Affiliate Marketing, MLM or eCommerce – How to Decide?

Over the years, I’ve been involved in network marketing, sold products through Amazon FBA, and now I’m building an affiliate marketing business. In this article, I pull back the curtain and share with you my personal experiences with these three business models. I give you insights on the pros and cons of each and my ultimate decision on which one I believe is the best and why.

NETWORK MARKETING

I was a network marketing baby. My parents became involved, and by extension, I did as well. I loved all the positive mindset and personal development taught at the conferences and meetings. We were encouraged to read wonderful books like Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” and “The Master Key to Riches”. All of this early mindset training gave me a fantastic foundation for my adult life. And it helped me develop resilience to face the normal challenges that we all face at some point in our lives.

But the aspect of network marketing, or multi-level marketing (MLM), that I constantly struggled with was trying to recruit other people into my network. Friends, family, and neighbours The guy behind the counter at the grocery store. My dentist. My doctor. Basically, anyone I came in contact with I was encouraged to add to my list of prospects. I felt the pressure of always looking for new prospects to add to my list. Someone who might be interested in joining our network to sell products and, in turn, recruit others to do the same.

"Mentally Exhausted"

I was mentally exhausted, considering everyone I met as a potential new recruit. I didn't like being that way. Looking through the lense of "could this person be a good prospect" rather than just enjoying each social interaction.

I was embarrassed to admit to anyone that I was a distributor. I would hear others talk disparagingly about how they’d been hounded by someone to join. Or they'd been invited around for dinner only to find themselves propped up in front of a whiteboard to watch a quick presentation! The whole thing didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t feel proud of what I was trying to build. And I didn’t want to alienate my family and friends.

How Can I Secure My Future?

However, the drive to achieve more, build a business of my own, be my own boss, and have a scalable income based on my efforts, not what my boss told me I was worth, never left me. This intensified when I went through a divorce. I had limited superannuation savings for retirement, and so I was facing the prospect of having to work well into my 60s.

I was only in my mid-40s at the time, but I worried about my future and how I would live. Where could I afford to live? What would my retirement eventually look like? It was stressful, and I had to do something about it. I had to find a way to change my circumstances.

AMAZON FBA

In 2019, I decided to learn how to sell on Amazon. Amazon Australia hadn’t started up yet, so I bought some training to learn how to sell on Amazon US. The model I learned was to source products from within the US and send them to Amazon warehouses to fulfill. This is known as Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA. I learned valuable skills, and I was really starting to build momentum with some bigger months of sales. I thought I’d found the right business model for me, but I struggled to find enough suitable suppliers within the US, and I couldn’t control the Amazon fees that seemed to keep escalating.

The other major challenge I found was that just when I got good traction on a product listing, another seller would come in on the listing and push the price down. So my margins gradually fell and were next to nothing. The final straw was when my best supplier decided they would no longer sell to Amazon sellers. Suddenly, I had no stock to sell. Along with that, the company I’d been learning through also decided they were no longer going to upgrade or support the online product analysis tool they had provided.

So poof!! I was left flapping in the breeze as the support I had invested in evaporated. They did offer a new, more expensive tool that they were now promoting. However, I felt I could no longer trust the longevity of their support, so I cut ties with that organisation.

How to Generate Financial Security and Freedom

 

Still looking for a solution for how I could generate financial security for myself and my family and build a business that I loved with integrity, I realised I had to invest in educating myself further. To up-skill in an area that was booming so I could better protect myself financially and ensure I always had a way to create an income. The answer, for me, was to learn digital marketing.

I was toying with different social media and digital marketing trainings, knowing this was the way I wanted to go but not sure where to invest my hard-earned money. I knew I needed training, tools, support, and mentoring to succeed. I was more than ready to put in the required effort and allocate the time and money needed to build something that was sustainable and aligned with my values. I just needed to find the right company that I could trust to deliver those things and stay around for the long term.

The Solution

Then, last year, I stumbled across a guy online who shared his story about how, after being made redundant in his job, he and his wife had invested a lot of their money in setting up a Bed & Breakfast. Of course, then good old COVID came along and shut them down, so they had no income coming in. They had to do something to stop the haemorrhaging of their savings. His solution was to learn digital marketing and initially build an affiliate marketing business. The organisation he was learning through provided all the education, support, tools, and mentoring needed to get up and running in your own online business.

I clicked the button and subscribed to get access to the free training videos so I could see if this was the solution I’d been looking for.

It was.

AFFILIATE MARKETING

I’m passionate about building a business I love that provides value to anyone that comes in contact with my brand. That value may take the form of helpful information, motivation, or inspiration through my blogs (like this one). Or recommendations on products and services that I’ve found have helped me and may be a good solution for others. This recommendation part is Affiliate Marketing.

Provide Value

Affiliate marketing gives me the scope to promote products or services from any company that I feel aligns with my values and that I know is going to provide value to my audience. And the best part is that I don’t have to have my own products or services. This means I don’t need to source, store, or distribute anything. And the vendor company will deal with the sale and all customer service activities.

Sustainable and Solid Business

However, affiliate marketing is a long-term business commitment. It takes patience and continual commitment to learn and hone your digital marketing skills. Building my audience and providing them with value is my goal in building a truly sustainable, solid business integrated with what I’m passionate about. In my case, that is helping people live their best lives through intentional decisions and actions.

Lifestyle of Freedom and Choice

I’m now building not just an affiliate marketing business, but I’m using Authority Marketing to build an Authority Brand that I will continue to grow. Affiliate marketing will be just one revenue stream. The potential is enormous. However, it’s crucial to have access to coaches, mentors, cutting-edge training, and a community of like-minded people who both inform and inspire you to reach greater heights. I’ve found this now. I’ve found my tribe and know that I’m in the right place to help me build my online business and, in turn, the lifestyle of freedom and choice that I want.

Network Marketing

Amazon FBA

PROs	CONs
Amazon will store and ship the products for you.	Reduced profits - FBA costs will eat into your margins.
Bigger chance of getting the Buy Box on a listing.	Cost to dispose of damaged stock in their warehouse.
Leverage the credibility and reach of the Amazon marketplace.	Amazon’s “no question asked” returns policy can increase the volume of returns.
Fast, reliable delivery to customers with often cheaper rates or free for Prime customers	Long-term storage fees that any of your slow-moving items may incur.
Amazon takes care of most customer enquiries and return requests.	Specific packaging and labelling requirements for stock going into their warehouse can be costly and time-consuming.
You can expand into other markets by listing in other countries.	If selling in the US, they have a complex sales tax system that is state-based.
It is easy to set up a listing and start selling.	High competition by other sellers and on shared listings.
	Communication with your customers is limited to the buyer-seller messaging service, making it difficult to build your brand.

Affiliate Marketing

PROs	CONs
Your own business—building an asset for yourself.	It is not a quick business to build. Requires patience and persistence.
Low cost to start up.	There are different types of commissions from different vendors. You need to check you are with a reputable vendor.
Flexibility: work from wherever and whenever you want; start part-time if you want.	It can be a lonely road if not plugged in with a good support network.
Promote products and services for multiple companies—no restriction.	Some affiliates engage in spammy types of marketing that affect the reputation of the industry.
Ability to scale up: the more products or services you promote, the more revenue streams you have.	There is no guarantee of income. You are working for yourself, so it all depends on your effort and expertise in marketing.
You don't need to handle the product—no sourcing, storage, and distribution.	You need to make sure you stay relevant to your audience or risk losing credibility.
Sales and customer service activities are completed by the company, not you, the affiliate.	No control over the affiliate program; you must follow the rules set by the vendor company.
Marketing materials are often provided by the vendors.
Flexibility to choose any marketing channel to market to your audience (eg Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google Search)
Passive income: make money while you sleep
A growing industry that’s worth over a billion dollars.

CONCLUSION

I believe learning digital marketing, specifically Authority Marketing is one of the best insurance policies you can invest in to ensure you have the skills to not just build a solid, profitable business that you love but also know that you can create or scale your income at any time. These skills are so transferrable, so no matter what business model you decide is best for you (affiliate marketing, network marketing, eCommerce store), you can use your skills to grow your business. You will have the knowledge to create marketing campaigns on any number of platforms, like Google Search, YouTube, or Facebook. You could even get paid to build those digital assets for others. These skills are in huge demand no matter which way you look, and that spells security and choice about the lifestyle you can create for you and your family.

But you need to get the right education that is up-to-date and at the forefront of what’s working right now. Make sure you have access to superior tools, support, and coaching if you need it. Be plugged into a community where you can interact with like-minded people who are collaborative and supportive. If you have all these things, it’s really just up to you. Put in the effort and recognise that creating something of value takes time, commitment, and persistence. And just start. Start to take the steps each day that will move you forward towards the life you want to live. Taking action, even imperfect action, trumps all.

Go ahead and check out these free videos to learn how you can get started on learning Authority Marketing and your journey towards financial freedom to create a life you love.