Savage Affiliates Review: Is Franklin Hatchett Legit?

If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be running a 6-figure online business, I probably would have laughed. My journey into the world of internet entrepreneurship didn’t start with instant success or overnight riches—in fact, it was quite the opposite. Before I took the leap into full-time online business, I hustled through just about every side gig you can imagine: freelance gigs, survey sites, dropshipping, you name it. Some worked, most didn’t, but each experience taught me something valuable about what it really takes to make money online.

That’s why I’m always on the lookout for courses that claim to offer a step-by-step blueprint for affiliate marketing success. When I first heard about Savage Affiliates by Franklin Hatchett, I was curious. Franklin’s name comes up often in online business circles, and his reputation for practical, actionable training precedes him. So, as someone who’s already built a profitable affiliate business—and knows the difference between hype and real value—I decided to dive into Savage Affiliates myself.

In this review, I’ll share my honest, firsthand experience with the course: what it gets right, where it falls short, and whether it’s actually worth your time and investment if you’re serious about building a sustainable affiliate income stream.

What is Savage Affiliates?

Savage Affiliates is an in-depth affiliate marketing course designed to take you from absolute beginner to competent online earner. The course is packed with step-by-step video tutorials, templates, and actionable strategies that show you how to build a profitable affiliate business from scratch. At its core, Savage Affiliates teaches you how to make money by promoting other people’s products and earning commissions on every sale—this is the essence of affiliate marketing.

Inside the course, Franklin Hatchett breaks down the entire process: choosing a profitable niche, building your own website, finding high-converting affiliate offers, and driving traffic through both free (SEO, YouTube, social media) and paid (Facebook Ads, Google Ads) methods. He covers how to create content that ranks in search engines, set up email marketing for long-term income, and even build sales funnels to maximize your commissions. The training is comprehensive, covering everything from the basics of WordPress website setup to advanced strategies like launch jacking and high-ticket affiliate programs.

In short, Savage Affiliates is a blueprint for anyone who wants to generate passive income online by leveraging the power of affiliate marketing.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

Who Created Savage Affiliates?

Savage Affiliates was created by Franklin Hatchett, a well-known online entrepreneur from New Zealand. Franklin’s reputation in the digital marketing space is solid—he’s built multiple successful online businesses, including e-commerce stores, affiliate sites, and educational platforms. With over half a million subscribers on YouTube, Franklin is recognized for his transparent, no-nonsense teaching style and his willingness to share real results and practical advice.

He’s earned significant commissions as an affiliate for major brands like ClickFunnels, and his experience spans dropshipping, SEO, paid ads, and more. Franklin’s other popular course, Ecom Elites, has also helped thousands of students break into online business. What sets him apart is his focus on actionable strategies and his genuine desire to help others succeed—he’s not just a marketer, but someone who’s walked the talk and built a reputation for delivering value.

Who is Savage Affiliates For?

From my perspective as someone who’s tried nearly every side hustle before going full-time online, Savage Affiliates is best suited for:

• Beginners: If you’re new to affiliate marketing or online business, the course lays out every step in plain English. You’ll learn how to build your first website, pick a niche, and start earning commissions—even if you’ve never done this before.
• Intermediate Marketers: If you already have some experience but aren’t seeing the results you want, Savage Affiliates fills in the gaps. You’ll pick up advanced traffic strategies, funnel building, and email marketing techniques that can take your earnings to the next level.
• Action-Takers: This course is ideal for people who are ready to put in the work. The material is comprehensive, but you’ll need to follow through and implement what you learn to see real results.
• Anyone Wanting Multiple Traffic Strategies: Whether you prefer free traffic (SEO, YouTube) or paid ads, the course covers both in detail, so you can choose what fits your budget and style.

If you’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, this isn’t it. But if you want a proven, step-by-step system for building real affiliate income, Savage Affiliates gives you all the tools and knowledge you need to succeed.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

How is Savage Affiliates Structured?

One thing I appreciated about Savage Affiliates is its clear, modular structure. The course is broken down into a series of step-by-step modules, each focused on a specific area of affiliate marketing. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s inside:

• Intro Module: Lays the foundation with affiliate marketing basics, the difference between free and paid traffic, and how SEO works.
• Module 1: Choosing Niches & Products: Helps you pick profitable niches and products to promote, plus introduces top affiliate networks.
• Module 2: Website Building: Walks you through setting up your WordPress site, optimizing for conversions, and collecting emails.
• Module 3: ClickBank Affiliate Marketing: Covers setting up a ClickBank account, finding offers, and understanding marketplace stats.
• Module 4: Funnels & Content: Teaches funnel building (especially with ClickFunnels), keyword research, and crafting SEO-friendly content.
• Module 5: SEO Training: Deep dive into keyword research, on-page and off-page SEO, content optimization, and backlink strategies.
• Module 6: Funnels & Email Automation: Shows you how to create affiliate funnels and automate email campaigns for passive income.
• Module 7: Done-For-You Systems: Provides templates and resources to speed up your results, especially for ClickFunnels promotion.
• Module 8: Free Traffic Strategies: Explores organic methods using forums, Quora, Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms.
• Module 9: Paid Traffic Training: Focuses on setting up Facebook and Google ads to scale your affiliate offers.
• Bonus Module: Includes real case studies and extra examples from Franklin’s own campaigns.

If you grab the “Super” version, you get even more: pre-built funnels, advanced launch jacking strategies, web hosting blueprints, and additional tools to help you shortcut your way to results.

Are Savage Affiliates Students Getting Results?

This is the question I always ask before recommending any course: are real people actually making money with this training? In the early days of Savage Affiliates, there were a few testimonials floating around—like Brent James, who appeared on Franklin’s channel reporting $30,000 per year in income. However, digging deeper, it turns out Brent’s main income was from running a social media agency, not affiliate marketing. Most of the “success stories” highlighted on the sales page are either generic praise for Franklin’s teaching style or testimonials recycled from his other course, Ecom Elites.

As of 2025, I couldn’t find any convincing, up-to-date student success stories directly tied to Savage Affiliates. There’s little evidence of students making substantial affiliate commissions using the course, and many reviews point out the lack of recent, verifiable results. The private Facebook group and community support that once existed have also been shut down, making it even harder to connect with active students or see proof of ongoing success.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

How Much Does Savage Affiliates Cost?

Savage Affiliates is available in two pricing tiers:

• Standard Plan: $197 one-time payment.
• Super Plan: $297 one-time payment, which includes everything in Standard plus extra modules, done-for-you funnels, and advanced blueprints.

There are no recurring fees, but you should budget at least a few hundred dollars more for essential tools like web hosting, autoresponders, and keyword research software. Realistically, you’ll want to have around $500 set aside for these extra costs if you’re serious about building your affiliate business.

As for refunds, Savage Affiliates offers a 30-day money-back guarantee—but with a catch. It’s an “action-based” refund policy, meaning you’ll need to show that you’ve actually gone through part of the training, set up your website, and implemented some of the strategies before you can request your money back. This is pretty standard for online courses these days, but it’s worth noting that some students have reported difficulty getting support or responses from Franklin’s team in recent years.

Praises For Savage Affiliates

After going through Savage Affiliates myself, there are some clear strengths that deserve recognition—especially if you’re weighing this course against others in the affiliate marketing space.

• Affordable Price Point
  Compared to most reputable affiliate marketing courses, Savage Affiliates is a bargain. The standard package starts at $197, which is significantly less than other programs that often charge $500, $1,000, or even more. For newcomers or those on a tight budget, this lower entry fee makes it accessible without sacrificing the breadth of content.

• Comprehensive Coverage of Affiliate Marketing
  One thing I genuinely appreciate is how Savage Affiliates covers the full spectrum of affiliate marketing. Whether you want to build a niche website, drive traffic through SEO, leverage paid ads, or explore funnels and email marketing, the training touches on it all. This is rare—most courses focus on just one method, but here you get a bird’s-eye view and can choose what fits your style and resources.

• Beginner-Friendly, Step-by-Step Guidance
  Franklin’s teaching style is straightforward and easy to follow. He uses simple language, avoids unnecessary jargon, and walks you through each step, making the course approachable for those with little to no prior experience. The video lessons are detailed, and you can literally watch over his shoulder as he builds out campaigns and websites.

• Transparency and Real-World Examples
  Franklin is upfront about his own successes and failures, showing real examples from his affiliate businesses. This transparency builds trust and gives you a realistic view of what’s possible, rather than hyping up overnight success stories.

• Decent Value for the Content Provided
  For the amount of training you get—over 100 lessons across multiple modules—the course delivers a lot of material for the price. If you’re willing to put in the work and focus on one method at a time, there’s enough here to get you started and moving forward.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

Criticisms For Savage Affiliates

Of course, no course is perfect, and Savage Affiliates comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Here are the main issues I encountered and observed:

• Outdated Training Content
  The biggest problem is that much of the content simply hasn’t been updated in years. Strategies for Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and even some SEO tactics are now outdated, which is a serious issue in an industry that changes so quickly. If you try to follow the paid ads modules as they are, you’ll likely run into platform changes and outdated interfaces that make it hard to implement what’s taught.

• Heavy Emphasis on ClickFunnels
  There’s a strong push throughout the course to use ClickFunnels, with entire modules dedicated to it and frequent affiliate links. While funnels can be valuable, the course sometimes makes it feel like ClickFunnels is essential to your success—which simply isn’t true for everyone. This emphasis can lead to extra costs you might not have anticipated.

• Messy and Disorganized Structure
  Despite the comprehensive content, the way it’s organized can be confusing. Some concepts are taught out of order, and you may find yourself jumping between modules to piece things together. For beginners, this lack of logical flow can be overwhelming and make it harder to absorb the material efficiently.

• Lack of Active Support and Community
  When I joined, the private Facebook group and community support were major selling points. Unfortunately, these have since been shut down, and there’s no longer any real support system in place. If you get stuck or need feedback, you’re largely on your own. Even the advertised support email is reportedly slow or unresponsive.

• Questionable Student Results and Testimonials
  While Franklin showcases a few testimonials, most are generic praise or recycled from his other courses. There’s a notable lack of recent, credible student success stories directly tied to Savage Affiliates. This makes it hard to gauge how effective the course really is for new students in 2025.

• Hidden and Ongoing Costs
  While the upfront price is low, you should be prepared for additional expenses. The training often recommends third-party tools—like ClickFunnels, autoresponders, and keyword research software—which can significantly increase your total investment.

Should You Join Savage Affiliates?

After spending real time inside Savage Affiliates and comparing it to what’s available in 2025, I have mixed feelings about recommending it. On one hand, the course is still one of the most affordable and comprehensive introductions to affiliate marketing out there. For $197 or $297, you get a huge library of video lessons covering everything from niche selection to SEO, funnels, and paid ads. If you’re brand new and want a step-by-step roadmap, there’s definitely value in the structure and the way Franklin breaks down the basics.

But here’s the reality: much of the training is now outdated, especially in areas like Facebook and Google Ads, where platforms have changed significantly since the course was last updated. The heavy focus on ClickFunnels can also push you toward extra expenses you might not want or need. Most importantly, I haven’t seen convincing, up-to-date student results or active community support. The Facebook group is gone, and support from Franklin’s team is hit-or-miss at best.

If you’re a self-starter who can fill in the gaps with your own research and you’re on a budget, Savage Affiliates can still give you a solid foundation. But if you want the latest strategies, active support, and a proven track record of student success, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

Savage Affiliates Alternative

If you’re serious about building a long-term, sustainable online business, Wealthy Affiliate stands out as the best alternative I’ve found—and it’s the platform I’d recommend to anyone starting today. Wealthy Affiliate offers a truly all-in-one solution: step-by-step affiliate marketing training, website hosting, keyword research tools, and a super supportive 24/7 community, all under one roof.

What I love about Wealthy Affiliate is how up-to-date and beginner-friendly the training is. New lessons and live expert classes are added every week, so you’re always learning what’s working right now—not what worked five years ago. The community is incredibly active, which means you’re never alone or stuck; there’s always someone to answer your questions or give you feedback. Plus, there are no hidden upsells or pressure to buy expensive third-party tools—everything you need to succeed is included in your membership.

Wealthy Affiliate also offers a free Starter membership, so you can test drive the platform and see if it’s right for you before spending a dime. If you decide to go premium, the pricing is transparent and includes all the tools and support you’ll need to build a real online business.

In my experience, if you want a modern, supportive, and results-driven path to making money online, Wealthy Affiliate is hands down the best place to start in 2025.

Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative

Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith is an internet entrepreneur. He created the Side Hustle Ideas Database to help people find side hustles for making extra money, with the potential of turning into a full-time income.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a business degree, he gained business experience at a consulting firm. At the same time, he tried various side hustles including freelance writing, blogging, and eCommerce. He managed to turn his side hustles into a full-time business, earning over $3 million. Now, he enjoys financial freedom and travels around the world as a digital nomad.