The other day I read about an Internet Marketer being referred to as an IM’er. Geesh!, has it come to that? Do we really need an acronym to identify people who make their living marketing online?
But, I’ll admit, it got me thinking about what I do.
Am I an “Internet Marketer” or am I an “affiliate Marketer”?
In my case I’m both.
But what about you? Do you run a website that sells your own product, software or an affiliate marketing training? If so, you’d be an Internet Marketer because you sell stuff online. You “market” things online. Your customers ‘pay’ you online.
Affiliate Marketing Is Different
When I got started making a full time income online in 1999 (yes, I’ve been around a while) all I did was build simple little web pages, slap on a few links to some merchants offering affiliate commissions and cash the checks. (if they didn’t bounce)
Yes, regrettably, in the early days of the “affiliate marketing industry” things were a lot like the wild west. I remember, like it was yesterday, the sinking feeling in my gut as I logged on one morning in early 2000 to check my commission stats only to find out my merchant was gone!
Out of business, a causality of the dot come bubble burst, taking about $5,000 in owed commissions with them.
I still do “affiliate sales” today. It’s a great way to generate cash flow. And requires nearly no administration once the sites are built, merchant links added and high rankings achieved.
These little “cash cows” are tremendous entry level projects for budding Internet entrepreneurs. They are different from “Internet Marketing” in these ways.
No e-commerce functionality needed. These sites are information gateways to your merchants who handle collection of money, delivery of products or services (or training) run a support desk, handle refunds, emailing customer enquiries, etc.
Revenue is earned from a small commission paid by the merchant (usually monthly).
Easier to operate many sites at once due to easy administration.
There can be no doubt that the affiliate model is the very best way to enter the online income world for those with little experience.
But Now I Do Both?
In the early days of my online career I focused mainly on finding good affiliate programs. They were not easy to find, though. Not easy at all compared to today.
But back then all I could see was dollar signs whenever I discovered a great consumer product that had an affiliate program.
And soon I was showing friends this nifty new way to support my family. That morphed into a three night training I offered the public near Vancouver. That became an ebook outlining how I was making money with affiliate programs. Out of that emerged the very first affiliate marketing podcast, which eventually lead to my “coffee talk” series of interviews with industry leaders.
Following that I began teaching classes in my online conference room, where I do most of my work these days.
Now if you were to do all of that you’d be an “Internet Marketer” not an “Affiliate Marketer”.
To be honest I really love doing public speaking and training on the topic of affiliate marketing, but I love the steady, predictable cash flow coming from my affiliate sites.
About the Author
James Martell lives in White Rock, BC with his wife Arlene and their three children. James is a pioneer in the affiliate marketing industry and was successfully profiting with affiliate websites as early as 1999. Visit his website for the very latest in news and tips on how to earn income with affiliate programs.
Twitter: benny_hsu
says:
I never thought about the difference. Sounds like an internet marketer is more of a jack-of-all-trades while an affiliate marketer is more of a specific trade. That’s just me though.
Benny´s recent blog post ..5 Habits You Should Tell to Suck It
Twitter: ricoramiro
says:
Affiliate marketers focus on selling one thing. Most often in a niche market.
Ramiro Rodriguez´s recent blog post ..Search Engine Marketing – The Five Rs of Search Engine Marketing
Twitter: andi76
says:
Hi James,
Your post has got me thinking. I call myself the I.M. Greenleaf but my modest online income comes from affiliate marketing. Time to rethink my brand :-s
I loved the wild west story. I had a friend in university back in 1999 who just started affiliate marketing and I actually laughed about it. Now he’s a successful entrepreneur and I just woke up and smelled the coffee ten years later! And I missed a good western. Bugger.
All the best,
Andreas
Andreas´s recent blog post ..Cheat Sheet- How to Find edu links
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
The wild west era was an interesting time. I remember having to “dial in” on my 14.4k modem. It was very exciting to move up to 28.and then 56k. Blazing fast.
There were no Internet or affiliate marketing conferences. It was hard to find affiliate programs. There was no Google…only a bunch of spam filled search engines WebCrawler.com, AltaVista.com, Excite.com.
And of course you could spend $27 to have your site “submitted to thousands of search engines.
James Martell´s recent blog post ..Google SEO Tip 107 – What Are Some Examples Of SEO Misinformation
Twitter: wongjiajun
says:
I think most of the time we are both internet marketer and affiliate marketing.
If one didn’t involve in affiliate marketing but have online marketing, then he is only internet marketing; but for those affiliate marketer, most of them should be classified as internet marketing too.
But most important is how much one earn and how much value he/she can provide to readers/customers. :p
jiajun´s recent blog post ..The Not-To-Do List- 18 Common Habits You Should Stop Right Away
Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
Hi James
I have been listening to your podcasts, they are full of great information!!!
This article really makes me think about this. There is really no clear answer to this and it makes me wonder who is going to define it in the end?
I always believe that Internet marketing is what we are all doing and is the name for making money online. Then affiliate marketing is just one way to you can do internet marketing.
Mitz Pantic´s recent blog post ..Building a WordPress Website – Creating a Free Mind Map
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Thanks for the kudos on the podcasts. My wife and I really enjoy doing them.
And I think you sum it up well when you say “I always believe that Internet marketing is what we are all doing and is the name for making money online. Then affiliate marketing is just one way to you can do internet marketing.”
In some cases there’s a lot of cross over between the two.
James Martell´s recent blog post ..Google SEO Tip 107 – What Are Some Examples Of SEO Misinformation
Twitter: stevenpapas
says:
good one James, as always. Although many of affiliate marketers do both A.M. and I.M. they are two different things, but the one is kind of part of the other
stevenpapas´s recent blog post ..World Of Warcraft Collector’s Edition Review
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Yes, agreed.
Heh, i never even realised there was a difference.
I guess that i’m definitely not an internet marketer then (shame.. i think that title sounds better
).
Nick´s recent blog post ..Locus
Twitter: moneytized
says:
Great post
In an era where people ask us, erm do you play with your computer for a living? Posts like that, help to educate at least a bit, more people
Thanks
Angel´s recent blog post ..Organize your life with Evernote
Twitter: craftybegonia
says:
Isn’t affiliate marketing just selling stuff and internet marketing just selling the skill to sell stuff? That’s what I thought it was.
craftybegonia´s recent blog post ..Knockout Magenta Scarflet
Never realized this, great post. I will use it for sure.
menreport´s recent blog post ..Hayden Panettiere – Live without regrets
Twitter: jackiestenhouse
says:
I too will stop calling myself an internet marketer and I will now be known as an affiliate marketer.
Jackie Stenhouse´s recent blog post ..Get Your Keywords Ranking
Twitter: rdgubaten
says:
Thank you for sharing this very useful article on marketing. Affiliate and internet marketing that both will make money if carefully made with hardworks and dedication.
rdgubaten´s recent blog post ..Have a time to check this out
Twitter: Markoshoo11
says:
I`m still quite new at internet marketing and i`m always looking for better ways to make high ranking easier to get. An internet marketer has to be affluent in many areas and must learn not to take disappointments personally. Internet marketing seems to be anyone that sells products and makes money online and affiliate marketing is just one of the ways people have found to market products online.
They`re both basically the same thing
Thanks for the post
Twitter: ricoramiro
says:
I’m new to this and this article was just what I needed to read. I still haven’t decided what to focus of because I want to do everything! There’s so much to do.
Ramiro Rodriguez´s recent blog post ..My Internet Marketing Efforts
Twitter: searchblogger
says:
Hi James, it seems acronyms are everywhere in online marketing (or should that be O.M. ?)
I try on my blog to make things as simple as possible for people but it can be hard for beginners to remember what all of these mean; SEO, PPC, SEM, IM, URL, SMO etc etc.
Jamie Fairbairn´s recent blog post ..Google Analytics – Your Bounce Rate Explained
Twitter: gsniperx
says:
I think there is a definite overlap between the 2 since even with Internet Marketing it is importnat to understand the niche (or product) you are trying to sell.
Affiliate marketing just hones in on the conversion skills required – and may include list building rather than conventional SEO – and trying to rank on Page 1 of Google.
Also Social media Marketing can now be incorporated in to the general umbrella term of internet marketing.
googlesniperreview´s recent blog post ..Google Sniper 2 Review After 4 Weeks
Twitter: vergentcom
says:
Sorry if this is a duplicate post–having trouble posting. I was saying that I have always embraced internet marketing but have been afraid to get into affiliate marketing because affiliate marketing seems like it would be harder to pull off. After all, if you are an affiliate marketer, you are competing with all the other affiliate marketers for the same product. It’s harder to be heard amidst all the noise. To me, that’s the biggest difference between the two.
Jennifer´s recent blog post ..Follow Vergent on Twitter for a Chance to Win a Free iPad!
Twitter: JanRossiCO
says:
The names are becoming more “mashed up” these days as internet marketers think they are missing out on the affiliate streams and the affiliate people need to basically DO more internet marketing to be found on the internet. It is a closely merging group. I think one side of the fence thinks the other side is making more money so they tend to sniff around in each other’s areas to see if that’s true or not! lol.
Well, that’s how I see it at least. Either way I liked your statement here, “. . .I love the steady, predictable cash flow coming from my affiliate sites.” yes, kudos to you and your family – that is what we all need….
Jan
Jan Rossi´s recent blog post ..Who are you Brand your Biz
Twitter: IM_LanceColeman
says:
Great topic Mark, amazing how many marketers confuse the simple things. Nice to see good explanations. I do believe most Marketers are probably both or at least trying to be both. Seems that IM is getting harder and harder. Keep up the interesting reading.
Thanks for letting me know the difference. How can I get affiliate programs so I can start doing affiliate marketing, too? Affiliate marketing seems interesting and easy to start with.Thanks for sharing.
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