Starting A Zlio Store - Frequently Asked Questions

People frequently ask me questions about starting an online store with Zlio, given that I have authored a number of articles concerning how to start an online / what are the best technologies for starting an online store. To be economical with words, Zlio is an important technology that is changing the landscape of e-commerce by enabling anyone to start their own online quickly and easily, for free. Zlio is helping people to create a wide variety of stores, many of which have a 'niche' focus on something that people are passionate about. I have been using Zlio to run a series a stores since Spring of 2007, and have found the service and experience to be eminently satisfying. My primary store is The Hot Sauce Collector (feel free to take a look), which as you might guess, specializes in selling hot sauce. The following is a first attempt at answering some of the more frequently asked questions that I receive about Zlio.

What is Zlio?

Zlio is a free service for starting an online store that anyone can use to start an online store, for free. With Zlio, you can create a customizable online store that sells products from brand-name merchants like BestBuy, Buy.com, and Barnes & Noble. Zlio users receive a commission on every sale they generate. Additionally, Zlio users receive about half of the Google Adsense advertising that their store generates.

Is It Really Free?

Yes, Zlio is truly free. There do not appear to be any 'gotchas' or catches. Zlio does not ask for a credit card or any other form of payment. In fact, quite to the contrary, Zlio pays its users for setting up an online store.

How Do I Setup a Zlio Store?

Setting up a Zlio store is relatively simple and generally takes about five minutes from start to finish in order to create a basic store. After setting up a username and password, you'll be asked to (1) choose a name for your store, (2) choose a domain name for your store (like http://hotsauce.zlio.com, for example), and then, (3) populate your store with products. Its actually quite straight forward.

To start a Zlio Store, click here.


How Do I Get Paid?

Earnings will accumulate in your account for a period of time prior to being made available or verified for payout that is usually about three months in my experience. Your validated earnings are then available for transfer from Zlio to your PayPal account. About 60% of my earnings have now been validated and are available for transfer to my PayPal account.

Google Adsense earnings will build-up in your Google Adsense account - I believe that the payout threshold with Adsense is ~$50. Google offers several different ways to be paid out, including a check in the mail. Its surprisingly satisfying to login to Adsense and monitor your advertising earnings.

How Much Money Can I Make?

Making money with Zlio is dependent upon how much time and energy you want to put into it, adjusted for your own level of creativity, drive, and ambition. My research suggests that some successful Zlio users can make as much as several thousand dollars per month, while others can earn $50-200 per month (and of course, people that slap together half-baked stores without putting much effort into it all will likely earn very little to nothing at all).

Quite candidly, although its nice to build up a little stash of cash using Zlio, I don't do it for the monetary reward. I LOVE hot sauce, and Zlio provides a great way to express my passion for my hobby. As a hot sauce enthusiast, I can transfer my knowledge and set of experiences into a website that is like an online manifestation of my passion for hot sauce. I would encourage you to think about it in the same way - if there is something you love, that you care about, why not do us all a favor and share your knowledge with the world? Help us out with your advice and recommendations and knowledge! Not suprisingly, stores started under this pretext actually do have a great shot at driving sales and earnings because they are created from a point of strength.

Email in your questions and we'll do our best to respond.

Links:

- Zlio
- The Hot Sauce Collector

Tips For Starting An Online Store

So, the economy is firing on one cylinder, the housing market is in the dumps, and the world is facing an escalating series of challenges that will change the landscape of humanity forever. I'm sure you must be wondering, this new year, how can I finally start to follow through on my entrepreneurial ambition, how can I finally start an online store in a reasonable way?

Step One - Get over your hangups and excuses - you can start an online store. Don't make me write another post leveraging Alec Baldwin to tell you to get your sh*t together (I will if I have to, but I would prefer that you just trust me). Its a brand new year, its a brand new you, and its a brand new opportunity to realize that we are surrounded by a world of infinite possibilities and finite limitations. I don't want to hear about the reasons why you can't start an online store; I want to tell you about the reasons WHY YOU CAN. Much of what we know about the world simply is not true. Ten years ago, there were significant technical and financial obstacles to starting an online store. Today, you can start an online store for free. Today, you can start an online store without having to know how to program. Today, you can start an online store in less than ten minutes using any number of thoughtful services designed to leverage your inherent creativity and talent, like Zlio, or FlyingCart.

We are in living in a world in which much of what we see is just the tip of the iceberg: