When it comes to making money online, a lot of people wonder if they should go with affiliate marketing or network marketing. If you talk to an affiliate marketer, they'll probably tell you that affiliate marketing is the best way to go. If you talk to a network marketer, they'll certainly tell you that network marketing is definitely your best bet.



I've done both, and I'll tell you the answer – it depends. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Fortunately, you can make money with both.

Since affiliate marketing is a bit simpler, let's cover that one first. With affiliate marketing whenever you sell a product for someone else, you get paid a commission. The commission varies depending on the company, but 30-50% is common in the information product business. For physical products, 10-20% is typical.

All you need to do is refer the business and you're responsibility is done. The owner of the product takes care of the fulfillment and customer service. All you need to worry about is making sales to get paid.

Network marketing is a little different. In network marketing, you make money not only on the sales you make directly, but you also profit when the people underneath you sell something and you profit when the people under them sell something as well. (The number of levels down varies by company but they all usually go at least three levels deep.) The idea of making money on other peoples' work appeals to a lot of people, which helps explain why network marketing is such a popular business.

At first, it may seem that network marketing is substantially better than affiliate marketing. However, keep in mind that the percentage you make on your own sales in network marketing is substantially lower than the percentage you typically make from affiliate sales.

If you want to make a lot of money with network marketing, you need to do more than just make your own sales. You also need to motivate the people underneath you to make sales and teach them to help their own people make sales. Your role in network marketing isn't just that of a salesperson. You also need to take on the role of a teacher.

In affiliate marketing, the role of a teacher isn't necessary. If you don't want to worry about having to motivate other people to take action, then affiliate marketing is probably a better choice for you since you'll only be depending on what you do to make money.

If you enjoy teaching and working with people, then network marketing is probably the better choice for you to make.

Either way, you're making a choice that can make you plenty of money if you're willing to put the time and effort in.