Shaw Academy Digital Marketing Review

Welcome to my Shaw Academy Digital Marketing review. Is this a legit course that can help you make money online, or just another scam that you should avoid?

This may seem like a credible company that’s all about helping its customers, but the reality of things is far different than what your first impression might be.

Here’s what you need to know. The ”free” courses that you will get access to, are not really free. 

If you end up giving away your credit card details or PayPal account, there is a huge risk that you will be charged at some point in the future. Without your consent.

There are numerous complaints about UNAUTHORIZED payments being taken from people who have joined Shaw Academy as free members.

This has been going on for a few years. Now, they claim that they have taken measures to deal with this issue, but the complaints keep piling.

This is just one of the shady things that the company does.

Before you even think about becoming a member, it’s important to understand what you are getting yourself into. 

By the time you’re done here, you will know EXACTLY what’s inside the Digital Marketing training, what you can REALLY learn from them, and how to avoid getting charged without your consent, if they have your personal details.

Ready? Let’s get started…

Shaw Academy Digital Marketing Review Summary

Product Name: Shaw Academy

Product Owner: James Egan

Product Type: Digital Marketing Training Course & Other Topics

Product Price: $69.99/Month, & Upsells

Overall Score: 15/100

Summary: Shaw Academy has a very low trust score, with a lot of negative reviews. Despite their efforts to try and silence all the unhappy users, many have managed to share their experiences.

They claim that they are well-recognized and accredited, but that’s not true. Recently, Shaw Academy went through a rebrand.

They now operate under a different name, a new website, and a whole new set of products.

Why would they do that? In most cases, companies go through a rebrand because of too much negative user-generated feedback.

According to Shaw Academy, you will get 4 weeks of free trial to test out the program and see if it’s a good fit or not, yet they still want you to give them your credit card details or PayPal address.

That’s the ONLY way to get access to the so-called free training. Apparently, they do that to ensure that people do not make multiple accounts, which can be considered a legitimate reason.

However, a large number of people complain that their credit card was charged, despite canceling their membership on time.

In some cases, people have seen money missing from their account, MONTHS after deleting their accounts on Shaw Academy.

That alone should be enough to reconsider getting involved with them in the first place. Luckily, there are REAL websites that can teach you digital marketing.

If you want to learn the skills of making money online, WITHOUT giving out your credit card details and getting cheated out of your money, then you should see this alternative below.

What is Shaw Academy’s Digital Marketing Course About?

It’s a 16 weeks long training course, with 4 modules and 32 educational videos in total. The content seems highly organized and of great quality.

It covers all sorts of relevant topics including Search Engine Optimization, Paid Traffic, Email Marketing, and more.

They make it a point to let you know that the certificates you earn at the end of each course can be used as proof of your newly obtained skills.

In reality, no one will acknowledge them as a legit and reputable company, which means that you can’t do a lot wth these certificates.

On the outside, Shaw Academy looks like a platform that can teach you different digital marketing skills, which is similar to another program called Digital Agent System.

The problem is that it only seems that way.

The information inside this training can be found for free on platforms like Google and YouTube. The only thing that the team from Shaw Academy is good at, is harassing people.

If you make the mistake of giving them your email, and phone number, you can expect to be bombarded with calls from their sales team and promotional messages, that urge you into becoming a member. 

Is The Shaw Academy Digital Marketing Course a Scam?

Yes, they will take money from your card without authorization. The free trial that you are lured in with is just a ruse to trick you into giving out your personal details. The only way to cancel your membership is by contacting customer service.

The process is tedious, and you may even be refused a refund, even if you clearly state that you had been billed wrongfully without agreeing to anything.

You will get charged, regardless of what customer service tells you. Trustpilot has acknowledged misuse on their review page of Shaw Academy.

They have been accused of reporting reviews in a biased way, in order to look more credible and trustworthy than they actually are, and asking users that have left negative mentions to delete or change them into positive ones.

Does this sound like something that a legitimate online company or organization will do?

Are Shaw Academy Courses Accredited?

No, they are not. The Shaw Academy platform claims that they are accredited and globally recognized, but according to the Better Business Bureau website, they are NOT.

It’s not surprising that they try to do whatever it takes to look as credible as they possibly can in the eyes of potential customers.

Given everything else covered about Shaw Academy, it’s obvious that they care more about making money themselves, rather than being honest and transparent with people.

Who Created The Shaw Academy Digital Marketing Course?

The founder is James Egan, but he has a team of people who help him run his company. Shaw Academy was created back in 2012 with the intention to revolutionize and digitalize education.

His company specializes in many different subjects, from health and fitness to digital marketing. He has hired educated professionals for every different topic that is covered inside Shaw Academy. According to his bio, James Egan has a bachelor’s in civil law and master’s in commercial law.

What’s Inside Shaw Academy’s Digital Marketing Course?

Inside the Digital Marketing course at Shaw Academy, you will get access to training that covers different aspects of online marketing.

At the end of each module, you will complete a final exam, that costs an additional $50 for each test that you participate in.

That’s not disclosed anywhere on their platform, which is yet another shady tactic to charge more money from people.

When you complete the Digital Marketing course, you will get rewarded with a digital diploma, which may look good on your wall, but that’s about as much use as you can get from having that certification from Shaw Academy. 

The entire course structure is broken down into 4 modules, with 8 videos each, that cover a wide range of things related to digital marketing. Let’s break everything that you will get inside now:

Beginner in Digital Marketing

1. Introduction to Digital Marketing. This module is designed to get you familiar with the terminology that digital marketers use.

2. Tracking & Measuring Marketing Efforts. Here you will be introduced to the basics of Google Analytics, and learn all about setting realistic goals, and how to track everything that you are going to do online.

3. Reaching The Target Market. Find your niche market or the people who will be buying your products and services. The customer journey is an important part of your marketing, which is why you need to know what that looks like.

4. The Importance of Mobile. Mobile users exceed desktop users, which is why your online business should be optimized for speed, efficiency, and mobile-friendliness.

5. Free Digital Marketing Options. Here you will learn how to leverage social media, search engine optimization, and Google My Business, to get some free traffic (web users) onto your offers.

6. Google Ads. Learn all about setting up and launching Google ad campaigns.

7. Using Paid Social Media. Get to know the basics of setting up Social Media ad campaigns.

8. Create a Strategy. This lesson will cover setting up a plan of action, which platforms are best suited for your online business, and how much money you are willing to spend on paid ads.

Intermediate in Digital Marketing

1. Content Development and Copywriting. This lesson will go through trigger words that get people hooked up, wanting to buy from you, and some basic search engine optimization techniques, and blogging tips.

2. Video Content and Advertising. This lesson covers the importance of incorporating video content into your strategy, and how it correlates with adblockers and video trends.

3. Email Marketing. Learn about email marketing, how to create sales copy, and write emails that people will want to open and click on the links inside. You have to understand that there are entire programs and courses dedicated to teaching Email Marketing, which is why you should not expect to learn a lot from the few short videos that are offered inside Shaw Academy.

4. Influencer and Affiliate Marketing. This part of the module will teach what is affiliate marketing, and how you can use that business model to sell and promote products that are not your own and earn commissions from that. You will also learn how to combine that with Influencer marketing. By building a large following on social media, you can influence people to buy affiliate products from you.

5. Facebook Business Manager. Here you will learn about Facebook’s business manager and the importance of running paid ads on social media.

6. Planning a Google Search Campaign. This lesson goes through Google ads (again), and how to plan a campaign with the right search intent in mind.

7. Implementing a Search Campaign Part One. Get introduced to keyword research, and find out what a Google ad campaign looks like.

8. Search Campaign Part Two. Get access to a live demo on how a search campaign is launched, create a strategy, and fill out a checklist.

Advanced in Digital Marketing

1. Understanding Metrics. Get familiar with PCA (Post- Campaign Analysis) and how to evaluate a campaign’s effectiveness.

2. Brand Management. Managing a brand can mean a lot of things, and depending on the niche market that you are in, there are different aspects that you should focus on. Credibility, trustworthiness, and making sure that a brand has a good reputation are a few of the things that you will learn.

3. Intermediate Analytics Part One. Learn about event tracking, and setting up goals, Views, Dimensions, and Properties in Google Analytics.

4. Intermediate Analytics Part Two. Google Analytics can offer a lot of insights into your business, and learning how to set up Audiences, and filter your traffic to exclude spam, and internal traffic from your reports can be useful.

5. Affiliate Marketing. This lesson is focused more on the merchants, and WHY they need affiliate marketers to promote their products and services.

6. eCommerce Part One. This lesson will show you how eCommerce business owners pick their website hosting and domains, how they manage inventory, and more.

7. eCommerce Part Two. Here you will learn how to enhance the user experience, how to set up and launch eCommerce campaigns, and how to use Google Analytics that is complimentary to this particular business model.

8. Intermediate SEO. Get familiar with backlinks, and how they help with your organic search rankings. Find out how SEO and PPC (pay-per-click) can increase your overall results and performance.

Proficient in Digital Marketing

1. Converting More Leads Part One. How to engage with customers through social media.

2. Converting More Leads Part Two. Best common practices for converting followers into buyers.

3. Social Media Management and Monitoring Part One. This lesson will show you how to find out exactly what your ideal customers want so that you can ensure that they get it.

4. Social Media Management and Monitoring Part Two. Explore the tools and methods that can increase your customer service quality and an overview of your content strategy.

5. Turning Fans Into Buyers Part One. Buyer and consumer behavior is different across social media channels. Depending on what you are selling or promoting, you will learn which platforms are best suited for your online business.

6. Turning Fans Into Buyers Part Two. Leverage the sales funnel with social media to provide a good consumer-buyer journey.

7. Optimizing Your Social Media Strategy Part One. Here you will focus on building a solid social media marketing strategy by combining the things you’ve learned so far.

8. Optimizing Your Social Media Strategy Part Two. Learn how to manage ad spend budget, and track your progress to avoid spending more than you make.

How Much Does Shaw Academy’s Digital Marketing Course Cost?

The free trial is incredibly misleading. You should expect to be charged for the monthly premium plan at any point after you join, which costs $69.99/Month.

Be careful when you click on popups because there are multiple one-click payment options for different services and additional courses. You can easily get charged even more money, without realizing it. The entire structure of Shaw Academy is designed to squeeze as much money from you as possible.

How to Avoid Unauthorized Charges from Shaw Academy

There are a few things that you can do to avoid being charged by Shaw Academy. The first thing that you should do is to contact their customer service and request that they cancel your account and remove your payment details from the system.

It can be time-consuming and difficult to reach someone who can actually help you with that, so be prepared to spend a significant amount of time trying to reach the billing and cancellations department.

The next thing that you can do is to contact your credit card issuer and ask them to stop/block any transaction from Shaw Academy, PVT. LTD.

If despite all of that, you get money deducted, then you should go to the Better Business Bureau website, and file a formal complaint, where you explain the exact steps that you’ve taken to avoid being charged. This can increase the likelihood of you getting a refund.

Does Shaw Academy Offer Refunds?

According to their terms of service, Shaw Academy does not offer refunds, unless there is a good reason, like unauthorized payments. Keep in mind that you will have to prove your case, so make sure that you complete the steps above, that explain how to avoid unauthorized charges.

What I Like About Shaw Academy’s Digital Marketing Course

1. You Can Learn a Thing or Two. If you are new to digital marketing, then Shaw Academy’s course can teach you a few things.

What I Don’t Like About Shaw Academy’s Digital Marketing Course

1. Misleading Statements. The free trial that you are shown on their sales page is in place to trick you into giving out your credit card details so that they can start charging you for a ton of different things, without your consent.

2. Shady Practice. The entire platform is created in a very deceitful and manipulative way. You are being led on to believe that you can try everything for free, which is not true. Even Trustpilot has detected that they try to manipulate the reviews inside that platform. Since then, there has been nothing but negative mentions of Shaw Academy on Trustpilot.

3. Many Upsells. There’s a ton of different upsell, and some of them come in the form of popups, that can take money from your card with just one click. If you are not extremely careful with what you do, you can get charged for things that you never intended to buy in the first place.

4. You Can Find What’s Being Taught Inside For Free Online. If you take a look at the curriculum inside Shaw Academy you will see a lot of fancy words, and talks about KPI, PPC, SEO, and more. They will do whatever they can to make a good first impression, but the reality is that you can find most of what’s being taught online, free of charge.

5. Outdated Content. The content has not been changed or updated in YEARS. This means that most of the information inside is outdated and useless.

My Recommendation

Do not join the free trial inside Shaw Academy because there is a huge risk of being charged money that you did not initially agree to be taken from you.

There are tons of complaints online from people that have experienced this exact problem, which leads me to think that the people from Shaw Academy only care about exploiting people and taking their hard-earned money.

Even though you will get something in exchange for your money, these practices are very scammy by nature, and the quality of training that you will get inside is definitely NOT worth the hassle of losing hundreds of dollars and trying to get them back.

My opinion is that you should not trust companies like that one with your money, and personal details because they will do what’s best for them, regardless of the outcome for you. 

There are LEGIT ways to learn the skills of making money online, but all the evidence shows that this is not one of them.

If you want to learn how people are profiting from a simple blueprint that outlines online passive income generation methods, then you can see this alternative below.