Nowadays, drop shipping is really as popular as ever. Affiliate Marketing is also a very profitable and common business strategy. In this article we investigate the advantages of drop shipping vs affiliate marketing.
The main element needed for a profitable drop-shipping business consists in having a good and efficient drop-shipping supplier. Then, you need to create a profitable sales funnel.
This leads to the most important element, which is the client.
Drop Shipping and E-Commerce
Without the use of drop-shipping, you may become a good online seller, using online stores like Amazon and eBay. You can even have a good income on-line.
However, using a drop-shipping strategy, you can have many more products available in your store. Having a great supplier for drop-shipper is essential. This means that you don’t need to keep inventory.
This strategy also results in less transportation costs and higher profits. Your supplier will become responsible for delivery of the goods you sell online.
Also Read:
Top-Rated Affiliate Networks: Find the Best
Deep Linking and Affiliate Linking as Content
Ways To Make More Affiliate Sales
8 Tips to Chose Affiliate Programs
Deep Linking and Affiliate Linking as Content
Best Credit Cards for Couples in 2023
Developing Websites for Profit
Advantages of Dropshipping vs Affiliate Marketing
Dropshipping and affiliate marketing are two different business models, each with its own advantages. Here are the advantages of each approach.
- Easy to Start: Dropshipping allows you to start an e-commerce business with minimal upfront investment. You don’t need to purchase or store inventory, as the products are shipped directly from the supplier to the customer.
- Wide Product Selection: With dropshipping, you can offer a wide range of products without the need to physically stock them. You can source products from multiple suppliers, giving you the flexibility to cater to various customer preferences.
- Low Risk: Since you don’t have to buy inventory upfront, you mitigate the risk of unsold products or inventory obsolescence. You only purchase products from suppliers after you’ve made a sale, reducing the financial risk associated with stocking inventory.
- Scalability: Dropshipping allows you to scale your business easily. As your sales grow, you can handle more orders without worrying about inventory management or fulfillment logistics. You can focus on marketing and customer service while your suppliers handle shipping and inventory management.
- Location Independence: With dropshipping, you can operate your business from anywhere with an internet connection. You’re not tied to a specific location or warehouse, giving you the freedom to work remotely or manage your business while traveling.
Advantages of Affiliate Marketing vs Dropshipping
- No Product Creation or Customer Support: As an affiliate marketer, you don’t need to create your own products or handle customer support. You promote products or services created by others and earn a commission for each sale or action generated through your referral.
- Diverse Income Streams: With affiliate marketing, you can promote products from various merchants or brands, allowing you to diversify your income streams. This flexibility enables you to target different niches and audiences, expanding your earning potential.
- Passive Income Potential: Once you have set up your affiliate marketing campaigns and created content, such as blog posts or YouTube videos, you can earn passive income as long as your content continues to generate traffic and conversions.
- Established Brands and Trust: By aligning yourself with reputable brands as an affiliate marketer, you can leverage their established reputation and trust to drive sales. Customers may be more willing to make a purchase based on the brand’s reputation, which can increase conversion rates.
- Low Barrier to Entry: Affiliate marketing is accessible to beginners with minimal upfront costs. You can start by creating content on platforms like blogs, social media, or YouTube, and join affiliate programs of relevant companies to begin promoting their products or services.
It’s worth noting that the success of both dropshipping and affiliate marketing depends on factors such as niche selection, marketing strategies, and audience targeting.
Tips for Drop Shipping
There are a few things you can do to improve your results in drop shipping.
First, do not alter the tech specifications of any product supplied by the drop shipping company. This is not advisable, because it can invalidate the product warranty and bring you into legal trouble.
However, what you can and should do is to put an alternative description on the product page. This type of change can give your listings a unique feel, make it different from what other sellers are offering.
Second, consider the photos used in the product listings. If you have any photos of products, provided by the creators, you should edit them to create different images.
Try to make these images look different from the photos used by other sellers. A simple way to improve your presentation is use an ad-rotator.
Check Competition Prices
If you use eBay, you should try to certify yourself you check prices from other sellers, before you begin a marketing campaign. Also, try as well to check the buying price of the retailers where you live.
Whenever you now get a few sales for products, all you have to do is to pay a drop-shipper. You don’t need to worry about sending products yourself.
After you pay for the merchandise, you’ll keep as profit the difference between your drop-shipper’s price and what you charged from the client.
Going Full Scale
Once you have become proficient with trying to sell drop-shipping items on sites like Amazon or Bay, you’ll then have the ability to sell things on a larger scale.
It is ok to diversity your activities. This way, you don’t depend on a single website like Amazon. You’ll also have the ability to avoid paying the fee if a particular site is charging too much.
To be able to do this, you need to ensure that deliveries from the drop shipper are on time. Also, check that the products reach your clients in an acceptable state. If you don’t do this, your online reputation will suffer, making it difficult to get repeat sales.
Being a truly successful seller is the goal. With a great drop-shipping service, and using Amazon and Ebay, you have everything necessary to succeed. This is a winning combination for online sales.
Affiliate Marketing
Now, let’s consider a second type of business: affiliate marketing. You may have heard that affiliate marketing is the easiest ways to start a business on the internet.
But what are the steps that you need to follow to start such a business? Let’s find some of the mains steps as follow:
1. Selecting a Niche
A niche is a certain group of individuals that are looking for a product or service. This group has an interest in a specific offer that you’re trying to sell.
Here are some examples of niches that you can choose:
- Dieting
- Computer software
- Self help
- Business opportunities
- and much more.
When you select a niche, you need to be as specific as you can. You should avoid going too broad since the competition will be very fierce in such broad markets. Instead, be very particular and make more profits by owning this small part of the market.
2. Creating Your own Site or Blog
The next step is to create your own website or blog. Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about web development: nowadays this is not necessary.
Even a total newbie is now able to easily create websites. And you must have an internet site so you can have an online shop where you are able to sell your affiliate products and services.
All you need to do here is obtain a domain name. In selecting a domain name, it is best to work with a phrase that relates to your niche. In online marketing, these are known as keywords. You are able to research rich keywords using a free tool from Google Adwords.
3. Selecting Keywords
Rich key words describe phrases which have a large amount of monthly searches but just a few sites using them. These should be your target, because they will bring the customers you want.
When you found have a great keyword, you are able to go and obtain that domain from any domain seller. Popular domain sellers and hosting companies are the following:
After having a domain name, you have to host your website somewhere (we suggest you try HostGator). After that, you can use a common software like WordPress to style your website.
4. Join affiliate marketing websites
After establishing your website, you are able to join affiliate marketing websites like ClickBank, Amazon, Commission Junction, Linkshare, and so on. Here are two that I recommend:
Once you join them, search for the products you want to promote. They can be physical or digital, if you wish. Find the product links, and place them on your website.
5. Sell affiliate products on your site
This is the last step. The great thing about internet marketing is that you are able to grab products from affiliate sites, free of charge, then sell them for profit.
Yo can create content such as reviews, tutorials, on your site to advertise those products. Then, once a visitor comes and buys the products from your links, you’ll make a handsome commission.
Commissions can range from 5% to 90%, depending on the product (digital or physical), the creator, the current promotion, etc.
This is how affiliate marketing. The thing you most in this business, however, is effort and patience. You won’t be able to get rich quickly but, if you really put some effort into it, you will profit over the long run.