None of us saw Covid-19 coming. But the founders of Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysian startup productlink.io clearly showed a sixth sense when launching their new venture in January this year. The vision is to help people generate extra income by reviewing consumer products and share it on social media platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook or Instagram. With an increasing number of people looking for extra sources of income these days, productlink.io has certainly risen as a way of providing monetary assistance for many.
It’s Not Just For Top Influencers
Influencer marketing is thought of as a lucrative and glamourous job that only top celebrities with millions of followers are fortunate enough to land exclusive deals and sponsorships.
“We wanted to change the general perception that earning money on social media is only for top celebrities. Nowadays everyone can become a KOL (Key Opinion Leader). Brands around the world are increasingly open to work with tier-2 & tier-3 KOLs. You don’t need millions of followers; 10k followers is enough to start as long as you can create creative content and deliver new customers & generate sales for those brands & advertisers,” said the founding team.
productlink.io
productlink.io was launched in January this year in a closed beta test mode. “We didn’t really know if it would work or not, but in the online world you just have to launch and test”, adds their Chief Revenue Officer. The beta test was a great success. Over 3 months, the platform attracted over 10,000 users. Most of them made substantial earnings. The top 20 users made an average of over USD 500 per month. User Asraff Jeffery said: “Productlink gives me a better opportunity to monetize my Youtube channel and it’s real! Now I have full motivation to create more content and videos.”
The concept is very simple. In order to participate and earn, users need to create a simple & short (video) post in which they unbox or review a consumer product. Whether it’s an electronic gadget, sports gear or beauty & makeup products, such as your favorite eyeliner or mascara – the options are endless. productlink.io is working with hundreds of global brands and marketplaces such as Lazada, Shopee or Indonesia’s ecommerce powerhouse Tokopedia. Once the (video) post is ready, users create a personalized link (productlink) which is placed inside their post. Every time someone clicks on the link and makes a purchase, the influencer will earn a commission.
All members of the management team are veterans in this industry. They have been running one of South-East Asia’s most successful affiliate networks, Involve Asia, since 2014. The team explains, “Affiliate marketing requires a bit of technical understanding in order to be successful. We took the best ideas of affiliate marketing and adopted the model in a way, so that it’s much easier to understand and use. productlink is affiliate marketing 2.0 so to speak.”
Get Started Today!
With a simple Wi-Fi connection and a considerable amount of time & work, any user can review their favourite products and share those on your social media platform. The platform’s secret sauce is an algorithm that always sends the potential buyer to the brand or merchant with the highest commission. This is to ensure that KOLs can maximise their earnings. Productlink has ended their closed beta in April and is now open to users across the region.
The CRO comments, “We see tremendous growth in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. But our vision is to enable people from across the world to earn a side income by talking about products they love, whether it’s a student or a housewife.”
In turbulent times like this and with the Movement Control Order issued by the Malaysian government, there’s probably nothing wrong with earning an extra side income from home.
