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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
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#21 · Posted: 12 Sep 2009 22:29
I think most affiliate programs are actually single tier - you get staight up commissions based on a percentage of the sale. I don't think the line is getting blurred at all - there are huge differences between most MLMs and affiliate programs - the main difference is that the latter of the two enables most people to earn a lot more money because the commissions are generally higher, and is easier for most people to get into because there are no sign up fees.
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WARRANTIES4LESS
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#22 · Posted: 13 Sep 2009 14:30 · Edited by: WARRANTIES4LESS
Agreed,
Most still are single tier, but I have seen more go to 2 tier in the last year than in last five, and for good reason, leverage. No matter how good you are at getting traffic to your sites, there is nothing better than having others doing the same thing with you collecting a residual override. It always goes back to the quote, "I would rather get 1% from a 100 than 100% of my own efforts. lol
Classified Ad Central just went with two tier, and sales jumped dramatically. FREERXPlus just went from two tier to option for four tier, a very creative way to accommodate both sides of issue, straight affiliate or MLM. Guard Your Place just went with two tier, and 1ButtonToWiFi just went from single tier to MLM with merger with MySocialIncome, the first to combine social media with an MLM, another unique twist, and also free to join.
No doubt in my mind, the industry is always evolving, and I see this trend continuing, like it or not. As to earnings, there is no way a single tier affiliate can compete with multi tier or MLM in the long haul. Having been promoting affiliate programs for over a decade, as well as running a couple, I always used 2 tier minimum which is my preferred option. If you keep up with affiliate software, you will see this option is available on all the ones I have researched, so again, this is the trend as I see it.
I know in my affiliate marketing efforts, yes, you can make a little more on your own efforts with a single tier, but this is short sited as most cannot get enough traffic to even hope for enough conversions to make it worth while, and that is the problem with affiliate programs today and why so many so called guru's sell their deals under an affiliate strategy now. Most of them know the trend is set, affiliate marketing is not as easy as it use to be, and if it was, they wouldn't be selling all their secrets. lol
We are in an era of change, and what worked yesterday no longer is assured to work tomorrow. If you are working singe tier affiliate plan, what happens if you get sick and can no longer promote your links? It goes back to the reason MLM is so attractive over the years, you can essentially work it hard, then sit back and relax if you want to, and if you sadly do get sick and cannot work, your income continues. For me, this was always the most attractive aspect of MLM, and still is. As to affiliates being free, this too is changing and many are now requiring a purchase, and I like this strategy as well.
The reason is obvious, most people have figured out that if they are interested in a product knowing it is an affiliate offer, and they look at the bottom of page for the affiliate link, they register, and then they purchase from their own affiliate site which just cut you out on sale, and this is the flaw in affiliate marketing as I see it today. If an affiliate program was at least two tier, then you would still make an override, so you would not lose your total commission. You cannot stop this trend, so don't think it is not impacting you as we speak. I just lost a commission of $100. because this person decided to register as a free affiliate and purchase from himself. I was seeing this trend develop a few years ago, and it is just one of the reasons I don't waste time on single tier affiliate programs anymore. The mold is set, the trend away from these single tier free programs is set, like it or not. Give me multi tier over single every time, or a must purchase option before you can become an affiliate which protects affiliates. Simply put, don't waste your time or money promoting single tier affiliates.
Success to all, Mike
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getagrip
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#23 · Posted: 13 Sep 2009 15:23 · Edited by: getagrip
The reality is that if an affiliate program is two tiered - and most are not - the bulk of the commissions are paid up front. For example, your commission might be $15 for all single tier sales, and $1 for multi tier sales. So, you get a little extra for multi tier sales, but the majority of your earnings are paid from single tier commissions.
The opposite is true for most MLMs - your commission might be $1 if you have no one underneath you, and $2 if you have 10 people under you, and $5 if you have 20 people underneath you, and so on and so forth. The chances of earning $15 are very little, because you have to have a lot of people underneath you, and most people will never reach that level. Generally speaking, the commissions paid by MLMs are significantly less than commissions paid by single tier affiliate programs.
This is one of the reasons why single tier programs can compete with MLMs over the long haul for long term earnings, and offer better earning potential for the majority of people. With affiliate programs, your commissions in the beginning are almost always higher than what most MLMs offer, and you can earn much more in a shorter amount of time. As long as you are on top of your game, your long term earnings will continue to increase.
So, while multi tier affiliate programs are nice and can increase your earning potential as an affiliate, they aren't absolutely required to become successful in affiliate marketing. In almost 100% of cases with MLMs, your potential to earn significant commissions are dependent on bringing in more people to the company, which has a limiting effect on the amount of commissions you can earn, especially if you have a hard time convincing anyone to join your MLM.
If you get sick, as long as you have things set up correctly and have been doing your work, that usually won't be an issue with affiliate programs, because many of the promotional methods you use run themselves. Personally, I've earned commissions many months after I started promoting something - from websites or other venues I haven't updated in a long time. So, while the focus of MLMs is recruiting new members to improve your short term and long term earning potential, the focus of affiliate marketing is moving into new markets to expand your earnings, or to make current niches more profitable. There are also affiliate programs that offer recurring monthly commissions, increasing both the the short term and long term earning potential.
As far as affiliates buying through their own link is concerned, most newbies have no clue that you can even do this, and many affiliate programs have rules against this. Clickbank, for instance, is still very strong and isn't going anywhere, and it should be noted that most affiliates who purchase through their own links do it for "make money online" type products - other niches such as weight loss are not significantly impacted by this. Additionally, most affiliate networks such as Commission Junction sell physical products, and are not effected by affiliates buying through their own links. Successful affiliates don't waste their time with single tiered affiliate programs - rather, they profit from them.
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WARRANTIES4LESS
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#24 · Posted: 13 Sep 2009 15:52
Agreed,
There are many variations, and that was what I was pointing out, you are pro affiliate, I am pro MLM, and I like the fact that they are not as far a part as they once were.
As to payouts, true, a single tier or even two tier will pay out more, but you cannot hope to escape the fact you have to work harder promoting it to make money, and this is just the opposite with MLM.
My affiliate program payed out 30% on first tier and 10% on second and I grew it to over 10K affiliates in six months, and if I had only one tier, I would have been lucky to get half that many in same time frame using simple duplication math.
As you will soon learn, the hard way I am afraid, and that is you will not have the same affiliate program for more than a couple years if you are lucky. Rarely is a product unique enough to demand long term market presense. Sure, eBay and Amazon are long term deals, but with millions of others promoting the same affiliates, sorry, short term is what I have tracked over the years.
How long have you been involved in affiliate marketing? Always enjoy hearing about the experience of others who are long term marketers who can be unbiased on both sides of issues. Yes, I am a little more pro MLM than affiliate as I have over a decade of experience to make my choice. I am still making money on MLM's which I have not promoted for years, yet I don't have a single affiliate program producing for more than a few years, so we shall see.
What I have seen is my revenues drop every month over past year on both, never mind my PPC revenues, so the recession determines our success just as it will our failures. I concentrate only on recession proof businesses now, and have for past year. You mentioned the product mix, and there are indeed more choices in affiliate marketing, but this too is changing as the internet grows.
I don't work just one affiliate program, just as I don't promote only one MLM, so I like to cover all the bases with leverage strategy. This has gotten me through last recession, and is getting me through this one as well. The internet allows one to promote more than one affiliate, as well as MLM, so I am still an advocate of affiliate programs, but only multi tier ones for the most part. lol Guess you might say I see the benefits in both.
Success to all,
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getagrip
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#25 · Posted: 13 Sep 2009 16:52
I don't think Amazon or eBay are short term at all. It might be true that a "hot" product today won't sell as well two years from now, but you can always break into new markets. For instance, Apple Ipods might not be as "hot" as they were two years ago, but there still is demand for them, and new products like the Apple iPhone are always giving affiliate marketers plenty of opportunities to promote new products.
It is true that there is lots of competition for these kinds of products, but your ability to be successful as an affiliate marketer depends on which marketing angles you take - sometimes you just have to be creative in your marketing approach, and as long as you have unique content, people will find your websites in the search engines.
There are also plenty of other niches out there that have much less competition than Apple iPods - its just a matter of doing research and thinking creatively. For instance, how many affiliates out there are promoting Nebraska vs Virginia Tech College Football Tickets? Not many...
I don't think that you necessarily have to work harder to promote affiliate programs than you would with MLMs. Convincing someone to join the MLM is hard enough, and offers a challange most MLMers will never overcome - if they do manage to overcome that hurdle, many MLMers will never be able to overcome the challenge of selling the products that their MLMs offer. Which is easier to sell, an Apple iPod, or a vitamin supplement no one has ever heard of?
Both affiliate marketing and MLMs have their unique challenges that require a lot of time and effort, but in many ways, I think the challenges that many MLMers face are greater than the challenges affiliate marketing face, and the reason is the recruitment factor - if your success depends on how many people you can bring into the company, but you can't get anyone to join the MLM company, you aren't going to earn money, and if you sell a product that no one recognizes, you are in big trouble, especially if you made a large monetary investment to join the MLM company to promote that product.
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WARRANTIES4LESS
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#26 · Posted: 13 Sep 2009 22:44
Note:
I indicated that eBay and Amazon are examples of long term, not short, but millions are affiliates for both, so although they may last, I assure you, very few are making money on these out of the millions, that was my point.
No doubt, niche markets are the only way to go these days, but like you with your affiliate training, most will not know this unless they spend the time researching the market, and stop falling for all the guru deals out there being hyped.
So I am curious, how long have you been affiliate marketing? I can understand why your points on pros and cons in this thread, but for everyone who is making good money in affiliate marketing, there are more making much more in MLM which has been around for six decades. Like I said, affiliate marketing is about a decade old as far as I remember, I created my first two tier in 98, but I don't recall many others if any at the time, do you?
As to niche, this applies to both affiliate and MLM, you have to offer something the masses want, and what everyone wants in a recession is to save money. So unless you are saving people money or have something exclusive or unique, or plug a niche, you won't succeed in either, so they are same in that comparison.
I was doing great as affiliate for casinos for years, then the U.S. gov. attacked and took it all away, or almost, I am back at promoting FullTilt Poker affiliate, so we shall see if they can beat the gov. in long term, so far so good. One thing I can say about affiliate programs, gambling and sex are hot, always have been, always will be, so yes, a big niche is better than a small one in my experience. In fact, my sex affiliate also just went MLM a few months ago and really took off ever since and my income is increasing every month based on leverage of MLM model.
Success to all,
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getagrip
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#27 · Posted: 13 Sep 2009 23:39 · Edited by: getagrip
Some eBay affiliates are earning 6 figures. eBay and Amazon are just two examples - there are many other affiliate programs out there that people earn money from. Yes, there are lots of eBay and Amazon affiliates out there, and many of them don't make money, just as there are many in the MLM business who don't make money.
Just because MLMs have been around longer doesn't make it the better business model. Only a very small percentage of people who have been involved in MLMs over the past six decades have earned back their initial investments or made any sales at all. There are lots of affiliates who have been able to make sales, earn commissions, and make a profit as affiliate marketers.
Niche marketing isn't the only way to go as there are affiliates out there earning money in very competitive markets, although it is a lot easier to enter a niche market with less competition than an extremely competitive market. I agree that there are a lot of guru's out there who scam people.
When there is a recession, I agree that people tend to hold onto their money a little bit more compared to when the economy is good, but there are plenty of goods being sold in the current economy - just take a stroll over to eBay and take a look at how many bids there are on certain products - as long as people have money to spend there is always going to be opportunities in affiliate marketing. It should be noted that people in a recession are much more likely to buy a product that they recognize through brand recognition than one that they don't, which means affiliates who promote brand name products are going to do a lot better than those who only have the option of promoting an obscure product that their MLM offers.
There are many other niches that affiliates do well with other than the ones you mentioned. Just head over to Commission Junction and take a look at the 3 day and 7 day earnings per click - you are going to find good numbers in hundreds of diffent niches. Some of these niches include automotive, beauty, dating, financial, and many other markets.
That, in itself, is one of many examples that proves affiliates are doing well, and that affiliate marketing isn't going anywhere but up anytime soon. In my opinion, affiliate marketing has done much more in 10 years than multilevel marketing has done in the last 60, and the fact that many brick and mortar businesses such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy have affiliate programs rather than MLM programs is a testament to the potential of affiliate marketing, and this is just the beginning.
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Andy3568
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#28 · Posted: 14 Sep 2009 22:11
Hi everyone!
I found this topic interesting because my wife is doing MLM and I am doing affiliate marketing. LOL Both of us are newbies, so the jury's still out on which we like better.
My wife's company is straight up MLM, so she sells products to people that she has to order from the company wholesale and then earns the retail minus wholesale difference. However, it also has a website component that acts sort of like affiliate marketing. If someone goes to her website and orders from there, she never handles any product, and she gets a check for the order. I guess it is a little more flexible than affiliate marketing in that respect. The product is something she is interested in, and I don't believe there was any cost other than the starter kits, so I believe it is one of the good ones. I do have to say that I totally agree with you about the MLM companies that require you to pay for the privilege to promote their product. LOL
The good thing about me getting into affiliate marketing is that I an use the same promotional techniques I'm learning to promote my wife's website. We'll see how all that works. 
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mountainmom5
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#29 · Posted: 15 Sep 2009 00:03
WARRANTIES4LESS: gambling and sex are hot
I have noticed that... but those are both so far outside my comfort zone, that I'll just have to leave them to other more daring folks like you.
You have to remember that I was a little amish lady for the first 30 years of my life...
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GaryCameron
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#30 · Posted: 15 Sep 2009 03:52
There is money to be made with Network Marketing. There is money to be made with affiliate marketing. All depends on where you want to focus your time.
Personally, I know more people who are very successful at Network Marketing than I do who are successful at affiliate marketing.
The better Network Marketing companies have a strong retail side to their business.
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WARRANTIES4LESS
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#31 · Posted: 15 Sep 2009 18:34
mountainmom5: have noticed that... but those are both so far outside my comfort zone, that I'll just have to leave them to other more daring folks like you. You have to remember that I was a little amish lady for the first 30 years of my life...
Funny,
I understand completely, and agree, I was same way about sex, but I did like gambling, but having grown up in PA amish country, I totally understand, different strokes for different folks. lol
Success to all,
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wolfmanjack
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#32 · Posted: 18 Sep 2009 22:53
Even if you don't it beats the alternative.
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bfr01
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#33 · Posted: 19 Sep 2009 22:46
The fact is all marketing is "Multi-Level Marketing" (MLM)...even affiliate marketing.
In traditional brick-n-mortar businesses there are usually CEO, Presidents, VPs, Division Heads, Sales Managers, Team Leaders all receiving some form of compensation on the sales of the sales representative. These are the equivalent of an up-line in an MLM structure.
People get caught up in these names; they often spark negativity in the minds of the uneducated.
Many MLMs and Affiliate programs get bad reviews in forums from former marketers, they blame the program on their failure.
The truth is, in any sales orgainization 85% of sales come from the top 15% which leaves 15% of the sales being done by the bottom 85%. Whether you choose an affiliate program or an MLM, the success you enjoy will be directly proportionate to the effort you contribute.
Sales is an art...the art of subtle persuasion. Some are gifted with the art, but most everyone can learn the art with proper instruction.
If you are thinking about getting involved in a direct marketing orgainization or affiliate program, seek one with good products, training and support systems, but know that all will take effort on your part if you want to succeed.
bruce.
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busoppreviews
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#34 · Posted: 1 Oct 2009 13:11
I've been experimenting with MLMs for a few months now. Mainly for fun and out of curiousity.
I think I've learned enough and agree that Affiliate marketing is much better however perhaps a little harder in that you need to find people who actually want the product.
It's a little easier to find people out there who want an "opportunity" which is essentially all MLMs are. You sell an opportunity but the company throws in a free e-book just to keep themselves legal.
In saying that, I think I will start to move my focus into the affiliate marketing and the MLMs just seem to all fizzle out after a while. Only 1 program out of all the ones I have tried has gone the distance so I will probably stick with that one, but I will spend more time pursuing building something that will last and I think Affiliate marketing may be that answer
Thanks
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WARRANTIES4LESS
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#35 · Posted: 1 Oct 2009 17:43
Interesting,
No doubt, different people will see things differently, but like all of us, you will lean towards what has been successful first and foremost. Personally, what I am seeing in the industry is a merger of the two, MLM and affiliates, and as many are seeing, affiliate programs are graduating to multi tier which in my opinion is the same as MLM. lol
I work both, and for good reasons, there is no such thing as a perfect program for everyone. I got fed up with MLM and created one of, in not the first multi tier affiliate program back in 1998. It worked great, so I think more are seeing why, leverage, that is why.
It is no different than saying, I would rather have 1% of 199 peoples effort than 100% of my own, so this is why MLM or multi tier programs are what I focus on, leverage is where the real money is long term. It is all about saving money in this economy, and if you can save people money, then it makes no difference what compensation plan is used.
If you cannot save money, it is near impossible to sell a typical overpriced product through MLM or affiliate program. It is not about which plan works best, it is about which product or service you promote sells best.
Success to all,
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busoppreviews
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#36 · Posted: 1 Oct 2009 21:38
Merging MLM with Affiliate ?
It sounds good. Do you have any examples of such ? Because every MLM program I have every seen requires that I pay a fee to be a member.
If there are affiliate programs that are free to join but offer MLM benefits that would be interesting.
However, for such a program to work the product needs to be good and competitively priced. There are certainly MLMs out there that one can join for free and earn money off of getting others to join and pay for something. But usually there is nothing worth paying for so you simply build a pyramid of people who aren't buying anything.
What is the program you started in 1998 ? Is it still going ?
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WARRANTIES4LESS
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#37 · Posted: 2 Oct 2009 15:46
Agreed,
Before any free MLM will work, you have to offer true verifiable value and be a product or service that millions will be interested in. One such program is TamPogo which is cost free, plus offers verifiable value with lowest prices on the internet, and they are just now ramping up with thousands of products about to be added now that beta testing is near complete.
TamPogo is MLM, but simple MLM, not the usual complex plans which takes a lot to understand for most, and I like that. It is all about big numbers, so it is not the usual get rich quick deal with all the money hype, it is a get rich slow business which requires vision. Simply put, it is Amazon and Walmart with Social Media being added to drive it forward with viral marketing. Everyone wants to save money in a recession, so timing is everything, plus the savings are significant on what they have already, so worth registering for free to see and get updated. Purchase option is there to open up commission qualification, but it is only required once every six months banking on the fact everyone will sooner or later see the savings they can realize.
The latest which is just being offered to existing affiliates is the most interesting I have researched in the past decade. I like technology, I like exclusive offerings and I like to save money. With hundreds of millions of people having cell phones, imagine if you could access a local dial tone on your cell phone from all over the world and able to make calls to anywhere in the world for a fraction of your current cellular phone costs, and you don't need to purchase a new phone or change plans. Now that is value, convenience, and simple to share with others, no selling required.
Sinice it is new technology, exclusive, saves money, no cost, no purchase, no web site fees or back office costs, and as a bonus a fully blown social media site like MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube all in one, and also free, this is the one which has viral power as people always want to share a good deal, and when you can demo your own cell phone with a simple touch of a button and your prospect hears a dial tone, they are amazed. This is worth checking out. I am saving almost $100. a month with both VOIP and COIP which is Cellular Over Internet Protocol network. And if that were not enough, it is worldwide out of the gate.
Success to all, Mike
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WARRANTIES4LESS
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#38 · Posted: 2 Oct 2009 15:51
Sorry, missed your last question. No, it was a short term affiliate program specific to the lease and finance industry, but it grew to nearly 10K in less than a year, but like most affiliate programs, they cannot be sustained like MLM can if you have all the right components. Affiliate programs all have a short life span as I have researched, in fact, who can name one which has been around for more than a couple years?
Success to all, Mike
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busoppreviews
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#39 · Posted: 2 Oct 2009 20:44
The cell phone thing sounds interesting
where can i find out more info ?
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cdsites17
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#40 · Posted: 22 Oct 2009 14:15
I just joined the website and I have to say, I am very impressed with the content and quality of this post...Anyways, I am extremely glad that I read this because my mother-in-law is trying to get me to sign up with market-america. I have searched there website and found it to be great but the whole problem is just as the author said. They want $500 to join and you have to buy atleast $50 in product a month to remain a member. How does that benefit me? On top of that you have to get people under you to make any money back...oh goodie. I recently started my quest as an affiliate and I also agree with points made about that. There's no upfront fees and no limitations. The most money you have to spend is wrapped up in your advertising, that is, if you want to spend any on it. There's so many free advertising websites out there, blogs, twitter, etc. that you don't even need to spend any money at all. Ok, enough is enough, overall A+ article. Thanks!
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