Digital Marketing VS Affiliate Marketing: What’s the difference?
I never knew there was a difference between the two, until I attended a Google Digital Garage course.
Today, you’ll discover 3 differences of digital marketing and affiliate marketing.
- Digital Marketing VS Affiliate Marketing
- What is Digital Marketing?
- What is Affiliate Marketing?
- What Are The Pro’s of Digital Marketing?
- What Are The Pro’s of Affiliate Marketing?
- What Are The Main Differences between Digital Marketing and Affiliate Marketing?
- Final Thoughts Of Digital Marketing Vs. Affiliate Marketing
Digital Marketing VS Affiliate Marketing
This is a very confusing subject.
Therefore, if it seems like I’m repeating myself within this article. It’s only to make sure that you understand the difference between the two.
Always remember if you ever have questions please feel free to ask.
Let’s get right into it.
What is Digital Marketing?
In simple terms digital marketing is about advertising, promoting, and reaching a target audience. It covers every internet marketing method possible.
With digital marketing your goal is to reach the right people at the right time. And this all happens online.
Hence, that’s where we get the term digital marketing.
To help you better understand, when you see the word digital marketing, think of electronic devices and the internet.
In other words, digital marketing simply means promoting your business products online through many marketing efforts.
To include:
- YouTube Ads
- Email marketing
- Press releases
- Online newspapers
- SEO
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Ads
- Social media ads
- Quora Ads
- Social media platforms
- Online communities
- SMS Marketing
- Forums
The main point is, digital marketing is advertising in any internet based method. I’ve recently learned that affiliate marketing is considered a form of digital marketing.
Pretty cool, huh!
Either way, if you’d like to learn more about the fundamentals of digital marketing, check out Google’s course, it’s free.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is something we discuss a lot on this blog. Therefore, you might have a great understanding of what affiliate marketing is by now.
If not, no worries I got you~
In simple words, it’s when you don’t own a product. In fact, you haven’t even thought about creating a product.
So, instead of being paid by the sales that your product generates you be paid based on your performance.
To start affiliate marketing you’ll find a product. Share with a target audience. And if anyone buys the product, you’ll earn a commission.
Of course, it’s not as simple as it sounds, but hopefully you get the idea.
What Are The Pro’s of Digital Marketing?
Pro #1 – Outreach Is Maximized
As you recently learned, the beauty of digital marketing is reaching a higher level of exposure by advertising on any online platform. The idea is to reach as many people as you can within your target audience.
Pro #2 – More Affordable Than Traditional Marketing
Compared to traditional marketing methods, digital marketing can be more cost efficient. For example, advertising via a blog would cost you nearly nothing compared to advertising within a newspaper.
In fact the YouTube video below, is a form of digital marketing. It’s called video marketing. You don’t have to market on YouTube, you could use any form of video marketing and it is still considered digital marketing.
Pro # 3 -With Digital Marketing Communication Is Instant
Isn’t it amazing how we went from sending smoke signals to sending instant communications?
Indeed, our communication methods have come a long way.
Can you imagine how long it took to communicate something important?
With digital marketing, you won’t have to worry about how long it takes to get your message across because, you’ll have access to reach your target audience instantly.
For example, some digital marketers use an autoresponder, which allows you to send out instant emails to an entire group of people.
What Are The Pro’s of Affiliate Marketing?
Pro #1 – Affiliate Marketing Can Be A Secondary Method
As with digital marketing, affiliate marketing does allow you to promote in different methods too. Such as YouTube, email, social media, pay per click, and a blog.
Say you have a primary business such as a Shopify store or an Esty store. You could drive traffic to your blog, to get your audience over to your e-commerce store or Esty shop.
Pro #2 – No Limit To Your Income
One of the best things about affiliate marketing is there is an unlimited income potential.
You can make as little as you’d like, or as much as you can.
As they say, “The sky’s the limit.”
There’s no cap on how much you can make.
In most cases there’s also no disciplinary actions or quotas to meet.
So, if you don’t meet a certain level of selling products. No worries because there are no requirements of what you can and can’t make.
Pro#3 – Compared To A Traditional Business Rules Are Different
In some cases, with affiliate marketing, you can get started for free while with traditional businesses it takes a bit more startup effort.
Affiliate marketing doesn’t require a loan, credit check, or background check.
On the other hand, with a brick and mortar business, you would have to go through all three methods before you can start your business.
With this in mind, affiliate marketing still has rules and comes with expenses. They only difference here is that there just not as expensive as starting a traditional business.
What Are The Main Differences between Digital Marketing and Affiliate Marketing?
Difference 1 – To Create Or Not To Create
One of the biggest differences with digital marketing and affiliate marketing is product creation.
With affiliate marketing you’re not the product owner or creator. Therefore, you don’t need skills to create a product. In fact, with affiliate marketing, you don’t even need a plan.
All you need to do is have the courage to start.
As a digital marketer you are the product creator. And since your the creator, you need a plan.
What this means is, as an affiliate you’ll have to drive traffic to a product that you don’t own and didn’t have to create. You’ll make a sale, and the company that you’re affiliated with gives you a percentage of the sale and pays you in commissions.
On the other hand, with digital marketing you’ll still drive traffic to the product that you created. Make a sale and you get paid based on your own personal sales revenue.
Difference 2 – Time And Location Freedom What’s Important To You
While both can allow you more time and location freedom than a traditional employer, I still believe there’s a difference that you should be aware of.
It’ll also depend on which matters the most to you.
In my opinion, affiliate marketing has an advantage over digital marketing and I’ll explain what I mean in the next few sentences.
With affiliate marketing, you can work when you want and where you want.
This is an advantage to a busy mom because, it’ll allow you to attend to your children and earn an income in your spare time.
Besides, that there’s no certain schedule that you must follow because you’re not the product creator.
In addition to this, not being a product creator gives you a bit more freedom because the company that you’re affiliated with has to do all the worrying about things that you don’t have too.
To explain in further details, as a product creator, you have to keep in mind that you that maintenance on whatever product you create has to always be up to date.
You must provide customer service by answering any questions, and disputes.
You’ll have to deal with refunds.
Plus, many other active activities that’ll require more work than being an affiliate.
I’ve seen product creators put in a ton of work. It’s almost like they work 24/7.
Of course, things can change if you leverage other people’s time and skills by outsourcing.
With that in mind, it brings me to the last difference.
Difference 3 – Affiliate Marketing Does Not Require Staff
Since you’ll be considered a product creator; digital marketing may require you to hire a staff.
On the other hand, with affiliate marketing you can run the entire show by yourself and still make a full time income.
Furthermore, digital marketing is considered a full time responsibility, while affiliate marketing can be done part time.
Final Thoughts Of Digital Marketing Vs. Affiliate Marketing
By now, I hope you have a better understanding of the differences between digital marketing and affiliate marketing.
If not, be sure to leave your questions or comments below.
The bottom line is, digital marketing is a broad aspect of marketing online while affiliate marketing focuses on certain channels of marketing while promoting other peoples products.
