While affiliate marketing has grown extensively over the past few decades, there are still a select few amount of people that question if it is a legit business practice. Thinking about this you might question, is affiliate marketing MLM? No, affiliate marketing is not MLM or even a pyramid scheme.
Affiliate marketing is a legal and legitimate business practice that is also very profitable. And the rest of this article will be walking you through exactly why affiliate marketing is a great side hustle or even full career for you to get involved with.
Why Affiliate Marketing Is Not MLM
There are a variety of important distinctions to understand about both affiliate marketing and MLM. They are completely different for a variety of reasons you should consider. Here’s a list of reasons why affiliate marketing is a real business practice and is ethical….
Affiliate Marketing Focuses On Product Sales
The main difference between affiliate marketing and an MLM, is the focus of what you’re selling and how you’re selling it.
As an affiliate marketer, your job is to sell quality products and services to people who will use them. That’s it.
In MLM, you’re selling a product or service with the real goal of getting the customer to also become a distributor. This is not the same as the focus of getting a product or service sale with affiliate marketing. Do not mistake a pyramid scheme with MLM however, they can be different in some circumstances.
MLMs Focuses More On Generating More Affiliates
A true MLM has a big focus on generating more affiliates, so that those people can continue the cycle of recruiting more people. A MLM has a multi-level payout structure for affiliates as well. However, having a multi-level payment structure doesn’t make company or business a pyramid scheme. What makes any business a pyramid scheme, is when it focuses on promoters bringing in more promoters. Often these people are called, distributors.
Affiliate Marketing Is Ethical And Legal
Through every religion and country in the world, it’s been found that affiliate marketing is permitted and often celebrated. For example, for Islamic and Muslim countries, it has been found that affiliate marketing is halal (good or acceptable).
It is a highly profitable kind of business model that ensures an even playing field for all involved. This is why so many people are looking to become affiliate marketers. It’s not hard to become an affiliate and is very enjoyable to do.
Is Affiliate Marketing An MLM In Any Possible Way?
No, there are no possible ways to interpret affiliate marketing as being an MLM. It is a completely normal business practice, to give percentage of sales generated to an affiliate marketer who referred you those sales.
It is referral marketing in its most basic form. All affiliate marketing is, is referring a customer to a business in exchange for some of the money generated. There are no similarities between the 2, other then the fact that they both use referral marketing. And referral marketing is used in every industry and niche across the world, and is not a pyramid scheme or MLM. However, an MLM business could use affiliate marketing.
There is nothing wrong with multi-level marketing, unless it becomes a true pyramid scheme. And affiliate marketing is growing rapidly, it’s not dead as MLM is becoming.
Final Thoughts
Affiliate marketing is a completely normal business practice that is attracting millions of everyday people, entrepreneurs, and business owners. Whether you’re looking to start your own affiliate program or become an affiliate marketer yourself – affiliate marketing is a great side hustle or full time career.
Thank you so much for reading through this article, we appreciate your time and hope this helped you understand more about this topic.
With our kindest regards,
Jon Weberg
Richard Weberg