Hey there. This is Darius and in this article I will breakdown affiliate marketing vs dropshipping. So, when it comes to starting an online business, there are a few different options to choose from.
And two of the most popular ones are affiliate marketing and dropshipping. Both have their pros and cons, which can make it difficult to decide which one is the best option for you.
In this blog post, I will breakdown the pros and cons of each business model so that you can make an informed decision about which one is right for you. So let’s start with affiliate marketing.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a business model in which you promote other people’s products or services in exchange for a commission. Essentially, you are acting as a sales representative for other businesses.
This can be a great way to make money online since there is no need to create your products or services. You simply need to find a good product or service to promote and then drive traffic to the business’s website.
One of the biggest advantages of affiliate marketing is that it can be done entirely online. There is no need to set up a physical storefront or worry about inventory.
All you need is a website, blog or a YouTube channel where you can promote your affiliate links. This makes it a great option for people who want to start an online business with little upfront investment.
Another advantage of affiliate marketing is that it’s relatively easy to get started. You don’t need to invest a lot of time or money into creating products or services. All you need to do is find a good affiliate program and start promoting their products.
However, one downside of affiliate marketing is that it can take a while to start seeing results. You need to build up your traffic and audience before you will start seeing significant commissions. And I think the most important factor in affiliate marketing is choosing your niche
What Are The Best Niches For Affiliate Marketing?
Several different niches are perfect for affiliate marketing. Some of the most popular niches include weight loss, health and fitness, home improvement, and digital marketing. However, many other niches can be profitable, so it’s important to find one that aligns with your interests and passions.
So, what I recommend, is to find digital programs like software or online courses because most of this software gives you recurring commissions.
A recurring commission is when you promote a product for 20% of the sale, for example, but you will be getting paid over and over again each month for as long as your referral stays with the product you promoted.
How To Join Affiliate Programs?
If you’re interested in becoming an affiliate marketer, after you have chosen your niche is you need to find a good affiliate program. There are a lot of different affiliate programs out there, so it’s important to find one that aligns with your interests and goals.
Here are a few affiliate marketing programs you can join and start promoting these products. Now, these are marketplaces. So for example if you want to sign up to one of these, you will find thousands of companies that you can choose in different niches.
Once you’ve found a good affiliate program, the next step is to start promoting their products on your website, YouTube channel or blog.
How To Promote Your Affiliate Links?
There are several different methods you can use to promote affiliate products. One of the most popular methods is called content marketing. This involves creating blog posts or articles about the products you are promoting.
Or you can also create videos for your YouTube channel or social media posts about the products.
The most popular method is called search engine optimization (SEO). This involves optimizing your website or blog so that it will rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
This will help you get more organic traffic to your site, which can eventually lead to sales and commissions. So for this, you will need to create a WordPress website. And the cost is very cheap. You can get started with around $100 for the first year.
The second most popular method to promote affiliate links is YouTube. You can start a YouTube channel and start reviewing products, create tutorials and video content.
I’m pretty much sure you have watched a tutorial on how to do a certain thing. Like create a website for example. Now in that video you will find affiliate links that redirects you to the tool used in the video.
And if you click on that link and buy that tool, the video creator will earn a commission. And the same way works with blogs, but in the written way.
Is Affiliate Marketing Profitable?
Yep, affiliate marketing can be very profitable. And you can do a quick search in Google to find out how much money bloggers or affiliate marketers make through affiliate marketing.
There are popular blogs that make $5k a month, $10k, $20k and can go up to $200k in profit in one month. A good example is adamenfory.com. This blog makes over 300K/month.
So, yeah…that’s a lot of money and with affiliate marketing the scaling process it’s slow but well well deserved. Now let’s jump into the next section of my Affiliate Marketing VS Dropshipping article and talk about the competition, dropshipping.
What Is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a business model in which you sell products that you do not own. When a customer places an order, you simply contact the supplier and have them ship the product directly to the customer.
This can be a great way to start an online business since you don’t need to invest in inventory or worry about shipping products yourself. But can be tricky when you market your store.
One of the biggest advantages of dropshipping is that it’s a very hands-off business model. Once you have set up your store, there is not much else you need to do.
You don’t need to worry about creating products or shipping orders. All you need to do is market your store and make sales. This can be a great option for people who want to start an online business but don’t want to deal with the day-to-day tasks of running a business.
Another advantage of dropshipping is that it’s relatively easy to get started. You can set up a store in just a few hours and start selling products immediately.
However, one downside of dropshipping is that it can be difficult to stand out from the competition. There are a lot of dropshippers out there, so you need to find a way to make your store unique.
And overall you need to choose the right product to sell and the right suppliers.
How To Find Dropshipping Suppliers?
One of the biggest challenges of starting a dropshipping business is finding good suppliers. There are a lot of suppliers out there, so it can be difficult to find one that is reliable and trustworthy. Here are a few tips for finding dropshipping suppliers:
- Do your research. There are a lot of bad suppliers out there, so it’s important to do your research and find a good one.
- Check out online directories. There are many online directories that list dropshipping suppliers. This can be a great way to find suppliers that meet your needs.
- Ask for recommendations. If you know someone who has a dropshipping business, ask them for recommendations. They may know of a good supplier that you can use.
Oberlo for example may be a great tools that helps you find great suppliers.
How To Create A Dropshipping Store?
Creating a dropshipping store is relatively easy. Here are a few steps to get you started:
- Choose a domain name and set up your website. This can be done in just a few hours using a site like Wix or Squarespace. But preferably you may want to go with Shopify.
- Select products to sell. You can find products to sell by doing online research or using a dropshipping directory.
- Contact suppliers and place orders. Once you have found a supplier, contact them and place an order for the products you want to sell.
- Start marketing your store. You can market your store by creating social media posts, blog articles, or ads.
How To Market Your Dropshipping Store?
One of the most important things you can do to market your dropshipping store is to create a strong brand. This involves creating a logo, color scheme, and slogan that represents your store.
You can also create social media profiles for your store and write blog posts about your products.cAnother important marketing tactic is search engine optimization (SEO).
This involves optimizing your website so that it will rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This will help you get more organic traffic to your site, which can eventually lead to sales.
Now, the most used way to market a dropshipping store is through ads. The best platforms to run ads are Facebook and TikTok.
Facebook Ads
One of the most effective ways to market your dropshipping store is to use Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads allow you to reach a large audience of potential customers. You can target people based on their interests, demographics, and even their purchase history.
Another advantage of Facebook Ads is that you can track the results of your ads. This allows you to see how well your ads are performing and make changes if necessary. Facebook Ads can be a great way to drive traffic to your store and make sales.
TikTok Ads
TikTok Ads are a relatively new form of advertising, but they can be a great way to market your dropshipping store. TikTok is a social media platform that is popular among young people. It is a great place to share short videos, and it has a large user base.
One of the advantages of using TikTok Ads is that you can target a specific audience. For example, you can target people who are interested in fashion or beauty. TikTok Ads can be a great way to reach a young audience and make sales.
Is Dropshipping Profitable?
Yes, dropshipping can be very profitable. But it all depends on the product you sell. And with that one product you can make millions.
Affiliate Marketing VS Dropshipping Pros & Cons
Affiliate Marketing Pros & Cons
The pros of affiliate marketing include the ability to earn commission payments, the potential to make a lot of money, and the hands-off approach. You don’t need to create a product or deal with customer support.
You can join any affiliate program and in time can be a great passive income.
The cons of affiliate marketing include the difficulty of scaling and the competition from other affiliates. Scaling takes time. Some companies will pay you a small commission.
New affiliates might not get approved to promote some offers because they don’t have a history.
Dropshipping Pros & Cons
The pros of dropshipping include the hands-off approach, the ease of getting started, and the potential to make a lot of money. You can set up a store and get sales in the same day. Can be scaled quickly with ads or influencers.
The cons of dropshipping include the need to create a strong brand and the competition from other dropshippers. Also you will have to deal with customer support.
The ultimate drawback is the ads. Running ads can be very expensive nowadays.
Affiliate Marketing VS Dropshipping: Which Is Better?
Affiliate Marketing VS Dropshipping…not an easy task. Both are legit ways to make money online.
It depends on your goals and preferences. If you want to make a lot of money quicker, then dropshipping may be the better option for you.
If you’re looking for an easy way to get started, then affiliate marketing may be the better choice. Money will follow.
And now, in short I will tell you a bit about my experience with affiliate marketing and dropshipping.
My Experience With Dropshipping
So, I’ve tried dropshipping back in 2018-2019. This business model was trending. Everyone was talking about it. So I give it a try. Why I chose dropshipping? Because, before I was selling on eBay.
Basically doing e-commerce. I was a successful eBay seller for 3 years selling all kind of mobile phone accessories. In short, after 3 years my business was closed down. But I had experience in the e-com space.
So I got involved in dropshipping, created a store, run Facebook ads and nothing happened. I have created 4 online stores in total, bought online courses, everything was set up perfectly ( I think ) but, I don’t know why, for some reason it didn’t work for me.
It didn’t work at all…I was very disappointed at that time and took a break. I failed miserably at dropshipping. And then I researched affiliate marketing. And this website was born.
My Experience With Affiliate Marketing
So, in 2020 I have created this blog, ReedRatings.com. And I joined affiliate marketplaces like Warrior Plus and JVZoo. And I started posting review articles. About 3-4 articles a week.
And after 1 month I made my first commission. I said, WOW!! This may work!
But for the next 2 months and something, nothing came in, no commissions. But I kept writing reviews, doing SEO for this website, not quitting and so on.
And then commissions started coming in. I also started a YouTube channel and since then I have managed to get this blog from just a bit under $100 which was my initial investment to over $4000/month, working 5-6 hours per day.
Now, some of you guys might say that $4000/month is not much. For some, it’s not. But for me It’s great. And the blog is growing. Each month I get more money out of this blog and YouTube channel.
Remember, affiliate marketing is a long time business model. I get paid affiliate commissions as well as YouTube Ad Revenue and Display Ads and also sponsorship.
When you have a blog, you can monetize it in different ways. Obviously the main monetization will be affiliate marketing. But also you can get sponsorships from some companies.
As well as Google Adsense, you can run display ads in your blog, just like the ones you see in this article. And a few other ways to monetize your blog. The idea is, you are not limited just by selling a specific product.
Affiliate Marketing VS Dropshipping: Final Words
So, in my opinion I think affiliate marketing is the best to start, especially if you don’t have much money to invest. But if you have some money, like over $1000 to invest in ads you can go with dropshipping.
I never thought I will do affiliate marketing and moreover, make money and being my main income source. Considering I had e-commerce experience, building online stores, creating fan pages and so on.
But you never now, right?
And, ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which business model is best for you. Thanks for reading! I hope my Affiliate Marketing VS Dropshipping article was helpful. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions.
