This is the most concise, detailed and thoroughly detailed insiders guide to Franklin Hatchetts #1 course, eCom Elites. It's the most affordable, most content filled course on the market. With a huge update in 2019, is it still the best drop shipping course on the market? My eCom Elites review will enlighten you on what I think.
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eCom Elites Review
- Rank: Ranked #1 out of 81 dropship courses (see full list here)
- Content: Longest, most impressive course with real life examples and results
- Length: 30 hours, 21 minutes
- Price: Standard ($197) | Ultimate ($297)
- Updated: February 2019
- Rating: 5/5
Rank: | Ranked #1 out of 81 dropship courses (See full list here) |
Content: | Longest, most impressive course with real life examples and results. |
Length: | 30 hours, 21 minutes |
Price: | Standard ($197) | Ultimate ($297) |
Updated: | Early 2020 |
Rating: |
Who Is Franklin Hatchett?
Franklin Hatchett is a New Zealand entrepreneur who's been making money online for the last ten years.
He claims to have been one of the first guru's teaching dropshipping, back in 2015 when very few people were doing this and Shopify was still in it's infancy. Roll forward 4 years and he's got his own course, teaching you how to drop ship effectively.
Drop Shipping, Franklin says is one of the most lucrative ways to start a business online and make real money. While many guru's push their magic software claiming overnight success, Franklin has created a course that focuses on real results that will come if you follow the content correctly.
Franklin's three key steps to success include:
- Stop the distractions
- Stop blaming others
- Start taking action.
Franklin now claims to have numerous successful dropshipping stores and includes real life examples from his course that you can see for yourself. One of those success stories is a tactical backpack.
Who Is ImRhys?
I started dropshipping over 15 years ago, selling products on eBay and shipping them from a third party website. Back then platforms such as Shopify, Bigcommerce, Woocommerce didn't exist so I had to make do with eBay.
Back then I made well over 5 figures per month, competition was few and far in between.
I then created my own website after learning how to code and started selling products directly to consumers. I saved 15-20% as I wasn't paying eBay or Paypal fees on my purchases.
After buying eCom Elites I took my business to the next level, learning a whole range of traffic techniques including Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Google Shopping and the power of chatbots, alongside sales funnels and search engine optimization.
My business now makes upwards of 7 figures revenue per year. Profit is low 6 figures but that still beats a day job right? Of course it does!
Does Dropshipping Still Work In 2020?
Absolutely, dropshipping isn't going anywhere and is still one of the most lucrative ways to make money online. You can start your own business fast, without worrying about holding inventory.
Most major retailers such as Walmart, BestBuy and BHPhotoVideo actually dropship their products if you purchase via their online stores.
Anyone who tries to tell you dropshipping is dead, often has a better alternative to sell you such as local lead gen, affiliate marketing or another get rich quick scheme, so don't believe their hype.
What To Expect From eCom Elites?
eCom Elites is probably the best course at the best price you've been looking for. While other guru's like to create courses that cost thousands of dollars, Franklin has provided a course that anyone can purchase and implement without worrying about wasting that money. It's an impulse buy that suits anyone looking to start an online biz.
The course doesn't include wishy washy information and he doesn't need a flashy lambo to sell you on the dream of starting your own business. If that's what you're looking for, eCom Elites probably isn't the platform for you.
Anyone can get a nice car.. on finance.
eCom Elites is an insiders look into the world of dropshipping and is perfect for beginners and intermediates looking for a complete A-to-Z hand holding into the process of building an eCommerce store.
You'll Learn
- How to setup your Shopify store from scratch
- You'll customize everything, use a premium theme and create a killer looking store.
- How to find and source products
- Work with some of the best suppliers for fast worldwide shipping.
- How to find winning products, sell products that meet consumer demand
- And find your first 6 figure product using real life case studies.
- How to launch your first Facebook Ad campaign
- Over 30 videos on the entire process for image, carousel and video ads.
- How to launch your first Instagram Influencer & Ad campaign
- Find other ways to market your products with this huge platform.
- How to get organic Google SEO traffic with various techniques
- Plus a full rundown on Google Shopping and how this can help your business.
- Using Email Marketing, Chatbots and Follow up sequences
- The power of these tools and tips can bring more to your bottom line.
eCom Elites Course Outline
The platform uses Teachable to handle the payments which are available via Paypal or Stripe. This is a good alternative as most courses only use Stripe these days as it’s next to impossible to cancel and get a refund. The member portal uses memberhub.io which looks great on both mobile and desktop, it’s responsive.
The first screen is the welcome video which gives you an overview on how the course will work.
I quickly noticed the number of modules and started expanding each module out, there is well over 180 videos in this course. The Facebook ad’s module has over 30 videos alone! Since I originally posted this review, I’ve come across over 50 other courses and Franklin’s is by far the most conclusive course on FB ads.
So not only are you getting an e-commerce course but you’re also getting a Facebook ads course that could easily rival and give more value than any of those guru’s Facebook courses that charge $500+ for similar content.
It’s great to see Franklin using Vimeo which offers a variety of video qualities ranging from 360 to 1080p depending on your internet connection.
After trying all four formats, the lowest quality still looked great on both desktop and mobile. As you can see you can change the connection quality yourself.
Module 0: eCom Introduction
This is the first module in the course and Franklin recommends you start off here before diving into the course content.
You'll get access to two videos and two books, a brief introduction to the course, himself and how to approach the course.
The main video of interest is the 'Looking at Results' video which shows you a small handful of successful students. There's over 6,000 students in the course with most succeeding with their dropshipping career.
Module 1: Store Setup
In this module under version 2.0 it’s been relaid out and now includes videos on a whole plethora of topics including starting a general or niche store and the reasons why you should do one or the other.
The videos go on to show you how to get started with a Shopify theme and if you don’t already know, eCom Turbo get’s a mention which is Franklin’s theme that is used by thousands of successful e-commerce stores. I use this theme on my own store and it’s much better for conversion optimization.
Videos in this section include: Customization, adding products, setting up shipping rates, taxes and working with upsells, promotions and special offers. You also get an overview on domain setup (linking your own to Shopify), handling coupons and so much more.
Franklin also looks into the payment methods available for both students based in the United States and around the world.
This is a section often ‘forgotten’ by other guru’s out there so it’s a good two videos if you aren’t a US or EU resident. Franklin’s course can accommodate students worldwide.
Module 2: Sourcing Products
eCom elites offers well over 3 hours of videos on product and niche selection, how to find products to sell and numerous websites on how to get inspiration to get started.
There are also numerous bonus videos including Print on Demand, Franklin’s 6 Figure Product, As Seen On TV and niche research software. Here is the content you can view in the course for this module (each point includes a one or two videos):
- Finding suppliers & relationships
- Product research overview
- Finding products to sell
- Product sales volume
- Triangle of sales
- Using trend sites
- Spying on stores
- Facebook product research
- Pricing products
- Broad niches.
Module 3: Facebook Ads
There is a ton of videos in this section, I’d definitely recommend going through them all if you’re just getting started with Facebook ads.
There is hours and hours of content here (50+ videos) with a simple follow along process. Bonus videos include advanced targeting such as birthdays and Franklin’s 100k blueprint.
Some of the FB videos in eCom Elites include:
- Getting to know the platform/how it works
- Setting up your account/installing pixels
- Creating FB business account/page
- Multiple methods, $5/day, blog post/ PPE method, Profit Multiplayer
- Extensive audience videos (broad, flex)
- Creating your ads, images, ad copy
- How to scale your ads effectively
- Using video ads for better results
- Retargeting
- Breaking down the data.
You’ll learn everything from setting up a business ad account to automatic and manual bidding, data mining, conversions, creating every type of ad, pixel installs, scaling and look a like audiences.
Franklin’s course is one a few courses out there that really shows you how to scale your business correctly.
Module 4: Instagram Traffic
Franklin goes through the process of showing you how to setup Instagram, finding influencers, the going rate on what you should and shouldn’t be paying for and how to find suitable influencers for your campaigns.
There’s a few videos in this section, it’s definitely not as long as the Facebook ads section but it’s a vital section most courses are focusing on. One good post could explode your traffic and sales overnight.
Some of the videos in this section include:
- Instagram retargeting
- Finding influencers
- Influencer pricing strategies
- How to run IG adverts
- Multiple Instagram ad setup videos.
Franklins’ course goes into lots of details regarding Instagram influencers. This will ensure you don’t get burned buying from spam accounts.
Module 5: Email Marketing
This module includes a wide variety of videos on how to setup a GetResponse campaign and setting up auto-responders to automatically email customers and/or potential leads (cart abandonment).
As an email marketing expert back in the day I agree with Franklin’s approach and it does work well.
In 2019 I definitely think Facebook messenger retargeting is the way forward over email marketing though.
There’s 15+ videos in this section with two being bonuses on how to use coupons to win customers back and analyzing and reading into your data further. Videos in this module include:
- Collecting and sending emails from store
- Connecting email plugin to store
- Contact flow pixel setup
- Setting up email tags
- Setting up automated emails
- Newsletter creation and sending
- How to get better open rates
- Alternative with using Mailchimp (free).
Module 6: Chatbots
This is a brand new module for version 2.0 and it’s good to see Franklin has created an entire module for this topic.
The saying in the drop ship world right now is, if you aren’t using a Chatbot, are you leaving money on the table?
Videos here will show you what they are, how to setup your very own bot and cool features such as sending ads through chat boxes, alert boxes, virtual answers to questions and chat flows! Cool right?
If you haven’t used chatbots before (or like me when I started, have no idea what they are), these videos are included:
- Basic chatbot setup and installation
- Setting up default replies
- Creating advanced chat flows (automatic replies etc)
- Creating popup boxes or links to your chatbot
- Running chatbot ads
- Setting up menus and other tools.
One of the awesome things Franklin shows you to do is how to run ads to people who have already subscribed or used your chatbot. This is warm traffic and will help you to convert them much better. When I started learning this module in the course it was pretty eye opening, there is so many possibilities.
Module 7: Sales Funnels
This module is new for version 2.0 and includes a wealth of content on how to create a funnel. The conventional way was to send a user to a cart page and collect payment.
Funnels allow you to collect payment then up sell them on other products with one click of a mouse.
Funnels also allow you to sell one product only and eCom Elites does this very well indeed.
Franklin is a funnel expert and was recently awarded by Russel Brunson (owner of Clickfunnels) for his affiliate work.
Videos in this section include:
- Clickfunnels account setup
- Importing a done for you sales funnel
- Editing your sales funnel step by step
- Integrating shopify for automatic fulfilment
- Connecting payment processors
- Installing tracking pixels
- Adding products/variants
- Fulfilling orders
- Setting up funnel retargeting.
Sales funnels are big business now and can turn a customer who would have spent say $20 into someone who spent $40. You can create unlimited upsells with the training on offer.
Module 8: Google Ads
Another brand new module for version 2.0 Franklin takes you inside Google Ads and shows you the pros and cons of using this platform vs Facebook Ads. You could however use both platforms just like Franklin.
Videos here include setting up Google Ads, navigating around the platform, installing Google pixel, retargeting campaigns, keyword research, ad layout and structure optimization.
Franklin has gone and overhauled this module and now there’s five videos on Google Shopping and even a module on scaling with time.
If you’ve considered Google Ads Ecom Academy, while the content here isn’t as detailed, it offers a similar level at a more affordable price.
The value in this module is insane, there is no other course on the market that goes into this much detail with Google and Facebook Ads, all in this price range.
Module 9: Organic Google SEO
I always notice with drop ship courses that the creators are either really good with paid traffic or organic.
There’s a fine line and they either skip one for the other. For example 90% of courses recommend paid traffic whereas others focus on organic SEO.
Franklin does focus on organic however you can quickly tell Franklin is a paid traffic man (which is fine and if you want fast results you need to use paid traffic too) but don’t expect a wealth of information here.
If you’re looking for SEO techniques you may need further reading.
Videos here include keyword research, building backlinks, link outreach andeven using blackhat methods.
Module 10: Top Secret Videos
The last module is classified as top secret but I don’t remember signing an NDA so here they are for you. I definitely enjoyed watching the Facebook and Youtube spying tool videos.
Module 11: Facebook Group
Every eCom elites membership gets access to the private Facebook mastermind group which is rammed full of content.
I’ve joined many eCommerce mastermind groups and most of them are either dead or the same questions over and over. Franklin had over 6000 members when I had my last look.
The group is actually very active. Usually with courses that are small you’ll notice a lack of replies to your questions. Thankfully with so many students, Franklin’s group is very active.
Module 12: Live Q&A Sessions
The videos included six Q&A sessions with Franklin with each one being around one hour long.
There’s also a motivational speech which was actually surprisingly watchable, most gurus usually make me cringe watching such videos. Lastly (at the time of writing) there was a video on flipping websites on Flippa.
Is it worth the price?
This is the largest drop shipping course on the market. It is also the cheapest course. When you combine these two features together you will understand just how powerful this course is to your dropshipping journey.
The original course, launched in 2017 was completely overhauled in 2019 and the course now offers the most concise and detailed eLearning platform you'll find out there. Some minor updates occurred in 2020.
While many guru's come and go, launching courses when the money dries up, Franklin Hatchett has been around for years and eCom Elites now has over 6,000 students. Each student paid a one time fee to join the course and gets ongoing updates. If that's not commitment to student success I don't know what is.
All the negative reviews around eCom Elites have an ulterier motive, such as selling you on their own course or recommending an alternative.
It's important to note, this is a training course, not a coaching course. If you want coaching then you'll probably want to buy a $3,000 package from a coach. You can't expect coaching 1-2-1 in a $197 course.
To get the most value out of this course, you should consider buying the training course and the complimentary theme that goes along with the course, eCom Turbo. Your total spend would be $197-$297 for the course plus $97-$147 for the theme (depending on how many stores you actually want).
I’ve recommended this course to many of my readers, no one has asked for a refund on either the course or the theme which shows just how much value Franklin offers.
He started at the bottom (working a 7-6 job driving a digger) and now drives around in a Maserati with the license plate ‘NODEGRE’ – which proves any one can start a business online with drop shipping and succeed.
Why I Ranked It #1?
Checkout all those guys who ranked this course as #2 and you'll see they are promoting their own local lead generation businesses or a huge eCom coaching programs which costs thousands of dollars and offer a healthy 50% affiliate commission.
I ranked it #1 because it is the best course, with the most content, at the best price.
Most people starting their eCommerce business have limited money to spend upfront. Very few people have two or three thousand dollars floating around that they can invest with a so called guru.
Franklin crafted this course for beginners and intermediates looking for all the information needed to start a successful business in one place, at one low fee.
If you've watched Youtube videos and want to stay on the right track then a premium course such as this, that offers 'completion steps' is probably what you're looking for. You can learn from one of the best, who isn't going to force you to buy upsells, coaching or another membership when the course is updated.
Would you rather have $3000 to spend on your business from day one or would you rather have $0 after spending that money on a premium course or coaching call. 99% of people would rather use that cashflow to start their business.
Most people starting dropshipping have less than $1000 to spend on their store and it's the perfect business model for those looking for a REAL business online.
Dropshipping vs Local Lead Gen
There's many scare mongering tactics out there such as dropshipping is expensive and that local lead generation is the easiest way to make money online with limited investment.
Firstly, there's the price of the course, most of those courses are priced upwards of $5,000 just to learn the process. They don't tell you that upfront.
Secondly, the competition is fierce with local lead gen. You'll be creating little websites that rank at the top of Google for keywords such as 'New York Plumber' and then collect their email address and sell those leads to local businesses. It sounds great but 1000's of people are doing the exact same thing and everyone knows the guy at the top gets all the leads. If you're not in the top map stack, you won't make a dime.
You'll be up against seasoned pro's who use shady marketing tactics to get their sites at the top, on every Google map search in the local area and many other websites who are years ahead of you.
Dropshipping allows you to place your ad in front of targeted audiences and it's up to you how you sell them, upsell them and convert them in future. With paid traffic you can see results instantly!
eCom Elites Real Life Example
I’ve been making money online for years and I always had a drop shipping store, long before I came across Franklin’s course. I was always using Google Adwords and directing those visitors to a collections page on Shopify. Big mistake!
I also was focused on SEO and that method still works great today, getting free traffic.
I quickly learned that you should be driving traffic to a specific product page ONLY unless you’re building a huge brand which most of you will not be doing. After seeing how these big e-commerce websites were making money it became much clearer through the course.
For example running an ad to a product page to checkout to an up sell to another upsell you can convert people much easier.
As you can see this is a far better way of running an e-commerce business.
Franklin taught me how to use chatbots, something I’d never have considered 12 months ago.
Franklin also taught me the power of Facebook Ads, Instagram Influencers and Clickfunnels.
The level of support offered in the Facebook group is second to none and I still can’t believe the price of the course given the on going updates, bonuses and additional videos constantly added to the members area.
If you do join, look out for me in the Facebook group, maybe we can help each other.
eCom Elites Discount Coupon Code
It’s important to note there is no ecom elites discount. Despite what other reviews state, there is no cash back or discount when you purchase Ecom Elites. Beware of scams selling unauthorized copies that are old and incomplete.
Hope you enjoyed my eCom elites review and after reviewing 50 of the best and worst drop shipping courses on the internet, I can say hands down this is the best one. You will not be disappointed, honestly.
See you in the FB mastermind and we can help each other.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is eCom Elites?
eCom Elites is an online eCommerce training course by Franklin Hatchett. This A-to-Z course will help you start a dropshipping business. Join 10,000+ students who have joined this course so far.
Why should I buy eCom Elites?
The course is the most affordable yet valuable course you’ll find. There’s over 200+ videos across 9 modules on many different topics.
You’ll learn about finding winning products, choosing suppliers, creating an optimized store, automating your sales and then there is 75+ videos on paid and free traffic. There’s also a mastermind group with 10,000 other members.
How much does eCom Elites cost?
The course has two price points, $197 and $297. The more expensive plan includes additional content and training and is worth the extra $100. Read the review and find out what the additional content is.
Where can I buy eCom Elites?
You can buy the course from ecomelites.com but be sure to read my review to see if the course is right for you.
Who owns eCom Elites?
Franklin Hatchett is the course creator, he’s a successful New Zealand entrepreneur who’s helped thousands of students start their eCom businesses.
What is the best dropshipping course?
eCom Elites was voted best dropshipping course by imrhys.com in our most recent guide which you can view on our website.
- Course Content
- Course Price
- Lecturer
- Value
- Ongoing Updates
Summary
This is a quality course at a very affordable price, offering a ton of content and videos it’s definitely one of the best drop shipping courses on the market right now.