When you enroll in the affiliate marketing programs offered by the top affiliate networks, you’ll have to select from two type of products: services and physical products. But which one sells better if you’re an affiliate?

1. Services vs physical products. What sells
best if you’re an affiliate?
As an affiliate, you have the opportunity to choose what type of product you want to
endorse. Naturally, you’d want to promote a product or a service that really can be sold to
your viewers. When you enroll in the affiliate marketing programs offered by the top affiliate
networks, you’ll have to select from two type of products: services and physical products.
But which one sells better if you’re an affiliate?
Introduction
Maybe you’ve just started being an affiliate or you’re already an experienced publisher who
is wondering what to sell next, whichever the case is, you surely want to know what are the
pro’s and con’s of the services or products offered by the top affiliate networks. The services
are much easier to sell online because they are simpler to present and promote, but they
can confuse the buyer once he’s using the specific service on his own. On the other hand,
the physical products already have trust built in with the brand name items you are selling,
but the visual aspect of the product does not exists when you use online marketing.
The Services
The services that you can promote as an affiliate come in all forms, and are designed for
audiences of all types. As you already know, services may include absolutely everything,
from online games websites to boutique hotels and car rental companies. Top affiliate
networks have a rich portfolio of advertisers who offer services that you can promote. Let’s
see what their strong and weak points are:
Pro’s:
 Can be accessed immediately by the buyer;
 In general, the services are cheaper than the physical products. You, the affiliate,
have higher chances to sell more and make a good ROI;
 There are no shipping costs, therefore the price is lower;

2.  They are appealing to the customers who don’t have much money to spend;
 Once the customer signs up to a service, he’ll receive all of the details he needs to
use what he paid for;
 Conversions are quite high when you, the affiliate, target the people who need a
specific service;
 If they are satisfied with the service you recommended, they will have trust in you
and will continue to buy the services you endorse in the future. This builds loyalty.
Con’s:
 Sometimes, the customer can get lost in the abundance of information he or she
receives once (s)he arrives on the advertiser’s website. This may cause frustration. To
avoid it, make sure you present all of the information about the service you promote;
 If the service offers a download version, this can be hard to access by the client from
another computer. It’s best to endorse services that offer online versions as well.
The physical products
These are already known by the potential buyer as they are usually associated with a brand.
Therefore the top affiliate networks that offer physical products know that the customer has
a high sense of security when buying a product. These are the pros and cons of the physical
points for an affiliate:
Pro’s:
 These products are always popular and if you sell them to a targeted audience, you
can win lots of money;
 You can easily convince someone to buy a physical product when it is popular, in
demand, and sold from a trusted advertiser;
Con’s:
 The biggest turn off for physical products is the shipping cost. This can be very high in
some cases, this way increasing the actual price that the customer pays in the end;
 The customer will not receive the product bought online right away. He’ll have to
wait a few days, or even a long period of time, to actually receive what he’s paid for;
 The physical products aren’t palpable online, so the buyer won’t have the touch/ feel
experience with the product;
The only way you’ll make lots of money as an affiliate selling physical products is by
promoting high priced items. Not many people afford to spend a ton of money on a product
if they don’t know it very well. Therefore, you’ll have to be extremely precise when targeting
the audience and make sure that the product brings you a hefty commissions – you may
make less sales but you’ll get more money for each sale;

3. Convincing people to buy expensive physical products can be very hard to do, so you’ll have
to present the product in an attractive but realistic manner.
Wrapping it up
In the end, it’s all up to you to decide what kind of products or services you want to sell
online. Both can bring lots of money, especially if they are sold by advertisers who are
partners with the top affiliate networks. The services and the products may seem similar, but
they need to be marketed differently if you want to make money.