The biggest mistake most network marketers make when they turn to the internet to grow their business is that they confuse (or the marketing messages confuse) affiliate marketing with network marketing. So let’s take this confusion right away by differentiating between online, affiliate and network marketing.
Online marketing is exactly what it says – the promotion and marketing of products and services via the internet. The entire marketing and sales process will take place on the internet. Online marketing may involve your own product or service or the product or service of a third-party.
Affiliate marketing is the marketing of products and services developed by another party and you earn a commission for closing sales on these products and services on their behalf. You will be responsible for your own marketing costs and then collect commissions for each sale incurred as a result. Affiliate marketing can be either online or offline. Affiliate marketing is a front-end direct sales transaction and there are no on-going commissions once the sale is complete.
Network marketing is not really the marketing of products or services although there is always a product and service involved. Network marketing is the building of a team of distributors from whom you then earn a small commission off the recruiting and sales efforts of the entire team. You also earn residual income ( on-going monthly commissions) off the efforts of the team as long as they remain active distributors.
Therefore the skills involved in network marketing are entirely different from affiliate marketing in that network marketing requires mentoring, leadership and team-building skills rather than pure sales skills. It has been said that being an outstanding sales person can be a disadvantage in network marketing but I believe it is rather one skill involved, not the whole.
Network marketers can still earn off the sale of product but this is not where the true wealth potential in this business model lies. It is really in the residual income potential that comes off the efforts of a large team.
The internet is now a great tool for network marketers as you can build relationships with people all over the world and then nurture these relationships via the phone, skype, internet and face-to-face interactions.
However, many network marketers are impatient and don’t realize that this is a long-term business and try to sell their company or product up-front. Relationships don’t develop in an instant. You can market an affiliate product in an instant and get immediate revenue.
This is the power of the combination of affiliate marketing and network marketing. You can market affiliate products at the beginning in order to attract your target networkers. If the networker is happy with the affiliate products you promote, you can begin the process of getting to know them better and building a sound relationship. This is called attraction marketing.
Once the prospect trusts, knows and likes you there is a strong possibility that they will want to join your network marketing company. This way you benefit off the affiliate sales upfront and the long-term residual income available via network marketing and the team effort.
In truth, it can take a year or two to build a solid network marketing business and 10,000 hours to master this industry (read Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers”) , so being able to achieve affiliate sales in the short-term can be a very effective way to fund your business.
In conclusion, there is a true win-win when you combine affiliate and online marketing with network marketing.
Be sure to comment and share this post and let’s hear your views on network marketing online?
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About Clare Kelway
From Mom and Homeopath to Network Marketing Professional, Clare is passionate about helping you create freedom in your life - equipping you with success and a naturally healthy life. Health and Financial stress are the two greatest stresses we experience. Clare has a part time natural health clinic and spends the rest of her time teaching people how to effectively build a network marketing business. She builds her business online and offline using blogging, online marketing and speaking engagements. She lives in Kentucky, USA with her husband and two of her three sons.
Love this analysis. This is a post anyone coming on to the internet for marketing purposes in whatever line of business needs to understand. This is a starting point for my students when they come to me so I can better understand what it is that they want to use the internet for in their business. Thanks for putting this together.
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Wow! I came into this post thinking “what am I going to have to nit pick at” lol, but WOW! You hammered it out of the ballpark. I couldn’t have said this better myself. (the only thing that I would add is that a lot of this “intertwines” i.e. an online network marketer is both an internet marketer, a network marketer and actually … most likely a affiliate marketer too). Very Great Job! You get a Thumbs Up from me!
Clare, I’ve never read such a clear and concise explanation of network marketing and affiliate marketing! For anyone struggling with the concepts, this post would really clear things up in their mind.
I’m also enjoying the clean layout of your blog.
Many blessings to you in your business!
Dayna
Hi Dayna, I am so glad that you found my article on the differences between affiliate marketing and network marketing useful. I really think there is much confusion out there about this. Thanks for commenting and be sure to check out my daily blogs at clarekelway.com/clares-blog. I am starting a 90 day Challenge that I hope will take many over the initial struggling threshold to success and freedom! blessings Clare
This article really cleared things up for me. The internet is so flooded with information and 'experts' that many times its tough to decipher the good from the not-so-good.
I see what you're saying as a comprehensive system to market my individual company while making money in the process.
Do you recommend any particular system to use?
Thanks for dropping by, Izzy! So many newcomers to our industry would have greater success rates from the beginning if they truly understood this concept!
Thanks Kathy for dropping by! Yes, prospects can't be asked to join your company out the gates, however they may well purchase a one-off product from you as a tester which is a funded proposal whether packaged in a formal leads system or driven by your own web-site!
Great post. I can see that combining the two is a good way to go. It is like a funded proposal like MLSP in a way, I think that is the same philosophy if done properly and with the right products.
Thanks,
Kathy
Brilliant and spot on analysis. Far too many people out there confuse the 3 mediums and draw incorrect conclusions. This is a wonderful resource for those in the industry to draw from. Well done!
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