Welcome to Lesson 9 of 30 Days To Your Profitable Blog challenge! If you are still confused about which method of monetizing your blog is most suited for you let’s continue to break them down more.
When it comes to monetizing your site, there is one choice that many bloggers agonize over – whether to sell your own creations or whether to promote affiliate products. Both options have their own benefits and drawbacks. Neither is necessarily the right answer. Let’s break things down and take a look at the pros and cons of each in order to help you make a decision that’s best for you.
Method #1 Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves promoting other people or company’s products and receive a commission when your readers make a purchase.
Pros:
- No upfront investment – You can simply choose the products you wish to promote and then copy the affiliate link onto your blog.
- Save time and energy – Affiliate products have already been created or manufactured by someone else. You don’t need to use your creativity, energy, and time to develop something new from scratch.
- No customer service – You don’t have to deal with issues regarding a product once a customer clicks on your link. It is best to choose reputable products you would purchase yourself in order to maintain your reputation.
- Lots to choose from – There is a seemingly endless supply of products relevant to any niche you could choose. This keeps things interesting and offers you variation.
- Flexibility – You have choices regarding how many products you want to promote and in what ways.
Cons:
- No control – Because the product isn’t yours, you have no control over quality and pricing. If something goes wrong after someone makes a purchase of a product you promoted, it could reflect badly on you.
- Building customer list for someone else – Your work results in potential customers for another’s business, rather than building your own customer base.
- Competition – There are likely many others out there promoting the same products you are; therefore, it’s possible people will choose to use someone else’s affiliate link over yours.
Method #2 Creating Your Own Products
You may want to choose to create your own products. There are a few things to keep in mind if that is what you choose to do.
Pros:
- Build your own list – Any work you put into promoting your product and building a loyal following will result in your favor. You’ll have a mailing list that can be beneficial for future sales.
- Total control – You can do whatever you want with regard to your product and how you promote it. Pricing, discounts, marketing, and target audience are all up to you.
- Full profit – You’ll get all the profits from your products, unless you decide to solicit affiliates of your own.
- Become an authority – When you are a product creator, you promote yourself as an authority and can build a brand around your knowledge.
Cons:
- Investment of time, effort, and money – Creating your own products requires a great deal of time, effort, and creative resources. It can also cost money.
- Total responsibility – When it’s your product, you’re responsible for every aspect of it. All promotion and marketing is up to you. If something goes wrong, you need to fix it.
- No guarantee on investment – There’s a greater chance of taking a loss on your investment when it’s your own product.
With all this in mind I don’t want you to be discouraged at creating your own products. It can be done. If you have a great product you have to have an equally great product launch marketing plan.
Now that you understand the pros and cons of affiliate marketing and creating your own product, you’re in a better decision to decide which is right for you. Have you given any a try or both? Comment below.
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