Affiliate marketing vs freelancing:

Hi, I am Praneeth.

In this blog, you will be learning everything related to affiliate marketing vs freelancing in detail.

Without further ado let’s get started.

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Affiliate marketing vs freelancing!

In this section, you will learn What is the meaning of both and how you can get started In both.

Affiliate marketing: What is it?

Affiliate marketing is a digital marketing strategy Where you sell products of other companies using special links called affiliate links which track your sales and clicks,

And if somebody clicks on your affiliate link and buys the product That’s connected with the link Within a specific period of time(based on the cookie life of that affiliate program),

You will get a Commission of the sale from the affiliate program you have joined.

How to start?

The most important thing you should keep in mind is to build an audience first and monetize that audience with a product or service relevant to your niche and audience interests and solves a problem in your audience’s life.

There are a series of steps that you need to take to get started in affiliate marketing.

Select your niche.
Start a blog or a YouTube channel.
Create content And publish it.
Drive traffic to your website or YouTube channel.
Join affiliate networks or programs.
Research products that you can show as the solution for problems for your audience.
Start affiliate marketing and drive sales.

The process is quite long, extensive, and time-consuming but it is definitely worth the try and effort, you can click here to learn how to start affiliate marketing step by step.

With that said, now let’s understand what is freelancing and how to start them.

Freelancing: What is it?

According to Flexjobs, Essentially, a freelance job is one where a person works for themselves, rather than for a company. While freelancers do take on contract work for companies and organizations, they are ultimately self-employed.

How to start.

The most important thing you should keep in mind is to have a skill that is in high demand.

There are a series of steps you should know which are easy by the way to be a freelancer.

Know your interests.
Find a skill that you can master.
Learn the skill.
Network like crazy.
Do internships for some experience and portfolio.
Register as a freelancer on platforms like Upwork and Freelancer.
Work for free or for a low price point to get some positive reviews, ratings.
Analyze your competitors.
Get a mentor and learn from their experiences.

Although the steps are not that precise and helpful, I get that.

Click here to learn how you can become a freelancer in detail.

Differences between affiliate marketing and freelancing.

Here are a couple of differences between both the directions and fields.

S.no.	Affiliate marketing.	Freelancing.
1.	Sell products of other companies and earn commission as a percentage of the sale you make.	Sell your skills and time For other companies and people And earn money on completing their tasks And assignments.
2.	A perfect source of passive income.	A perfect source of active income.
3.	Very slow to get started and earn money.	Fast to get started and earn money.
4.	You are only dealing with a large audience directly through blogs and social media.	You are only dealing with Clients and companies directly through freelance platforms.
5.	There is no time limit or restrictions and deadlines in your earnings.	There is a time limit, restrictions, deadlines, For each project That you get And payment from it.

Now that you know the differences between both, let’s have a look at the similarities between both now.

Similarities between Affiliate Marketing & Freelancing.

Here are some similarities between affiliate marketing and freelancing.

You have the flexibility of work-life In both directions, you don’t need to go to the office or a particular location to work, you just need a computer and internet connection for work.
In both directions, you need to have some skills be it affiliate where you need to have blogging and writing or video skills or freelancing where you need to be good at some skill.
In both directions, you are selling something be it a product in affiliate marketing or your skills and time in freelancing.
You are still dependent on Some other person or company to pay you and technically you are not paying yourself and you are not your boss.
There is a lot of competition in both fields.
The future is very bright for both the fields and directions as both of them are growing trends.
You do not need much big investment To get started in both directions, both of them are free to get started.

Now that you know the differences and similarities between both the directions and fields,

Here are the pros and cons of both fields you should know.

Pros and cons of both.

Here in this section, you will learn the pros and cons of both Directions and fields in detail.

So let’s get started.

Pros and cons of affiliate marketing.

Now you will learn the pros and cons of affiliate marketing in detail in a quick table.

S.No.	Pros.	Cons.
1.	It is free to get started you don’t need to invest much money or no money into it, you will get most of the resources like marketing kits, helpful guides, and advertising banners for free by most of the affiliate programs themselves.	Because you are earning money through selling products and commissions, there is always the uncertainty of income, you can make money this month, but to continue making money, you have to make new sales every month, unless you are in a recurring commission model.
2.	It gives you flexibility in your life, you can work from anywhere in the world as long as you have a computer and internet connection.	Compared to freelancing, the results are slow in affiliate marketing, to get going, you need to have an audience first or someone whom you can monetize, it takes time to create an audience and make money from it.
3.	It is a perfect passive income source for many people where you can earn money even if you are sleeping and the amount of money you can make is not limited, the sky is the limit for earning potential.	You don’t control the affiliate program and because a company will be paying you all the time as long as you are driving sales to them, they can either ban you or reduce commissions which can devastate your financial situation as Amazon did.
4.	So many options to choose from that if you failed to sell one product as expected, you have hundreds of other options and products to sell and make money depending on your niche and blog.	There is a hell of a lot of competition in the market, for every product you choose, there will be at least a dozen others who are selling the same product as you.
5.	You are in control of your time, and resources, you have complete charge of your life, because you don’t have to go to a particular location for work or have online meetings for work with others completing their tasks like freelancing, you can work from anywhere, you can focus that time in your family and self-development.	There is a bit of a Learning curve involved, although you don’t need to be an expert in digital marketing or content writing, after getting started in affiliate, you have to learn, test and improve a lot of things like new techniques and marketing strategies, trying new products and research.
6.	Because you are not selling your products, You don’t have to deal with shipping or delivery of products and customer service issues.	Because you are not selling your products You don’t own the customer base, people who buy the product through you, will not buy through your Affiliate link again rather they will buy from the merchant and if people found the product you recommended uselessly, they may not visit your website again.
7.	It has a bright future, 81% of companies are using this strategy to drive more sales, leads, or traffic to their business.	There are lots of frauds are there in the field, As a beginner in the industry, You should be aware and careful with, link hijacking, link tracking, False advertising, Cookie stuffing, and follow the terms and conditions of the affiliate program and research well before joining any affiliate program or selling any product.

Now let’s have a look at the pros and cons of Freelancing is a quick table form.

Pros and cons of freelancing.

Now here you will learn the pros and cons of freelancing in detail in a quick table.

S.No.	Pros.	Cons.
1.	Just like affiliate marketing you have Flexibility in your life, you can choose your working schedules, you don’t have to go to the office or a specific location, you can work from any part of the world as long as you have a computer and internet connection and spending time with family and kids is possible.	When you are freelancing you are not an employee anymore to anyone rather You are self-employed It may sound cool but it has its price, You don’t have the benefits of being an employee like medical insurance, retirement fund, bonuses from the boss, Vacation holidays, sick leaves. You are all on your own and you have to take care of your taxes yourself as well.
2.	Like affiliate marketing, you have quite a few options and freedom here as well, you can select your clients, work and, fix your price, freedom, and control are in your hands.	Just like affiliate marketing you also have the uncertainty of income. You are dependent on others to pay you like companies and they only need you to complete their task most efficiently, If they don’t have any assignments or tasks, They don’t need you.
3.	You are not stuck in a rat race or you don’t have to deal or worry about office politics and wait for bonuses from the boss, there is unlimited earning potential in freelancing which all depends on your skills, experience, and portfolio.	Isolation can be another big issue with freelancing, You will be missing your friend’s circle in your office, chats during lunch, mental support while crisis from your colleagues, and acceptance from society.
4.	There is a bright future for freelancing, more companies are looking for freelancers and youth is more inclined towards freelance over jobs.	Freelancing is considered as a business, and you are self-employed but considering other online businesses like affiliate marketing, blogging, and dropshipping, Freelancing is an active process, You earn money as long as you are involved and working on your business.
5.	Because you have control over your time, you can invest time from commuting from office and home to other side hustles like blogging, affiliate marketing, or in your passion projects.	It can be quite a challenging task as you need to meet different clients altogether, match with different expectations and interests, negotiate rates, and complete tasks within deadlines, all the work managed by yourself can be hectic.

Now let’s come to the conclusion, Which one is the best and why.

Which path is the best choice?

Considering all aspects of both affiliate marketing and Freelancing Let’s conclude.

Between affiliate marketing vs freelancing, I would recommend you to choose Affiliate marketing.

Here are three main reasons why.

In affiliate marketing, you don’t have to deal with clients, meet any expectations or deadlines from anyone to make money.
Unlike freelancing, Affiliate marketing is more passive, Without being actively involved in the business you can earn money while sleeping.
The last reason is, Selling products online Is a great skill to have, Mainly due to covid, Digital marketing is used more now than ever before, Brands are using affiliate marketing more Now, If you have the skill or ability to sell products, you are the most valuable player for brands.

Freelancing has its Benefits and place, but When it comes to the ultimate battle between both,

No doubt affiliate marketing is going to be the winner.

I would like to point out another interesting fact, most people do affiliate marketing with a blog, social media, and videos,

With these 3 Mediums, you can Establish authority and brand of yourself And have some influence over a particular section of people online.

And the future of digital marketing is influencing marketing Which means you can earn money through influencer marketing as well as paid posts and brand collaborations.

Read digital marketing vs influencer marketing.

There are so many other benefits and drawbacks of affiliate marketing like freelancing as well.

If you want to start freelancing,

It is all fine, Freelancers with the right skills are also in great demand, But in the free time You get While Freelancing,

You can consider starting your blog and affiliate marketing as a Side Hustle.

This can decrease your dependence for income on a single source,

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With that said let’s conclude the blog.

Ending remarks.

There you go I have answered everything related to affiliate marketing vs freelancing in detail.

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