Affiliate Marketing V.S Making your own

[dacahe]

Hello everybody. There is much talk about this subject and I wanted to ask what your take is here in the forum.
I see pros and cons but don't have the experience that many of you do, so can you contribute your opinion on the subject of is it better to do Affiliate Marketing as opposed to creating your own info-products

Thanks

[Neil Robins]

When just starting out, promoting affiliate products gets you a toe-hold into IM. If you start promting products from some well known marketers, you also start learning how to do it plus you store away ideas and concepts for the future.

Long term, creating and promoting your own products should be the dream of all IMers with the help of your own affiliate team using all the information and knowledge you've learnt from being an affiliate for someone else.

So during your learning period taking note of how others are creating their sites.Are they using a script (ie Butterfly Marketing or Launch Formula Marketing)?, what autoresponder to use?, how have they written the sales page?, how do they manage affiliates (ie RAP system or the new Delavo etc)?, what marketing are they doing and on and on and on.

I could go on for a while but there are more knowledgeable people around with their own ideas so keep absorbing and learning.

regards

Neil Robins
www.EasyMarketingGroup.com

[Adam Warner]

If I were you, I would definitely start with creating your own infoproducts.

It just makes complete sense...

1) You can then have your OWN affiliates
2) You have your own pure list that knows you and your products
3) You can launch backend products and continuity programs
4) You can SELL your business as it's an asset that you've built up.
5) Producing and shipping infoproducts is easy and low cost. And it's easy to scale.

Some of these things do apply to affiliate marketing, but on a much smaller scale. Definitely create your own infoproducts, it's always worked for me.

[Neil Rissler]

For those of you that are just starting out, I recommend getting some experience with other systems first.

Step 1) Buy a few programs from some reputable marketers. Ewen Chia, Mike Filsaime and Joel Christopher are just a few of the big names. There are many more that have actually created an income from online marketing.

Step 2) Stop buying programs! After you have a couple programs stop buying new stuff. If you do not stop, you will go into information overload. You will want to keep jumping from one good idea to the next, but never finish any of them.

Step 3) Study the programs that you have, decide on one method that will work for you, and put all your effort into that method.

Step 4) Follow the program. Work at it like you do for your regular job. Go to work each day at a set time, work for the number of hours you did as an employee for someone else and stick to it. Take breaks when you need to take a break. Quit when it is time to quit. DO NOT jeopardize your family life. Spend time with your loved ones.

Step 5) Start making money. If you follow the recommendations of the program you have decided to follow, you should start making some money. This is obviously the most important part. Since that is what we are all here to do.

[dacahe]

Thanks guys, really sound advice, I have gone into info overloa :-\ d in the past and don't really know when to take a breather

[zach widmayer]

Neil,

Really like the info you provided in your post, well played. Information overload I totally agree with, I have definitely been a victim before. I have bought a few IM products and am having a little trouble really devoting time to it. Any advice?
Thanks.

Zach

[Tamara]

Hi David,

I can just speak from personal experience. I started promoting (and still do to this day) affiliate programs related to my niche. I did this for about one year which provided me with a great learning experience.

Once I got familiar with the fundamental principles of affiliate marketing, I decided to have my own product. Today I do a combination of both: I promote affiliate programs and my product. I market my product by myself and through a handful of affiliates.

Hope this helps,
Tamara