Sales Page
If you look around my blog, you’ll see me talk about the exact same form that so many of these sales pages use: the publisher found out about some secret, he’s going to share that secret with you even though other people are going to hate him for it, sign up now because he doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to keep this going. Commission Killer really doesn’t break away from that cookie-cutter format. Except this cookie is sprinkled with bad grammar and punctuation errors!
One of the many huge flaws that concerned me in this particular sales pitch is how the narrator talks about what an internet marketing expert he is, but he doesn’t know HTML and he says he has “0% technical experience” and no technical skills. I haven’t met a single internet marketer that didn’t know at least basic HTML and had several technical skills (article marketing, video marketing, SEO, PPC experience, etc…). For me this was a screaming contradiction.
We’re told about some great system he’s developed where all you have to do is push a button on “the Bridge” he’s developed to strike it rich. Your Clickbank account will be flooded with commissions faster than you can count your money. This works by tapping into the “secret internet” where tons of money is just ripe for the taking.
If you’re reading this review, your BS meter was likely screaming at full blast while you were listening to all of this. And you were right to be so suspicious.
The Product
Within the first minute of the welcome video, you’re told that Commission Killer “is not a get rich quick program”. Is that so? Because five minutes ago when I was watching the sales pitch I was under the impression that I could make a lot of money very quickly. Well, now that I know I was lied to, I guess I’ll start testing out the software.
Before I begin, I want to make it very clear that I think the Commission Killer software sucks. I have never said that before on this blog as I actively avoid such a condemning statement, but it really does. It’s buggy, doesn’t work as promised, and even if it was used as directed it would not generate the results promised in the sales letter. Now that I’ve gotten that off of my chest, let’s get down to business.
The Commission Killer software is broken into seven tabs that in theory build a website for you complete with content and affiliate links. It’s kind of a cool concept, but again only in theory. I’ll walk you through the first five tabs, because to use the sixth tab you are required to buy an affiliate product (some private label rights product) and the seventh tab is simply for loading any projects you’ve created within the Commission Killer program previously. The other five tabs are:
Start Cash Creator
In this tab, you input your Hostgator hosting username, password, email, and the URL you’d like to build your website on. After you push the “Play” button, the Commission Killer software takes several technical steps (all of which I could explain but would probably bore you horribly) and voila! You have a WordPress website setup and running on your server. Granted, that is kind of cool. This part of the software bugged out on me the first couple of times, but I finally got it to work properly and it set everything up as promised. The video walkthrough was very clear and easy to follow so I can’t complain about much here.
Appearance
This is where the real problems started for me. The video walkthrough was very easy to follow just like the first tab, but the software did not work as promised. In this tab you input the headline for your site and change the text for the links on your website. The default text for these links is “Category 1”, “Category 2”, and “Category 3”. Although the headline and color scheme updated properly for me as promised, nothing I did would change the default link text. Just “Category 1”, “Category 2”, and “Category 3” staring me straight in the face. I know I could go in and change these manually because I’ve worked with WordPress for a long time, but I also know the average customer wouldn’t know how to do this and the Commission Killer support area offers no help on this matter, so I chocked it up to failure #1 and moved on to the next tab.
Clickbank Product Sniper
Here you fill in your niche along with your Clickbank credentials and the software finds the best affiliate offers to place on your website and grabs affiliate banners. This is a pretty cool feature too, because with a little information and the click of a button your website is populated with affiliate graphics from high converting affiliate products on Clickbank.
Cash Ads Setup
This tab simply finishes the job from the previous tab. You put in your Clickbank account information again and your affiliate banners receive functional affiliate links so you get credit for any sales coming through your website.
Turbo Content/Videos
This was the feature I was looking forward to the most. As far as I was concerned, the program would be made or broken right here. In the walkthrough video for this tab, you are shown how simply putting in your niche keywords and selecting a couple of options prompts Commission Killer to reach out to Google and Bing and grab content for you, spin it (so you aren’t punished for duplicate content), and post it on your WordPress site. In the member’s area, the walkthrough video shows this feature working seamlessly.
So what did my software do? Well, my niche was “affiliate marketing” and there were a total of 1,000 results. I set the software to pull enough content for five pages which should have been accomplished within the first 2-3 pages of search results. That’s not what my software did though. Nope. Not even close. My Commission Killer software kept going, and going, and going just like the Energizer Bunny until it reached the end of the rope. Don’t believe me? Here is a screenshot so you can see for yourself. It ran all the way to result #1,000 without pulling a single word of content for my website.
And that, my friends, is when I gave up and decided the Commission Killer program absolutely sucked. There’s just no other conclusion to be drawn here.
The Final Verdict
I think it goes without saying at this point that the Commission Killer software is a buggy, noneffective ripoff that builds half-baked, half-complete websites. The software might be affective if you found domain names with a large amount of existing traffic and the software worked as promised without any bugs, but you are never told you need high traffic domains and worst of all, the software is riddled with bugs. Although it sets up WordPress on your Hostgator server automatically with one click, once you move over to work on appearance and build content (two extremely important things), Commission Killer starts bugging out and falls extremely short of making you the mounds of money and massive commissions you were promised on the sales page.
I’ve seen a lot of software and a lot of ripoffs, but most publishers at least ensure the software is fully functional and bug-free before they start taking people’s money. This software has the nerve to stop shy of even that. If you’re looking for something that throws together websites from a template in similar fashion to a brain-fried chimpanzee, Commission Killer is probably for you. And for the low, low price of just $146!
Stay away from it and boycott anyone you see endorsing it. They’re lying to you if they say it’s anything but a waste of time and money.
Details at a Glance
Product: Commission Killer
Sales Page: http://www.commissionkiller.com/
Publisher: Craig Kaye and Rob Walker
Score: 12/100 points
Original Rubric: Commission Killer Review
View my receipt for Commission Killer
Have questions or comments about this review or anything else in this industry? I’d be happy to help any way I can! Feel free to contact me or reach out to me by posting on my Facebook page! I love to hear from members of this community and I hope to add as much value to this industry as I can.
Summary: The piece of crap software didn’t even work… AT ALL
Description: Commission Killer by Craig Kaye and Rob Walker didn’t even work for me. It didn’t pull a single page of content. Details in this review.
Rating: 1 out of 5.
Hi, I was just listening to a website Rob Walker set up called:
Cloud Pro Hosting: http://cloudprohosting.com/web-hosting.
Is this another of those sites you talked about?
At least you got farther than I did. Using the Bridge when I clicked the create button nothing happened. The worst thing, though, is when you contact support there is no reply. At the same time another of Rob Walker’s sites called Safe Simple Commissions acted the same way. I think you are totally correct calling this just another money making scam.
Gregg
Did you actually buy COMMISSION KILLER like I did? If so, did you try to get your money back? Were you successful?
If you paid for this with a credit card, perhaps your bank supporting the credit card can help you get your money back. Ask them.
Yes, I always buy the products that I review. You can view my receipt for the purchase here: http://nomorebsreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/commission_killer_receipt.jpg. And yes, I received a refund through Clickbank within two business days after I reviewed the product negatively.
Thank you so much. I almost got scammed again-YOU SAVED ME!! kEEP UP YOUR SPLENDID WORK-ANGELS ARE WITH YOU AND GUIDING YOU1. KNOW YOUR READERS APPRECIATE YOU-I SURE DO! DEE
hey there great review, is it possible to do what these software’s are meant to but with out the software??, my hubby bit of a geek n id like some back ground knowledge myself many thanks x
Hey Katie, unfortunately what these publisher’s are claiming their software does is impossible. Depending on what claim you’re trying to do manually without the software, almost all of them can be done, but most of them require a lot more effort and time than pushing a few buttons like these software programs claim is possible.
do you know any good making money schemes that actually work on-line. Would love to know as I’m sure a lot of people would.
Joe
Hi Ian, I was hit badly by the scammers. This week alone I’ve swiped nearly $500 already trying to get extra money over internet. Thanks for the very helpfull review and warning of yours.
Keep up the good works, Bro.
No problem Azmi! Thank you for letting me know my review helped you!
Thanks for the review. I almost got scammed from trying it. thanks. you’re doing a great job in preventing newbie on getting scammed.
keep up the good work. thanks a lot.
No problem Clark! I’m very happy that I could help save you a few bucks. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything else down the line.
Thanks for the info Ian. Tell me more about the book (No More Bull xxxx). I live on foodstamps and welfare from my MS. I am in desperate need of something to get me above water.
Thanks for any tip you may have.
Mike
Hey Mike! You can download my eBook for free on the right side of any page of my website (except the homepage). To read more details about the eBook, check out this page: Where to Begin
Ian, I am SO thankful for someone like you! It can be so easy to get someone so quickly “hyped up” that they cant wait to throw their money away. As long as there are people like you watching over us AND if we are smart enough to “hold back” and do some simple research, I believe these “hype filled scammers” may begin to fade away eventually.
Thanks again,
Steve
No problem at all Steve! I’m happy I can help and it’s good to know I’m making a difference one person at a time. If you have any questions about affiliate marketing in the future, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
wow I really thought this was the way to earn money very fast!
Ian, in the beginnin I was also thinking they said something about “this will get you rich very quickly” and after I bought it, it was like “this isn’t a get rich program”.. then why did I bought it? I saw myself turned into a sucker 🙁 After seeing you write that, I was sure of my opinion.
But it’s not too late.. will they pay me back after I tell them I want my money back??
pff hope they do.
Very helpfull review and a disapointing truth.
Thnx for that
Cengiz
Hey Cengiz! As long as you request a refund through Clickbank you shouldn’t have any problem getting a refund. It should process and be approved within two business days.
I’m glad I read this. I have seen some really bad sales pages on products lately and they always tell you you don’t need to know anything about anything, except, like you said, I don’t know anyone in internet marketing who doesn’t have at least basic HTML or writing skills. It would have been cool if it worked like it was supposed to. But you still have to do your keyword research.
Thanks for stopping by Dylan! You’re absolutely right, keyword research is a big component of becoming a successful affiliate.
Ian,
Thank you so much for your advice and breaking down the scam that Commission Killer is. As with a lot of your readers, I have tried Affiliate Marketing, only to get scammed out of more money than I care to even mention. But I don’t get involved with any of them without checking them out first. A lesson I wish I had learned much sooner.
As the saying goes, ” If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is ”
Thank you again for your advice.
Sincerely, Donald.
Thanks for stopping by Donald! You can definitely make a decent income in affiliate marketing, but it’s not remotely as simple as Commission Killer and other programs promise. If you’re dedicated to some self-education and a lot of hard work it’s definitely possible though!
Hey,
I’m looking for a program like commission killer that does work, i wanna start with affiliate marketing but it’s a rough start for people like me with not to much skill’s.
I also saw a video about Commission Fortress that’s a bit the same like Killer but here they asked in about 900 dollars.
Do you maybe have an idea for me where to start
thank´s for your revieuw.
Hello Bruce, if you’re looking for a product like this that works to generate income you will just end up losing a lot of money. Anything claiming to make you money on autopilot is going to turn out to be a scam, but if you’re willing to put in time and effort in learning/working you can make a legitimate income in affiliate marketing. But there is no problem that I know of that will allow you to make an automated income the way programs like Commission Killer promise. Searching for one is a sure-fire way to set yourself up to get ripped off.
Gosh! i almost bought it until i chance upon this. Thanks for your comments. At least i don’t waste $$ on a lame program like that.
No problem Kamisah! I’m just glad I could help 🙂
I was looking at CK tonight as a possible purchase, as it is on sale for only $46 dollars, but after reading your review it seems like even at that price it might be to much. I am highly interested in starting some affiliate marketing as another stream of income, but i need something that will truly be almost set and forget. I am to busy with others ventures to spend all day trying to figure out where the code is wrong, or what i need to do to get more traffic. I would enjoy a conversation with you about possible products that MIGHT fit the bill. Thank you for your open and honest review of the product.
Hello Justin, thank you for reaching out to me through my blog! I’m afraid I have bad news though. There is no such thing as “set and forget” in affiliate marketing. You will find many products claiming it, but you won’t find any fulfilling that promise, and unfortunately if you proceed with trying I can guarantee you are going to lose your money every time you pay the purchase price for one. I wish I had better news, but if you want to succeed in affiliate marketing it takes a lot of learning and hard work.
Thank you so much for your honest review.
No problem Joni! I’m glad I could help! Let me know if you have any questions about affiliate marketing and I’ll do everything I can to assist you.
Hello,
I was about to buy this program when I decided to seek advice on its value. So glad I did because his sales pitch was all about what the software could do without showing what it did – rather suspicious.
Now that I have your advice I have no doubt that I will give it a miss.
Thanks a lot and kind regards.
Paul
I am having a night mare with this product, I tried every thing to make it work, I can not get into wordpress to make changes, and I am a computer expert, but working with computers since 1971!
They need a contact on their site so can get in touch with them, they sell the product but do not support it, bad business!
Hey Roger! There’s no other way to say it besides the product is worthless. Even when working properly, it does nothing to help you start making money as an affiliate marketer. The concept itself is completely flawed and useless. Yes their support sucks, but that’s not the problem. They’ve created a product that LOOKS like it’s doing a lot so you think you have a chance at making money with it, but the fundamentals are just way too flawed to ever work in affiliate marketing. I wish I had better news, but I’d just refund if I were you. That’s the best advice I can give.
Awesome review, ty for the info.
No problem Daniel! I’m glad I could help. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about affiliate marketing somewhere down the road.
Just read your review on Warrior Forum and found it succinct and to the point! Thanks for taking your time to do so. Always nice to run into a fellow Austinite!!
Thank you for the feedback Sandi! Please let me know if I can help you with anything else.