
(Update: Back in 2017, I wrote a peek-inside-the-course section after taking permission from Michelle, but now I’ve removed it from here.
Don’t worry, the course outline is still detailed enough to show you what you will learn in the course.
I did keep the details about Michelle’s Mastermind group that comes free with this course and info about the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Affiliate Program. Don’t miss that info. Some people buy the course for that group only.)
Below is the course outline.
Welcome:
- Introduction To The Course
- Workbook
(And my best photography skills.)
- Michelle Schroeder Facebook Mastermind Group (This is the hidden gem!!)
- This mastermind Facebook group which is exclusive for students is the best thing you’ll get. Honestly, it’s not what excited me even a bit when I was buying the course (who else hates FB?), but now that I know all the benefits it daily provides to bloggers e.g. blog promotion, one-on-one advice from Michelle (she even posts threads where she looks at your blog and gives tips on what to work on) connections and collaborations,+ tons more… I can very very easily pay the hefty price for this mastermind. If you put in the money, DO make effective use of this group because it has the kind of support, links and a company you’ll need as a startup.
- I understand that a mastermind group is not a promotional group. But this one here is not only to help people with their affiliate problems: Michelle goes the extra mile and uses the following weekly threads to help keep her students on track. I’m sure it costs her at least lots of time (if not a scheduler too!) to maintain these threads in which she regularly participates.
- Monday Motivation: Is a thread where everyone can share their top goals for the week
- Tuesday Share Day: For helping one another promote their content
- Winning Wednesday: To celebrate and share recent wins
- Thursday Group Feedback Day: Where students can post links or anything they want other students to give feedback on
- Ask Michelle Saturday: Is another thread, which goes bimonthly where you can ask Michelle directly for feedback or just about anything related to the course or your business.
- Every now and then, Michelle posts helpful posts to help the students grow. Take a look at a few examples:
Other than this, the students post their problems or questions all the time, to which Michelle, as well as others, give valuable suggestions and tips.
Module 1: What Is Affiliate Marketing?
- Why Affiliate Marketing Is Great
- The Basics Of Affiliate Marketing
- How Affiliate Links Work
Module 2: How To Find and Apply To Affiliate Programs
- The Amount Of Traffic You Need
- How To Determine What Your Readers Want
- Worksheet -Brainstorm What Your Readers Want
- How To Find Affiliate Programs
- 80+ Affiliate Program Ideas For Different Niches
- Worksheet – Affiliate Programs You Are Interested In
Module 3: Follow The Rules
- Requirements & Disclosures
- Understanding Nofollow Links
- What To Do If You Live In A Nexus State
Module 4: How To Get Your Readers To Convert
- The Tool You Need To Master Affiliate Marketing
- How To Build Trust
- Worksheet – How To Pick The Right Affiliate Product To Promote For Your Brand
- Deep Linking 411
- The Importance Of Your Click-Through Rate
- The Value Of A Bonus
- Worksheet – My Bonus Ideas
- How To Have Affiliate Marketing Success
- Improving Your Top 10
- Worksheet – Improving Your Top 10
Module 5: Strategies and Ways To Promote Affiliate Links
- Introduction To The Different Strategies
- Creating Successful Affiliate Reviews
- Worksheet – Creating The Perfect Affiliate Review
- Teaching With Tutorials
- Having A Helpful Resources Page
- Using Interviews To Drive Sales
- The Money Is In The List
- Your Average Blog Post Can Lead To Affiliate Success
- How To Rock Affiliate Marketing On Social Media
- The Crazy Impact Pinterest Can Have
- How I’ve Earned Over $300,000 With One Affiliate Product (At Making Sense Of Cents starting a blog is her power affiliate post, and some people find that offensive to make so much money with meta-blogging! Then you wonder what do successful bloggers blog about to really make money, other tham=n blogging about blogging!))
- Worksheet – Strategies To Promote Affiliate Products
Module 6: Rinse and Repeat
- The Importance Of A Strong Relationship
- Maintaining Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy
- Worksheet – Regular Maintenance Checklist
- The Things You Do Not Want To Do
- Making Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy Long Lasting
- Tips To Improve Your Affiliate Income Around The Holidays
- Worksheet – Tracking Your Affiliate Income Progress
Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Bonuses (Details Below)
1st Bonus: How To Always Get Approved To An Affiliate Program
2nd Bonus: Pinterest Strategy – How To Receive Hundreds Of Thousands of Visitors From Pinterest A Month
Update 2: Michelle asked Lauren McManus, the Pinterest expert and creator of ‘Pinterest Traffic Avalanche’ course who generously made a detailed video training for the students of Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Course after the older Pinterest bonus got outdated.
Update 1: I actually got the course for this bonus. But now some points in this guide are obsolete after the gazillion and one Pinterest updates. In fact, Rosemarie has taken this guide off her site for updating it. And I hope the bonus section of this course gets the updated version as soon as it’s live. But coming as a bonus from Rosemarie who is such a BIGGG name, you’re sure to find some gold nuggets that still work.
3rd Bonus: How to Maximize Your Reach, Your Impact, & Your Revenue With FB Ads
4th Bonus: Printable: 9 Things You Must Do When Something Goes Viral
5th Bonus: Printable: How To Increase Your Pageviews
6th Bonus: Worksheet – My Affiliate Products & Services
7th Bonus: Worksheet – The Perfect Affiliate Link Checklist
8th Bonus: Editing & Writing Strategies
Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Affiliate Program
- In this section, you’ll find info about the course’s own affiliate program
- Only students of the course can promote it
- A regular successful purchase through your affiliate link will earn you 40% commission. Means for each person who buys the course through your link, you earn $78.80 per sale.
- If a person signs up to the course through your course but pays on a payment plan (which is 2 months), you earn $84 which will be divided into two months and paid in half each month.
- Michell pays 30 days after the completion of every month since buyers have those first 30 days to ask for a refund.
- I didn’t find any info on the cookie duration in this section (the cookie duration is 365 days as mentioned in the admin area of the course affiliate program, this duration is awesome.)
- Info about what to do after you have joined the program
- How to promote the course on social media with sample
- How to promote the course to your email list with sample
- downloadable Pinterest graphics to promote the course on Pinterest
Bonuses & The FB Group
When I bought the course, I was very keen to check Rosemarie’s Pinterest guide more than anything.
But after a year, I have also seen people buy the course to be in Michelle’s private FB group of 10k students (mostly bloggers, can you imagine yourself in a virtual room full of these awesome entrepreneurs?).
Now, If you decide to buy this course through my link, you can get exclusive access to my special bonuses for you. Just email me ( at henabilal1@gmail.com) after purchase to let me know and I’ll get in touch with you with the following bonuses:
-
Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing PDF Checklist
-
Report + SEO Checklist on ‘How I Ranked My Affiliate Product Reviews on the First Page of Google’
-
30 Editable Canva Pinterest Templates:
I batch created these pins for my own use. But I would love to share them with buyers of MSAM struggling with design. Half of them are in the 600 by 900 px size and the other half are 1000 by 1500 px size. Take a look at the pins here:
Other Advanced Level Popular Affiliate Marketing Guides
If you don’t have the money or you’re tight on the budget, what other options do you have?
- Although I’m a happy MSAM customer, if you have a tight budget, start with this smaller affiliate marketing book which talks about some solid affiliate marketing strategies for a mind-bogglingly low price of $37.
- Sometimes when people are planning to buy this course, they compare it with this popular advanced course on affiliate marketing strategies. This course has detailed training on some of the best online affiliate marketing programs like Amazon affiliates, Rewardstyle, Awin, etc which you will not find in Michelle’s course. (I’m referring to Tasha Agruso’s Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers The Master Course).
- Some people prefer pajama affiliates and their courses. I’ve also taken their affiliate marketing course. It is also a good course.
Some More Important Info
There are some more important tidbits about Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing you should know if you plan to buy it.
- Yes, this info can work for blogs/people/small businesses outside the U.S too! I’m not from the U.S.A.
- This course may not be a nice fit for someone who is already an advanced affiliate marketing pro.
- It is self-paced and it has a lot of content but it can easily be read within 48 hours ‘if’ you want to. The better option, of course, would be to take your time and implement as you go.
- The course has no video content if that’s how you prefer learning.
- The FB mastermind is one of the best places online to connect with others, so many famous bloggers are in there too. Carly Campbell, Emma Bates, Lena Gott, Meera Kothand, Gina Horkey and many more!
- There exist some Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Reddit threads if you want to look for more unbiased opinion.
My Short Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Review
The Good Points
- Content-wise, this is a good course for beginner and intermediate bloggers ONLY.
- I find this course a smart package because of the FB group it comes with. You get a supportive and professional community where you can promote your content and seek help.
- As far as I know, and I have gone through at least 4 affiliate marketing courses, it’s the best package (not the best strategies; the best package, which includes the content/strategies plus the bonuses plus the FB community).
- I can’t justify the full price of this course but it does go on sale frequently which makes it a very good buy at the discounted price.
The Not-so-Good Points
- If we only talk about the course info or content you will learn, it’s good, I mean really good but it’s NOT for advanced affiliate marketers.
If you do everything she says in the course, you WILL make money I’m sure but please don’t think you’ll earn $100k like her after going through this course alone. There are many other variables that you have to work on as Michelle does (e.g. hard work, consistency, honesty, generosity, popular niche, traffic strategy etc) .
(But if you altogether question, ‘Can you really make money with affiliate marketing?/ Is affiliate marketing worth it?’ Then you need to study the recurring pattern of how most bloggers make money online with affiliate marketing in this roundup of 50 blog income reports.)
If you have any more questions about the course, please let me know in the comments below.
Update: This review has been updated and republished for 2019.
Did my 2019 Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing Review help you make a better decision? If you click the image below to share this post on Pinterest, I will be so happy you helped my blog grow. >>>
Sara says
Thank you so much for sharing all of this info! Wow! That’s a ton of awesome advice. I greatly appreciate it ?
Hena Bilal says
Thank you Sara! <3
Nicole says
Thanks for all the great info! I’ve been thinking about taking this course since I started blogging and I always wondered what made it so expensive but still worth it for everyone somehow?! Now that I have all the insider info, maybe I’ll dive in 🙂
Hena Bilal says
You won’t regret a penny for the support Michelle will provide you always. Thanks for stopping by, Nicole! <3
Sarah from A Simple and Contented Life says
Hena, this is so useful!! I’m doing EBA at the moment but this has been on my list as the next course to take as soon as I’m finished. It’s so good to get an insider’s peek and it’s made me want to take it even more! Thanks so much!!
Hena Bilal says
Heyyyy EBA friend! So happy you stopped by. And glad you found it useful.
There’s a link to a comparison post (Michelle vs Tasha’s AM course) in this one, just a heads up that EBA BONUSES already include Tasha’s book which is a very good place to start before you’re ready to invest more money into learning affiliate marketing.
Toni | Small Home Soul says
I’m in serious need of this course because Pinterest hates me (apparently). Thanks for all the insider information, heading there to check it out now.
Hena Bilal says
Haha I know, Toni. Apparently Pinterest hates most of us marketers.
Sara says
Thank you so much for sharing! So much info! Saving this for later so I can really dive in. I appreciate it ?.
Hena Bilal says
You made my day, Sara. <3
Mommy Jhy | www.myfavoritelists.com says
I really appreciate your transparency. Thank you for all your reviews.
All the best!
Mommy Jhy | www.myfavoritelists.com says
Did you also take Affiliate Acceleration course?
Hena Bilal says
Thank you, Mommy!
I went through Affiliate Acceleration after I read Amy Lynn Andrews praise it, to see what’s inside. It’s solid info and a VERY underpriced course for what she teaches, I think.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jessie says
I just purchased the course, thank you for your review! 🙂
Hena Bilal says
You’re welcome, Jessie! And thank you for using my affiliate link. Don’t forget to collect your bonuses via email.
See you inside Making Sense Of Cents School!
Salim says
Nice information.
Please keep giving more and more info on affiliate marketing.
Terria says
I’m getting that the coupon code is invalid. 🙁
Hena Bilal says
Terria,
I just checked all the links and the codes, they work. Just so you know, the coupon code is only valid for the one-time payment. Also, try copy-pasting the code instead of typing it in.
Meghan M. says
I enrolled using your affiliate link! How do I get the bonus?
Hena Bilal says
Hello,
Thank you so much, Meghan.
You had to email me at the address mentioned in the post. Please check your email, I have sent you the bonuses.
Enjoy!
Waseem Abbas says
Hi Thanks,
Really nice post, reading is always a good habit. When you start reading any book or blog post it gives you some extra knowledge about various fields. Bloggers & Writers always share their personal experience which is good for our knowledge.
Hena Bilal says
Thanks for commenting!
abhinav puri says
Hi,
thank you for the suggestions you provide
I hope to learn more from you! will be following your guidelines
Hena Bilal says
Hi Abhinav!
Thank you so much.
omar says
hello,
first i would to mention that your review and honesty about Making sense of affiliate marketing is very helpful and contains a lot of information,
howvever i still have couple questions if you dont mind :
// if i purshae thuis program :158$ will be enough for mr as a newbie guy to start making money after a while ? and can you stand by and help anytime i have a quetion or i have ,to contact the owner ?
how can i choose a niche and develop it to start making decent income ?
last question is :
is it legit program and can i relay on it as a job because i hate my current job
thanks a lot mum.
Aminta says
Hey Hena!
How do we go about getting your bonus after purchasing the course? Thanks!
Hena Bilal says
Hello Aminta!
Thank you for using my affiliate link. You had to email me at henabilal1@gmail.com as mentioned in the post. I just mailed you the bonuses. Hope you find them useful.
Katie Emery says
Thanks so much for review. It has really helped me. I’m on a tight budget, but my blog is starting to get more pageviews and I really want to understand affiliate marketing better before I put too much more effort into it.!
Hena Bilal says
Katie, there are tons of free resources for learning AM. Here is one you can start with. You can upgrade to any paid training whenever you’re ready. https://affiliate-marketing-for-bloggers.teachable.com/p/quick-start-guide-to-affiliate-marketing-for-bloggers?affcode=108300_pvyeujww
Nick Romanek says
I think this review is going to be the deciding factor for me buying the course! Very well-written, wish there was still time on the clock for me to get the bonus content 😉 Is that for sale if we can’t buy through your referral link? Thanks and best wishes to you.
Hena Bilal says
Hello! Thank you.
I’m sorry, the bonus is available all year round whenever someone who purchased the course emails me but it is not available for sale.
I emailed you, do check.
Joseph says
Hi, Hena, thanks for the great post about Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing! You convinced me that this would be a good investment, hence, I opted to make that investment via your affiliate link.
Kind regards!
Joseph
Hena Bilal says
Thank you!