Affiliate Marketing vs. Drop Shipping

This week, we learned about sourcing products and how to start an online business the smart way. We focused on drop shipping and affiliate marketing, and I realized that drop shipping has a lot of risks, especially with bulky items like guitars. Shipping costs can be high, items can break easily, and dealing with returns takes time and money.  These challenges are something that beginners might not be ready for.

On the other hand, affiliate marketing seems much easier and safer at first. You can recommend products you like, earn commissions, and you don’t have to worry about inventory, payments, or shipping issues. The biggest lesson for me is that trust is essential. If the products I recommend are good, people will keep coming back and clicking my links. If they’re not, they'll stop trusting my site.

Starting with affiliate marketing allows me to focus on creating content and understanding what my audience wants without the stress of logistics. This approach seems like the best way to gain experience and test ideas before trying something more complicated, like drop shipping. For any future online business or career, I’ve learned that it's important to start small, keep risks low, and build trust first. That’s the foundation for long-term success.


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