No. When you participate in a network marketing program, you’re basically taking part in a franchise type of operation. As a network marketer, you would typically pay an upfront cost to market products/services via direct sales. Affiliate marketing differs from network marketing specifically in this way: The company you sign up with rewards you for every customer you bring in as a result of your marketing efforts. You get paid every time you drive a customer or lead to the business you’re affiliated with – instead of waiting to get paid every time you sell a product.