Nile is a digital community that connects consumers with Black-owned brands online. Think of Nile as your one-stop-shop for Black brands. All you have to do is think of what you want to buy online and we will show you somebody Black who makes that! If you want more information about Nile, check out our About page. "
Any business listed on Nile is a Nilist! All Nilists are Black-owned businesses that sell products online.
You! By using Nile, you are Nil-vigating your way to supporting Black businesses.
We’re DIFFERENT different.
Most importantly, all Nilists are shoppable online. That means that anyone can buy anything they want from a Nilist at any time. You don’t have to read about an awesome Black-owned store in Brooklyn that you can’t visit because you live in San Francisco! You can just nil-vigate over to Nile and buy Black all day, every day.
Nilists are added to our website for free. We will never ask any Nilist to pay in order to get on our site.
Not just that. We don’t sell our opinion! That means that when you see a review of a Nilist or Nilist products on our site, they’re real. When you get the Nile News blog, the businesses we highlight didn’t pay to be there. Anytime we tell you how Nile feels about a business, it's from the heart, not the bank account.
Finally, call it the perfectionist in us, but we are always making sure that Nile is constantly flowing and constantly delivering the best possible experience to our Nilists and our Nil-vigators. That means no broken links - if a business closes or its website shuts down, we de-list it as soon as possible. That means a superior search function, so you can find what you want and not what you don’t. That means a fast website that doesn’t load like it’s Windows 98. That means informative listings that tell you everything you need to know about our Nilists, the owners, and their products. Nile’s website is clean, quick, easy to use, and informative.
Absolutely not! Anyone can become a Nil-vigator. Nile is about supporting businesses that are often overlooked and underfunded in this marketplace, and anyone who cares about small businesses and minority-owned businesses can support! Plus, many Black-owned businesses have a focus on healthy, sustainable, and eco-friendly products that are great for everyone!
We trust, but verify! We contact each business owner and gather some basic information about each business we list in order to verify that the business is truly Black-owned.
Nile is necessary to bring the stream of e-commerce to Black-owned businesses, which have historically faced greater challenges in raising capital, connecting with customers, and scaling than other businesses. We are here to serve Black-owned businesses looking to grow their customer base, as well as consumers who are looking to buy products from companies that align with their social values, invest in their communities, and prioritize the common concerns of Black consumers.
If you own the business, submit it by signing up for a business owner account here. Once you have created an account, you will be able to add your business information from your account homepage, under the "Businesses" tab.
If you are a Nil-vigator who'd like to see their favourite business on Nile, you can always make suggestions in your user account portal. Or, email us at info@thenilelist.com with suggestions for any businesses to add, including the website URL and contact information for the owner, if you know it!
We already know about your business and made a listing for you? Great! We like to be on top of dope Black things. You can claim your business listing easily on our site if you haven't already. Once it is approved, you can make changes to your account such as signing up for a premium listing or applying for advertising space or our affiliate marketing program. Please see instructions below. If you have any issues, please use the support page (found in the footer) to report it!
In order to be listed with Nile, a business must be either wholly or partially Black-owned, and it must sell its own products online, either through its own website or a third-party site. Nile tries to be as inclusive as possible so that our Nil-vagators have access to the broadest and best array of black-made products online possible. However, we do seek to ensure that Nilists are as committed to quality as we are!
Also, due to the (unfortunately) transient nature of many Etsy stores, Nile is very select in how it lists Black-owned brands that sell only via Etsy. Still, please feel free to submit an Etsy-only brand for our review, as some awesome businesses live on Etsy as well!
For more information on how we decide which businesses to list, please contact us as info@thenilelist.com.
Listen, we get it. We know that Black folks have historically been systematically excluded from many of the resources necessary to start a business. Oftentimes, in order to get started, we have no choice but to partner up with the people who have the money to back us, and they often aren’t Black. That’s okay. Submit those businesses to Nile as well!
Once you have created a business owner account with Nile, you may visit the Businesses tab in your user account homepage, and then visit the Advertising tab in order to apply for advertising with Nile. All ads run for 30 days and must comply with our advertising guidelines, found here.
Premium listings are options that have been designed by Nile in order to increase and maximize the brand exposure that your business can get from our site! With two options available, your business will get increased exposure to Nile's audience by being placed on the homepage, receiving priority placement in search results and in the categories under which your business falls, receiving discounts on ad space, being guaranteed placement in Nile promotional materials, and more. To read more about the benefits of premium listings, click here [LINK].
Besides being the new hottest destination for all things Black on the internet, Nile offers business owners the support of our community. We will connect you with various business services in order to help you grow and scale your business. Whether you are looking for a new website, or you need to figure out how to make your supply chain just as Black as your business, Nile is constantly growing our partnerships in order to help support the most important part of our site - your Black-owned business! Once you have created your business owner account, check out our Business Services tab for more information on our partnerships!
Click this link for a photo sizing guide!
Nile's affiliate program allows your business to gain better business exposure! We enroll your business for no upfront cost, and ask only 2 things: that you offer a discount of your choosing to our Nile audience, and that you share a percentage of the revenues you make from sales Nile sends your way with us! Why do we ask that you offer a discount to enroll? Well, data suggests that smartphone users are more inclined to make their product purchases using coupons. It also said that 68% of customers believe that coupons also build brand awareness and increases customer loyalty. With more than 77% of consumers spending more than anticipated when redemption of coupons, that translates to good business! If you'd like to join our program, simply register your business or claim your business, and then check out the Manage Discount Codes tab in the Businesses section of your account page!
Currently, when a business owner updates their Nile business listing, the listing is taken off of our site so that we can review any changes before they go live. We review updates daily, and reapprove business listings as quickly as we can! We are working on a site update that will allow the listings to remain active until we approve the changes made by the business owner. We will notify you as soon as this update is implemented! In the meantime, we apologize for the inconvenience.
