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Is Affiliate Marketing Just A Stepping Stone?

by VictorV
12 replies
Is Affiliate Marketing just a temporary means to an end? It seems like most people start out in affiliate marketing until they know the ins and outs and can make enough money to support themselves. Then they make it big with their own products (usually talking about what they did to make it big).

Is this the normal path? Almost like having to "put in your hours" before you can get promoted?

Does anyone know what the common path is like for the average successful IMer? I know that may be a tough question to answer, but does anyone have any vague ideas?

Sorry if this is confusing. I know what I want to ask in my head, just having a hard time getting it out in words.
#affiliate #marketing #stepping #stone
  • Profile picture of the author IM Charley
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    • Profile picture of the author VictorV
      Originally Posted by IM Charley View Post

      If I could start over I would start with my own products. IMHO, if you can be an affiliate you can create products, it all involves research. The difference is that a product owner opens more avenues for making sales.
      That's how I feel (which is why I'm currently working on a product). However, I feel like starting off and being an affiliate marketer is teaching me a whole lot that I probably would have never learned if I went straight into product creation.

      But maybe that's just my justification for keeping on with affiliate marketing.

      I wonder if all the big gurus started off with affiliate marketing first.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Mysterious Marketer
    I guess you probably want to ask about what's the best place to start?

    Well, it differs from person to person. Some people like to start creating products right from the beginning, and they create products in their area of expertise... Not necessarily about online marketing or making money online.

    Affiliate marketing is an easy way to go if you are just starting out, because you don't really need much, and you can just get into it. But it takes some pushing.

    Well, I guess whichever you like best... Just start with it and stick with it. There's no right and wrong way to start... Some people start with freelancing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    Affiliate marketing can be a stepping stone to then creating your own products. Not always though, there are lots of people that earn good money by promoting affiliate products and keep on doing so.

    If you can make good money with affiliate products, then why create your own. Ultimately, I think it can be more profitable to have your own products, but it can still be very profitable to be an affiliate.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Foster
    I think having your own products is always an asset.... even if that product is just to build a list or sell cheaply as a front end that back ends into an affiliate offer. That's fine, but you should still have your own product, you're own asset.
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  • Profile picture of the author MillionaireStudio
    Affiliate marketing in the sense that many people start going about it is just a stepping stone - but as you mature I think you'll find that it is just another option available to monetize your websites, and even add back-end monetization to your own products.

    Kind regards,
    Brent McCoy
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    There's no "common" path for the internet marketer. While obviously affiliate marketing is easier when starting out, especially for the tech-challenged, I feel that ultimately you want to have at least one (or several products) of your own as this opens up a world of opportunity to you that you'd otherwise not have, including building your very own prospect and buyers list.

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author Slin
    Sell your own product, build a list, then do affiliate sales.

    Wish I had always known this.
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    • Profile picture of the author VictorV
      Originally Posted by Slin View Post

      Sell your own product, build a list, then do affiliate sales.

      Wish I had always known this.
      Interesting.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    Depends on the individual.

    Some people, myself included, are quite happy as affiliates.

    Not everyone can create a great product or have a successful launch. That's not to say you cant nickel and dime your way with mediocre products.

    Honestly, I don't have any interest in creating a product or dealing with all of the xtras that go along with it. I'm quite content in my man cave and the other guys can deal with the headaches.
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    • Profile picture of the author FredJones
      One thing I always see go missing - or maybe I miss it - in these kinds of discussions is that people do not consider the wide variety of nature of products. Product does not have to be digital, and if you can manage it a physical product can be a TON more profitable than a digital one to say the least. Can you "create" a physical product? Unlikely for most of us. Can you sell a physical product as an affiliate? Sure, and if you know how to do it you have fortunes in that thanks to the fact that a lot of the internet-savvy marketers can only think digital, thereby reducing competition in the physical product world. Can you sell a physical product as a owner? Would you need a physical storage space, a CRM, a supply chain manager etc? Yes, you can manage most of it if you are smart. Come on face it, none knows the Internet better than you - can't you look outside the box and eliminate every major cost with the Internet-provided resources? Yes you can. And that's how you can grow in another dimension. I am not saying this is what everyone should do - every kind of product, physicla or digital, has its importance and need, but what I am saying is that I see this factor never getting discussed. Or is it that people do this a lot but don't reveal?
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    You can build a big affiliate business if that's what you want to do. A number of large affiliate sites have sold for millions recently.


    Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author marketing123
    Honestly, there are a lot of ways of how to become a successful Internet Marketer. Every person has their own way of making something possible. So even though you really have the way or the idea how to become one of them, it's still depends on yourself. I mean if you really have the ability or the skills to convince people, or either ways to grab the success then you will be successful at the end no matter how you did it!
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