David Sharpe Review: Affiliate Marketing Testimonials, Courses, & Alternatives in 2025 |Ippei: Why Local SEO Lead Generation is the #1 Online Business Opportunity in 2025

David Sharpe has over a decade of experience as a digital marketer and has generated over $250 million in revenue. He went from being a high school dropout to co-founding 3 multi-million dollar companies, which include The Empower Network and Legendary Marketer. To date, David has helped over 500,000 entrepreneurs start and grow their online business.

In a YouTube video about affiliate marketers making their first sale, David Sharpe said: “Understanding and kind of establishing that selling somebody else’s product is what you’re going to do.” And I agree because you’re not building your business, you’re making other people rich. In my opinion, making money with affiliate marketing is like running Café Central in Vienna that offers a seasonal menu. Affiliate marketing often results in inconsistent earnings. Some months you might make a lot, others barely anything. This is because income is tied to sales, and with fluctuating consumer behavior, ad rates, and competition, you can go from high commissions to barely any, even if you work hard. Affiliates often face commission cuts or program terminations. Companies change their commission structures or end affiliate partnerships unexpectedly. Plus, affiliate marketing is saturated. Everyone’s promoting the same products, and ranking on search engines or standing out in paid ads becomes more challenging every year.

In this article, we dive into who David Sharpe is and his online courses, such as Legendary Marketer and The Empower Network. We also feature positive and negative testimonials from students like Kevin Harrington and Jeff Dingman. Finally, we compare whether affiliate marketing is more profitable than local lead generation in driving passive income.

What are David Sharpe Pros & Cons?

Pros	Cons
Companies like Forbes and Entrepreneur.com have featured David in their articles.	Affiliate marketing can make you money, but it won't be something you can predict month to month.
David has made over 9-figures in sales online	It's getting more expensive to run paid ads when promoting products on social media
David is an expert affiliate marketer who shares his knowledge and that of other digital entrepreneurs in his program	Legendary Marketer comes with too many expensive upsells
Thousands of students have become successful because of David's training

Who is David Sharpe?

David Sharpe is the CEO and co-founder of Legendary Marketer. He is from St. Petersburg, Florida and attended Clearwater High School. While in school, he got involved with drugs and alcohol. When he was in 9th grade, he dropped out. At age 16, he became a father. For over a decade, David battled with drug and alcohol addiction and was homeless at one point. In 2008, at 24 years old, he got clean from drugs and alcohol, slept on his dad’s couch and worked in construction to make ends meet.

David eventually discovered internet marketing, and he began seeking mentors. He bought online courses and coaching programs from successful digital entrepreneurs. In only 7 years, he had changed his life by starting The Empower Network with his partner David Cross. Together, they did over $150 million in sales.

David has now traveled all around the world making millions of dollars from affiliate marketing, his online programs, and live events.

three pictures of david sharpe image

On the David Sharpe YouTube channel , he has over 27.2K subscribers and often posts content, which includes interviews with other online entrepreneurs who are getting significant results with their online businesses.

What is The Dave Sharpe Show Podcast?

The Dave Sharpe Show podcast is podcast David Sharpe started on September 2, 2019. The purpose of this podcast was to share free advice about online marketing and sales. His last episode was on March 16, 2020. You can access his podcast on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

What is David Sharpe’s Net Worth?

David Sharpe has an estimated net worth of $200 million dollars if you consider all the coaching and digital products he’s sold, but also the cars and houses he bought for his parents and for himself. This shouldn’t be too far off, as we know he’s generated over $250 million in sales with the 3 companies he co-founded.

David Sharpe Positive Reviews

Kevin Harrington is the original Shark from the hit TV show “Shark Tank”. He collaborated with David Sharpe and partnered with him because David had already built an over $200 million dollar business. Kevin wanted to make sure he was working with the best entrepreneurs in the business. He spoke highly of David as an online marketer in his video testimonial.

Jeff Dingman shared his testimonial on the Legendary Marketer sales page. He highly recommended David Sharpe and his mentorship because he of how David shows he cares about all of his students. Jeff said that David’s approach is unique and that if you want to take your business to the next level, signing on to work with David was the way to go.

None of the Legendary Marketer students shared how much their financial situation changed for the better in any of their video testimonials, which leaves the question: how much money are David Sharpe’s students actually making after taking his courses?

Many of David’s positive reviews end up being his affiliates.

David Sharpe Negative Reviews

On The No Boss Life YouTube channel , this YouTuber mentioned a few downsides of joining Legendary Marketer. She said that Legendary Marketer is good at enticing people with a well-crafted funnel but once you get into the training, they only teach you basic information. According to her, each upsell is overpriced and leaves you with much to desire. Also, they make it so that most of the money you earn is from promoting their program. She also said that the coaching is mediocre and they keep upselling you to higher ticket programs.

On Reddit, another person said that as a Legendary Marketer affiliate, you only get paid your commissions once every six months.

They also stated that many members share how much they make in the forum. But their “so-called” success is questionable, being that many of those members had joined Legendary Marketer only two weeks prior to posting. It seems odd that they reach such high income levels so soon after joining.

Overall, you won’t find any seriously negative reviews about David Sharpe.

Is David Sharpe a Scam?

David Sharpe is not a scam because he has made over $250 million in sales online while helping over a half a million people become financially free with affiliate marketing. Some of the biggest names in the world of business also work with him because he has proven that he is a legit internet entrepreneur. To see what he’s currently talking about, you can tune in to his YouTube channel since he hasn’t uploaded an episode on his podcast for almost 3 years.

How Does David Sharpe’s Coaching Work?

David Sharpe’s coaching works by providing structured, step-by-step guidance to individuals looking to build or grow their online businesses. His program, Legendary Marketer, focuses on teaching affiliate marketing, online sales funnels, and digital product creation, with various levels of training. The coaching includes online courses, one-on-one coaching calls, live mastermind events, and community support to help entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey.

The process typically starts with a 15-Day Business Builder Challenge, which lays the foundation for creating an online business. From there, students can access more advanced courses and coaching tailored to specific areas of business development. David Sharpe’s coaching emphasizes personalized mentorship, helping students navigate challenges and refine their strategies as they scale their businesses. Additionally, many students have the opportunity to become affiliates, earning commissions by promoting Legendary Marketer’s products.

What is Legendary Marketer?

Legendary Marketer is an online education platform that David Sharpe founded in 2017. His goal was to provide online courses, coaching, and live mastermind events for people looking to make money online. The Legendary Marketer products teach you several ways to make money online such as with affiliate marketing and creating a digital product. They even give you the chance to join their affiliate program. This is like what the Wealthy Affiliate program offers. You also learn how to increase the number of subscribers on your YouTube channel, how to create an online course, how to become an online consultant, and more. They offer 7 online training programs and one in person mastermind event called the Legendary Marketer Mastermind live event.

Is Legendary Marketer a Pyramid Scheme?

Legendary Marketer is not a pyramid scheme because they teach actual skills in their digital products and live event. They do have many upsells from one program to the next, but it is not a pyramid scheme. If it was, they wouldn’t have all the positive testimonials they do on their sales page. Those testimonials are a testament to the Legendary Marketer worth.

What are the Legendary Marketer Products or Services?

The Legendary Marketer products or services are:

15 Day Business Builder Challenge is a training on how to get your business set up in 15 days. When you’re done with the 15 day business challenge, there are upsells to their higher ticket programs.

Andre Wisdom of Wisdom Speaks is an affiliate marketer, blogger, and former student of David Sharpe. He joined the 15-Day Business Builder Challenge and makes over $13,000 monthly, besides his one-on-one coaching calls worth $500. Moreover, Andre is an affiliate marketer of David’s online course.

Legendary Marketers Club is what they call the “Netflix of marketing” training. This high ticket product is a subscription that gives you access to a library of training videos and resources on everything you need to start and scale your online business. There are also live coaching calls hosted each week for Q&A.

Affiliate Marketing Business Blueprint is a course that teaches you how to get started with affiliate marketing. They show you how to find profitable products and how to generate sales by using a sales funnel.

The Digital Products Business Blueprintwill help you turn your knowledge and skills into a digital product/online course you can sell. They help you with your business plan and coach you each step of the way.

The Coaching and Consulting Business Blueprint is a training course that will teach you how to become a coach or consultant who works on a monthly retainer or contract basis and services clients through Zoom or Skype.

In the Events and Masterminds Business Blueprint, they show you how you can make money by planning and hosting live masterminds.

Read my Legendary Marketer review for more details on the platform Dave Sharpe co-founded.

What is Empower Network?

Empower Network is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that helped business owners make money online with their blogging system. David Sharpe founded the company in 2011 with his partner, David Wood. The Empower Network hosted one of the largest blogging communities and publishing platforms. In 2017, though, they filed for bankruptcy, and David Sharpe focused all of his efforts on the Legendary Marketer platform.

Why Did Empower Network Shut Down?

Empower Network shut down because of an accounting error, according to co-founder David Cross. From 2011 to 2013, because of bad accounting, they were paying more commissions than they had money. They took the company from doing $7 million in sales to doing $300K in sales and still had to pay back money to their members. Eventually, the Empower Network had no money, and they had to go bankrupt.

Is Affiliate Marketing Still Profitable in 2025?

Affiliate marketing is still profitable in 2025 because, according to Statista, the affiliate marketing industry will be worth over $8.3 billion this year. Also, it has a low barrier to entry because of the low startup costs. As long as you can do a good job promoting other companies’ products by creating profitable social media ads, and sales funnels, you’ll make money with affiliate marketing. Just know that the income you make with affiliate marketing will not be predictable each month because you don’t own any digital assets.

What are Other Affiliate Marketing Courses Online?

The Affiliate Lab by Matt Diggity focuses on building affiliate websites that rank on Google by using a proven step-by-step system. The Affiliate Lab covers keyword research, content creation, and link-building strategies tailored to generate long-term, scalable results.
Wealthy Affiliate by Kyle Loudoun is a comprehensive platform for beginners to advanced marketers, offering training in affiliate marketing, website development, and online business management. The course provides step-by-step lessons, tools, and resources to build an affiliate business from scratch.
Affiliate Marketing Mastery by Ivan Mana offers a deep dive into building profitable affiliate marketing businesses. It includes strategies for building high-converting sales funnels, optimizing campaigns, and scaling businesses effectively. This course is designed for those who want to earn significant income through affiliate marketing.

Final Verdict: Is David Sharpe’s Strategies Worth It?

David Sharpe’s strategies are worth it for marketers who already have a foundation in place, including high-ticket offers, ad budgets, and sales teams. Legendary Marketer offers a comprehensive framework and expert coaching that can drive results for those already spending $3,000–$6,000 per month on ads and managing a team. If you’re spending significant resources and actively managing creatives, sales reps, and appointments, his approach can work.

However, for solo entrepreneurs or those seeking passive income, the constant need for ad spend, funnel optimization, and team oversight may make it more operationally intense and less scalable.

For beginners or anyone looking for a lower-risk model that can generate steady returns over time without ongoing expenses, local lead generation offers a more passive and scalable alternative, where assets rank organically and produce leads on autopilot.

Is Local Lead Generation More Profitable Than Affiliate Marketing?

In my experience, local lead generation is more profitable than affiliate marketing because you set your pricing structure and maintain control over the deal terms like Scrooge McDuck diving into his own vault of gold. He sets his own rules for how he acquires and spends his wealth, keeping full control over his treasure (profits). You’re not at the mercy of affiliate networks that can slash commissions or terminate your partnerships at any time.While affiliate marketing depends on the whims of consumer behavior and seasonality, local lead gen businesses have ongoing contracts that ensure steady revenue month after month ($500-$2,000+ per site). Once a local business is onboard, the leads keep coming, often without significant fluctuations. Plus, local lead generation focuses on niche markets where competition is more manageable. Businesses in specific regions need leads and are often willing to pay more for them, offering a less crowded, more lucrative space.

The biggest issue with affiliate marketing is that you are not in control of your business because you don’t own any assets. You are promoting someone else’s business instead of yours. This is why your affiliate commission is low and controlled by the company whose products you’re promoting. Also, if they decide to stop selling a product, you won’t make anymore commission and you’ll have to end all of your campaigns.

Another downside to not being in control in the affiliate marketing business model is that a company can change their affiliate links. When this happens, you then have to go through and replace any affiliate links you’ve placed in your marketing content. This can take some time and if you don’t realize you need to replace your links, it can be costly.

conclusion local lead gen vs affiliate marketing

Why Local Lead Gen is My #1 Pick for a Passive Business Model

Local lead gen is my #1 pick for a passive business model because it offers more control, direct customer engagement, and higher profit margins compared to affiliate marketing, which depends on external products and commissions. I’ve been making lead gen sites for over 10 years. My site, Winter Haven Elite Roofing 321 3rd St SW Winter Haven, FL 33880 863-622-8988 https://winterhaveneliteroofs.com/ generated 24 leads worth $71,820 to my client’s business just last month. Since I get a 5% commission for the leads I send their way, I earned $3,591 in passive income.

Since 2014, I’ve been making over $50,000 monthly on autopilot. All I had to do was take a few hours to build a site and a few weeks to rank it after doing my due diligence on the market. The same goes for my over 50 lead generation sites that I’ve ranked and rented out. The control you have with local lead gen allows you to live a life of financial freedom that you just don’t get with other online business models like affiliate marketing.