When it comes to doing business online I’m often asked, “What is the best way to go? Is it better to be an affiliate or is it better to own your own product?”
To me, the answer is clear. It’s better to do both eventually.
Let me explain.
When you first start out to make money online it’s very likely that you will want to do affiliate marketing. After all, it’s the easiest way to start making money online, and the one that requires the least effort.
When you sell things as an affiliate marketer you don’t need to worry about things like:
- Writing a sales letter
- Taking payments
- Providing customer support
- Helping people download your product
These things, and more, are the job of the person who created the product.
So, your choice should be affiliate marketing forever, right?
Not so much.
While affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online, it is not the same as building a real business online.
- A business you own and can sell to others if you want.
- A business you can automate to provide ample income and free time too.
- A business where you can recruit others to do the selling for you.
I believe most everyone should have a product of their own.
It is much easier than you may think to create a product, and we’ll discuss that more at a later date.
Today I’d like to share three reasons why I believe that’s true, and then follow up with more articles about exactly how to do that. I will be happy to answer questions below as well.
Reason 1 – To Make More Money
When you’re selling a product of your own you keep 100% of the sale. As opposed to selling as an affiliate where you keep 50%, or often less.
In addition to this, you have an incredible amount of control as the owner and creator of a product. You can set the price of your own product at any place you want.
You can raise the price, lower the price and test different price points. The sky is the limit and it’s completely up to you. You get to decide what you make per sale, and then you get to keep all of it.
Making 100% of the sale means keeping more money. At the end of the day, more money in your pocket is never a bad thing.
Reason 2 – To Build YOUR Audience
You will build a stronger list faster when you have a product of your own.
There are three reasons for this.
First, people who have created their own products are seen as very credible in the marketplace.
They are seen as authorities in their field. And they are the ones who get asked to do all sorts of profitable joint ventures.
Second, because you own the product (and therefore, the website) all people who join your mailing list from your sales page are now on your list!
That means you can begin to develop relationship with them, find out what their needs are and fill those needs with products you create or recommend.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, the people who buy your product will buy from you again and again.
I know because we are blessed to have customers dating all the way back to 1998. We literally have customers who have purchased every product I have created since that date.
I grow, they grow and we all win.
Far more than just a “great way to make money”, having loyal customers is a way to serve those customers. A way to discover their needs and help them achieve their goals and dreams.
If all this sounds daunting, don’t worry. In an upcoming article you will see just how easy is to create products of your own.
Reason 3 – To Eliminate Traffic Worries
Everyone who wants to make money online is concerned about getting enough traffic to their website.
The good news – when you own the product, you can choose to have affiliates who promote your product for a commission.
When you do it right, your affiliates will drive the traffic for you in exchange for a commission.
Because affiliates will be driving the traffic for you, you can focus on serving your affiliates by increasing the conversion on your sales page, creating better squeeze pages, creating more affiliate tools, and more.
If you can do that successfully, affiliates will send you all the traffic you ever need.
Of course, I can’t let this article end without saying that the #1 reason to create a product of your own is to serve your customers.
When you are the product creator you can make sure your product contains all the features and benefits you would want in a similar product.
In fact, many of the best products out there came from people having a need that was not being met by the products currently on the market!
I hope you can see that there are some powerful ways creating a product can benefit you.
You’ll make more money, you’ll establish credibility and find joint venture partners, and you’ll be able to forget about driving traffic all together when you create a product of your own.
And those are beautiful things indeed!
