Dropshipping vs Affiliate Marketing: Which One is the Better Option?

One of the biggest conundrums new and aspiring entrepreneurs face these days especially during this pandemic -  is deciding which is the better option to make money online - dropshipping or affiliate marketing.

If you fall into this category, by the time you finish reading this article (don't worry i'll try to keep it short, fluff free) you should have a crystal clear view on which one is for you.

Because I have been doing this stuff for years, most of my online income is split between these two business models. So yes, both of them do work.

What we need to determine is - what will work for you?

What's great about both of these models is that it allows you to only focus on selling. You never need to worry about stocking items in your bedroom or garage.

If it's a digital product, you'll never have to worry about all the money that goes into creating the product. Your goal here for both business models is to drive targeted traffic to your offer.

That's it!

Now obviously there's more involved but that's the gist of it. There's a lot you need to learn before you get to this stage in order to be successful. Today we are just going to determine which one is right for you though.

Dropshipping VS Affiliate Marketing - Which Makes More Money?

The first thing that you need to tell yourself here is that it's not about which one makes more. This is the wrong approach. I'll give you an example.

Let's just say you had an opportunity to select two jobs. (Yup, I said the J word) 

Job #1 pays $50K a year and it involves something you like doing. Job #2 pays $60K a year but you know already you're going to hate this job as it involves something you don't like.

Now, for some people, they might chase the money and go for job #2. But how long will they last? People that choose job #1 will be happier. This is so important for your well being. Furthermore, you'd be happy to do overtime and maybe even make more than job #2 in time.

I hope you see my point here.

So both affiliate marketing and Dropshipping will make you money but the one that you enjoy more - is going to make you more!

So How do I Determine Which is for Me?

If you're a beginner, the best way to answer this is I am going to give you the pros and cons for both. We'll have a little chat at the end then the choice for you is going to be clear. Fair?

First off. for those that don't know what these two models are (I don't want to leave out anybody) I am going to give you a brief description of each. If you know already, you can skip this part.

If you know the answer already, you'll want to check out my top recommendations below.

Combined I probably have over 100 hours of research and an uncountable number of cups of coffee!

What is Drop Shipping?

Dropshipping is an ecommerce model where you run an online store hosted on a platform like Shopify. You will not have to keep any inventory or do any shipping. 

You drive traffic to your product via ads or organic search. When someone makes a purchase, you will place the order with the vendor of the product. The vendor then ships the product directly to your customer.

You make money because you are selling these items on your store for a massive markup. For example, you can find tons of products that sell for a dollar and sell them for $10-$15 or more on your store. That's how you make a profit.

The PROS and CONS of Dropshipping

PROS:

CONS:

Clearly the Pros Outweigh the cons here. The fact that there are so many people doing dropshipping and being successful at it is proof right there despite this list. If you can handle the cons, this business model could be for you. Get the best training here .

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is similar, but different. Here you are referring a customer to a product or service. If they make a purchase then you will get a commission. Like dropshipping, you don't have to store any products or do any shipping.

Your commission is tracked via a tracking cookie so the vendor knows the sale came from you. You'll be able to log in to a portal for the affiliate program and see your stats which usually include clicks and sales. I did another article on the pros and cons of affiliate marketing which you should also check out.

The PROS and CONS of Affiliate Marketing

PROS:

CONS:

Affiliate marketing is a much older method than dropshipping. It's one of the most popular methods to make money online today. Big names in the industry even use this method and for good reason - it's easy.

However, starting a business in affiliate marketing is no easy task and takes work. With the right course you should be on your way to success - provided you work at it!

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

So in the beginning of this article I told you that you'll be able to choose which one of these two business models is for you. 

If you carefully read the pros and cons above, you should have your answer already.

The main difference between these two is that dropshipping does require more attention. For example when you get an order or a bunch of orders in, you manually have to go and place the order with the vendor.

With affiliate marketing, it's all seamless and passive. When a sale comes in, you simply just wait to get paid. Affiliate marketing can take longer to achieve success though - especially if you are going the SEO route. With dropshipping, you could sell your first product tomorrow - even if you don't have a store as you are reading this.

Without this, you will get eaten by your competition.

Not only that, you are going to spend money needlessly. A good course can actually SAVE you money - think about that for a second.

You aren't going to learn this stuff on Youtube.

Sure, there's a lot of good resources on Youtube that teach both affiliate and dropshipping but the info could be dated and a lot is held back. You aren't going to learn everything you need to know. One small strategy can make all the difference.

This is What You Need

I want you to learn from the best, I also don't want you spending a lot either. Fortunately for you, I have invested in over 20K in courses over the years and know how to separate the bad from the good.

Also - expensive doesn't always mean better.

If you want to learn this stuff, I'd suggest you take a look at my suggestions.

For Dropshipping - read my review here on my best course pick.

For Affiliate Marketing - Check out my top affiliate marketing course picks.

If there's still any confusion, please reply below or just send me an email via my contact page.

To your success,

Drew

Related Posts