Vendor or Affiliate: To be or not to be?

As most internet marketers go, they spend their time using their own money and hard-learned skills promoting other peoples products for a commission. Some make millions doing it, some make a living. I do neither though I am looking in to the affiliate side.

The premise behind being an affiliate marketer is that it’s easier to promote someone else’s product rather than create your own, however, it’s extremely difficult to market other peoples products as any affiliate marketer would admit.

• Huge learning curve
• Tough competition from other affiliates promoting the same offers/products
• Technical knowledge of Search Engine Optimization & Pay Per Click Advertising
• Marketing methods (Such as squeeze pages, copy)

The list of reasons why promoting other peoples products is hard work is endless, yet it’s easier to promote others than create your own? I don’t believe that.

Let’s look at the vendor, the person who creates the services or products affiliates are promoting. When it comes to affiliates, in my opinion, the vendor can laugh all the way to the bank. Where’s the risk in allowing affiliates to promote your products, providing you have a good lawyer?

• It costs you nothing
• You’re receiving money you wouldn’t of otherwise

Sure, it may be difficult setting up a service and if you chose the wrong sort of service it could cause a massive headache with customer care - which is why I wouldn’t ever create a product or service that required support or any interaction with the customer after purchase except for if they’re requesting a refund.

The vendor also needs to invest money in good sales copy (e.g. e-books) or may need to out-source technical work (such as programming a service) which could cost in the hundreds or thousands. I believe the rewards for owning your own product though far make it the better choice. See how I’m in the middle of creating 2 products for Clickbank as a vendor. It’s not that difficult.

Here’s a question: If you’re promoting someone else’s e-book right now from Clickbank and earning $50 per day - and you know there’s at least 5 competitors on Adwords probably making a similar amount.. why not think about creating your own competing product, making it better, with better sales copy, advertise your own product and then contact those affiliates and let them try their hand at promoting your product instead?

Instead of $50 per day from promoting someone else’s product, you could be earning up to $500 or more. I think experienced affiliate marketers really ought to look in to developing their own products once they have succesfully promoted others. What better way to start, really.

1 Comment

1. I will agree with you. Even that creating a product of your own is harder - at least at some points - it can give you a residual income, while affiliates always have to look for new products, optimize campaigns, etc.

   Plus as an affiliate is easy to lose your earnings. I mean you can earn $2000 in one month and the other earn only $200.

   Comment by Nick — April 12, 2007 @ 5:48 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. | TrackBack URI
You can also bookmark this on del.icio.us or check the cosmos

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.