Affiliate Marketing or MLM?

Network Marketing (MLMs)

With multi-level marketing, you essentially join a team to promote a product or service. Everyone in the MLM network is attempting to promote the exact same product or service. In most cases, you will be recruited by someone who is already a part of the network and be on their team. A typical MLM network will look a bit like this:

Unfortunately, MLMs are structured in a way that mainly benefits only those at the top of the hierarchy. They are very similar to pyramid schemes in this way. The only real difference is that in an MLM you make a commission on product sales to customers, whereas pyramid schemes base their pay on network recruitment.

Although MLM is not illegal and pyramid schemes are, there are some notable similarities between the two. Even in a legal MLM, it’s.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is much different. With this strategy, participants choose which products they promote and earn a commission on every sale they make. This money is paid by the retailer or business to the affiliate for driving traffic, sales, or referrals. There is no network recruiting involved.

There are also no startup fees for joining an affiliate marketing program. As long as you have a method for promoting brands, you can begin doing so for free. Many people find this strategy very profitable, and the relationship is mutually beneficial for the company and individual affiliates.

Advantages of Affiliate Marketing Over MLM Programs

Hopefully, you now have an idea of the basic differences between these two strategies. Next, let’s take a look at three advantages of affiliate marketing vs MLM programs.

1. You Can Choose Which Products or service You want to promote Based on Your Interests

One of the benefits of affiliate marketing programs is the level of control you have. For starters, you get to pick which brands you want to work with and which products or services you want to promote.

This means you have the opportunity to focus on products you are genuinely interested in and passionate about. When you choose items you’re familiar with and actually use, you’re able to help consumers make informed buying decisions.

Some popular and profitable niche categories for affiliate programs include health, wealth, an is an example of an affiliate website based around something many people are passionate about – their pets:

With MLMs, you’re limited to pushing specific products your parent company has chosen. You may or may not be interested in these items, and trying to sell something you don’t believe in may be difficult.

2. There’s Less/No Cost To Join, and Each Sale Earns You Money

MLMs typically have very high membership fees and other startup costs. Most participants have to invest in a kit containing products they’re supposed to sell. While promoters often receive discounts on these products, the amount usually only covers the cost of being part of the network.

In many MLMs, marketers also have to earn a certain number of points before they see any actual money. Most of the revenue you can make in this structure, if any, comes from recruiting other people into your network.

Affiliate marketing, on the other hand, is free to join but needs small capital to invest as compare to MLMs. You’ll earn a percentage of every sale you make, and can track your revenue with a tool.

3. You Have Complete Control Over How You Promote Products

All Affiliate marketing companies monitor their promoters’ sales through the use of special tracking links. They see how customers arrived at their sites and give credit to the promoter who directed traffic their way.

Therefore, there’s a wide range of methods you can use for affiliate marketing promotions. Almost anywhere you can post your link is a viable option, so long as you aren’t spamming others with comments or emails. Some of the most popular include websites or blogs, product reviews, social media, and videos.

YouTube is a popular platform for affiliate marketing promotions because you can include the affiliate links in the video description:

Affiliate marketing can be done entirely online, and you can sell to complete strangers.

MLM hinges on recruiting other members. Therefore, a lot more personal interaction is needed in order to build out a network. Often, this can involve tactics that some consider very irritating.

With affiliate marketing, you’re often only speaking to people who are likely to be interested in your products. For example, with an affiliate website, you can optimize your content to target people who are searching for products in your niche.

So to be clear, here’s how affiliate marketing differs from MLM:

• pick your own products
• help people
• earn a lot of money
• build an online business
• No direct sales
• No building of teams
• No hotel or home meetings
• No matrix, downlines, legs, binary, pyramids, volume minimums, pass ups, levels etc…..
• No bothering Friends & Family
• No edification 3-way calls

Advantages of my # 1 Affiliate recommendation

• Earn while promoting anything as there are 1,000,000 niche ideas

• Easy but not without time & effort ….. It’s not a “Get Rich Quick” thing

• Earn from your own efforts
• 100% Legitimate Business Model
• Work from anywhere in the World
• Grow and Scale Your Business & Income over time

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing and MLM programs are often confused. However, unlike the former strategy, it’s incredibly difficult to earn a profit as part of an MLM.

As we discussed in this article, there are three advantages to affiliate marketing vs MLM programs:

1. You can choose the products you sell based on your interests.
2. There’s no cost to join, and you earn money on every sale.
3. You have complete control over how you promote products.