You’re interested in growing your business further on the internet and you’ve researched all the popular ways to do so.

Two of the marketing methods that come up most often are blogging and affiliate marketing. They are both very valid ways to make a living on the internet and you’re wondering which one is best.

Great question. Before we get to my opinion and your answer, let’s do a little defining of the terms.

Blogging:

Blogging requires you to have a blog. You can set up your own blog for free on websites like Blogger and WordPress. If you are blogging for business I highly recommend you use the self-hosted WordPress option and add your blog onto a unique website address.

Blogging is a very effective means of communicating with a target audience. It is commonly known as a form of social media marketing because people can leave comments on blogs, making them social.

As a blogger you usually have one central location, your blog. However you can also expand your marketing by being a guest blogger on other websites. Keep in mind here that blogging is a sort of medium. It’s a place to bring a message.

This is different from affiliate marketing which is a method of marketing.

Affiliate Marketing

As an affiliate marketer you are effectively an online sales person for the companies you choose to represent. Affiliate marketing is usually referred to as the process of getting your unique affiliate links out in front of the market.

Affiliate marketing, when done correctly, can bring you passive income. Because a website or a blog is online constantly you can put your marketing messages out there, do the promotions and have the market coming to you. As they find your site or your affiliate links planted on the internet you have multiple opportunities to earn money without being there.

So there you can see blogging and affiliate marketing are two different methods. Asking which one is better is kind of like trying to compare apples to oranges.

Which method to use will depend on many different factors like:
- Are you looking to sell your own products or promote someone else’s?
- Are you interested in writing?
- Are you willing to invest in your long-term business growth?
You need to have a look at what you need and then make a decision if you want to blog, do affiliate marketing or both.

But here’s my advice: Use both! That’s what I do.

You see I had to address this question because blogging and affiliate marketing is a killer combination to use together. As you build a loyal readership with a blog you can make solid recommendations that your readers will both appreciate and accept. This will put you well on the way to being a part time or full time affiliate marketer.

Now I know one of the reasons you may want to choose one method or another is time. The learning curve for new marketing methods and implementation can be big and there are not many people these days who are short on time (and attention span!).

What you should always do is seek out people who have done what you want to do and learn from them whenever possible. You have the opportunity to do that at my own website which offers a number of weekly email tips on various internet marketing topics, including beginner blogging and affiliate marketing.

Here is where you can get more information, sign up and learn how to make money blogging:
http://www.marketersmojo.com/freebies/beginners-guides/blogging

And here is where you can get more on affiliate marketing:
http://www.marketersmojo.com/freebies/beginners-guides/affiliate-marketing

About The Author

Angela Wills

Angela Wills is passionate about helping people work from home using the internet. In May, 2007 she quit her afternoon-shift, factory job to work from home full time. She's a successful Blogger and Affiliate Marketer. Angela posts daily to her marketing blog and also offers a podcast, free report called "Market From the HEART", weekly email tips list on internet business topics and much more.