You’ve seen them both online: Network Marketers and Affiliate Bloggers.

One seems to get a bad rap. The other is more socially acceptable. But why? Are they really that different? Or are they more alike than you think?

Let’s take a closer and more honest look at the two and see how they compare and how they are different:

Products

It seems they both share their products online. However, network marketers share an exclusive product or service line with the company they believe in. Affiliate bloggers share multiple different product sources without being exclusive to one company. Network marketers tend to have more knowledge about the products they are selling due to training and exclusive use of the product. Affiliate bloggers don’t seem to invest in as much knowledge or training about the product. In fact, some affiliate bloggers share a product because it simply fits their lifestyle brand. Not all, but some affiliate bloggers get to be featured on a large companies blog or website and that is an incentive to gain more followers and expand their affiliate blogging reach for more companies.

Earnings

Both network marketers and affiliate bloggers earn some sort of commission for sharing about the products from the company they are partnered with. However, most network marketers receive higher commission rates starting out and in the long-run, 25-60+% whereas most affiliate bloggers earn anywhere from less than 1% (thank you Amazon affiliates) to 30% (and that is on the high side for an affiliate blogger).

Growth

As an affiliate blogger, your growth is solely up to you. You have to maintain high traffic leads on your website. You have to continue to partner with companies and constantly be sharing the products online. You don’t have a team that you receive additional commissions from based on their sales.

And this is the KEY part that is different from network marketers…in my opinion, for the better.

As a network marketer, you are not in this alone. You are creating a team with others who love and share the same products that you do. You can keep doing the same amount of work but receive more income over time. This is the duplication process of network marketing, which is so powerful and effective. If a network marketing company is a part of the DSA (Direct Selling Association) it also ensures that the company stays within specific guidelines (no pyramid schemes) and the training each advisor receives is the same in the company. It makes it a more stable company to work for because you know they are sticking to certain legal structures.

Growth as a network marketer is unlimited with less effort than an affiliate blogger business structure because you work to build a team.

So which one is better?

This may be subjective, but it seems that network marketing is a better alternative than affiliate blogging. Both provide consumers with products, however network marketers seem to have more knowledge of their products because of their exclusivity to one company and they receive a higher level of training. Both receive commissions, however, network marketers tend to receive higher commissions than affiliate bloggers. Both have the potential for growth, but for affiliate marketers, they have the additional benefit of growing a team of other like-minded people who love the products and company. Whereas affiliate bloggers are on their own, without a team to support them.

I’m not sure why network marketers get the bad rap because affiliate bloggers do the same thing, except they get even fewer perks and are typically less knowledgable (and less loyal) to a specific company.

What do you think? Have you ever thought about it this way?

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