If you are looking for ways to make money online without the hassle of manufacturing, storing, and shipping your own products, then Affiliate marketing and Dropshipping is your go-to business. If you’re confused between the two, we’re putting up pros and cons for the Dropshipping Vs Affiliate marketing. And which among these will help you make more money.
Both dropshipping and affiliate marketing are business models. Those two will allow you to sell different people’s products and make money out of them. First, let’s understand the difference between the two.
For dropshipping, the products that are sold are listed on your website. Whereas in affiliate marketing, the customer will be taken to the seller’s website through your affiliate link.
With dropshipping, you get to decide the amount at which the product will be listed on your website. However, with affiliate marketing, you have no control over the commission rate.
The customer service part of the business has to be looked after by you in dropshipping. In affiliate marketing, this is done by the website selling the product.
Payments for any sale made through dropshipping are credited instantly. Whereas in affiliate marketing, it might take about 1-3 months to receive the commission.
In dropshipping, you will get repeating business and recurring orders from the consumers. However, affiliate marketing is a one-off transaction.
In the long run, dropshipping can become a full-fledged business. For affiliate marketing, you are completely dependent on the manufacturer whose product you further promote.
As we have understood the main differences between this two. Now let’s dive into the pros and cons for each business model.
Dropshipping:
The dropshipping business model allows you to open an online store wherein the products you sell are not kept in a physical store owned by you. Instead, the products listed will be of a third-party seller. The products will be sold at a price fixed by you at a higher margin.
Dropshipping Pros:
- Dropshipping is an easy to set up and low-risk business model. As it does not carry any inventory nor does it ship any goods. The risk is very low as the payment is paid upfront whenever there is a purchase.
- Dropshipping allows one to have higher margins of profit. The price at which the product will be showcased on your website is set by you.
- With dropshipping, you have your own website and a brand to build on. You make enough money to invest in other marketing and advertising techniques to take your brand further.
- Dropshipping allows you to retarget your audience through advertising and covert the sale. You have control on how to optimize your page and keep making changes as your brand grows bigger.
Dropshipping Cons:
- One of the main drawbacks about dropshipping business is that it requires customer support. You have to make sure the customer is satisfied by your product. Answering to queries, replying to customer feedbacks and other general responses will have to be handled by you.
- Control over the quality of the product and it’s packaging is very limited in dropshipping.
- The market for dropshipping fulfillment has become more competitive as more and more people have started engaging in it. Hence, a proper planning and marketing strategy is required in order to excel in this business.
Also Read This Article : Dropshipping Business 101 | Everything You NEED To Know.
Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate marketing is a business model wherein you recommend products to your viewers or readers that you don’t own. These products are from different businesses from whom you get a certain percentage of commission for every sale made. Whenever someone purchases a product from your affiliate link, you get rewarded for it.
Affiliate Marketing Pros:
- The affiliate marketing model has little to no risks involved and is very easy to set up. Just like any dropshipping business. No extra fees are involved to make a sale other than those of setting up your own website and server.
- One of the most exciting pros is that it does not need any customer support. Being an affiliate, you are only responsible to provide leads to the merchant. Everything else related to the product and customer support is handle by the merchant itself.
- Affiliate marketing is a great source of passive income as little upfront work is required to market the product. Once the advertisement is done, you can sit back and focus on other ways of earning money. Affiliate links can be added to a number of social media platforms which will help target a wider range of audiences.
Affiliate Marketing Cons:
- The profit earned through affiliate marketing can be really low given that some companies pay very little commission. And you have no control over the pricing of the product. Payments can be delayed as some merchants take real long to payout commission. This is a common case as payments can be delayed by 1-3 months.
- The commission rate may change without due notice and this may affect your income. If you are completely dependent on affiliate marketing.
- With a high surge in competition, it has become difficult to make the most out of this side hustle.
Here concludes the Dropshipping Vs Affiliate marketing debate and although both have certain pros and cons. You can definitely take advantage of these business models. Both dropshipping and affiliate marketing are easy to set up and can be started from anywhere.
To answer which one will make you more money in Dropshipping Vs Affiliate marketing. Dropshipping is the hot take as it offers a higher profit margin as compared to affiliate marketing. Drop your comments below and let us know which among these according to you will offer more money.
