It’s another one of those making money online programs that is centered around selling a clapped-out membership that supposedly makes you money by selling other people’s shit.
It is promoted by damn near every high-level course member who only gets paid through their affiliate links to the course. Yep, you read that right…
It’s promoted by sellouts.
It’s supposed to show you how to become a “6 figure affiliate marketer,” but most members don’t make money promoting other products.
That’s just the truth…you won’t get rich off a shitty $6 commission
And while I have to be honest for this review…
In this AWOL Academy review, I will go deep into the upsides and downsides of the program.
But before I can say AWOL Academy is good, I have to ask a very important question: is affiliate marketing even worth it?
Like other affiliate programs, we get pitched an ultimate dream…
Run an amazingly profitable business where you don’t have to worry about anything – no products, no inventory, no shipping, no customer service.
You only need to worry about putting this product in front of someone who wants to buy it, and the rest is money in the bank.
The best part?
“You can do it from anywhere in the world!”
Sounds pretty great… but is it?
It is 100% possible to make money with affiliate marketing – the real question is: is AWOL Academy the best affiliate marketing program out there?
Well, the most difficult (and therefore most valuable) skill in the internet business is driving traffic AKA getting people to visit a website.
Later, I’ll talk about why driving quality traffic is so difficult.
But for now, let’s just say it isn’t exactly an easy process (unless you have a proven traffic source for the exact product you’re trying to sell).
If you break it down, is affiliate marketing much different from a 9-5 job? You work for someone else, sell their stuff, and they can fire you at any time.
You don’t really control anything, despite doing the most important part – driving traffic.
To be 100% clear, I’m not saying affiliate marketing won’t work. If you’ve followed my blog for long, you’ll know that I’ve made money myself as an affiliate marketer (selling women’s health products).
I have several friends that make over $20,000/mo as affiliate marketers.
What you don’t hear about is the $200,000 they had to invest UP-FRONT to start making that money.
But let’s suppose that you REALLY want to work that laptop-entrepreneur lifestyle.
What if there was a way you could build a legitimate recurring income stream?
Recurring income that doesn’t require:
- Tens of thousands of dollars and months of time before seeing $1
- Doing the heavy lifting, but only getting a small % of the sale
- Living at the whim of another person that could take it all away if they feel like it
Something that could net you anywhere from a few thousand, to over $10,000 every single month, practically on auto-pilot.
A recurring income stream that you could build in a few hours per day, grow as big (or small) as you want, and doesn’t leave you at the mercy of another person?
If that sounds interesting, the Digital Rental Method might be for you.
It kind of takes the nice parts of affiliate marketing, but transfers the control back to YOU.
All that being said, let’s continue on to the AWOL Academy review.
What Is Fullstaq Marketer?
The online course Fullstaq Marketer claims to teach the basics of affiliate marketing and how to earn big money doing it.
According to their website, they’re also:
“The World’s Greatest Internet Marketer Training.”
Sounds legit, right?
Ehhhh.
All faux hype aside, let’s go ahead and jump into it.
He teaches the affiliate marketing online business model. Simply put, you get paid a commission (often small) by selling products owned by others on the internet.
If that sounds so 2005….that’s because it is!
If you know anything about the different affiliate programs out there, you’ll know that some of the most popular affiliate programs are Shopify, Amazon Associates, and eBay.
One positive thing that affiliate marketing has is that all the inventory and shipping are taken care of.
It’s pretty simple, promote the affiliate products, sell through your affiliate link, and get your cut of the action!
A few other companies you could look at are:
What Is AWOL Academy?
Fullstaq Marketer used to be known as the AWOL Academy. In 2019, it seemed a bit strange that it had changed.
To drive customers to your sales page, AWOL showed them how to use paid traffic sources like Facebook advertisements and other forms of online advertising, such as Google Adwords. As soon as they reach your home page, all the magic occurs. You’ll be able to use email marketing to keep in touch with them in the future and push other items to them.
Once you join Awol Academy, you’ll have the opportunity to access the following courses, Inbox Academy, Conversion Academy, Traffic Academy, Pro Academy, Masters Academy, Awol Elite, and AWOL Elite Lite.
While AWOL Academy was around, they allowed students to promote them as an affiliate…something you’ll notice has carried over into Fullstaq Marketer. Personally, I have my reservations about Affiliate Marketing programs having an affiliate program of their own. Something like that can quickly turn into those dreaded MLM or Network Marketing traps.
Something like that could give the appearance that Kaela makes more money from his customers selling his courses than from the actual methods he teaches.
See the issue?
Who Is Keala Kanae?
Keala Kanae is an excellent salesperson as well as an excellent affiliate marketer.
So it seems to reason that, armed with these two abilities and his proven track record of accomplishment, he would soon be offering an online course for sale.
If you do a little digging, you’ll find that Keala’s company is making $20,000,000 to $50,000,000 in revenue each year!
Besides you probably seeing him on all the YouTube videos and ads related to making money online…it might surprise you that he’s been featured on Forbes and the Huffington Post.
How Much Is Keala Kanae Worth?
He has a net worth of approximately $3,000,000. That’s not bad, but I’ve seen people with a larger net worth in online marketing.
All right, enough with all the basic information fluff…just how exactly does Fullstaq Marketer work?
How Does Fullstaq Marketer Work?
Fullstaq Marketer is another online training program that claims to teach you the ins and outs of the affiliate marketing strategy.
Keala Kanae is the sole owner of this venture; Kameron George, his former business partner, is not involved.
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, is the headquarters of the business.
They cover everything from internet marketing basics up to ensure people are converting on your pages.
Beyond all of that, they even have their affiliate program you can be a part of. It’s a relatively easy way to make money on the side.
It’s just a shame Kameron George couldn’t be a part of it.
What Does Fullstaq Marketer Offer?
I’ll go through the “full stack” of services that Fullstaq Marketer provides in greater detail below. You’ll find programs like the fullstaq accelerator, traffic labs, conversion labs, master labs, and fullstaq elite.
How Much Does Fullstaq Marketer/Awol Academy Cost?
A Fullstaq marketer may choose from various price points, ranging from $997 to more than $6,500. As a digital marketer, you’re probably accustomed to it. This mentoring comes at a cost, as you’ll see in the following breakdown of the Fullstaq Marketer training platform’s cost:
Fullstaq Accelerator
The primary purpose of this option, which costs $997, is to provide you with a firm foundation for your Internet Marketing business.
This course aims to provide the new online entrepreneur with useful information and practical suggestions for starting with Fullstaq Marketing.
New affiliate marketers will be given the following step-by-step process:
- Fullstaq 101 – How to make money online through digital marketing
- Fullstaq Onboarding – How to use Fullstaq resources in your training account.
- Fullstaq Edge – How to be confident in yourself without a bachelor’s degree to back you up.
- Fullstaq Labs – How to build, launch, and fill your sales funnel with all your affiliate products.
And wouldn’t you know? You get a coaching call to help you figure out what other marketing courses you should buy! Basically, an upsell call if you ask me…
Don’t worry; they know that not everyone can afford their mentorship at the price of one big chunk. However, they do have payment options, so the money will not be the reason stopping you from joining.
At the end of the day, all Fullstaq accelerator is a starter course meant to pique your interest and get you in their sales funnel for their more expensive course offerings.
They sure do drive a hard bargain, though; Keala Kanae offers an affiliate program for this course at 50% commission which means you’ll get $500!
With a commission like that, even the best affiliate marketer will want a piece of the pie…why do you think you see so many reviews for this specific course on the first page of google!
But this is just the start; the price only goes up from here!
Traffic Labs
What good is the ability to choose the right types of products to sell if you have no means of getting people to show up to the site and buy through you?
Are you saying that this is just another upsell? Yep, and this one costs you $1,997.
Just so I’m clear, that means you are spending nearly $3,000 just to get a program that claims you’ll get traffic that is laser targeted and ready to buy right away…where have I heard that one before?
Surely not in all the other online courses!
They teach you how to leverage paid ads and get visitors through platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and, frankly, every other platform you can think of. This is all about keeping your sales funnel full!
Honestly, what guy or gal likes paid ads anyway?
Personally, I’m a huge fan of generating free leads!
But if I’m being fair, Keala Kanae knows his stuff about paid traffic. You can’t amass the success he has without it!
Conversion Labs
This course is not yet available.
The premise, though, all focuses on converting. After all, what good is all the traffic in the world if it doesn’t convert, right?
Simply put, this course will teach you how to convert your site’s subscribers and buyers into paying customers.
Apparently, with this Conversion Labs, you’ll be able to learn some of their most coveted secrets when it comes to conversions and getting the most out of your traffic
Even though this course isn’t out yet, it’s pretty safe to assume that it’s going to teach the same tactics presented in AWOL Academy, those being:
- Great Story Telling
- Psychological Hacks
- Real Sales Formula
- Creating Evergreen Content
- Sales Skills For High Ticket Items
- Tracking Your Affiliate Sales
Fullstaq Marketer and their conversion course training cover multiple techniques ranging from storytelling to hypnotic language!
Don’t you think it’s possible? Clearly, Keala Kanae has an excellent marketing strategy, and maybe if you invest in something like this…you’ll figure it out as well!
Masters Labs
Listen, there’s a lot of power here.
Before purchasing something like this, you should have a fairly successful affiliate marketing business of your own up and running.
Already set and want to take your online business to the next level? It could be possible that the Master Labs course is exactly what you’re looking for!
It’s a pretty safe bet that Master Labs is similar to Keala Kanae’s old “Master Academy” from the AWOL Academy days.
A course like this includes motivation and advice from some of the “greatest minds in the world.” You’ll learn things ranging from hard skills like tax management and investing all the way to soft skills like developing a successful business mindset for growing wealth.
Topics include:
- Growth Mindset Hacks
- Strategies For Wealth
- Solopreneur to CEO
- Being Your Own Boss To Being The Boss
That’s not all, though. Apparently, many other things will be added in the future.
Honestly, this course is for those who have already had a decent amount of success in previous courses dealing with online advertising and marketing.
Fullstaq Elite
Well…almost anyway
This is the most expensive of the training programs that Keala Kanae offers; currently, it’s $5,800…, and it’s only going up from here.
Not just any freelance marketing hopeful can join this course. According to this, it’s reserved for the best of the best:
… reserved for the most serious clients who know that Building, Growing, and Scaling Online Businesses is the key to creating a lifestyle of their own design. It’s for the Wise Marketer that understands the value of peeking behind the curtain.
In this course, you get the whole thing! All the Fullstaq products, a weekly webinar where you receive top-level mentorship, and a private Facebook group filled with like-minded students!
If I were to guess what kind of stuff you get in Fullstaq Elite…I’d wager for the following:
- Fullstaq Accelerator ($997)
- Traffic Labs ($1,997)
- Conversion Labs (NA)
- Masters Academy (NA)
Did that make you flinch?
Keep in mind…no one has ever said good training and information was cheap!
Let’s be honest…a price like that would be entirely worth it IF the following is true for you:
Are you crushing it with your affiliate marketing business currently? Do you want personal access to the Fullstaq founder so he can help you go even further?
Besides, if you’re already crushing it and have decent affiliate marketing income, what is an extra $6k if you can turn around and make it additionally each month on the back end?
But to be clear, this isn’t for beginners in most cases.
Pros Of Fullstaq Marketer
Run by an experienced affiliate marketer.
Keala Kanae has more than a solid track record in starting and running affiliate marketing programs.
Basically, he’s been around the block more than a few times now.
You can rest assured knowing you’re learning from the right guy.
Hella Training Modules
To my surprise, I discovered they had various training options. Everything you need to know to bring your website traffic to the level of recurring revenue you need is covered in the training courses provided by this service.
Of course, the training level of relevancy seems to increase the price.
Refund Policy
Fullstaq Marketer/Awol Academy offers a refund within 14 to 30 days (depending on your purchase product).
Because the training is online, there is no need to ship anything back; you’re all set!
The only catch, though, is that to receive your money back, you must get on a phone call with an advisor. This is pretty much a call where they try to get you to change your mind.
Cons Of Fullstaq Marketer
Very Expensive
Look, $997 isn’t bad for just some introductory training, but when you add up all the courses that affiliate marketers pretty much need to become successful, it’s almost $6k!
Duh, it would 100% be worth dropping $6k if you knew you’d be making $50k back…
But if you’re brand new or not fully committed to the business opportunity…it may not be as worth it.
I recommend starting with a beginner program and making some money before jumping into affiliate marketing full-time with a course like this.
Upsells
The main phone call you get with the Accelerator course is directly used to try and sell you on higher ticket products that they offer.
This isn’t bad if that’s what you’re looking for…but it can be extremely frustrating for those who haven’t made a dime in their affiliate marketing business yet.
I’m trying to say politely that they will always be asking you to buy more stuff from them.
Ongoing Prices
The $6k you’ll pay to access everything isn’t where the costs stop. No, you’ll have many other tools you’ll need to purchase to succeed.
What do you need to buy exactly?
Landing pages, email marketing, and tracking…just to name a few. It can run anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand a month!
Don’t forget about all the Facebook Ads you’ll have to pay for either!
And see, that’s another unfortunate part about this business model and training…you’ll need to constantly pay for advertising for your products because they don’t teach you SEO or how to generate traffic organically.
All those paid Facebook ads and paid traffic routes can cost you several thousand a month!
FAQ’S
I know that aside from AWOL Academy and Fullstaq Marketer, you probably have some other questions related to affiliate marketing, so I hope these help you out!
Can You Make Money With An Affiliate Marketing Business?
Yes, you can make money off of affiliate marketing…but truth be told, most people become wealthy affiliates by promoting different affiliate programs.
Take, for example, AWOL Academy.
Many premium members have shared screenshots of their payments by promoting AWOL Academy.
In fact, if you look at most of the reviews of affiliates, most of them make money with AWOL Academy by dropping their link in the review descriptions!
So what’s the bottom line here?
Most affiliate marketers make the lion’s share of their money by promoting other affiliate programs or Online Entrepreneur Certification like the one they’re in (Fullstaq Marketer).
What Are The Best Affiliate Marketing Courses?
Here are just a few affiliate programs that have made many different people financially successful affiliate marketers:
- amoCRM.
- Leadpages.
- Teachable.
- GetResponse.
- SEMRush.
- Aweber.
- ConvertKit.
- PromoRepublic.
As you can see, Fullstaq Marketer is not on that list…
Probably because many people have seen through the facade at this point and don’t want to waste $997 for a course. After all, that’s an extra $1,000 somebody can save
If you wanted a make-money-online niche to get into with affiliate marketing…it’d definitely be worth a look!
Just remember…these are some high-ticket programs… which means you will need really strong authority sites to compete.
What Is Internet Marketing?
Internet Marketing is any kind of marketing on the web that drives traffic to businesses in the form of leads and jobs. In my expert opinion, lead generation is one of the best and most profitable ways to do this. And, more importantly…organic lead generation.
Are There Alternatives To Awol Academy?
Yes, there are plenty of Affiliate Marketing programs and resources to choose from if you want to pursue this business model. Here are just a few:
- Super Affiliate System
- Anthony Morris
- Multiple Income Funnel
- Four Percent
- Affiliate Millionaire Club
Is Awol Academy Affiliate Program A Scam?
So, time for the $1,000,000 question – is AWOL Academy a scam?
No, it’s not a “scam,” technically speaking. They aren’t going to collect your payment and then ride off into the sunset without delivering you a program.
Read Our In Depth Breakdown Of The Top 5 Affiliate MarketingOpp Courses For 2024
You can make money with this program. My only gripe is that making money with affiliate marketing is NOT NEARLY as easy as AWOL Academy wants you to think it is.
As I’ve said earlier, the most important part of affiliate marketing is driving traffic. That means being good at:
- Writing ads that sell
- Running ads on Google
- Running ads on Facebook
- Writing website blogs
- Ranking websites
- Converting users that land on your site
- Email marketing
And a whole lot more.
If you’re going to spend time learning those skills, why not do it in a way that makes YOU all the money – instead of someone else?
There’s just a lot of work to be done here, and no real guarantee of success (not to mention commissions can be small).
Don’t get me wrong – I’m ALL FOR doing the hard work now, so that you can reap the benefits later.
But if you’re going to hit something super hard for 3-6 months, and your reward is barely enough money for a tank of gas… it’s just not worth it (in my opinion).
Again, I’m not saying it won’t work – I’ve personally made money with it, as have many of my friends.
I’m just saying it’s a situation where the stars must
align for you perfectly.
And you shouldn’t be in the business of leaving your fate up to the stars…
But what if instead of all that, you could work those same 3-6 months, and generate a handful of checks that generated you $500-$2,000 EACH, every single month (almost on autopilot)?
And what if you learned it from someone who has already mastered the ability to drive traffic profitably?
Better yet, what if you could see your first payment in one week, not 3 months?
And what if you could double or triple that income within the next month or two?
That’s my experience with being a Digital Landlord.
All you really need is a laptop and some internet.
Some of my friends are Digital Rental Method that run their 6-figure businesses from:
- Camping trips at national parks
- Beachfront in Hawaii
- On the road in a camper van (with a pet pig!)
They focus on living an enjoyable life first, and focus on income second. All thanks to this program.
They can take weeks or months off, and money keeps rolling in.
Living happily is the top priority.
If the thought of living perpetually at your dream vacation spot interests you, using the Digital Rental Method might be for you!
What Is My Top Recommendation For Making Money Online In 2022?
I’ve personally tried all of the major online business models:
- I’ve sold women’s health supplements via Clickbank affiliate marketing
- I’ve sold fidget spinners through Amazon FBA
- I’ve dropshipped a toilet bowl putting green on Shopify
And I made money with all of them, so trust me when I say: there is no “perfect” business model.
That being said, my #1 recommendation for making real money online is, hands-down: being a Digital Landlord
Whether you’re a complete newbie or you’ve been around the block before but have never had that “big win” to propel you forward, using the Digital Rental Method is for you.
Why?
1)Time commitment: If you have an hour or two per day, you can do this. Even if you want to drop everything and commit fully, that works too.
You don’t have to be constantly working to make money. The income you generate is recurring.
Imagine taking off for a month to places like Hawaii, Paris, National Parks, & other spots people only dream about – all while collecting dozens of little $500-$2,000 checks. It’s like a dream come true.
But it’s only possible to do it when you’ve separated your income from your time.
2)You Own & Control EVERYTHING: With affiliate marketing, you don’t really own a single thing – not even the customers you worked so hard to “acquire.”
Don’t believe me? Read the terms of service for any major affiliate program – they can fire you or change your compensation at the drop of a dime.
With the Digital Rental Method, you own everything, so you have ultimate control.
3)It’s Effectively Copy-Paste: Here’s my favorite part: once you have your first Digital Rental Property up, you can literally copy-paste another version of it and find another willing “renter” in a few days. DOUBLING your income doesn’t get much easier than that…
If you wanted to double your income as an affiliate, you would need to sell twice as much inventory, or double your profit margins. And I can guarantee you (from my days selling women’s health products as an affiliate), that’s a lot harder than a few clicks & a phone call.
4)Great Margins: Margins on affiliate products can be pretty low, unless you’re selling high-ticket products. You typically have a lot of competition when you sell high-ticket stuff, so driving traffic is expensive.
using the Digital Rental Method, your profit margin is nearly 100%. Watch here to learn how.
Just a reminder: these Digital Rental Properties are worth (at a minimum) $500/mo in semi-passive income. And each time you create another one, your income increases, and the effort to create the next property decreases.
Best-case scenario, you have properties bringing in over $3,000+/mo on auto-pilot.
5)You’re Helping REAL People: My biggest gripe with affiliate marketing is that you’re selling products that will bring you the biggest commission, not the products that will help people the most.
It’s cool to make a quick buck in the short term, but in the long term, it eats away at your soul.
But With the Digital Rental Method, you’re helping solve REAL problems that people are ASKING for help with:
Small local businesses around the world need one thing: customers. Without them, their business would fall apart. If you can provide those customers, they’re going to be really happy – and they’re going to pay you for it.
You’re helping a struggling mother or father put food on the table for their families, put their kids through college, or simply live life a little bit more comfortably.
Having this type of impact on the world is what will help you sleep soundly at night.
So, the rest is up to you. You could keep looking at other affiliate programs like AWOL Academy, which might make you money 12 months from now.
You could keep researching and researching for the next few months (or few years), never making a concrete decision.
OR, you can look deep inside, think about those dreams, hopes, & desires, and make the decision to ACTUALLY make it happen, just like it has for thousands of other students before you.
Making a fortune while actually helping real people that need it.
If this sounds like you, click here to see how it all works.
