End Goal: Superaffilate or Merchant?

5 replies
Everyone has to start somewhere, and it's usually a small start, but what about then end goal?

Which do you think ultimately has the more potential, being an affiliate or being a merchant?

Obviously, there are many differences between the two, but the two that really come to mind are that in general, an affiliate only has to rely on himself, but that also means that he must build the sites and then deal with Google and the other search engines to rank them and then optimize them for the traffic to convert.

A merchant, on the other hand, must rely on himself to create a product (or orchestrate the creation of a product) and then must also rely on others to successfully promote it (fulfillment, paying affiliates, etc. also come into play). However, once you have created a product, it seems like it would be easier to build up a list of affiliates than it would be to build up several dozen websites.

It almost appears to be a-horse-a-piece, but I've heard of several successful affiliates who have also become merchants, so there must be something to it. Being a merhchant seems like it would give you more opportunities for upselling, list-building, cross-selling, etc.

Could someone start out as a merchant (product creator), or would it be better to start as an affiliate and then transition into product development?

What do you all think?
#end #goal #merchant #superaffilate
  • Profile picture of the author Johnny Optimo
    Originally Posted by amarketing View Post

    Everyone has to start somewhere, and it's usually a small start, but what about then end goal?

    Which do you think ultimately has the more potential, being an affiliate or being a merchant?

    Obviously, there are many differences between the two, but the two that really come to mind are that in general, an affiliate only has to rely on himself, but that also means that he must build the sites and then deal with Google and the other search engines to rank them and then optimize them for the traffic to convert.

    A merchant, on the other hand, must rely on himself to create a product (or orchestrate the creation of a product) and then must also rely on others to successfully promote it (fulfillment, paying affiliates, etc. also come into play). However, once you have created a product, it seems like it would be easier to build up a list of affiliates than it would be to build up several dozen websites.

    It almost appears to be a-horse-a-piece, but I've heard of several successful affiliates who have also become merchants, so there must be something to it. Being a merhchant seems like it would give you more opportunities for upselling, list-building, cross-selling, etc.

    Could someone start out as a merchant (product creator), or would it be better to start as an affiliate and then transition into product development?

    What do you all think?
    I create my own products but I also promote a ton of affiliate stuff too - so I think the ideal situation might be a mix between the two..
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  • Profile picture of the author koncorps
    Honestly I just wanna become a corporate sales writer and take on big corporate clients handling all of their online needs from A-Z ... that's just me ...

    Making me think that it comes down the individual what their strengths / weaknesses are.

    Interesting question though ... much like this one: which do you like more pepsi or coca cola?
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Daley
      I personally would go both routes because having income coming from various sources is less risky than money coming from just one source. My end goal would be to have my own products that super affiliates sell for me. If your the merchant creating your own uniquely created products nobody else will be selling it.
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      • Profile picture of the author myob
        There are too many downsides for being a merchant, IMO. Products can and do bomb in the market place or lose their competitive edge. As an affiliate, anything that doesn't produce revenue can just be dumped, and move on with the better sellers. Eventually even best sellers lose their luster and take their turn in getting dumped. This happens very frequently with me. Not to even mention all the other headaches merchants go through; there are already so many products to promote, and so little time before the next ones come along.
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        • Profile picture of the author amarketing
          Originally Posted by myob View Post

          There are too many downsides for being a merchant, IMO. Products can and do bomb in the market place or lose their competitive edge. As an affiliate, anything that doesn't produce revenue can just be dumped, and move on with the better sellers. Eventually even best sellers lose their luster and take their turn in getting dumped. This happens very frequently with me. Not to even mention all the other headaches merchants go through; there are already so many products to promote, and so little time before the next ones come along.

          It sounds as though you speak from experience. That is another difference/similarity with affiliates and merchants. I guess it's kind of the same if a product that a lot of time and effort was put into fails as when a website that a lot of time and effort was put into fails.

          It looks like doing both may be a good strategy.
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