It’s another one of those making money online courses that is centered around sales. It’s promoted by Jesse and Kong. To put it simply, it’s basically a how-to course.
It shows you how to make “viral” YouTube videos…but you have to do all the searching and editing yourself.
You might even have to put up an ad for this on different platforms to get interest…YIKES!
One of the main selling points of Viral Academy, ironically, is that entertainment is a high-demand skill.
Not only that, but a course like this gives people the hope that they can make money online. And while I have to be honest for this review…
Viral Academy comes with some very helpful information to make money online and land massive YouTube checks.
I will review Viral Academy to decide if it is the best YouTube course out there.
I’ll discuss whether YouTube is the right online business model for you.
Alright, so Viral Academy doesn’t exactly fit into a nice category.
At the end of the day, Youtube is a… unique way to think about making money.
It’s certainly possible to make money with off-the-wall businesses like this. Still, unless you’re interested in taking years out of your life to experiment with an unproven business model, I would look elsewhere.
My #1 personal recommendation if we’re talking about starting a fully-online business has got to be the Lead Generation & Ad Agency business models.
There are a handful of programs that teach you the ropes, but my #1 choice that combines both of those business models into one is the Digital Rental Method program
But, if you’re hard pressed to jump head-first into an off-the-wall business model, let’s continue on to my full breakdown of Viral Academy.
What Is Jumpcut?
This online platform was founded by the most recognized social media influencers worldwide with a combined list of 10 Million subscribers and well over 1 billion views. They put together their training, Jumpcut Academy 2.0, to help others do the same.
Their website promises to teach you how to:
- Create compelling content
- Build a huge following of subscribers
- Make money with videos on topics you love
Their bonus content touches on a few topics like:
- Gaming
- Making Music Gaming (Playing Video Games)
- Legal Issues
- Growth with Facebook
Their videos also show you the best practices for online education and entertainment. Jumpcut says that more than 10,000 academy members have succeeded with their training.
There are plenty of success stories shown in the Jumpcut videos.
But will you find success with their course too?
That is, can you expect to make big money as a YouTuber with videos about your passion?
In this review, I’ll help you learn more about the paid program and then discuss a few more details regarding their free training.
Is Jumpcut Legit?
Jumpcut is legit. If you like making online videos, it’s a great YouTuber training course that teaches entrepreneurs some neat editing tricks to make your YouTube Channel content look more professional and easy to watch for your audience. It has also helped channels improve their overall analytics.
What Is The Main Course Offered By Jumpcut?
According to Forbes.com, the top ten YouTubers earn almost $60 million yearly, with nearly 120 million followers and about 80 billion views.
The Jumpcut Academy course is separated into 5 modules:
- Module 1: Social Media Secrets – In the first stage, they show you all their strategies and techniques to make a living as an influencer.
- Module 2: Launch Your Channel – They teach you to find success by following your passions to create your channel idea
- Module 3: Viral Marketing Masterclass – In this stage, you learn the ins and outs of “virality.”
- Module 4: Influencer Intel – Build your audience to millions of fans with viral marketing
- Module 5: Paid to Promote – In this stage, use your videos to make money in millions of dollars.
Jumpcut also offers their students 3 FREE upgrades:
- Viral Academy Bootcamp: This is a 5-week with fellow students, where the instructors teach you one-on-one.
- Private Community: You’ll receive 24/7 support with advice on how to follow your passion
- Video Review System: The mentors dive deep into your content with feedback
Who Are The Instructors For Jumpcut?
From what I’ve found, the course has instructors in 5 teams:
- David So: 1.4M Subscribers, 245M views. Expertise: Comedy Vlogging
- Aryia: 900K Subscribers, 100M views. Expertise: Blog Marketing
- Joe & Bart: 1.6M Subscribers, 1B views. Expertise: Brand Deals
- Jesse & Kong: 2.7M Subscribers, 325M views. Expertise: Digital Products
- Vitaly: 9.2M Subscribers, 1.3B views. Expertise: Viral Videos
What About Jumpcut’s YouTube Influencer 101 Course?
In this FREE series, you’ll find 4 videos:
Vid #1: The Channel Ideas Scorecard
This video is a summary of the rest of the course. Still, they do emphasize the 1,000 True Fans blueprint, which covers how to find a subset of individuals who love the information you give and would be interested in purchasing what you have. This is most certainly the most important piece of advice to follow.
After that, they will guide you through the steps to building a highly successful and profitable business, finding fans for your video channel, and thinking up video ideas with a lot of passion. Of course, they stress that it doesn’t come easy and will take some work.
- Action 1: Passionate idea
- Action 2: Create an audience
- Action 3: Monetize the audience
Vid #2: The Remix Strategy:
This is where they talk about their “Remix Strategy.” The goal is to create video ideas that people can’t stop sharing on social media, even if they aren’t original.
They say that this is how Jesse and Kong got so many people to see their videos with more than 1 million views, and in certain cases, even more than 30 Million views.
Vid #3: The Traits of Virality:
There are basically 3 psychological triggers:
- Storytelling
- Provoke emotions
- Creating something original
The idea here is that these triggers will cause people to share your video, so it goes viral.
Vid #4: The Influencer Economy
The last video in this training series details how Jesses and Kong, college dropouts at the time, became successful entrepreneurs by building an online training program that made millions of dollars with their first YouTube channel.
Then, Jesse will outline the key mindset needed to become the next YouTube Success Story and then provide you with case studies of his students who make tens of thousands in passive income.
How Much Does Viral Academy Course Cost?
Just to recap, there is no cost for the YouTube Influencer 101 course from Jumpcut. All you have to do is provide your name and email address.
Kong said on Reddit that the course costs $997 for a one-time purchase with lifetime access, or you may pay for the course over 6 months.
Even though the Influencer course is free, you’ll likely be put on a waiting list to get the main course. Knowing this, we sent off an email to their support team to get any additional information like:
- Release date
- Cost
- Pricing for upgrades
- Refund policy
I’ll cover that shortly.
Kong also mentions on Reddit that the Jumpcut course has a 100% risk-free guarantee for 365 days… that is, as long as you make a good faith attempt to work through the assignments in the course, then you have your own successful YouTube channel.
Yeah, that sounds like a reasonable policy, but if you’re gonna put in the amount of grueling work to become a YouTube Influencer (which, trust me, isn’t easy), you might as well bring in some REAL money.
The training that helped me grow my online company to $50,000+ per month teaches certain affiliate marketing skills and shows you how to monetize them in a much more profitable way.
Who Are The Professionals Behind Jumpcut?
Jumpcut was formed in Los Angeles, California, by Kong Pham, the CEO, and Jess Jhaj, the CCO (Chief Content Officer). They have been in operation since 2014. They also went through the Y Combinator program in 2016 and placed in the top 10 of 50 companies.
Peter Lu is the company’s COO (Chief Operating Officer). He was employed with Bain & Company as an associate consultant. He also was a project associate for advancements for poverty action.
The company has been given fairly good reviews on its Facebook page, with almost 190 users giving them an average rating of 4.4 stars. These ratings were based on customer support as well as on providing high-quality information.
However, some complaints (albeit very few) mostly focused on not having enough information in the FREE course and the high price of the main course. With that said, the company always responded promptly to keep an open conversation and receive suggestions.
I did find that there were customer reviews with an average of 4.2 stars in the area of Google Maps, stating pretty much the same compliments as the others. There were a few 1 start complaints, but there wasn’t any information detailing the complaints. As always, a representative was there to address any concerns.
In addition to these sites, a couple of Reddit users said that although they liked what they had learned from the Jumpcut program, they hadn’t learned anything that they couldn’t have gotten anywhere else, even for free. From what I’ve read, a member wrote a review criticizing the concepts’ inability to be used universally and that the video quality wasn’t all that good. The support had pretty much been inactive.
However, Kong promptly replied to them so that he could personally address those issues.
As of 2018, Jumpcut has maintained a Better Business Bureau rating of C-. Beyond that, no other information has been made readily available.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How Can I Join The Program?
The first step in becoming a member of the Jumpcut premium course is to sign up for the 101 video training first. They do this to ensure that the program remains exclusive and everyone has an equal chance to participate.
You have 2 opportunities per year to join the program, one in January and the other in June. You’ll need to ensure you signed up for the 101 training beforehand.
How Much Does The Main Course Cost?
Peter told me that the course is priced at $997. This offers you access to the course. You can either pay for the course in one lump sum, or they can set you up with automatic payments (6 installments) with your credit card or with your Paypal account for $197 each.
My Final Thoughts About Jumpcut
Just like any other entrepreneurial endeavor, it will take hard work, determination, and a relentless drive to work through failure. Creating Youtube videos that go viral comes with much trial and error.
Even though some people have found success in a short time and can offer you insights to avoid pitfalls, there is no better teacher for success than learning from your mistakes. I like that Jumpcut points this out very clearly to prospective members.
In addition, the company gets mostly positive reviews from its members on its Facebook page and on Google Maps. Also, Kong promptly addressed any negative member reviews found on Reddit.
So, with that said… spending $1000 on a program might be a bit of a hit to take for the main course, but if you can find success, chase your passion, and make a living by doing what you love to do… $1000 might be money well spent.
In fact, Peter Lu has made it a point that Jumpcut wants to assure their future students that they are there to help them succeed. Also, with the money-back guarantee, you really don’t have anything to lose with the course.
Just remember that if your want to get started, you have to sign up for the YouTube Influencer 101 course to get a good idea of the course and the video training. In fact, from what we’ve seen in their enrollment, this is the only way to go.
So is it a scam, or is it legit?
Being a YouTube Influencer is certainly legit, and we see no red flags with Jumpcut Viral Academy, other than if you’re shy being on camera.
BUT!
YouTube changes its monetization policy way too often these days.
This means one of your best videos could be demonetized with nothing you could do to change it. In fact, this has happened to SEVERAL YouTubers, and it hasn’t been just one video…it’s been like half their channel!
A while back, YouTube updated its policy on language, and all of a sudden, any video with adult language like “F***” was demonetized. That alone decimated several channels.
The point here is that you don’t have as much control over your income with YouTube as you’d like to think…
It’s entirely possible to build a profitable, successful online business aside from being a YouTube Influencer.
Are There Alternatives To Being A YouTube Influencer?
There are quite a few other options to consider.
I mean, there are programs like:
You see where I’m heading with this…
So, the $64k question is this… what is better than being a YouTube Influencer?
Three words: Digital Real Estate
Is Viral Academy A Scam?
Time for the $1,000,000 question: is Viral Academy actually a scam?
I wouldn’t technically call it a scam, though others might.
It’s technically possible to make money with this program, so in that sense, it isn’t a scam.
No one is riding off into the sunset with your money, leaving you empty-handed… technically speaking.
But the second, more important question is: is Viral Academy actually worth the investment?
My honest answer is that for most people out there, probably not.
There are countless other business models that are proven & easily scalable, so why risk it for… not an incredibly huge payoff?
I’d rather have a program with thousands of successful students & plenty of room for others to join.
If you’ve followed my blog for long, you know I recommend a few different programs depending on your skills & goals.
My current top choice is using the Digital Rental Method, because you have a proven, systematic path to 6-figures, and you can do it from anywhere you want.
I’ve got friends in there posting deals from the middle of the woods in a camper-van with their pet pig… which is kinda cool.
What Is My Top Recommendation For Making Money Online In 2022?
Alright, time for me to get real with my lovely readers for a moment:
Read Our In Depth Breakdown Of The Top 5 OtherOpp Courses For 2024
I’ve personally tried all of the major online business models:
- I’ve sold fidget spinners through Amazon FBA
- I’ve dropshipped a toilet bowl putting green on Shopify
- I’ve sold women’s health supplements via Clickbank affiliate marketing
And I made money with all of them, so trust me when I say: there is no “perfect” business model.
THAT BEING SAID: I would at least recommend you implement something that is tried and true, because I’ve seen TOO MANY people (including friends and family) get burned by stuff like Viral Academy.
They come out of left field with some random idea, make it seem attractive, and then make themselves a quick buck by luring in unsuspecting people.
I’m not saying Viral Academy itself is a piece of trash; I’m just saying you need to be very, very careful.
This is a big reason why I only recommend proven, tried and true business models, like Lead Generation & Ad Agencies.
There are a bunch of programs out there that teach you those skills, but my top choice is the Digital Rental Method program.
Why? It has proven leaders with their own 7-figure businesses implementing exactly what they teach you.
I’ve also got over a dozen personal friends in there, so I feel comfortable telling you it works.
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, their program works.
Here’s why:
1)Time: If you’ve got a spare hour or two each day, you can do this. If you want to drop everything and go all-in, you can do this. More time obviously means faster results, but even putting in a few hours per day is enough to see real success.
And because of that flexibility, you don’t need to trade your time for money. Once the income starts, it’s recurring (for the most part).
That means you can take a month off, travel the country, pursue a passion project, chill on the beach, or charter a boat across the world.
But you can only do that once you’ve created an income stream that doesn’t require YOU to be there all day, every day.
2)Big Margins: With most businesses, you’re often going to have really slim margins. That means you need to hit a serious scale to make serious money.
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.”
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 with YouTube, you would need to exert time and effort. And I can guarantee you that’s a lot harder than a few clicks & a phone call.
4)You’re Helping REAL People: My biggest gripe with YouTube is that you’re basically only helping yourself.
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 off-the-wall business models like YouTube and maybe hit it big one day.
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.
