08/10/2025
Digital Marketing vs. Affiliate Marketing - Read This Slowly…
After my previous post about digital marketing, one of my followers john asked me a simple but deep question:
“Maryy, what’s the difference between Digital Marketing and Affiliate Marketing?”
And I smiled… because that question shows you’re thinking in the right direction.
Let me explain it in a way that even Mama Ngozi at Oyingbo Market will understand.
Now...
I want you to Picture This:
Mama Ngozi sells garri and palm oil in the market.
She has three children, Chisom, Uche, and Bimbo, and she trains all of them differently.
Now imagine Digital Marketing as Mama Ngozi herself
the mother that controls everything in the market.
And imagine Affiliate Marketing, SEO, Web Design, Social Media Marketing, Blogging and Google Ads
as her children, all born from her, all with different responsibilities.
DIGITAL MARKETING IS THE UMBRELLA
Digital Marketing simply means:
“Using the internet and digital tools to promote, sell, and grow any business.”
It’s the umbrella that covers everything related to online business visibility.
Whenever you hear people say “I want to market online” that’s Digital Marketing.
But here’s what most people don’t realize:
Digital Marketing is not one thing.
It’s a complete ecosystem made up of different areas working together.
Let me break them down like Mama Ngozi will tell her children:
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
This one is like Chisom, the smart firstborn.
He helps Mama Ngozi’s shop show up first whenever customers search on Google
like when someone types “Best Garri Seller in Lagos”
and Mama Ngozi’s name appears first.
That’s SEO, making your business visible on search engines without paying for ads.
2. Web Design & Content Marketing
This one is like Uche, the creative second-born.
He helps Mama Ngozi design her online shop (website)
and writes juicy product descriptions that make people want to buy.
That’s Web Design and Content Marketing
building and presenting your brand beautifully online.
3. Social Media Marketing
This one is like Bimbo, the lively lastborn.
She knows how to make noise online Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp.
She posts videos of Mama Ngozi’s fresh garri, adds sweet captions,
and makes people laugh while selling.
That’s Social Media Marketing, promoting your business on social platforms.
4. Google PPC / Paid Advertising
Now, this is like paying an okada rider to shout your name all over the town.
You give Google money, and they show your product to millions of people instantly.
That’s Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
you pay Google or Meta to display your ads to the right audience.
5. Affiliate Marketing (The Smart Child)
Now, this is the child people confuse the most.
Affiliate Marketing is one of Mama Ngozi’s children, not the mother herself.
Here’s how it works:
Imagine Mama Ngozi says,
“If you bring me a customer who buys my garri, I’ll give you ₦1,000 as commission.”
That’s Affiliate Marketing
You don’t own the product.
You don’t handle delivery.
You simply help the seller connect to the buyer,
and you earn your commission when the sale happens.
Simple, clean, and smart.
Now here’s the secret:
If you truly understand Digital Marketing from beginning to end,
Affiliate Marketing will look like a baby to you.
Because when you understand SEO, Social Media, Web Design, Blogging
and Paid Ads, you can promote any affiliate product easily.
You’ll understand traffic, conversion, customer psychology, and brand positioning.
That’s why I tell my Students at promptearn Business School that:
“Every Digital Marketer is a Affiliate Marketer,
but not every Affiliate Marketer is a Digital Marketer.”
Digital Marketing is the father of online business
every other thing is born from it.
If you only know Affiliate Marketing,
you’ll make money when people buy.
But if you understand Digital Marketing,
you’ll make money whether people buy, sell, or even learn.
Because Digital Marketing doesn’t just teach you how to sell
it teaches you how the internet works.
And the person who understands the internet
will always control the people who only use it.
If I should start life again with zero budget or little budget.
I’ll invest it in learning Digital Marketing.
because that one skill can feed me for a lifetime.
My name is Mary, a Digital Marketer with years of experience
