ClickBank Email Marketing: 1 Month In, Zero Sales, Low Clicks – Direct Affiliate Links or Shorteners? Honest Advice Needed

[jyoti_smtp]

Hey BHW fam,


I've been grinding ClickBank for about a month now using email marketing. I built my own sending software and have a verified database (supposedly clean & opted-in). I'm sending out decent volume but the results are brutal:

• Very low click-through rates
• Absolutely zero conversions/sales

I'm promoting decent converting offers (health, wealth, etc.) but I'm using the direct ClickBank affiliate links in the emails. No cloaking, no shorteners, nothing fancy.


My questions:

1. Is blasting direct ClickBank links in cold(ish) emails killing my clicks/conversions? (tracking pixels, referral headers, etc.)
2. Should I switch to shortlinks (like Bitly, Pretty Links, or self-hosted) to "hop" the link? Does that actually help with deliverability and clicks?
3. What are the real working setups right now for ClickBank email marketing in 2026?

I'm looking for honest experiences, not theory. If you've done email + ClickBank successfully (or failed hard and learned), please share what actually moved the needle for you.


Some specifics about my setup:

• Own SMTP software + verified database
• Emails are plain text + some light HTML
• Sending in bursts, not full blast
• Subject lines and preheaders are getting okay open rates (not great, but not terrible)
• Direct hoplink in the CTA

What am I missing? Pre-sell pages? Better offer selection? List quality issues? Warming up the domain? Different link strategy? Cloaking?


I know email can work insanely well for ClickBank, but right now I'm just burning time and small money with zero ROI. Any real-world suggestions or war stories would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance. Will update the thread with what works.

 

[is-ghoul]

Hey BHW fam,


I've been grinding ClickBank for about a month now using email marketing. I built my own sending software and have a verified database (supposedly clean & opted-in). I'm sending out decent volume but the results are brutal:

• Very low click-through rates
• Absolutely zero conversions/sales

I'm promoting decent converting offers (health, wealth, etc.) but I'm using the direct ClickBank affiliate links in the emails. No cloaking, no shorteners, nothing fancy.


My questions:

1. Is blasting direct ClickBank links in cold(ish) emails killing my clicks/conversions? (tracking pixels, referral headers, etc.)
2. Should I switch to shortlinks (like Bitly, Pretty Links, or self-hosted) to "hop" the link? Does that actually help with deliverability and clicks?
3. What are the real working setups right now for ClickBank email marketing in 2026?

I'm looking for honest experiences, not theory. If you've done email + ClickBank successfully (or failed hard and learned), please share what actually moved the needle for you.


Some specifics about my setup:

• Own SMTP software + verified database
• Emails are plain text + some light HTML
• Sending in bursts, not full blast
• Subject lines and preheaders are getting okay open rates (not great, but not terrible)
• Direct hoplink in the CTA

What am I missing? Pre-sell pages? Better offer selection? List quality issues? Warming up the domain? Different link strategy? Cloaking?


I know email can work insanely well for ClickBank, but right now I'm just burning time and small money with zero ROI. Any real-world suggestions or war stories would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance. Will update the thread with what works.

Hey there,

Zero sales after a month with low clicks usually points to a few common issues.

Direct ClickBank links in the email often hurt. A lot of people filter or ignore emails that go straight to a hoplink. If you can use a url-shortener for a shortlink or (better) a simple pre-sell/review page tends to work better because it looks more natural and builds a bit of trust before the offer.

A few things that usually make the difference:

List quality – even “verified” lists can be cold or low intent. If opens are okay but clicks are very low, the audience may not be interested in those offers.
Offer match – health and wealth can work, but only if the list is actually into that.
Pre-sell content – short review or story-style page before the ClickBank link normally converts better than a direct hop.
Sending setup – make sure your domain and IPs are properly warmed and not already under pressure.

Shorteners can help a bit with masking the link, but they’re not a magic fix. The bigger levers are list relevance + how you present the offer.

What kind of open rates are you getting, and is the list themed or more general?

 

[TheoRank]

Direct hoplinks are definitely killing your deliverability. ESPs like Gmail and Yahoo scan the email body for known affiliate domains and if they see a raw clickbank link it goes straight to spam or gets filtered before it even reaches the inbox. That explains the low CTR.

Do not use Bitly or public shorteners either... those are blacklisted heavily in cold email.

If you want to keep it simple without building massive pre-sell pages, at least use a self-hosted redirect on a clean domain. A simple php redirect script on a cheap .com works way better than direct linking. But honestly @is-ghoul is right about the pre-sell. Cold traffic needs some warming up before they see a pitch. Even a basic 1-page quiz or a simple article lander will multiply your conversion rate.

What kind of volume are you sending daily? If you are pushing high volume on a new domain without proper setup it might just be a domain reputation issue too.

 

[moonshine7000]

You are buying lists that is why it doesn't convert those emails are spammed to death

 

[jyoti_smtp]

Hey there,

Zero sales after a month with low clicks usually points to a few common issues.

Direct ClickBank links in the email often hurt. A lot of people filter or ignore emails that go straight to a hoplink. If you can use a url-shortener for a shortlink or (better) a simple pre-sell/review page tends to work better because it looks more natural and builds a bit of trust before the offer.

A few things that usually make the difference:

List quality – even “verified” lists can be cold or low intent. If opens are okay but clicks are very low, the audience may not be interested in those offers.
Offer match – health and wealth can work, but only if the list is actually into that.
Pre-sell content – short review or story-style page before the ClickBank link normally converts better than a direct hop.
Sending setup – make sure your domain and IPs are properly warmed and not already under pressure.

Shorteners can help a bit with masking the link, but they’re not a magic fix. The bigger levers are list relevance + how you present the offer.

What kind of open rates are you getting, and is the list themed or more general?

Hey is_ghoul,

Thanks for the solid breakdown.

You’re right — direct hoplinks are probably hurting me more than I thought. Opens are okay-ish but clicks are almost non-existent, so the list relevance + how the offer is presented is clearly the weak point.

I’m going to test a simple pre-sell/review page instead of sending straight to the CB link. Also double-checking domain/IP warming.

Open rates are roughly 12-18% depending on the segment. The list is more general (not tightly themed around health or wealth).

Any rough idea what open/click rates look like when things are actually working for you on email + CB?

Appreciate the help.

Best,
Jyoti

 

[jyoti_smtp]

Direct hoplinks are definitely killing your deliverability. ESPs like Gmail and Yahoo scan the email body for known affiliate domains and if they see a raw clickbank link it goes straight to spam or gets filtered before it even reaches the inbox. That explains the low CTR.

Do not use Bitly or public shorteners either... those are blacklisted heavily in cold email.

If you want to keep it simple without building massive pre-sell pages, at least use a self-hosted redirect on a clean domain. A simple php redirect script on a cheap .com works way better than direct linking. But honestly @is-ghoul is right about the pre-sell. Cold traffic needs some warming up before they see a pitch. Even a basic 1-page quiz or a simple article lander will multiply your conversion rate.

What kind of volume are you sending daily? If you are pushing high volume on a new domain without proper setup it might just be a domain reputation issue too.

Hey TheoRank,

Thanks for the clear explanation on the deliverability side.

Makes sense that Gmail/Yahoo are filtering raw ClickBank links. I was using direct hoplinks this whole time, so that alone could explain the dead CTR.

I’ll avoid public shorteners completely and set up a self-hosted redirect on a clean domain first. Planning to test a basic pre-sell or simple article lander after that, like you and is_ghoul suggested.

Daily volume is still relatively controlled (not full blast), but the domain is fairly new, so reputation could also be playing a role.

Would a simple PHP redirect be enough as a first step, or do you recommend going straight to a proper pre-sell page?

Thanks man.


Best,
Jyoti

 

[GroByTech]

1- Could it be that you trying to sell meat to vegans?
2- Are you monitoring if emails are reaching Inbox or Spam folder?
3- Did you try to warmup your sender mailbox? If yes then how?

 

[jyoti_smtp]

You are buying lists that is why it doesn't convert those emails are spammed to death

Hey moonshine7000,

Appreciate the blunt feedback.

The list is verified and double opt-in (not freshly bought spam lists), but I get what you’re saying — a lot of “verified” data still gets hammered and ends up low-intent or previously spammed.

That’s why the opens are happening but clicks/sales are basically zero. Looking more carefully at list quality and offer match now.

Any specific signs you’ve seen that usually confirm a list is already burned beyond saving?

Thanks for keeping it real.

Best,
Jyoti

 

[moonshine7000]

Hey moonshine7000,

Appreciate the blunt feedback.

The list is verified and double opt-in (not freshly bought spam lists), but I get what you’re saying — a lot of “verified” data still gets hammered and ends up low-intent or previously spammed.

That’s why the opens are happening but clicks/sales are basically zero. Looking more carefully at list quality and offer match now.

Any specific signs you’ve seen that usually confirm a list is already burned beyond saving?

Thanks for keeping it real.

Best,
Jyoti

So what traffic source you used to grow the list

 

[jyoti_smtp]

So what traffic source you used to grow the list

Hey moonshine7000,

The list is static. It was collected via opt-in from different landing pages over time (not bought or scraped).

That’s why I called it verified/double opt-in. Still getting opens, but almost zero clicks and sales so far.

Any thoughts on whether that kind of mixed lander opt-in list tends to go cold fast, or what usually works better for refreshing/engaging it?

Appreciate you digging into it.

Best,
Jyoti

 

[moonshine7000]

Hey moonshine7000,

The list is static. It was collected via opt-in from different landing pages over time (not bought or scraped).

That’s why I called it verified/double opt-in. Still getting opens, but almost zero clicks and sales so far.

Any thoughts on whether that kind of mixed lander opt-in list tends to go cold fast, or what usually works better for refreshing/engaging it?

Appreciate you digging into it.

Best,
Jyoti

How did people find your landing page to opt in the first place

 

[blumen]

if you are getting 12-18% opens but literally zero clicks, those opens are probably mostly bots. spam filters and security firewalls auto-open emails now to scan the content, which inflates your open rates and makes you think people are actually reading.

also... "static list collected over time" is a massive red flag. if you haven't emailed them consistently since they opted in, they have no idea who you are. a cold list gets stale in like 30 days, let alone months or years.

honestly, stop sending direct links. even if you don't want to build a lander, just buy a cheap .com domain, set up cloudflare, and do a simple php redirect to the offer. at least that way you aren't blasting raw hoplinks. but if the list is dead cold, even that won't save it.