Zlio — the 'social commerce network' that lets anyone set up their own web shop in a matter of minutes — just raked in USD 4 million in funding from Mangrove Capital Partners, an early investor in Skype. So what have they been up to since we featured them in February? Two milestones were recently reached: 100,000 shops (from 35,000 in February) and 2.5 million visitors per month.
Shopbuilders now have over 3 million products to choose from, with sales handled by partners like Barnes & Nobles, which recently signed up as a merchant. Participating minipreneurs are earning up to USD 750 per month in commissions, by carefully selecting products, tweaking their shop's design and promoting it everywhere they can. Shops focus on niches from Birkenstocks to Great British TV, and Gifts Under $20 to Everything Elvis.
Some users have started operating multiple boutiques, cross-promoting and buying AdWords to drive traffic to their ZlioShops. Bloggers place widgets on their websites featuring products that appeal to their audience. As explained by a shopkeeper who blogs about mediaeval re-enactments: "Instead of being an affiliate marketer for 15 different sites, and having multiple competing ad blocks on my page, I can just select the products I want to promote regardless of the store of origin. Saves me lots of time in signing up, getting approved and designing ads from the many different websites offering affiliate marketing programs."
As both merchants and consumers become more familiar with this type of commerce, there's room for other players in this field, especially in countries that aren't yet covered by Zlio — Asian and South-American contenders to follow soon?
Website: www.zlio.com
Contact: help.zlio.com
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I have been a member of Zlio for a few months now and have a few shops online. I promote them through a blog of mine. They have been giving me a fair return for the time I spent updating my shop with new products. I am quite happy with my Zlio Shops.
Hi everybody,
I think that ZLIO is quite an easy way to earn some money on the net! At least easier than most of the stuff i've seen so far!!
ZLIO which gives you the opportunity to create very easily your own customized shop on the Web, you can choose your topic and your items among thousands (computers, clothes, music, CD,DVD,...)
Everytime you sell a product, you earn a commission (from 2% to 25%). You also earn money when people click on the products!!
The good thing is that you can add a widget on your blog showing some products you are selling which is also an easy way to attract traffic on your shop!
You can also display google ads on your shop which is an extra way to earn money!!
I started a few months ago and this is the site that helped me most to earn money on the web
If you want to register, that's really easy, just try it: www.zlio.com/signup?r=253833
You would be nice to leave me as a referer, it will not change anything for you but bringing new registrations is also a way to earn more for me...
Would be happy if you let me know how it's going on!!
Good luck
Djibs
djibs | March 17, 2008 10:28 PM