ClickBank Builder Alternatives

PHP Script or WordPress plugin for selling products via ClickBank

The toughest stumbling block I ran into when attempting to sell my products via ClickBank was getting their system to work with my Web site. You have to use a programming language called PHP. I didn’t and still don’t understand that. ClickBank Builder handles this for you without your having to understand or use PHP. But there are ClickBank Builder alternatives that also handle the PHP for you, as I describe here.

Fortunately I was able to find some inexpensive ClickBank Builder alternatives to handle the PHP. The first one I used was a PHP script (just a bunch of files) I could easily install in my Web site for this purpose. It works great and I don’t even have to understand how it works. You can read my review of that PHP script product on this other page of my site. 

Eventually, though, I moved on from using that inexpensive PHP script to using a WordPress plugin for creating membership sites. The WordPress plugin I use has far more extensive capabilities and customization options than that PHP script did. 

There are quite a number of WordPress plugins for sale that enable you to create membership sites, but not all of them work with ClickBank. The one I settled on was InstaMember. It’s created and supported by the same team that created the excellent plugin InstaBuilder for creating Web sites I discuss further below. I chose InstaMember from the other WordPress plugins for membership sites because it:

1. Provides pretty much all the functions you’d want in a membership site
2. Was less expensive than competing WordPress plugins for membership sites
3. Lets you use it for one time purchases or subscriptions/memberships
4. Integrates with ClickBank as well as JVZoo and a wide range of other payment services and affiliate networks
5. Automatically adds your customers to your list in various email marketing services, including GetResponse and many others
6. Lets you sell virtually unlimited products and upsells
7. Has extensive written and video tutorials and good tech support

If you’d like to to check out InstaMember at their site, you can click here.

Email Marketing / Autoresponder Services

If you want to use an email marketing and email autoresponder service as they suggest in ClickBank University, you’re going to have to obtain that separately. That’s true whether you use ClickBank Builder or whether you use these ClickBank Builder alternatives. 

I used SendinBlue for several months and was pleased with them and their service. They provide a lot of service and value at a much lower cost than similar services. But when you use such a service and build up to sending thousands of emails to your subscribers each month, eventually you’ll get an occasional spam complaint from a subscriber, even if it’s unjustified. That goes with the territory. SendinBlue didn’t have a sensible way of handling such spam complaints, though. They lowered my hourly email limit to an unworkable level simply in response to one meritless spam complaint. That was unacceptable to me, so I had to consider other providers.

After considering the functionality, price, customer service, features, and other factors of email marketing service providers, I settled on GetResponse.com. They have a very user-friendly interface and lots of easy-to-understand text and video tutorials to teach you everything you’d want to know. Other features include online surveys, inbox preview, autoresponder, landing pages, and social networking integration. I’ve found their 24/7 support by chat to be fantastic and always competent. You get a lot of bang for your buck at a lower cost than aweber.com. I personally love using their Automation workflows, which are like a more powerful and sophisticated version of conventional email autoresponders. I’ve been thrilled with GetResponse. If you use this link to sign up we both eventually get a $30 credit for our accounts. 

Creating Web Pages

If you don’t use ClickBank Builder, you’ll need some alternative method to create Web pages. There are various ways to go about this. A user-friendly and commonly used approach is to use WordPress. WordPress is essentially a tool used to create and manage websites. A totally free guide and set of resources for learning and using WordPress is at http://www.gcflearnfree.org/wordpress-resources/wordpress-resources/1/ If you find that you could also use instruction in using computers; Windows or Macintosh operating systems; the Internet; email, or related subjects, then you can also get free online instruction in such topics at http://www.gcflearnfree.org/

WordPress enables you to use what are called plugins. Plugins are essentially software (much of which is free) that adds specific functions and features to your WordPress Web site. 

If you’re agreeable to paying for a WordPress plugin, I have been absolutely delighted with InstaBuilder 2.0. It could be used for an “affiliate” site but it also comes with many various great-looking templates for sales pages, opt-in pages, affiliate pages, and more. InstaBuilder 2.0 is intuitive to use; is feature-rich; comes with great bonus materials, training videos, and a user manual; and their support has even been good. It enables you to create all sorts of Web pages that are much better-looking than any of the Web pages I’ve seen created by ClickBank Builder. For example, I created this Web page and this site with InstaBuilder 2.0. It offers far more features than I even bothered to use on this site, though many of them are quite useful and great for Internet marketers. It’s one of the few software products for Internet marketers that lives up to its big sales pitch and it’s been one of the best investments I’ve made. As a ClickBank Builder alternative, I’d say InstaBuilder 2.0 has been the main key that enables me to create Web pages far superior to ClickBank Builder’s.