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Drop Shipping vs Affiliate Marketing-What’s Better?

Business decision drop shipping or affiliate marketing. woman sitting between two man holding her head trying to make a decision.

Drop shipping and affiliate marketing are both popular business models that allow entrepreneurs to make money online without holding inventory. However, Drop Shipping vs Affiliate Marketing-what’s better? There are some key differences between the two.

Drop shipping is a retail fulfillment method where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. 

As a drop shipping, you’re responsible for setting up an online store, marketing the products, and handling customer service, while the supplier takes care of the fulfillment.

How does Drop Shipping works?

With drop shipping apps, products ship directly from the supplier to your customer, and you only pay for what you sell. No upfront inventory costs, no hassles with fulfillment.

Finding the right product that sells is the hard part, because about 95% of new products fail. 

It’s an unfortunate truth that some of your products likely will not make it. The ones that do make it, that earn you revenue and clout, come from the same place as your failed products. Kind of ironic.

As an ecommerce business, you continually want to test your limits and come up with new product ideas to stay competitive and profitable. 

Coming up with a great idea for a product to sell online will occasionally strike when you least expect it. Many times though, it’s something you need to be proactively on the lookout for.

What’s the Best Way to do Drop Shipping?

Man with electronic equipment. tired from all the home business work.

There are several ways that drop shipping can be done, and the specific method used will depend on the needs and preferences of the individual or business. Some of the most common ways that drop shipping can be done include:

  1. Direct to consumer: In this model, the drop shipper works with a supplier to list and sell products directly to customers. When a customer makes a purchase, the supplier ships the product to the customer on behalf of the drop shipper.
  2. Marketplace: Another way to drop ship is to use online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay. The drop shipper lists their products on the marketplace, and when a customer makes a purchase, the supplier ships the product to the customer.
  3. Wholesale: Drop shippers can also work with wholesalers who provide them with products at a discounted rate. The drop shipper then lists and sells the products at a higher price, and the supplier ships the products directly to the customer.
  4. Custom integration: In some cases, drop shippers may choose to develop custom integrations with their suppliers, allowing for more seamless order processing and fulfillment.

These are just a few examples of the ways that drop shipping can be done. The specific method used will depend on the goals and resources of the drop shipper.

What’s the Best Way to do Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing, on the other hand, involves promoting other people’s products and services to earn a commission for each sale made through your unique affiliate link. 

I believe that 100% of the human race are doing affiliate marketing and they don’t even realize it. The difference is that some people get paid for doing that while most people do it for free. 

Here’s a simple example, tell me if you agree? If you recommend a product or a service to your friend or anyone, you’re likely doing affiliate marketing for free. 

Because affiliate marketing involves promoting other people’s products and services to earn a commission for each sale made. When you tell someone about a product you are doing affiliate marketing for FREE!  There are many ways to do this, and you can get paid well…. REALLY WELL!

Unlike drop shipping, you don’t need to hold inventory, handle customer service, or deal with shipping. Instead, your focus is on promoting the products and driving traffic to the merchant’s website. 

Affiliate Marketing Beginners-Tips

The key to becoming successful with affiliate marketing ventures is to sell what you know. To start, you should stick to selling products or services that you’re familiar with and have a passion for. 

Online marketers call this process “picking your niche.” You should select a niche that represents your current interests or your occupation.

  • Here’s an example, if you’re an expert at interior decorating, it makes more sense to sell comforter sets than it does to sell automotive parts. You’ll do a much better job with your individual marketing efforts if you stick to selling what you know.

As you gain more experience try your luck in other areas of affiliate marketing, the possibilities for affiliate marketing are almost endless.

How Many Ways can Affiliate Marketing be Done?

There are many ways to do affiliate marketing, and the exact approach can vary depending on the affiliate marketer’s goals, niche, and target audience. Here are some common ways that affiliate marketing can be done:

white board with sticky notes for marketing
  1. Blogging: Affiliate marketers can create a blog in a specific niche and promote relevant products to their audience.
  2. Social media: Affiliate marketers can promote products through their social media accounts, such as Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook.
  3. Email marketing: Affiliate marketers can promote products through email marketing campaigns to their subscriber lists.
  4. Paid advertising: Affiliate marketers can use paid advertising platforms, such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads, to promote products.
  5. Product reviews: Affiliate marketers can write or create video reviews of products they have used and promote those products to their audience.
  6. Comparison websites: Affiliate marketers can create websites that compare and review products in a particular niche and promote those products through affiliate links.
  7. Influencer marketing: Affiliate marketers can partner with influencers in their niche and promote products through their networks.

These are just a few examples, and like I aforementioned “the possibilities for affiliate marketing are almost endless.” The key is to find a method that works for you and your target audience, and to focus on building trust and providing value to your audience. 

Recapping the two Ventures

Here’s a recap of the two ventures, drop shipping involves selling physical products without holding inventory, while affiliate marketing involves promoting products and earning a commission on each sale made through your unique affiliate link. 

Both models have their own benefits and drawbacks, and the right choice depends on your personal goals and preferences. While Drop shipping has its limits on the many ways it can be done, Affiliate Marketing possibilities are almost endless. You just need the right platform to promote what you are trying to do. 

The Right Platform to Promote Your Business

So, the bottom line here is, if you are really ready to start a business and ready to learn a lot, have a bunch of fun, build a full-time income, have a personal branding of yourself, and promote a platform that you can believe in, trust and that can truly help people in a positive way?

If your answer is yes, then you have definitely come to the right place, and I know that once you take a look at this platform you are going to love what is in store for you.

The 24/7 support, website training and keyword research and ranking that helps you advertise your site to drive traffic to it.

I’m talking about my #1 Recommendation that has all the amenities you need to start a successful online business; this is a good place to start. It’s called Wealthy Affiliate.

Wealthy Affiliate is your all-inclusive platform for building a successful online business, it relates to your passions, interests or hobbies! Join 2.6+ Million members and get started today!

You get the training, they show you how to build your very own website, you learn keyword research to help you advertise. They offer a Free Plan, Premium or the Premium Plus.

I want to give you a very simple breakdown of the process and you will find it’s pretty basic stuff and it looks like this:

Step 1: Choose an Interest. This can be anything at all, any interest, passion or even something you have no personal experience with.

Step 2: Build a website. Your website is your foundation, and we have the most sophisticated and feature rich website and hosting platform here at Wealthy Affiliate.

Step 3: Attract Visitors. You are going to be learning all about how to get traffic and visitors to your website. The first focus is FREE traffic and there is A LOT of it out there. As you progress through the training you are going to capitalize on this.

Step 4: Earn Revenue. Once you have people on your site and traffic, you can earn revenue. There are over 50 ways you can monetize traffic online, and over 550 MILLION products/services that you can promote as an affiliate. So go ahead and take it for a Test Drive!

“Take it for a Test Drive.” Click On the Link Below:

“Affiliate Platform” 

How to Start a Successful Online Business! - Link to Joining Wealthy Affiliate How to Build a Successful Online BusinessWealthy Affiliate Platform.

Here’s the Good News: If you like, you can stay on the free plan as long as you want. I stayed on the free plan until I had a good understanding of how things worked and was making an income then, I was brought in. Their “FREE PLAN” is really FREE!

Come in and take a test drive of this amazing opportunity! You are minutes away from starting your own successful internet business.
Endless Opportunity. Zero Risk.

Final Thoughts:

As you start out in your business venture here is something I read that has helped me keep going in tough times: “Before you become great, you must become good. Good can take you a long way in business as well!”

 “It just takes time.”

7 replies on “Drop Shipping vs Affiliate Marketing-What’s Better?”

Everyone has their preferences and their own personal liking with each business model, and I’m sure there are hundreds of successful drop-shipping companies out there. I think the problem is that there’s not really a guide on how to do so, you just assume and watch others do it while wishfully thinking that you might get there someday. Affiliate marketing is more convenient, at least for me. It feels like all the work is done and I just have to market a product that I have no business in being in contact with, nor having to communicate with third parties to have said item shipped. 

Hi Stephanie,  so true. I  too find affiliate marketing much easier than drop shipping. I was in that business once and at times it will make you pull your hair out, so to speak. I kept looking for that golden product but I never found it.  But I also had friends who did well in it. Thanks again Stephanie for your insight. 

The article provides a comprehensive comparison between dropshipping and affiliate marketing, two popular e-commerce models. You discuss the key features, benefits, and drawbacks of each model and provide practical tips and advice for choosing the right approach for one’s business.

This is informative and well-structured, providing readers with a clear understanding of the differences between dropshipping and affiliate marketing. Your analysis is thorough and objective, weighing the pros and cons of each model and offering insights into its potential profitability, scalability, and ease of implementation.

Overall, the article is a valuable resource for anyone considering starting an e-commerce business or looking to improve their existing business model. Your expertise in e-commerce and digital marketing makes for an engaging and informative read. The article is recommended for anyone interested in learning more about dropshipping and affiliate marketing and how to choose the right approach for their business.

Thanks pasindu, for your insight to this article.  I wanted to share similarities between the two businesses. I believe these businesses work for those who’ are having success, I just find affiliate marketing works best for me. Thanks again. 

When it comes to deciding between drop shipping and affiliate marketing, there are a lot of factors to consider. Both have their pros and cons. Drop shipping allows for more control over the products being sold, as well as the ability to customize packaging and branding. On the other hand, affiliate marketing requires less upfront investment and eliminates the need for inventory management. However, my main discussion point would be to consider which method aligns better with your skills and interests as well as your target audience’s needs. Regarding this topic, I’m curious about others’ experiences with both drop shipping and affiliate marketing, and which one they found more profitable in the long run? can you advise please?

Mark,There are indeed some major differences between drop-shipping and affiliate marketing, however, they both have one characteristic in common. They must both be visible to the audience, at times, you may use PPC to advertise your product and get noticed in that manner. If you are an affiliate marketer, while you do not have physical inventory, your blog(post) about your niche will help you get traffic for your sales. Your sales at times may actually go through a drop-shipper as a result of many companies no longer keeping inventory on hand. Finding the right niche or product may take you some time to find what works best for you.Jerry

Hey thanks Jerry for your comment. Your right, they must both be visible to the audience, at times. Also I believe, that both models have their own benefits and drawbacks, and the right choice depends on your personal goals and preferences. I fine affiliate marketing is easier for me and more rewarding.

thanks again Jerry

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