Your own product vs affiliate marketing?

[Tycoon in Training]

Hello All,

I just listened to a seminar by well known and establised info marketer. From what he said and from my recent research, a lot of the money is to do your own product and I can see why.

I would like to know if one can make a great living ($250,000+ per year) at just being an affiliate or is it recommended that one would have to come up with there own product to do this?

I recently enrolled in Affiliate Marketing & Programs Training and am learning a bunch but my ears are perked now that I am hearing that the majority of the money is in creating your own product.

I realize that you have to go after your passion but my only concern is that I don't know if my passion has a big enough market to make the money that I desire. Please help and thanks all!

[Linda Buquet]

Well some affiliates make 250K a month, so 250,000 a year is doable but probably only if you work really hard for a couple years and are very good and very lucky.

You could go to the trouble to make your own product if you have the skills and time to. But unless you are well connected and/or really know how to market you could end up only making 5,000 or 1,000.

So it just really depends on lots of things. If I were going to do one or the other instead of being a consultant - it'd go the affiliate route. If you are good at marketing ALL you have to do is market. You don't need to divert your time, deal with the headaches and have the costs associated with production, delivery, customer support, returns.

So depends on what you are good at and where you want to put your energy.

[Tycoon in Training]

It was because of your recommendation that I decided to join Affiliate classrooom.com. It is extremely informative as I just found out about affiliate marketing.

I would like to make my own product but I think my strengths right now are in sales due to make background and experience.

I think learning affiliate marketing will give me a good base in getting acquited with the whole online business idea.

I am excited about becoming an affiliate and hope that I can make it happen.

I really appreciate your quick responses and honesty. You have won my trust and thanks again!

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks John. Meant to say good move taking the step to join the Classroom.
Make the most of it and suck up all the info you can!

[AndrewRae]

In my experience being an affiliate requires at least 2 times more discipline than having your own product.

At 250k per year you'd have to earn aprox. 20,000 / month which is very hard even if you have the knowledge(a lot of it) and money to invest.

You'd have to test a lot of niches before finding the right one and this can take time and money. Most affiliates give up before finding that niche because the risk and stress can be too much for some.

[fitnfree]

Most affiliates give up before finding that niche because the risk and stress can be too much for some.

Yes, I agree...be prepared for some of that risk and stress, but never, ever quit! "Quitters never win, and winners never quit"!!

[vartov]

Affiliate Marketing = Quick Step, that means less money. Good when you are starting.

Own Product = Real Business, that means more money.

[Linda Buquet]

"Own Product = Real Business, that means more money."

That REALLY depends.

If having your own business means taking time away from marketing to deal with ordering, inventory, shipping, customer service, added accounting AND/OR overseeing staff to do all that - which requires management time, even more headaches, hiring and training time PLUS salaries....

Well. put it this way.. if you are good at building sites and SEO or other types of marketing you can make A LOT more NET PROFIT (maybe not gross profit) being an affiliate and have A LOT less headaches.

[jcorkern]

I agree with Linda, If you are good at marketing, web design, or even if it is just at seo, you can build a massive monthly residual income without the headaches of owning a business.

If owning a business was always profitable, then there would be no bankruptsy for commercial business.

Lets give an example of both plans, first affiliate:

You build a site, build it and do seo for 3 to 6 months with other marketing. With seo, this is the building stages and you have to work hard for 3 months, then you go into maint. mode.

Starting an affiliate business is kinda like the space shuttle, It takes huge booster rockets to get it out of the pull of gravity, but once in orbit, a babies breath can propel it(maint mode). Then start the second project. and it grows each cycle and you can build to 20k per month in a year of 2 this way.

Starting a business involves a LOT more, Licenses, permits, office, insurance, taxes , payroll, phones and tons of other resourses to make this happen, and you will need other "pro's" to help get this launched the right way.

And with a business, you can lose it all based on assuming that your product will sell.

If you set up an affiliate site, you just change the links or banners to one that will convert. Makes it a lot easier.

If you can build to 20k per month in a year or 2, what does your income look like in 5 years?? 10 years???

Just some food for thought.

Jim