As a dropshipper, you're an online shop owner in which the product is sold and purchased directly by the wholesaler who sells it for a pre-determined fee directly. Performing properly Dropshipping is a very lucrative business with no unnecessary cost of shipping and handling in addition to costs. When you start up, you face minimal risk in the market. There are low initial costs of doing an eCommerce business compared to starting one. After you have bought something your website can be setup fast. With Premium theme designs, they can have a professional look just as many as any other online shop.
The choice of doing affiliate marketing or dropshipping are available but the question is which one is more profitable? In this article, you will get to know about the main differences between Dropshipping and Affiliate Marketing. Also, you can learn how to choose a best option for your online business.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is a very popular way to do business in the eCommerce field. In affiliate marketing, you are promoting products of other companies and get paid commission for your performance. You can set up an Affiliate website where you will promote various brands and earn commission from their sales if any visitor buys something from that company shopping through your link.
Affiliate marketing is definitely a good source of income. It has made many people millionaires. You can get huge amounts with very little work.
Affiliate marketing pros
Most common affiliate programs are free to use. You just have to register and start your website to promote their products. You can also promote affiliate programs through social media or by the use of books, e-mail or influencer advertising. Unlike other business models the process involves less working hours. To achieve this entrepreneur success you need traffic from organic sources and there are low profits from advertising the product. Because customers are directly directed to a merchant site by your affiliate link and that transaction is done here you are free from dealing with customer support for sale of that product to an end user.
When it comes to commissions, affiliate marketing is the best way to make money online as compared to other business models. Commissions are usually up to 50% as compared to 25-50% of commission in dropshipping and eCommerce. A lot of companies are offering high commissions for you place their products on your website as well. If you are successful in getting sales for your website, again it is a great way to earn money. You can make much more money out of it than just dropshipping as no prior knowledge of any products and their demand is required of you.
How it works?
You have to sign up as an affiliate of any company you wish to promote and share their products on your sites or through social media accounts. You will get unique links that will help you track sales related to your referrals or campaigns. The commission amount will be determined by the company offering affiliate program . The companies that offer affiliate program are as follows:
Amazon, eBay, Clickbank , JVZOO and other such sites also give you a chance to earn from choosing their products. This is because they know how commissions can help them grow businesses.
Affiliate marketing is not hard to perform and it requires no extraordinary skills. But still, getting a lot of success in this field takes some time and dedication . You have to work on your website regularly. This will help you get higher ranks in search engines when people search for any affiliate product related query or keyword.
How do I find affiliate programs?
You'll need to get the types of services you want to provide and to look at ecommerce shops who sell them. Check their website's footer to see if they've added an affiliate link. They also have larger affiliate networks. Affiliate networks are good as you can join them and be granted unlimited access. These affiliate networks are our favorite. We have a list of the right affiliate programs in the following market sectors: There are plenty of ways to find affiliate programs. Some affiliates join an affiliate network like Clickbank, Commission Junction or Shareasale to access more information about products and promote them in exchange for commission. Other simply search the web for deals with relevant sites that are registered on Google's AdSense program and linked with a large number of merchants.
There is also a third way to find affiliate programs. It is when you actually contact manufacturers and ask if they can give you a commission for promoting their products. This option is very effective especially for affiliate marketers who sell quotes or consulting services, because the more traffic to your site, the more likely you'll be exposed to potential clients.
No customer support needed
As an affiliate you are not responsible for customer service issues. Your position is more of a guide for promoting a product. So clients aren't expecting that you will make customer support available as they're buying goods. Instead of troubling organization customer support you allocate your time and efforts towards strengthening campaign strategy to attract and convert. Once someone buys something through your link the link is finished.
What are the dangers of affiliate marketing?
Regardless of how you work your affiliate marketing program, there is one thing that must always be taken into consideration. The people who visit your website are searching for a particular product they want to buy. If it's not the product you're promoting, then what do you expect them to find on your page? Keep in mind that if you don't promote the same product or related service to the ones they are already looking for, then you will lose their trust and their business.
Also, if there is any problem with your affiliate program , a visitor won't be able to contact them directly . This means that you'll have no feedback except from Google's webmaster tools. If you don't want to scare your visitors away, then you must be very careful when choosing an Affiliate program. Another thing we should mention is that all affiliate products have something in common – they are offered for sale by e-commerce marketplaces . You can be sure that people have already looked for these same products and even bought them somewhere else on the internet.
How to choose brand names for affiliate marketing?
When you start your affiliate marketing program, the first step is choosing a product or service that you want to promote. It's one of the most important steps and it must be carried out very carefully. Your choice should aim at creating an actual need in people . That's why before you choose the product, you must research it very carefully. Look in the web to see if there are people who reviewed it and how successful they were with their affiliate marketing program for that particular product . It's a good choice to sell something that's likely to be sold by other affiliates because this way you'll have more chances of being exposed to new potential customers .
How to create a successful affiliate program?
You must be familiar with the trends in your niche. Find out what information they like. What their needs are and what frustrates them the most . What they're looking for is something that you then offer, but at a better price or with bonuses that will help them solve their problem . If you look at it this way, then people will value what you're offering.
You'll have to work hard to attract your customers' attention whenever you create a product of niche. What's the best way to do it? You must find ways to ensure that all the other affiliates in your industry are promoting using exactly the same strategy .
How to promote affiliate business ?
Normally, affiliates link to their affiliate program. You can also find other ways of promoting the same things that your visitors are looking for . Build content around your niche and promote it on social media sites or forums . You can also create a newsletter to deliver interesting information related to your niche. All these actions will make you more visible in front of potential customers.
How to deal with affiliate marketing?
If you want to be successful in your affiliate marketing career, you must put yourself and your customer's needs at the top of all your priorities . In this way, it will give you a chance to develop a good personal relationship with them , which means that they'll buy more from you as time passes. Remember that you're not selling only one product . Your target is to earn their trust and thus, persuade them to buy something more.
How to get more affiliate customers?
When you've been working with affiliate marketing for a while, chances are that you'll want to broaden your customer base in order to make more profits from your business. However, you must be careful that the people and businesses will trust your business . You can start a blog related to your niche. It doesn't have to be very popular, but it should offer useful information about some aspects of your niche. You can write articles about issues that frustrate customers from time to time , or share interesting images with them .
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a good economic model for anyone wishing to start e-commerce on smaller budget. That's good if you don't have the cash to spend on stock investments or to purchase store storage. It is also great for those who have the aim of trying products in public. Start by seeing if you can sell their product at least once or invest in stocks and equipment for the product. It is also good options for people who need to test his or her products before invest in stock or warehouse storage so don't spend too much. Dropshipping is a business model where the seller doesn't ship any products to the buyer him or herself. Instead, it's done by another person who is known as the dropshipper. Dropshippers are usually wholesalers who buy goods in wholesale quantities from manufacturers and suppliers at discounted prices. The buyers (sellers) don't have to pay for any shipping charges in this order of business model. Drop shipping has gained popularity because it is very cost effective and easy to set up. In dropshipping, there is no need to hold the inventory, so you can start a successful business with minimum investment. You just need an account on any drop shipping online store that allows you to buy products in wholesale quantity. After that, you just need to market the items on your website and collect payments via PayPal or Stripe. Some of the best drop shipping companies are AliExpress , Oberlo Technologies , Vendor Express etc . These dropshipping companies have stunning designs available for all their themes. Also, they have many templates to choose from.
You will find a huge package of clothes, shoes , bags and other accessories on these platforms. Many people use AliExpress to find the best products that fit in with their goals and interests. Some spend $5000+ monthly buying dropshipping goods for sale at social media as Instagram influencer . In order to fulfill your orders, the dropshipper will ship the orders to the customer on your behalf. This is different from Affiliate marketing where you take responsibility of bringing sales.
Cons of Dropshipping
Longer times in shipping is largely a negative result of the drop shipping business model. Due to the availability of shipping the customer is sometimes required to delay its delivery for delivery. Customers are going to use product comparisons at your site and with those advertised in popular e-commerce retailers. To promote your goods and services the market must be looking for innovative solutions for customers. You won't find competition to a better product by claiming that it has a WOW factor in an area of competition unless they're the competitor's. In case of a quicker transport service you need less shipping time but it may add some additional cost of product. Hiring a virtual assistant to provide assistance to customers is critical for scaling up dropspot.
1. 100% Commissions
One of the benefits of dropshipping is that you will get 100% commissions when customers make purchases and there are no additional fees . However, if you want to make money with affiliate marketing, then you will have to spend a lot more on advertising in order to generate sales.
2. Quick And Easy To Set Up
If you want to start your own business and sell products online, a dropshipping business is an easy option. There are no complex rules or regulations to follow as in case of affiliate marketing. All you have to do is get an account at one of the best drop shipping companies and search for products that you can sell on your website.
3. No Stocks To Manage
In case of affiliate marketing, you will have to manage your own stock and product inventory. There are unlimited varieties of products that you can choose from for dropshipping so there is no need for stocking them too. You just need to pick the most selling products in your niche and start promoting them.
4. No Need Of Website Development
It's not necessary to develop a website for your dropshipping business as you will be using the website of an online store like Shopify, Oberlo etc . You just need to promote the products from their stores and get revenue in return. On the other hand, if you want to run affiliate marketing business, then you have to create your own website and maintain it on regular basis.
How do I build a website for dropshipping?
It can happen in the form of a site built for dropshipping that can be customized. Shopify lets you create an ecommerce store for the price of a single month. The second option is built websites using web services WordPress and WooCommerce. But it is a bit bigger and the process may take a little longer.
If you want to create a dropshipping website then you have to look for the best ecommerce platform first. Shopify is one of the most popular and easiest ones that let you set up your own store in no time. You can customize it with drag and drop functionality. It will help start selling products fast without much effort needed .
Is dropshipping better than trading?
Yes, it can be. It's cheaper and easier to work with dropshipping. As I mentioned earlier there are no extra fees involved when working with a dropshipper which is essential for starting your own business fast. You just have to look for products, price them, choose from different options, add tags and description about your product before publishing it.
There's no need of holding stocks, keep a storage unit to keep your products or worry about the delivery process . The dropshipping company will take care of all that and you can focus on expanding your business and getting more customers.
More control!
The reason I've been making money through affiliate marketing is that I don't do anything great. Some of them still perform well but I never had control over the affiliate programs for them. Google changes what traffic you send out and how many of your pages show on their servers at a glance. Drop shipping (or selling your own products or private labeling), you have this control on traffic patterns. Another crucial aspect to control a dropshipping business is your customers' data.Every successful affiliate has access to statistics and information about every visitor that visits their site. They can assess the behavior of visitors, find out what landed them on their website and they can even see if there were any sales made from visitors referring through an affiliate link . Also, keep in mind that word-of-mouth advertising is currently a very powerful promotional tool. If you choose the right product and your affiliates are doing a great job promoting it, then people will definitely come to you.
In conclusion, both of them can get good results as long as you have a dedicated and experienced team behind your back. This is not an easy money but affiliates that work hard every single day to promote their products can definitely make it . Remember that when you drop ship, you are the owner of your own store and you have to deal with customers directly. You will also be in charge of marketing, advertising, promoting and getting visitors on your website. It's not as difficult as it seems if you know how to do it properly but this is something only experienced marketers know.
So, which is more profitable: drop shipping or affiliate marketing? I think that the answer to this question nowadays is pretty obvious. Both of them have their pros and cons but when it comes to earnings, affiliate marketing wins hands down .
Drop Shipping vs Affiliate Marketing – The End
Blog by Jarvis
