eCom Lifestyle University Review (Ricky Hayes Course)

In this article, we’ll review Ricky Hayes’ eCom Lifestyle University. I bought it after seeing it advertised as the answer to dropshipping successfully on Shopify, and now you’ll find out whether or not you should spend your $297 on it.

It was launched at the start of 2019. It claimed it was actually worth a whopping $5,998, but it was offered at a mere $297. Admittedly, it’s quite cheap given the prices for other courses available.

It also increased its price to $497, but I got it at a discounted price for its version 3 release. Just make sure to check its current price since it’s been a while since I got it.


Who’s the author?

Ricky is a YouTuber from Australia. He focuses mostly on eCommerce and dropshipping specifically. His channel isn’t really large, sporting a modest subscriber following around 9,000, yet some of his videos have gone quite viral and enjoyed good exposition.

eCom Lifestyle University is his premium offer, but that seems quite bold. Seeing it named “university” made me think about weeks of content and hundreds of videos, so I was really curious about it and that’s why I got it.

Other than that, Ricky usually hosts live streams for his followers. The most recent one was an over-the-shoulder showcase through an entire week, seemingly making from $0 to $1,000 in those 7 days.

His videos usually show clickbait titles, but they are actually quite entertaining and have good content. He also steers clear of showing off cars and luxuries, which is a nice impression.


Reviewing eCom Lifestyle University

The course spans 6 different modules split into weeks, and 2 bonus weeks at the end. For the 3rd version, there are 95 HD videos which span about 18 hours in total filled with content.

I can admit that’s a reasonable length, especially given the duration of other, more expensive, courses. But it comes off kind of short seeing how this is supposed to be a university.

The sales page also looks quite similar to Harry Coleman’s eCom Beast online course. In fact, running them through plagiarism checkers confirms they’re considerably similar, and some sections repeated every word.

I haven’t seen it in a while, and it might have changed, but it was quite a shock. Perhaps they know each other.

Week 1

The first week is your standard introduction with a few videos on the course itself and the right mindset for success. There’s also a nice touch on common myths and motivation.

It’s overall just two videos, but the first one lasts for 28 minutes, which is quite surprising.

Week 2

As usual, the second module is about building your own store on Shopify, setting up payments, integrating Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics, using the Dropified app, tracking Aftership, using currency converters, and exploiting bars for discount prices.

There are some nice details here and there. The other videos focus on different apps you should use like Recart, Bold Brain, and SMSBump. The section has 33 videos, and it covers a wide range of topics, even print on demand and upsells.

This section is the largest on the course, and the videos have a lot of variety. Of course, you shouldn’t install all the apps he recommends, but it’s good to have an idea of what you may need.

Week 3

This module has 11 lessons on product research. There’s information on AliExpress and Amazon, as well as other stores on Shopify and the Facebook tricks.

There’s some criteria for your selection, ROAS, and Google, but it would’ve been nice to see tools like Sell The Trend.

Week 4

This module only has a few videos on growing your brand and once focused on building your brand on Instagram. It has a few tips of influencers and a bit of content on Facebook as well.

Week 5

This module spans 27 videos explaining Facebook Ads, and most are over-the-shoulder views guiding you on how to use them.

You have templates, targeting, creative setups, testing budgets, retargeting, and scaling. There’s content on repeat customers, growing your budgets, and video editing.

There’s a nice video on when you should kill ads and optimization, plus a few guides to reduce CPP.

It’s not the biggest Facebook Ads section available, but it’s quite solid.

Week 6

This week is all about outsourcing to virtual assistants. There’s hiring on Upwork and managing your team using Slack and Trello.

I might add Toggle as another good platform.

Week 7

This is a module on Google Ads focusing on it and its Merchant Centre. You have your standard videos on setting up and using Google Ads and Shopping, navigating the platform, installing pixels, retargeting, researching keywords, and layouts.

This was a recent addition to the course, and it’s quite nice being able to skip getting a full Google Ads course thanks to the value here.

Week 8

The second bonus week is about using ManyChat for customer interaction on Messenger and boosting sales. It’s a pretty short module, but it’s good guidance nevertheless.

There’s a neat ending video thanking you for taking the course as well. He’s a nice guy.


What do you get with this course?

The first module jumps into product research, showing a 4-step method for finding “hidden gems”. However, it’s not as groundbreaking as he wants you to think: just a nice method for finding some products.

The first duplicate comes in the Facebook Ads module. It’s the same as his Tiger course, with 7 videos offering insight into getting started and setting up your account. I don’t know why he didn’t expand it since you can find courses with at least twice as much content as this section. Besides, it’s missing relevant updates.

The secret Instagram approach is also recycled from his Tiger course, and it’s not a secret. You probably already know it if you’ve seen videos on Instagram marketing.

An addition to this course is the print on demand business model and how Youssef teaches you to implement this strategy to your store on Shopify. He then compares it to using AliExpress.

You have a standard section on setting up your store, and it’s only different from Tiger in that it’s two shorter videos instead of a single long one. While the module focuses on a print on demand business, you can apply this knowledge to build any store.

You then get a couple of videos on growing your Instagram and building your brand account. This module stands out thanks to Youssef’s meaningful insight, and it’s something I was expecting, given his experience as a consultant. So I can’t really complain about this section –good job.

The last videos talk about live reviews for your store, and the last module about dropshipping in America.

You finally get a directory with verified suppliers you can use for your business, but beware that these will probably only work for US-based companies or residents. You can try as an overseas business, but you should just skip it unless you have an SSN or a reseller ID.


Final Verdict

Is It Worth It? Final Verdict

The course is good, I’ll admit. You have lots of good content, great insight, and a reasonable medium length that gets longer the more you see other courses spanning like 5 hours.

However, $497 is a significant investment. It may be worth it, but there are courses like eCom Elites that can give you even more information for just $297. If you have the money to spend, it’s a good class, but know there’s better.


I hope you found this review useful and if you have any questions, please comment down below. I’ll be more than happy to assist you.

Once again, thanks for reading my eCom Lifestyle University Review and I wish you the best of luck.

Mike

Hey, I am Mike and I am a full-time affiliate marketer! Nowadays there’s a lot of people promoting guru courses and overall bad software products. I am absolutely tired of people pushing their overpriced and crappy products and courses out to everyone to take advantage of you. My mission is to review and call out bad products, software, and courses whilst recommending only the best there is! You can read a little more about my journey  here!

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