Name: Quick Sprout University
Website: QuickSprout.com/pro
Type of business: Website building
Price: $47/ month or $97/ year
Owner: Neil Patel
My rating: 2 out of 5 ⭐⭐
[Update] Due to the number of complaints, the members-only QuickSprout University program has now been disbanded and the videos can be accessed for free at QuickSprout.com/university.
QuickSprout has always been a well-known name.
As an avid follower and reading of QuickSprout’s blogs, I jumped at the opportunity when I found out that they’re releasing a new course.
Millions of questions run through my mind, like are the courses hidden tips that they never share on their blogs?
Will they guide us on boosting our blog traffic seeing that they’re providing a course now? More importantly, are they worth putting all our time in?
If you’re just as excited as me about how it all fans out, do continue reading my full QuickSprout University review on to know more.
What is Quick Sprout University all about?
If you’re into internet marketing, you might have heard the name Neil Patel.
He’s the owner of one of the World’s most popular marketing sites called Quick Sprout and if you’ve come across the websites Crazy Egg and Kissmetrics, we’ll he owns those too.
So if you are delving into the internet marketing world, you will come to notice that almost everyone knows him as Neil Patel is one of the most respected names in the industry.
He has helped many huge companies grow such as Yahoo!, Mazda and Walmart so with all that reputation and credibility he gets on his name, he decided to start an online business product which may soon turn out to be his downfall if he doesn’t do anything about it.
Unlike other scam gurus who teach how to make money overnight, Neil’s product teaches us how to grow our business rapidly, or so he claims.
His course of course covers the internet marketing essentials according to categories:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
- Link Building
- Content Marketing
- Social Media
- Paid Advertising
- Email Marketing
- Reputation Management
- Conversion Optimization
What I Like About It.
There are things which I really find helpful in his lessons.
For starters, they are short and easy to digest as being in the Internet Marketing line, you might have known how many technical jargons are there but Neil kept it very basic for you to absorb with ease.
The videos contained can help in trying to get rankings in Google as well as making your website more efficient so that it loads faster too.
But whether you want to spend that much money to learn something that can actually be gotten free somewhere else, depends entirely up to you.
If you have been in the Internet Marketing world for some time, I would recommend you to stick to reading QuickSprout’s blog instead as there is much more value in it than his very own program.
What I Don’t Like About This Program.
After trying out Quick Sprout University, I was really disappointed because it seems like Neil wasn’t serious about helping us after all.
Here’s what I meant:
Disappointment #1 – No Clear Direction on What We are Supposed to Do.
I was really confused when I got inside the program because truth is told, I have no idea what I was supposed to do!
Sure there is a list of categories to choose from but as a Newbie internet marketer, I have no idea what those terms are and why do we need them.
It’s common sense to us that for education programs, there should and must have a direction telling us where to start.
At the very least, a welcome note would suffice but Quick Sprout University doesn’t even have that!.
A clear example of an online business product that provides a clear direction and guidance on what you are supposed to do which I have reviewed is Wealthy Affiliate.
Even in the offline world (real life), when you go to a school or college, do you struggle and find yourself the path on how to get started, or will you get some direction after registering?
Of course you’ll get directions!
This actually made me re-think how those corporate clients can understand Neil’s program unless Neil personally shows them.
Wait, that actually reminds me…
Disappointment #2 – Neil Was Nowhere to Be Found.
From his sales page, Neil’s name was everywhere.
Heck, even the cartoon picture of a guy with the blackboard that you saw above is Neil Patel.
But when you get to his program, you will notice that Neil was nowhere to be found!
The videos weren’t even made by him, it was made by Brian Dean which Neil paid to do.
Perhaps it will soften the blow if Neil introduced to us earlier why is he hiring Brian to do the videos instead of Neil himself.
A lot of Internet Marketers hire freelancers to do their videos for them because they are afraid of speaking up which is understandable but Neil has done many talks globally which made me wonder as to why doesn’t he wants to spend some of his time doing his own videos instead.
Brian Dean is the founder of Backlinko but not everyone knows that, especially those who are new to the Internet Marketing world so if Neil would at least introduce us to Dean and why will he be trusting Dean with Quicksprout, it would affect this program much better.
Disappointment #3 – Overpriced for Very Little Content.
It is understandable for universities to charge expensive fees because there are facilities, but what facility do Quick Sprout University actually have?
To join Quick Sprout, we need to pay a monthly fee of $47 to access the content inside.
And what those content might be you ask? A compilation of a few short 5-10 minute videos.
And worse still, that $47 that you paid will only give you access to 5-10 minute videos every month which we can probably get anywhere else for free.
We know that you have huge branding on your name Mr. Patel, but that doesn’t mean that you should charge very high for something very little.
I have reviewed many online business products so I know that there are other courses out there that lets you learn for either a very low price or even free for contents that are beyond your expectations.
Neil’s Quicksprout blog which most of us know him from, gives way more information for free and has much more value as well as content in it compared to QuickSprout University which is only but a fraction of his blogs.
QuickSprout University Alternative.
There is a product that comes close to Neil Patel’s Quick Sprout University and that is called Wealthy Affiliate.
Like Quicksprout University, it is also an Internet Marketing and some people often refer to them as Wealthy Affiliate University.
It not only guides you to build an authority website the right way, but also the various ways of monetization which I find very interesting.
I was initially thinking of making Quick Sprout my number one recommendation but instead, that falls to Wealthy Affiliate because you get more than what Quick Sprout offers, for free.
There are many other features which I can explain but to help you see clearly what I’m talking about, here’s a table comparison overview…
My Final Word
Don’t get me wrong, I respect and look up to Neil Patel as a very experienced leader in the online business industry as he has helped many companies grow their businesses online.
In fact, I was even part of the team that made it possible to invite him all the way to Malaysia to give a talk at MaGIC’s startup academy in October 2014.
But when it comes to creating an internet marketing course of his own, it seems that all he thinks about is money because all those videos weren’t even made by him at all.
Instead, they were made by Brian which means that he uses his name to get his product selling which is a slick way of making money.
Apart from that, there is also a clear difference in value between Quicksprout’s free blog posts and Quicksprout University because the blogs were made by Neil himself whereas this program is made by someone else which is why the Quick Sprout University program is definitely a scam and receives my rating of.
Thanks for reading, feel free to share your experiences below as I would very much love to hear them.
Riaz, glad to find your site. Thank you for writing an honest and genuine review.
Pleasure’s all mine Jignesh!
I think QuickSprout University has disbanded Riaz, I couldn’t find it anywhere.
True that. Harley. Neil disbanded as he was getting a lot of complaints so now the videos are all available for free on Quicksprout.com
It looks like the QuickSprout university is free now and the contact form doesn’t work. Did they open the membership to everyone or is their website broken?
Regards,
Damian
Hey Damian,
I guess QuickSprout University is free now as all the lessons which were from that particular program is now available on QuickSprout.com/university. The old initial link to the sales page is also not working anymore because if you type in QuickSprout.com/pro, it will redirect you to QuickSprout again. I guess Neil disbanded the previous QuickSprout University due to the number of complaints he’s getting, thanks for pointing that out Damian!
I think QuickSprout University might be free now, I can’t find it anywhere
It is, Chris! All the videos are now on QuickSprout 😉
I’ve always looked up to Neil Patel but I have to admit, Quicksprout university isn’t like what I hoped for. I agree that the blog is way better than the pricey shallow training.
Right on Jasper! The blog does indeed have more value which I personally check out from time to time. Thanks for dropping by!
Neil Patel is a highly successful and respected entrepreneur. Well-known companies everywhere use his flagship products religiously (KISSMetrics, CrazyEgg). To label QuickSprout University a scam is flat out irresponsible. Not that he cares what you or I think, considering QS is a side-project with yearly revenues rumored to be in the $1M range.
I happen to be a fan of Wealthy Affiliate. But this practice of writing reviews (often negative ones) to advance your own affiliate marketing agenda is very predictable and frankly unfair and reckless at times.
QuickSprout University videos offer great value even though they are “thin.” But let’s face it, this is a standard internet business model. Give your audience free value. If they want or need more (which is the point), that’s your opportunity to monetize.
It’s the exact same thing WA does by offering their free membership, isn’t it? I’ve gone through it myself and it’s great. But the real goods can only be had if you go premium (which, again, is the point).
I agree that if you need more hand-holding, you may need to look elsewhere. And WA might be a great fit —assuming your interest is affiliate marketing focused. But let’s slow down on labeling Patel as a scammer. That’s just a bit too strong, IMHO.
Thank you for your feedback Camilo, I agree with you completely on Neil Patel’s abilities but if you read the whole review completely, I never stated that Neil Patel is a scammer. I said that QuickSprout University is a scam, not Neil himself and this is because unlike KISSMetrics and CrazyEgg which Neil personally spent time to create himself, unfortunately he paid someone else to handle QuickSprout University instead for him which is why that very program is degrading in value. If you buy QuickSprout University yourself and try it firsthand, you can feel the lack of information inside compared to the usual QuickSprout blog that Neil made himself. There are also no tools whatsoever in the Quicksprout University program whereas in the usual QuickSprout blog, you have a free website performance analyzer. Can you see the difference? I would not have my readers spend money when they can get better information elsewhere, why would anyone pay $47 when the blog itself has better high quality information? I would say that whatever program that Neil personally puts his hands on is and will be a huge success but since QuickSprout University is not made by Neil himself, that is why the program isn’t up to expectations.
Regarding the practice of writing reviews, yes there are many scammers out there who write reviews just to get traffic. However, reviews are not my main source of traffic as I only write them once a month. My aim is to help beginners avoid programs that are not worth their time and pursue those that are worth their money which is why I categorize my reviews into 2 categories – Scams and legitimate as not many people normally do this. I give honest reviews and I admit, Wealthy Affiliate is the number one program I recommend my readers to join. But what I’m promoting is only to join WA for free and for that, I do not earn any commissions at all. By doing this, I am giving a choice for my readers to check out the program and judge themselves before deciding to spend any money at all unlike QuickSprout University which you have to pay full just to check the program out which is risky.
I understand QuickSprout University is another method which Neil uses to earn income and yes, the idea is to provide a nugget of information strong enough to lure the visitors into wanting more which will lead to them to spend more money if they want the whole thing but if you want to do that, then you should do it right. The QuickSprout.com blog has great in-depth information which is of very high quality and it’s free! Because of that, people have trust in Neil and wouldn’t mind getting more information by going one step further and paying for QuickSprout University even though Neil initially promoted it at $97 a month but how would you feel if you paid that much just to find out that Neil’s blog has way better value than the Quicksprout University itself? You be the judge.
Great feedback Camillo, thanks for dropping by.
Best regards,
Riaz
Golly, I didn’t know Quicksprout University is that terrible inside! Thanks for a great write up Riaz, you helped me dodge a bullet 😀
You’re welcome, Vilo. I too was shocked that Quicksprout University isn’t as good as the usual QuickSprout post. Thanks for dropping by!
WOw I always looked up to Neil Patel but I’m with you on this one Riaz, his product is very low quality. The never ending lessons in Wealthy Affiliate is way better in terms of education, can’t wait to to start out and make some money! Thanks so much for pointing us in the right direction 🙂
No worries Tony, I was exactly your position – looking at nice products online and wondering if they are scams or not. But after several months of trying and failing, I finally found Wealthy Affiliate and quickly recoup my losses so that’s why I’m doing these review, to help others avoid those pitfalls I went through. See you in WA Tony!
Wow QuickSpout was so successful, it almost tempted me to by the program! Good thing I found this article of course, I should definitely try out this Wealthy Affiliate I heard so much about. Will bookmark your site for revisiting Riaz! Thanks so much for this review 😀
Your welcome Anabelle! Glad you liked my review, WA is pretty cool, I’ll help you out once you’re there and say Hi . Thanks for dropping by!