Pandemic has taught us several things and coping methods, and hybrid learning is one of them. The entire education system has been changed and adopted several methods for learning to provide a continuous and seamless learning program. The main reason behind this sudden transformation of traditional schools into hybrid schools is the worry of parents for their children.
They welcomed it with warm hugs as studentsâ education does not get compromised in the pandemic. Hybrid or virtual learning has surely made lives easy as children can continue their education safely at home. But even with such benefits and praises, hybrid learning could not replace the traditional physical learning method.
Traditional learning still holds great importance in the lives of students. As it provides total development of the student and prepares them for tough circumstances.
Besides academic learning, traditional learning includes social skill development, communication, ties, sharing, sensitivities, empathy and many else. And for any child, these factors are very essential for the competitive environment and development. However with safety and convenience in the virtual learning method, people are becoming entirely reliant on that and because of this a very strong question arises, Can hybrid learning replace traditional learning? And that’s what we are discussing in this article. So, let’s get started!
The pandemic has entirely changed our lives, which majorly impacted the education and marketing sector. On one hand, where the marketing sector is expanding on a wide proportion, the education sector is still processing the changes.
With the pandemic, the educational institutions entirely shifted to the online mode of education and started their classes on Zoom and Google Meet. This wasn’t very tough for the teachers and students to adapt as they instantly changed their methods of teaching, grading and learning.
The major impact of this was on higher education as people are claiming that the future of college and education is online. However, nothing can be said of the future in advance. As no one even thought that almost three years of our lives will be surrounded by such a lethal virus. That’s why what can be said of the education system is that we surely are moving towards hybrid learning which is the mixture of offline and online modes of learning.
It’s definite that as soon as the threat is gone the physical learning mode will return as it holds huge importance in students lives. But we cannot ignore the fact that there are still several options available online.
Both online and offline modes of education hold different characteristics and trades. Soon people will learn to manage both of these together. But when it comes to the experiences and benefits that a student gets from the traditional physical learning method can never be replaced by the virtual learning method. And we have mentioned the reasons for these down below.
Difference between Traditional Learning and Hybrid Learning
Beneficiary campus life, not available in virtual learning
Virtual learning may be safe and secure but it can never replace the traditional physical learning method. The reasons behind this include the beneficiary campus environment and experience that students get which develops their communication skills, help them socialize and get better field opportunities, from diverse parts of the world. This helps them live in a new culture, city or a different country smoothly.
Plus, it makes the students independent and aware of the surroundings they are living in. And the virtual learning method snatches these things from the crucial student’s lives.
In-Class learning experience
The very important aspect of the traditional physical learning method is the in-class student experience which helps the student in public speaking and building confidence.
Such as, in in-class learning, students are prepared to easily ask any doubt, discuss any point, debate on a certain topic and ask questions instead of anonymously typing questions.
Students do not get to experience post-classes discussions like being with your competitor, discussing in a friend group and many others. The virtual learning methods lack student engagement, discussion., and creating a bond with batchmates. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Opportunity to learn something new
Another crucial factor of the physical learning method is the opportunity to learn something new such as joining different clubs and societies, participating in competitions or extra-curricular activities and classes.
Those attaining the virtual classes are missing tons of such changes and experiences. As they cannot participate in any of such events that can help them develop new skills or personality traits by sitting in their houses.
With the pandemic, our day-to-day lives have changed entirely and this majorly affected the education and marketing sector. Though the education sector adapted the online mode of learning, it could never be compared to the on-campus learning experience for the students.
Although with the hybrid learning model which is a mixture of both online and offline learning; people can surely depend on it. But for the future, nothing can be claimed in advance.
For now, the best thing in hand is to try to develop as many skills as possible on your own as depending on online learning is not a practical choice. We can state that the future of the educational system can be adapted as a combination of offline and online learning methods as a few things can surely be added to that of the offline learning mode.
FAQ
Can online learning replace the traditional classroom?
No, online learning cannot replace traditional classrooms because, in traditional classrooms, students miss out on public speaking, face to face interaction and campus life. These are important factors during the growth of students that can’t be replaced by online learning.
Can hybrid classrooms help students focus better?
Yes, hybrid learning helps students focus more as it combines in-person teaching and independent learning.
Is online learning more effective than traditional learning?
Online learning is more effective as students can learn anytime and anywhere and every student can learn at their own pace.
Shark Tank is a business reality show owned by ABC and is the no. 1 business reality show in the world. The concept of the game show involves ambitious entrepreneurs presenting their breakthrough business concepts to ruthless investors or âSharksâ to convince them to invest in the concept.
The most important part of Shark Tank is the panel, aka the âsharksâ who decide whether or not to invest in the ideas of the entrepreneurs. In the Indian version, Shark Tank India, we have the following sharks (Judges) in the panel:
Vineeta Singh – CEO & Co-founder of SUGAR Cosmetics
Ashneer Grover, Founder and MD of BharatPe
Peeyush Bansal – Founder & CEO of Lenskart.com
Namita Thapar – ED of Emcure Pharmaceuticals
Anupam Mittal – Founder and CEO of Shaadi.com
Ghazal Alagh – Co-founder and Cheif Mama of Mamaearth
Aman Gupta – Co-founder and CMO of BoAt
Some aspects that come to mind when someone says Shark Tank: grilling someone on the industry size, the market opportunity, the size of the niche market they want to target (if they are targeting a niche market), competitors, financial data on their competitors, how they got that data / how they arrive at the assumptions about their competitors etc.
On top of this, Sharks also want to get to know the entrepreneurs. There are a few episodes in the original Shark tank where the Sharks have walked away from a pitch not because the product was bad, but because they didnât want to work with the investor.
On the flip side, there were also times when Sharks made offers not because they loved the product but because they believed in the entrepreneurs. We get a glimpse into some of the characteristics of these entrepreneurs but Iâm sure they go more in-depth.
The first episode of Shark Tank India was aired on 20th Dec 2021 on Sony Liv. The panel for the first episode included Vineeta Singh, Ashneer Grover, Namita Thapar, Anupam Mittal, and Aman Gupta.
BharatPe MD and Co-founder Ashneer Grover, who is still one of the judges of the Indian version of Shark Tank, has been recently engaged in a financial fraud of BharatPe and is asked to be on a mandatory leave of absence. He and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, who is also associated with this financial misconduct, has been on a leave of absence along with five others. BharatPe Co-founder and MD can also be fired from the company by the Board, as far as the reports dated January 29, 2022. Â Â
Products Featured in the First Episode of Shark Tank India
First Product: Blue Pine Foods Pvt. Ltd.
Blue Pine Foods
The Entrepreneurs:
Aditi Madan aka Momo Mami and the Co-Founders- Rohan Singh and Naveen Pawar.
The Ask:
âš50L for 5% equity
The Pitch:
Blue Pine Foods is a frozen momo company that makes 100% natural, preservative-free handcrafted momos using traditional Himalayan ingredients. The shelf life of the momos is over 4 months.
The Profits:
Made and sold over 80 Lakh momos through both B2B and QSR. Sales of âš3.6 cr over the period of 5 years.
The Negotiation:
Ashneer did not wait too long before making the first offer of âš50L for 7% equity with a warning that it was an exploding offer. Anupam pulled out saying he cannot make an offer thatâs lower than Ashneerâs. Namita Thapar was the next one to pull out as she âcannot relate with the industryâ. Vineeta offered âš50L for 20%.
Together, Aman and Ashneer offered âš50L for 12%, to which Aditi gave two counteroffers of âš50L for 10% and  âš75L for 12%. Ashneer, Aman and Vineeta came together and made a tempting offer of âš75L for 16% equity, which was happily accepted by Aditi.
The Deal:
âš75L for 16% Equity
Second Product: Booz Scooters
Booz Scooters
The Entrepreneur:
Rutvij Dasadia
The Ask:
âš40L for 15% equity
The Pitch:
Booz is South Asiaâs first App-based electric scooter operator that serves at business parks, Commercial parks, residential areas, industrial areas, educational campuses, tourist spots, clubs, resorts and other such confined premises by offering electric kick scooters on rental.
Charging stations, installations, daily maintenance, charging plugins and plug outs are offered at monthly subscription. The vision of Booz is to eliminate fuel vehicles at these places and make premises more pollution-free and add leisure experience to recreational spots.
The Profits:
Last Year the business got revenue of 4 Lakhs.
The Negotiation:
Anupam pulled out immediately after giving a brutal statement that he doesnât see any value in it. Namita, once again, pulled out as she doesnât ârelate to the productâ and because the product did not excite her on a personal level. Vineetha and Ashneer came together and made an aggressive offer of âš40L for 50% Equity. Rutvij countered the offer with an offer of 40L for 33% Equity but Ashneer stood his ground till the founder finally caved.
The Deal:
âš40L for 50% Equity
Third Product: Heart up my sleeves
Heart up my Sleeves
The Entrepreneur:
Riya Khatter
The Ask:
âš25L for 10% equity
The Pitch:
Itâs a unique brand that makes detachable statement sleeves. The sleeves are reusable, sustainable and you can style them in different ways.
The Profits:
Sales of âš11.6L in 9 months. Last monthâs sales were âš1.96l.
The Negotiation:
Aman and Namita did not think twice before pulling out as they did not see potential in the product. Anupam and Vineeta swooped in to grab the opportunity, and an offer of âš25L for 40% equity was placed on the table. The 23-year-old entrepreneur countered it with an offer of âš25L for 30% equity which the sharks couldnât say no to because of her beautiful pitch.
The Deal:
âš25L for 30%
Review of the First Episode of Shark Tank India
The investors faced a lot of backlashes after the show was aired. But there were a lot of people that found nothing wrong with the actions of the investors. The controversy can be summed up with the help of the post and the comment below:
Shashikant Chaudhary, an angel investor posted the following on LinkedIn:
âI was really very excited to watch the first season of Shark Tank India – both as a viewer and as an angel investor. This show promises a platform for entrepreneurs from tier 2 and tier 3 cities to take their business to the next level. Crucially, this show is also going to double as educational for millions of people as it reveals things about business and funding.
It is in this context that I found the way sharks were making an offer to entrepreneurs by asking for a 40-50% stake in the company for 25-50 lacs uncomfortable to watch.
As an angel investor myself and instructor of an entrepreneurship course, I feel, If an entrepreneur is giving up 30-50% of the company in a single round, by the end of the third or fourth round of investment, the founding team will be at less than 15-20% stake. There would be very little incentive for founders to work for such a low equity stake. In the end, he/she would leave the company.
I know it can be argued that the sharks are doing their best by getting the best deal for them personally but I also feel that this is a tricky message for the startup community (especially those not well-versed with technicalities of the impact of giving away too much stake in a single round). I wish people watching the show somehow also know that this is the kind of offer that is detrimental to the founder in the long run.â
And the top comment by Paresh Masade, Founder of Vaave (Coherendz India Private Limited) read:
âIsn’t the very notion of “Shark” in a tank wrong, they are supposed to be “Angel” investors. You have been a mentor, guide, advisor and well-wisher, not even close to being a shark.
My views on the shark tank differ a bit, it is designed to be a TV show and to entertain the audience. They resemble more of the WWF matches, very glamourous and sexy, nothing real. I may be wrong here, but many of the seasoned angel investors I have seen, understand very well that it’s the entrepreneur who is in the driver’s seat!â
The original shark tank created a huge fan base for itself across the globe over the past 13 years. The Indian show definitely shows a lot of potential for creating a massive loyal fanbase as well. It is amazing to see the spirit of the young entrepreneurs and supportive seniors on Indian television. Hopefully, the show will bring a new wave of ideas and entrepreneurs to the country. Â
You can watch the episodes of Shark Tank India live on SonyLIV or Sony TV. With new episodes coming out from Monday to Friday at 9 PM on the designated platform.
FAQ
Who are the judges in Shark Tank India?
Vineeta Singh, Ashneer Grover, Namita Thapar, Anupam Mittal and Aman Gupta, Ghazal Alagh, and Peeyush Bansal are the judges in Shark Tank India.
The article is contributed by Rishubh Satiya, Co-Founder, Plix
Health and wellness have come sharply into focus in recent years due to the pandemic and environmental concerns. Today, a lot of public discourse is about plant-based diets and nutrition. What makes this a key element in the wellness arena is the fact that it is a way of consuming environmentally sustainable nutrition foods.
In the past, one of the biggest popular theories that inhabited the consumption of green foods was that they were considered to be deficient in nutrients compared to meats. However, now there is evidence to prove that right combination of plant-based food items can provide the required levels of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to consumers. They also have good fiber content which aids in better digestive system functioning.
Letâs take a look at three key nutrition needs of the body and how plant-foods help meet these.
Proteins are the building blocks of our body but the biggest misconception about plant-food is that it doesnât offer proteins. However, there are several green food sources such as beans, peas, and lentils as well as whole grains that can contribute to the bodyâs protein needs. Even though whole grains are a better source of carbohydrates than proteins, these are essential in providing the required amino acids which are in turn the creators of proteins in the body.
Nowadays, protein powders made from plant sources such as pea, rice, hemp, oats and quinoa are gaining traction as nutritional supplements. Plant-based foods including fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, are all great sources of carbohydrates and fibres. When we add whole foods such as nuts, coconut, seeds, avocado and olives, we also get ample unsaturated fats which are considered as safer compared to the saturated fats that animal food contains.
The Perception about Plant-based Nutrition
When people hear plant-based nutrition, they tend to think of either consuming fruits, vegetable salads or elaborate vegetarian food preparations that need a lot of cooking time and skill. Ready-to-eat plant-food items that are adequately impactful, delicious and easy to consume are considered as difficult to access. This is an area where modern nutrition brands are now ensuring that holistic, tasty, and easily accessible clean, plant-based nutrition products are made available to consumers.
There is a conscious attempt at not only creating holistic nutrition alternatives which can take care of the diverse nutrition needs of the body, but also of the environment around us. A major change that these tech-based modern plant-nutrition labels are bringing about is that they are helping people enjoy nutrition supplements other than tablets and capsules. As any wellness conscious person would have experienced, nutrition supplements conventionally come in the form of capsules and pills. These smell, look and taste like medicines. Considering that the pills and medicines are embedded in human psyche as signs of illness, people tend to avoid them when they are not diseased.
The plant-based nutrition companies are familiar with this problem, and have been focusing on offering products such as effervescent, powder supplements, and yummy gummies etc. A good plant-based nutrition label offers such options to take care of diverse wellness needs such as skin care, beauty care, hair care, womenâs health problems, dietary and workout supplements etc.
Unpredictable weather patterns and climate change is already costing trillions of dollars globally in the form of crops, loss of lives and property due to natural disasters. They are also causing loss of productivity due to preventable illnesses. Global warming caused by green-house gases is a leading cause of all these destructive changes. This is where the role of the animal food industry has come under scanner as it is responsible for a significant percentage of the harmful gas emissions. On the other hand, plant-based foods have become sustainable, tasty and clean alternatives which can ensure nutrition for all, and reduce green-house-gas production simultaneously.
Our planet will be home to over 10 billion people by 2050, and that also happens to be the year by when many countries aim to achieve carbon-neutrality. In the post-pandemic world, health and wellness management will have to be ensured in sync with environmental concerns. This makes the role of clean foods more important than ever. There is no doubt that this is where the future of nutrition lies!
Indian Startup Ecosystem is growing hugely. India stands third in global start-up ecosystem. With the changing trends in the Indian startup ecosystem, investors are getting attracted towards investing in startups. We founder Circle is a startup that provides investment service to help early stage startups.
Here is excerpt of the interview with Mr. Neeraj Tyagi, CEO & Co-founder of We Founder Circle (WFC) about Indian startup ecosystem.
Tell us briefly about yourself?
We Founder Circle (WFC), a founders-led early stage startup investment platform born in the midst of the pandemic, plans to invest in 70 start-ups in FY 2023. Since the launch in 2020, WFC has become one of the fastest-growing angel networks with 33+ startup investments in a span of 12 months. WFC has already facilitated funds worth $150 million across 33+ startups by the end of December 2021 and became the 2nd largest Angel Investor of the Country. Â Platform’s key investment includes Zypp, ObenEV, Lissun, Healthysure, Hesa, Glamyo Health, Geekster, YPay Card, EsportsXo and Settl.
In its first year of operation, We Founder Circle (WFC), a founder-led early-stage start-up investment platform, has successfully invested in 33+ start-ups spanning across 10 industries. Our community is strong by 2000 members that combines the extensive experience from angel investors, corporate leaders and unicorn founders. Our efforts were also recognized by the industry as we became #2 active Angel Investor Network in India. Our portfolio expanded to cover 10 sectors including EV, Agritech, Fintech, Edtech and D2C.
How often do you bet on the entrepreneurs and not on the ideas? And when/if you do that, what quality of the entrepreneur usually makes you do that?
An entrepreneur should be a high-energy, high-motivated individual. He or she should be on the move all of the time. At the same time, great degrees of commitment is required. A person can only do justice to his/her line of work if he/she is driven. Entrepreneurs are defined by their passion, resourcefulness, readiness to improvise and listen to others, and a strong desire to succeed.
What is a warning sign for you when investing in a startup?
1. Low quality products. Distinguishing oneself from the competition is a regular difficulty for any startup company. A company that is unable to deliver a high-quality or specialty product will most certainly be steamrolled by competitors that are already well-established.
2. Loss of vision. A good business plan detailing the targeted markets, as well as a vision statement stating how the market will be penetrated, are required for a company to survive.
3. A lack of progression. To thrive, a young firm needs rapid, yet scalable, growth. The reason is straightforward. There’s no guarantee that their loyal consumers will return the next day. It’s critical to seek out new ones as frequently as possible.
What are some common biases you find in the Indian Startup ecosystem?
Despite certain programmes aimed at promoting the growth of female entrepreneurs, there are still gender prejudices in the startup environment. Traditionally, India has shied away from professional risk and entrepreneurship. Though there has been a recent movement in young people’s attitudes, society still has a hard time accepting entrepreneurs. Instead of solving a consumer need with a fantastic product, the current generation is motivated to make money.
Failure is also looked down upon in today’s society. Being an entrepreneur is like sleeping on a bed of thorns in a country that despises hard work and failure. The majority of parents compel their children to work hard in order to acquire a stable career, and they view entrepreneurial efforts with suspicion. It is difficult to build a vibrant startup ecosystem in any country when the youth are not inspired to pursue their own companies.
What are your views on the SharkTankIndia Episodes until now?
We definitely think Shark Tank India is taking entrepreneurship to every Indian household and is making conversations around startups the new normal. The business reality show is giving a much needed boost to the burgeoning Indian startup ecosystem and comes across as a platform to transform dreams into reality for all the budding entrepreneurs.
We are seeing many startups exiting with IPO, whatâs your opinion on that? How is it going to change the ecosystem?
Because of lockdowns and other safeguards, the Covid-19 epidemic has aided the technology startup sector by driving more transactions online.
Other factors include India having some of the world’s lowest data prices and an increase in smartphone ownership, which has allowed technological start-ups â many of which were created less than a decade ago â to reach a considerably broader audience. With a young population and internet penetration that is still well below its full potential, these businesses have a lot of room to develop.
Companies aim to use the capital from new proceeds to expand as demand in the post-pandemic world is predicted to increase by a factor of ten. Overall, this is a very encouraging indicator for the Indian economy’s future prospects.
More than 42 unicorns in 2021. What do you think caused this wave? Is the valuation justified according to you?
This year was a wonderful year for Indian businesses, with 42 achieving unicorn status. In 2021, more startups joined the club than in the previous five years combined. The record fundraising boom is projected to continue in the coming year, thanks to India’s increasing embrace of technology and new startup products. With only nine days left in the year, there’s a good chance we’ll see a few more surprises. It’s true that financing for 2021 is at an all-time high. The enormous number of unicorns, as well as a succession of successful IPOs, has piqued the curiosity of investors from all over the world.” I also credit India’s huge talent pool, quick technological adoption, and COVID-generated tailwinds for the increasing number of Indian enterprises making an impact on the global economy.
How can we support/ enable entrepreneurs in tier2 and tier 3 cities?
Close to 30% of our portfolio startups come from Tier 2-3 cities. We are big believers of ideas that are thought locally and aim to reach markets globally. Â In order to support these local entrepreneurs all we need is to build a strong startup ecosystem that offers co-working spaces, right mentors and angel investor networks, startup weekends and some business partnerships for these startups to grow.
What are a few sectors you think would be hot in the upcoming year?
For 2022, EV, Health Tech, D2C, Automobile Tech, Fintech, EdTech, Food Tech are going to be the hottest sectors. Keeping the same in mind, WFC is focused on start-ups in such sectors to help them grow.
One learning that you would like to share with founders who are looking to raise funds?
Always focus on your pitch and business model. Before approaching any investor, you should be thorough with the scope of your industry and start-up. The clearer your vision is, the better the impact on your investors.
It is not a new fact anymore that the world is staying home. Everything has taken the shape of a work from home model. We all started staying home when forced by the pandemic but now most of us are liking this change. The covid 19 pandemic has led us into rethinking our choices.
We are renegotiating our living, our careers and every factor that leads to a good life. We now include time as an important asset. Many are leaving jobs commitments to shift to less commitment work, or freelancing. You are not bound in time in freelancing.
This change has led to a lot of change, therefore. There has been an increase in the number of freelancers in the world. This is a good thing but it can also be a difficult thing. As a freelancer, you have to find work for yourself, you cannot expect work to come to you.
Only when you are an established person in a domain, will people offer you jobs automatically. You have to pitch yourself to get gigs. This article revolves around pitching and finding a freelance gig. We will discuss how to pitch, write a pitch email, also known as cold emailing, and how to write a cold email.
Freelancing is now probably the most famous job in the world. It is working on a project with no commitments of a normal corporate job. It is portable and can be done from anywhere in the world.
Imagine a freelance writer, he/she can work from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection. Think of a freelance website developer, who is good at developing great websites, he can get a freelance job and after finishing it he is not entailed to more jobs from that employer. So, freelancing is working for someone in short runs of time for which you obviously get paid.
As the pandemic began, the demand for freelancers began too. Everything became remote, and our homes became our workstations, a school and a personal gym. All that transformation led to many changes.
One of the changes was that people started reconsidering their work-life balance. Eventually, people began choosing their careers in the freelance industry. It is not the best option but it gives people the freedom to choose their work timings.
Pitching to Prospective Employers
Imagine someone who is a freelance writer. He is good with words and explanations. He thinks that he should earn something with this skill. At this stage, it is not good to expect someone to offer you a job, without you having gained some experience. So you have to seek a job, a project or something that adds value to you as a writer. This is when pitching comes to mind.
Pitching is seeking work by any means. It can be via an email or a cold call or reaching out to any of the potential employers. As a writer, you would like to work with editors and blog managers. You have to ask them for an opportunity matching your skill sets. This is what pitching is. It is seeking opportunities.
The most common way by which people pitch their ideas is by sending emails to prospective employers. As emails are easier to find online than numbers. It can also be the other way round.
Why do Freelancers Need to Pitch?
Simply because freelancers have to find work. You cannot expect âworkâ to find you, you have to reach out to prospective or potential employers who can provide you with an opportunity.
As a writer who is freelancing, youâll need to pitch articles if you want any writing gigs. You could be a significant famous writer but if you donât find work, work will not find you too. It doesn’t really matter much if your writing or research is strong, you have to seek opportunities to make it work.
When we say seek work, it does not necessarily mean that you have to struggle to get some opportunities. There are fair opportunities out there, you just have to find a place for yourself.
There are many publications out there that donât have enough resources or budget to hire full-time writers. Publications like these try to have people with short term job roles and they employ part-time writers or freelancers. Organisations like these spread to each and every domain, be it writing, coding, graphic designing etc. In this article we will take the issue of a freelance writing pitch, it is however to be noted that every other field has the same, or almost the same pitching rules and checkpoints.
Let us see how people pitch and how you as a freelancer can pitch for opportunities. There are many checkpoints that you have to keep in check, a few of the most important ones, we are listing them below. Give them a read for better understanding.
Personalisation has a Plus Point (Personalised Emails)
When we talk about personalisation, most people will be scared as hell. We donât really put in the effort in that domain. An editor or any employer gets thousands of emails every day, what sets you apart from those thousands of anonymous people? This is when personalisation became a necessity. You cannot expect someone to give you an opportunity if you reach out to them very bluntly, speaking only about yourself and your work skills. It does not quite show efforts on your behalf.
What we mean by personalisation is simply that you have done your homework in finding something about the potential client. We are suggesting that you know about the prospective client thoroughly in and out.
It is like creating a world view from their perspective and then writing your pitching email. You have to find out how that client sees the world, what are the things which interest them and what they most want.
Once you develop a theory of their mind maps, it will be easy for you to reach out to that person. It also shows the other (receiver end) person that you have invested some time to investigate and you are really interested in opportunities.
This point also makes it clear that you have to make it clear why you are emailing them. Research shows that people are far more motivated to help others when they feel uniquely qualified to do so. This can be achieved by showing them your place with probably a short story and why you fit where you fit. This will help them understand more precisely what you do and why you should be chosen for work.
Stand with Credibility
When you research someone and find something interesting about them, it is important that you have some credibility. This will help them recognise you in the first instance, which will increase your chances of getting the project.
Remember, when you do some research or investigate the employer, you know about them but they donât really know about you. They have to get some points which make them believe in you. They have to know who you are and why you should matter to them. This is what is called the âShowing credibilityâ act. Editors are busy people, and they arenât willing to spend a long time verifying things.
You need to make it clear that you are credible and they can trust you. There are many ways to do that. You can mention someone you both know, a mutual friend. It is in fact by far the best way to start a stranger conversation.
You mention someone directly who is common in each otherâs network. Even when you mention someone who is mutual, it entails that both of you are not strangers anymore. The point is to figure out some common relations/ thoughts/ goals so that you become less of a stranger to prospective clients. This is good to start a conversation from zero. This will make you a little more important than a stranger. The more important you are, the more you will have the chance to get a reply.
Provide them with Something they want
This is a very basic thing to know. There is no free lunch. It is a question on why the recipient should care about your email. Why does this person take his busy time out to read and respond to your email? You have to make sure that you are adding the value of some sort.
It is important because if you are adding value, only then there is some chance to get a response, otherwise not. If you cannot add value, then you should probably refrain from sending any pitching emails as it will degrade your views in front of the employer.
Once you are clear of the fact that you are here to add value, begin at once. Knowing your value will also help you to reach a certain level of respect for the work that you do. If you are of some value, show that. Show that explicitly. It will help the employer to judge you on the basis of your value addition to the organisation which is the best measure.
Keep it Concise and Actionable
As a freelancer, all you are doing is simply increasing the response rate of an email that you type with all the good words you know. It is very crucial then, that your email is small, concise and quite actionable.
Just make sure you are clear and actionable. You call someone out on an email and then you ask them for an opportunity. This is a great thing, asking for help in real life is amazing and in fact, you are giving them the chance to feel good about themselves.
Now when they see your email and they know what you are asking about, that means you are clear enough. Then, it becomes easy for them to take action and all the resistance in between seems small. Your email should also be small. This is very important as a small email has a better chance of being read, than a very long email.
No one has the time or a big enough attention span to look through your thesis on why you should be given an opportunity. So keep it short and increase your chances of being seen and read. This also is to be noted that if you are counting your words, make every word counted. Precise does not mean a small paragraph but it means a clear and to the point reply.
Vulnerability and Appreciation
You are emailing some random dude who you donât know and you are emailing that someone for a favour. This is hard to grasp. Donât make it a hard thing for the receiver, a hard thing to grasp. Make it clear and show some vulnerability.
When I say vulnerability, it does not mean to shed all your weapons and appear like a kitty. Rather be mindful and appreciate the fact that they will help you out. That can be packaged in a form of gratitude but it is the same thing.
Respect them with a little power and status and hope that they will return the same favour to you. When writing to a prospective client, you can use phrases like âThank you so muchâ or âI am really gratefulâ to sound grateful. This will increase the chances of getting a response.
You can also add that they can choose to reply at their own pace or they can ignore the request. This will make them more obliged to answer your email. Simple, simple things but can add layers of protection.
Things You Should Know Before Pitching as a Freelancer
Research before you pitch
It is important that you target your pitches and you research about them, not researching to write an autobiography on them but to make sure that you know them thoroughly. This will help in a more tailor-made approach. Also, make sure that the people/organisation to who you are pitching lies in your skillets.
The topic of your article/email should relent to the prospective clients. It should be within the style of content that they produce. If you are a writer, know their publishing domains. Then match the pitch accordingly. This will help you as well as them to sort pitches and pick prospective clients.
Think about your specialisation and pitch people according to that domain. Know that the world always respects specialisation and you can benefit from your domain. If you have experience in one specific domain then it can be largely used to pick the next pitch and next project.
Demonstrate your Skills
Show your writing skills and prove that you are worthy but don’t be too wordy. Yeah just like the Marvel movie âThorâ. You have to prove that you are worthy and only then do things become easy and worthwhile.
If you have prior experience, show that, showcase that experience explicitly and properly. It will explain your exposure and will make you stand a better chance of getting selected. Make sure you are not too overconfident. Make it subtle, the employer is not here to read all your victories. He just wants to get his/her work done.
Avoid Templates
There is one more thing that is silent in pitching. That is, you dare not use a template. You can google cold email templates and you will find hundreds and thousands of them but that does not set you apart.
The world is filled with templates, what it needs is a trailblazer and a person with courage. Have some bravery and carve your own template, this really shows the other person that you have the nerve. Moreover, it is impossible to personalise a template according to your target client. It is hard because it has already been set with some general idea of a pitching letter.
Proofread and make sure that you donât comment on any grammatical problems. It is a huge red flag. If youâre applying for a writing pitch, a grammatical error can literally end the whole hope for you. Make sure that you are clear and clean of errors.
Respect the other person
You are pitching an idea and asking for a favour from a random dude. You donât know the person, you only know the email address. That person has no reason to take you seriously. He can just delete or ignore your hard work of writing a pitch. Give them a reason to take yourself seriously. It is like meeting some stranger in real life.
You start by introducing yourself and then you appreciate what they want to say and have. That is how you build a relationship with literally anyone, this is almost the same scene here.
You write an email with an introduction, you mention some point of contact or mutual person and you go on to build a professional relationship by appreciating what the other person is saying. Simple and straightforward.
Follow up
This may sound simple but most figure this out very late. If you are applying somewhere, remember to take a follow up after some time. Employers and clients are humans too and they can also be left behind with the pressure of work.
Donât take it too soon or too late. If the client hasnât replied for two weeks, then take a follow-up. Check by asking if they have had the chance to read your pitch email. Even then, if you donât get a reply, then you can safely assume that your pitch is lost somewhere in translation and others. Have patience but take proper follow-ups. The time of both parties is important.
Embrace failure
It is not that you will not get selected anywhere and it is the end of the world but embraces trying and work. Even if your pitch is not accepted, be grateful and work on the next pitch with perseverance. There is no failure, only lessons in disguise.
Conclusion
In the above article, we discussed the art of pitching. Obviously, there can exist more than one way of pitching to your favourite workplace. Keep in mind your perspective, the industry and the recipient.
We went from explaining what a pitch is and why it is important. To a more comprehensive approach to writing a perfect pitch. It is always important to take care of what you write on that email/any other means of seeking.
Your pitch should sound interesting â if your hook piques the editorâs interest, they know it will pique their audienceâs interest, too. If youâve ever written for the publication before, Showcase those writing skills and explain why youâre a good fit. It is important to provide some common touchpoints.
Once you and the prospective client are on the same ground, it becomes easier to negotiate. It is however important that you should be able to add value with your skill sets. Developing a rapport with prospective strangers and showcasing value addition becomes the recipe for a perfect pitch.
FAQ
What is considered a successful pitch?
A successful pitch is when you hook the editor in the first few seconds and get your points across.
How do you start writing a pitch?
Research about the company or publication, Write an appealing subject line for your email pitch, Â Explain how are you different from others and why should the publication publish your story.
The article is Contributed by Mr. Alok Pandey, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Xapads Media.
Adtech has seen unprecedented growth in Year 2021 so we have all the reason to be excited about what the future holds for us. Advertising technologies are bridging the gap between Reality and Desire and also adding new and innovative ways to bring Advertiser and User under the same screen.
As the world of Ad-tech is set to get bigger and better in the coming times, let’s see how.
Year 2021 will go down in history as a significant one that changed the world of Digital Marketing for Good as Apple introduced and finally implemented its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework in iOS14.5. Now any App or Medium requires user Consent to track any sensitive data and gives User Privacy the importance it always deserved. With Google, Huawei and others to follow suit, this Year is expected to see more revolutions and steps around User Privacy.
CTV and OTT
Undoubtedly Year 2022 belongs to CTV and OTTas major players started to unleash the power in Year 2021 and with more and more content creators choosing the medium over traditional ones, this will remain a trend setter in coming months too. India will remain the top market as the penetration and growth continue to see an uptick.
Data Sets : The global CTV ad spend is projected to rise 23% in 2022, hitting approx. $20.3 billion whereas, the global OTT revenue will be approx. $205,565 million in 2022 and is projected to reach a staggering $210 billion by the year 2026. Coming to the Indian market, the revenue from the OTT segment will be $2,673 million in 2022 and will reach $3,928 million at a CAGR of 10.10% by 2026.
Augmented Reality (AR)
Another trend that picked the hype in late 2021 is Augmented Reality (AR). AR is reaching audiences in a way no other Ad-tech ever reached. It builds the personal connection with the user to drive brand awareness and showcase the product’s pointers as in the real world. Even though this tech is not widely used(yet), the prospect and offerings just canât be denied for long. I personally say watch it as this will make the biggest difference this year.
Mobile First
Mobile First is another thing that will stay in trend, even though many believe that industry has seen the peak of In-App Marketing but I personally beg to differ. Countries like India and SEA are expected to see highest growth in terms of Mobile penetration and with fast adaptation of 5G and high internet, Mobile + In-App Marketing will continue to be Advertisers top choice. Another factor of this tide will remain highly adaptive MMPs like Appsflyer, Branch, Adjust and Kochava, providing advertisers with valuable user insights and control over Adspent.
With something Big making news everyday, 2022 would be an âYear for Adtechâ as the market and industry prepare for the welcome of Metaverse and Web3.0 but there are still some trends that are here to make Big. India is also expected to ride on these trends and with high penetration and adaptation of new technology, this year might be crucial in making the history of Indiaâs Adtech market. Against all odds India has shown high growth prospects post covid second wave with new Unicorn every week so a positive impact will propel Indiaâs Ad Tech Industry.
The world is growing fast, and the catalyst can be easily seen. The catalyst is obviously technology and the hyper-connectedness it brings. The fact that it is easily seen and noticed is absolutely true because it is everyoneâs favouriteâs place to be.
It would not be wrong to say that we now live âonlineâ most of the time. Whether it is a bad thing or a wonderful thing, that is a topic for another day, but one thing is sure most people love social media. Spending hours and hours scrolling their feed.
When screen times are rising, the demand for online content rises. This clearly tells the reason why this is the best time to be a content creator. When everyone is looking at their personal screens, it affects the marketing world. As marketing is quite an act of catching eyeballs.
Marketers are joining hands with celebrities all over the internet and the world to spread the word about their products. It is efficient and has a wide reach. In this article, we will dive deep into celebrity endorsements and the like. We will talk about various models on which the industry of endorsements stands. Let us see this domain a little closer.
The vocabulary âendorsementâ would be a new word for many but believe us, you know the meaning more than us. The word is associated with a channel of brand communication. Mostly it is a work of an artist or a famous person.
A celebrity comes up on stage and certifies the claims that the company makes about their product. It is like advertisements but a little indirect. The celebrity here extends his personality popularity or status in society to the brandâs promises. This helps the brand to generate some revenue by the use of celebrityâs fame and yes, of course, the celebrity gets paid.
This method is common everywhere and can be seen almost in every domain of products. In this world, which mostly lives online, brand endorsements may even include internet-famous people. That is the reason why you see your favourite influencer appreciating some specific product. He/she acts as a spokesperson for the brand behalf and entailing its benefits, claims or certifies the claim that the brand makes.
In any market that entails a very high proliferation of regional and international brands, a celebrity endorsement can add a distinct differentiation to the product. Over the years, brands have tried to change their methods of marketing their products due to the change in consumer demands and technology advancements.
Top worldâs brands like Nike have done this to get customers on board. In fact, that was probably the best endorsement collaboration that the world has seen. To pull out a successful endorsement campaign there are a lot of checkpoints to be checked.
Essential Aspects of an Endorsement by a Celebrity
If you look at some brand endorsement by a celebrity, you most probably will think about the fact that the celebrity is the epicentre. That the celebrity is the main focus of the campaign and mostly the reason for successful endorsements. That is not true.
In fact, brand endorsements are just a part of a bigger process. That bigger process is nothing but the infamous âBrandingâ. Celebrity endorsements are a cog in the wheel of the big machine called Branding.
Nikeâs association was not just about Tiger Woods but more than that. The sportswear brand has managed to establish its image as a strong brand in everyoneâs eyes (Perception).
Nike Tiger Woods Endorsement
This is the result of a constant and deliberate process of practising constantly. However, celebrity endorsements are just a part of the process doesnât mean it is a small part. It plays a big important part in branding.
There are several benchmarks/checkpoints that need to be looked at before organising endorsements. Here we list them, before any brand signs on a celebrity, they should consider three main aspects.
Pleasing Index of the Celebrity
It is a valid question to ask about the phrase âpleasing indexâ. It is the index/scale on which the celebrity is pleasing to the general audience and the targeted audience. It is important that the celebrity is somewhat attractive to the audience. Pleasing/attractiveness here doesnât mean the look, it is more of intellectual capabilities, athletic and physical appearance and lifestyle.
This point states that a positive attraction index will impact the audience in a positive manner and eventually push the whole endorsement to the positive side. The endorser has to appear attractive to the audience and should meet the basic criteria that the brand strives to fulfil. That is the reason why most of Nikeâs brand endorsements are with athletes. The compatibility enhances and extends the endorsementâs stretch.
The Believability of the Endorser
It is of importance that the celebrity with which the brand is collaborating is credible. The person has to have some sort of social value in the society, often known as âtrustâ.
If the endorser is trustworthy, he/she makes the recipe for a perfect endorsement. Trust here is the public perceived expertise and trustworthiness of the celeb. Thus, the personal credibility of the endorser is crucial for the campaign.
Credibility eventually transforms into another form of social force. This special force can influence the viewers to take some effort and buy products. For example, Nike did something similar due to its endorserâs credibility criteria. When Oscar Pistoriusâs credibility began derailing, it ended the endorsement contract with him in 2013. He was then accused of premeditated murder. This severely damaged his trustworthiness or social credibility.
Overall Relationship with the brand
Easy before the endorsement process is even started, there has to be some rapport with the endorser. A brand can’t just come out of the blue and create a comfortable relationship with a celebrity.
Only when both the parties communicate enough and have some level of understanding, the campaign goes well. The whole collaboration heavily depends on the compatibility scale of the brand-celebrity relationship.
More than one dynamic of the campaign has to do with the overall relationship with the brand. Terms of identity, positioning and personality in the market affects the efforts and the outcomes in the market. This eventually will result in a fertile land on which further communication and relation build.
These were the three most notable sorts of dynamics that resulted in a successful endorsement. However, there can be more than just these depending on the demands of the brandâs product-market fit. It is specifically hard to find a celeb that particularly fulfils all these demands. It is specifically hard because celebrities are all different in nature and credibility in their own communities.
All brands however should lookout for a long term outlook and brand building rather than a short term solution to revenue. Here we are listing some dos and don’ts that help in maintaining a good brand presence over a long period of time. Let us see what are these touchpoints.
As we discussed previously, celebrity endorsements are just a part of the bigger picture of branding. Branding is just a repetition of great marketing tactics.
In the long term horizon, a company should help and build a long term relationship with the celebrity with whom they are working. This ensures more rapid progress in the process of branding. And it also helps businesses reach greater heights in the long view.
Consistent scanning
Taking forward the point earlier, it is important to think long term. It should not be the case that a brand partner with a celebrity and leaves it there. It has to constantly monitor the behaviour and public image of the endorser.
The reason is that a slight effect on the endorserâs image will affect the productâs image in the eyes of the public. It is one of the most effective ways to damage control if any. Not only that, it works in other directions too. An improvement on the endorser’s image will probably benefit the product demand too.
Keep looking
If you are a brand, you should not nest in one endorserâs home. Keep looking and keep tracking down new influencers and celebrities. It will be a win-win situation for both the brand and the celebrity. It will also help control and cut down prices too. As established celebrities already have a high price tag companies should not rest with one of the top influencers.
It is more important to think in longer terms with the brand and then make goals for it. It will result in a more solid brand building. Now it is time to move to the next and probably the main focus of the article. We will discuss various modes and methods of brand endorsements.
When we talk about brand endorsements, there are many sorts. It is all about the partnership and knowing what can happen. Knowing whatâs possible, will help you get more clarity in a brand endorsement. As a brand, knowing whatâs possible will help you predict market outcomes in some probability. That is half the battle won. So, donât be afraid of thinking out of the box, as soon as you are adding value, you are open to experiments.
Affiliate partnerships
The word can be quite new to many but it is not really a rarity these days. Affiliate marketing refers to the most basic and commonly seen partnerships that happen in the digital era. It is simply a partnership between the brand and the endorser to share some percentages of profit that is generated by a link or a discount code that the influencer has shared with its audience.
Kylie Jenner Endorsing Daniel Wellington
This is a very good source of revenue for established celebrities. A brand gets an already built market for their products who sign up with the links that are shared by the celebrity.
It is easy for the brand to share a specific link (or a discount code) with the celebrity. It becomes easy to track the number of clicks and signups and thus, payments are smooth. It is fast, smooth and reliable, which makes it the recipe for a great endorsement.
Guest work
Brands that work extensively on content creation, are the ones pursuing guests. A guest can be a celebrity that appears in a work of the brand, a piece of content or sometimes when he/she writes a blog about the work.
It is always enriching to have a person on the set of content and it provides so much value (in terms of content). This also provides good exposure and brand association to the celebrity/influencer.
There are plenty of examples. Netflix is the industry expert in guest works departments. Netflix is super sensitive to content and in building relationships/partnerships with celebrities and influencers. Bumble, Tinder and new-age companies can always be seen featuring guests. It can also be seen in the Ranveer Allahbadia podcast or the Raj Shamani podcast.
Re-sharing something
Sometimes what brands do is simply re-share or forward what a celebrity created. It can be an image that someone created, it can be any sort of piece of content that someone created.
This method works well when done right. Sometimes more than often, a content creator or an expert has a better thing to show to the audience than the brand itself. So, brands use that for endorsements.
Sometimes brands do that re-sharing or the re-tweet without asking which become a copyright violation but most of the time, it is duly named with credits. The method works most of the time because an influencer is most of the time creative and a lot more engaging than a brand’s studio created content assets.
Gifts with Endorsement terms
âThere is no free lunch”, this quote holds true for this one. Sometimes brands give their products to influencers for free. Well, the product is not completely free, it comes with some terms. The terms simply claim that the influencer has to open the product for their audience. It creates the needed exposure for the product in front of the influencer generated audience.
This method of gifting products to influencers is more than normal for every beauty brand. This is popular in these products as this provides good exposure to the audience. The best influencers for these are the beautiful ladies of the internet. The workings of the model can be different. Brands can send products to a lot of influencers and wait for posts, or they can also negotiate with someone for a specific online post.
Tours and trips
This is another mostly seen sort of endorsement. You don’t normally see Bhuvan Bam travelling to Spain to meet the cast of âMoney Heistâ. It is obviously paid and sponsored by Netflix. This is exactly what we want to call out in this model of endorsements.
Bhuvan Bam Money Heist Promotion
So to promote something, brands can often do this, that is to take some famous person for a ride-related to their product/service. These are less common than the standard paid post, as theyâre expensive and it is hard to take both the influencer and the product on the same page.
You donât get to see Ashish Chanchalani promoting Marvel movies on their first show of the first day (Well, you do). Marvel does that, Sony does that and it is what it is. Everyone wants to see their favourite reelers and you tubers in more relatable situations. In this consumer want, Brands like Netflix capitalise and induce some demand for their content too. Thus, a win-win situation for everyone.
Social takeovers
It is a model in which an influencer takes control of the brandâs social media handles for some time. Youâve seen it many times, the time frame can be a day at most times.
During that one day, they create quite a lot of ruffles/ripples on the brandâs page. Which makes the page more intuitive and engagement starts jumping. People follow and join those pages to see their favourite person doing some cool stuff on the page. It helps in getting more engagement and getting more people to follow and interact with brand posts.
Giveaways
You must have participated in one of these sorts of giveaways yourself. A brand often does this, they partner with some influencer to give away free products. The terms and conditions for most of these giveaways are simply that all the participants should follow, like or share the brandâs channel. This is easily seen in standalone influencers and brands. Technical Guruji does that, Beebom (Tech content creator) does that and examples include a lot more.
The chance of winning is very minute on a large scale in the online world but people like to take the chance to win something for free. The hype is boosted more when some flagship device/product is the prize, like the latest smartphone or any new tech gizmo. Brands get a lot of engagement from these minute probable events with influencers.
Pure Endorsement
This is the purest form of brand endorsement. It is well known and it happens more than you think it happens. It is simply the model when a brand pays a creator an influencer or a celebrity to post something specific. That something specific can be a post, a video or any sort of content that aligns with what the brand wants.
Bhuvan Bam BoAt Promotion
Every brand that wants to build some online engagements has done this on one point or the other. They purely endorse the product with the help of the influencer and get their product listed. From locally grown bands to international brands, all rely on these pure forms of endorsements.
Social Events
Brands can host a social event and can endorse their work via that place or an influencer. A brand can invite some guest host who is also an influencer and through that, they can promote the product or service.
YouTube used to do events like these before the pandemic hit and it used to invite creators to make it a star-studded event. With this social event mask on, brands can promote or market their products to the public. There can be sponsors, content supporters and content creators who can charge for these events.
Traditional Advertisements
Then comes a different model that is some sort of a hybrid of influencer endorsement and traditional commercials. This model tries to capture more audiences by adding two differentiating factors. One factor is the influencer or the celebrity and the other factor is traditional media.
You can recall these too, remember Bhuvan Bam and the Pizza Hut advertisement. These are hybrid models that didnât exist before but you know that there has to be some first time. In this new world where technology is the new normal, marketers also are trying to snap new methods of promotions.
How to Create a Successful Partnership with Celebrity?
It is highly crucial that a partnership between a brand and a content creator or a celebrity has to be even. Even then, sometimes the relationship can prove to be bitter. It is important to keep in check the relationship and set some boundaries on every turn.
A content creator may be able to create amazing and engaging content but not be able to influence their following to take a certain action. The brand has to choose well and keep the partnership working. Let us see how a brand can take advantage of the partnership between itself and the endorser.
The sales and revenue are hugely dependent on the consumer’s psychology, content creators have to just act as a catalyst. With that being said, a celebrity is just a direction sign, a brand should expect accordingly with that. There are however some questions to ask yourself as a brand that helps you find the right endorser.
The first is to know that the content creator or the influencer is able to create/build and influence a section of the audience. What is the relationship between the influencer and his/her audience? Is the relationship strong?
The second is to know the budget of your campaign. It is about knowing in perfect terms how you are going to reimburse the celebrity or the endorser. It can depend heavily on which model the brand is pursuing its promotions.
The next question is to know about its authenticity. You have to make the conversation about the product look very authentic. It should not look scripted or staged, in the online world. It is hard to be authentic.
It is to be noted that Generation Z hates direct advertisements. It is a total red flag for these young people. Thus, conversations about a product have to look appealing and obviously authentic to the viewers.
When you find some content creator aka a celebrity, it is easy to build relations with them. Your brand can benefit largely from these relations in the short term as well as in the long term. It is however advisable to make the reaction long term as everything gets better in a long horizon in economics.
When a celebrity or an influencer acts as a spokesperson for a brand, it adds a lot of audience to the product. It is then on the customers to pay or not pay heed to these product promotions.
A celebrity endorsement helps in garnering a bigger audience by using a celebrity face for the campaign. In this method, we discussed that the influencing person lends his/her personality, status to the brand.
There are many checkpoints that need to be checked. The conversation should be authentic and organic, too much drama will kill the attention. The celebrity should be relatable with the audience, or I should say âvibeâ with the viewers.
There are many dynamics at place but if done right with optimum usage of work, it can do wonders and signups. A creative-authentic celebrity and a product conscious brand are all the ingredients that make an endorsement a perfect recipe.
FAQ
What are the types of celebrity endorsements?
Affiliate marketing, Giveaway, Social media takeover and Traditional Advertisements are types of celebrity endorsements.
How do celebrities endorse products?
Celebrities appear in commercials of the brand or promote the product on social media platforms.
How does celebrity endorsement help a business?
Celebrity endorsements build the credibility of the brand among consumers and increase brand awareness.
How many times have you heard people say, âreading is a good habitâ? A million times, probably more than that. You go to the internet and you see people reading books. Â The top one percent of people in the world are all voracious readers. You see the internet brimming with bibliophiles saying âhey, I read 37 books this year. Your friends reference some blogs and you forget to read them later. I mean just have a look at your unread bookmarks, you will feel careless. This poses a question, do we still like to read?
It’s 2022 and the world is digitalised. We are in a pandemic and probably the alone-est. Alone is not scary, lonely is. The past two years have been the time when people are rethinking everything, from hobbies to careers. Many are changing things, shifting jobs, and inculcating more habits. Many are looking towards reading as a new hobby. When everything is digitalised, books are too, packing their bags. Let us discuss digital reading and blogs, eventually, we will try to ascertain if people still like to read blogs.
In February 2018, something awe-striking happened. Elon Muskâs rocket left the atmospheric layers of earth and got into space. It was loaded with a car (A cherry red Tesla). The driver was a mannequin, dressed in a spacesuit. Amazing right?
Not just the mannequin and the car were launched in space but there was one more interesting thing that went on a trip. In the glove box of the car, a copy of Isaac Asimovâs Foundation book series was placed. These were the series of books that ignited Elonâs curiosity in science and space travel.
Books and Reading
A pen might be mightier than a sword but a book is what I like to call the mightiest. With this being said, what is so cool about books and reading?
Well, in the past it was hard to make a book, as there was no printing press. Then came a smart human, Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the printing press. Books printing started to take off. People were shocked and in awe because that was the latest tech by that time.
A collection of pages, which had knowledge in them. Reading became a mass hit. It became a sign of intelligence too. Itâs been more than five hundred years since the invention of the printing press, but books are still a hit, still, a sign of intelligence and still have a lot of âmightâ left in them. However, other things have changed. We, human civilization, have found a gemstone of a thing.
We have advanced technology to an extent when books seem a little old. The world is hyper-connected via the internet and the surrounding technology. Now information travels much faster than light. The current generation doesnât like slow things. We need things fast.
Why is Reading Good? (Benefits of Reading Books)
Why is there so much hype about reading? Why do people boast about the number of books that they have read in a year? These can be some of the questions that can occur in your mind. This part of the article targets that specifically. Let us see how reading is good and what can it add to someoneâs life.
Reading is an amazing habit to build and can do wonders for multiple reasons. Reading is a great exercise for your brain, it is entertainment (Not joking), it improves vocabulary and then your understanding. There is even more, reading improves sleep quality (We have all been there), reading is motivational and reduces stress. Let us see some benefits that really cannot be ignored.
Brain Exercise
You go to a gym and you run on a treadmill and you do some other workouts. This is physical fitness. The brain needs fitness too, otherwise, it will not be able to balance out things for you. Reading is a mental exercise or a workout for the brain. It is very hard to read without thinking and when you think, that is what we call a mental exercise. It is running a mile in the fields of thoughts. Good for brain health. The habit has been shown to reduce stress, boost brain functioning and even improve empathy
Enhances vocabulary
Reading books in a language that you donât understand (completely) is also beneficial. For Indians who know mostly Hindi, reading in their second language will make them more strong in vocabulary.
Not only in a secondary language, reading in any language makes you a more aware person. When you are good with words and vocabulary of many sorts, you will see one more upgrade to yourself.
You will begin explaining and expressing yourself a lot more easily. It becomes a path in thinking better. Anyone who has been a walker on the path to clear thinking has done marvellous things in life. Just saying, you could be the next.
âRead what you love, until you love to readâ – Naval Ravikant.
A very smart person (Naval) once said that one should read what he/she loves until he/she loves to read. This is so profound that I probably will fail to explain it in my words. Naval is often seen acting as an advocate for reading books and he too reads voraciously. It is just about love and not social pressure. It is pure curiosity that drives someone to read about something.
There is also a saying about reading. It goes like âReading can seriously damage your ignoranceâ. It is so true, reading a book is doing actions without doing actions. It is a path to the authorâs mind. You can live someone elseâs life for some time with this instrument.
It is, however, changing, as technology covers the whole world. Let us see how technology has affected reading and knowledge.
How Reading Changed From Books to Blogs in the 21st Century
What is that one word that can aptly describe the twenty-first century? Obviously, the word would be technology. It has made things faster and more convenient than ever. This is literally magic that we have created. Humans love it so much. It has definitely changed not just reading habits but overall everything.
With everything being so fast, it is super hard to concentrate. The reason is, that concentration requires patience, something that we have lost long. We are now a generation of TLDR, or âToo long didnât readâ. We donât read enough, as it is slow and thus, hard. We now talk less, text more read less, speak more.
Books as a source of knowledge have become quite obsolete. It has now become more efficient with the help of the internet. The transfer has become smarter and it now comes with a wider spread. Knowledge has shifted to the online medium.
People can study everything that they ever wanted. There is literally almost nothing that they cannot read about online. There are blogs, articles like this one and a lot more. There are specific websites that make writing posting and publishing easy. There are endless possibilities and shapes that âwritingâ online can take. One famous example of it is blogs.
Blogs can be a formal word for many but it is one of the most common things that we see. A blog is a collection of articles that aims to provide some information to the audience. Like this one, StartupTalky is a collection of a lot of articles. It has insights, personalities and much more to cater to a wide audience that wants to read and know about startups. This is just one small example but there can be a lot more attached to it. There can be blogs about recipes, fitness and nutrition, travel diaries and the possibilities reach near to infinity.
Why People Don’t Like to Read Anymore?
We have had enough of talking about why reading is super cool and how it has changed over the years. There is still one more thing to know. It is probably the most important thing to discuss in this article. Here, we will see why people donât read. Why is it hard to read books, and are people still reading blogs?
We live in a world of endless leverage. One has a lot of things that one can create and we as an audience have a lot of options to watch from. In fact, we have the most options ever in the history of humanity. Then why is it that, most are scared of reading and try to hide from long-form texts? Do we still read blogs and websites?
Reading is hard
In this world where everyone wants faster and faster Google results, reading is slow. It is not just slow, it is painfully slow. Taking into notice the mini attention spans that we all have, reading is super difficult.
We are mostly accustomed to getting faster results on Google, and texts and videos on the internet. According to a report, about 85 percent of the users on YouTube play videos at a speed of about 1.5 times the normal.
We want things fast and looking at that aspect of our behaviour, internet companies give us fast things. These fast solutions and entertainment makes it hard to look at reading and thus, makes it difficult to pursue.
Reading is slow
After we notice that our attention spans are less or tiny, we might think that they are the problem but that is not true. However, it is an issue in reading but there is another aspect that makes the problem look bigger.
Reading is a slow process. Not only that, reading is painfully slow. It hurts your patience if you try to read every word and every page of a book or a blog or just about anything. That pain is not bearable to most humans and thus they say, reading is hard. But as they say, nothing significant comes without pain and suffering, applies here too.
If given a choice on reading a book, or watching a lecture, most people would choose the latter one. The reason is simply that a lecture by a teacher or a video lesson on YouTube is much more intuitive than a book. The fact that there are multiple and many alternatives to reading, makes reading a book hard work. It is also seen on the grounds of efficiency. Reading a book or a blog is probably not the best way to learn, as there are many faster ways available out there.
In a time when the creator economy is flourishing and has reached an all-time high, there is a lot of content out there too. Now you can just watch a YouTube video, buy a course online which has video lectures and can learn faster than a book. This is more efficient in many aspects. Saves time and well, time is the most valuable asset.
Mention blogging in these times of mini attention spans and they will probably laugh at you. They will mention that âBro, no one reads a blogâ, it’s an old sport. Go watch some YouTube. Those words can hurt you and this article will do a little harm too. There is no lie in the above statement but the statement has some sort of hidden statistics. And numbers donât lie. Obviously, there are more views on YouTube than blogs. In fact, views on YouTube are probably a million times more than those on blogs.
Here we are dividing timelines into three different categories. It is the bingeing of the internet spread. With internet speed all over the world, blogs became a very cool trend. Then came the time of faster internet and social media, which hurt blog reading and views. The third phase is the current phase, which you probably know more than us. Let us use this analogy to get to know about blogs. Specifically the beginning of blogs.
In the past, there were a lot of people waiting online and typing more for their blogs than texting with random strangers. There were famous personal blogs in history. Not long ago but considering the speed of the internet, It was probably in the times of 2G. When YouTube used to buffer and reading was a lucrative option. That was the time when blogging at a personal scale used to be some hot thing. People used to look at it as a personal online diary. Note that, people mostly feel safe online than offline in terms of sharing emotions. It was the golden era of the blogging industry.
Then came the social media era when people started using them a lot. Social media added the benefits of a personal diary with friends and family. It was an instant hit. This marked quite the beginning of short-form content which spread like wildfire.
Buffering became history and 3G covered the world. It was the time of faster internet, faster results and the beginning of the short form and easy readings, Blogs were definitely hurt.
Then was another hit in the tech world. The fourth generation of the internet has hit the world. This was fast, speedy and could cover long areas, and even the world. The word spread, the 4G spread.
YouTube buffering vanished, social media upgraded with never seen before gear. Social media was now more capable than ever to hold more attention than ever. Short-form content took over the whole world and amassed the most number of views. Made some YouTubers super-rich. Blogs were traumatised.
In a sense, that second-generation (part) of bloggers still exists, but most lifestyle bloggers are realising that they need to step up their game. That is the only way they can convince their readers to stay interested.
Most people would not want to spend their time reading through a big blog that is full of âwhat I did todayâ type content. So personal blogs are becoming less of a thing every day. They have to see through the demands and that is how they can see where they are standing in the readability line. This will fetch them more views and can even offer better retention. But, and I say the BUT in capitals. There is hope and light here too.
While people are realising that their attention spans are deteriorating, they are swiping right at the idea of reading. Reading blogs, books and anything that intrigues them on the internet.
Yes, it is true that people donât generally get excited to open their phones and read about their bookmarked blogs. But it is not 100% true either. Retention of a blog can be the worst if not managed well. It can get lost in a heavy stream of information that is flowing online. Â
To make people read your blogs, one can do a lot of things on his/her blogs. You can create YouTube videos that will help aid and air your blog. You can start multiple social media accounts to have some sort of diversification in your online journey.
You might think that Facebook (Now Meta)is old and gone, then you are wrong. It is one of the biggest social media ever created and thus, can help you garner an audience. You can do ads, or online shows and join or create some Facebook group that can help find further potential readers.
The next point is a very easy looking thing to do. It is hard by the way. The advice is to write skiable content. You can write to the point answers and avoid beating around the bushes. This will help most retention and even quench the thirst for quick readers which will eventually multiply your user base.
The one word to the question do people still read blogs is simply a yes. Yes, people do read blogs and they even read many blogs multiple times a day. You just have to create that blog that people read. Be more reader focussed than writer focused. Ranking matters a lot, as it increases visibility. With increased visibility, viewers and readers can increase extensively and invariably.
Conclusion
As we discussed, blogging as a daily soap has been reduced to a very less scale. It is not even scalable. Lifestyle bloggers have been hit the most. It is however not true that people donât read blogs. They do and they even read that multiple times a day. This might be a shocking fact but it is true even in this generation of readers. However, to run a successful blog, a blogger has to look out for many factors.
If one format is not working or is not fetching many views, then it’s time to upgrade, update or whatever it takes to improve retention. Most people donât really search for a specific blog and read it, most of the readers stumble upon some blogs and they continue to read or not.
If they do, it is because the readability of the blog is excellent. There are multiple options to entertain ourselves today, why should one choose a blog. That is a lesson in there, improve readability to improve readability. True for people, true for blogs.
FAQ
What has replaced blogging?
Social media, short video and streaming platforms have replaced blogging.
Why do most bloggers fail?
Most bloggers fail to create content that engages the bloggers to read more as the attention spans of people are deteriorating.
Do personal blogs make money?
If you provide your readers with quality content that they won’t find on any other blogs and run ads on your blog you can earn a decent amount of money from blogging.
Remember the first time a baby held your finger with the whole of their hand? Or smelling your favourite flower? Take the intoxicating fragrance of lilies, or perhaps the sweet smell of a rose. How about the sour candies? The shooting, tingling sensations they send in your mouth. A trip to a fare and sitting on the Ferris wheel? And feeling on top of the world, the adrenaline rush when it goes down?
The feeling is difficult to shake off and forget, isn’t it? You will never forget the impact these experiences have on your memory. We are going to talk about something similar to that used by brands to leave an impression on consumers minds, experiential marketing.
Introduction and History of Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing is also called engagement marketing, live marketing, or participation marketing. Experiential marketing is a lot about how you connect & build connections with your customers. Develop immersive experiences in the offline world to engage the audience with your brand.
Two companies Wrigley’s and Cracker Jack are credited with creating experiential marketing in the early 20th century. In Chicago World’s Fair back in 1893. Even though experiential marketing is sometimes similar to guerrilla marketing, event marketing, and even influencer marketing. However, it is not any of these. Although elements of those above might have been incorporated into the experiential marketing strategy itself.ââ
Benefits of Experiential Marketing
Of course, there are a hundred different ways to market your products and services and get your message across. In cultivating business opportunities, experiential marketing achieves two goals with one arrow. When you utilize experiential marketing, you showcase the features and benefits of your products and services, as well as leave a lasting impression on your customers.
Experiential marketing employs different tactics to immerse your consumers with your product, services, or your brand while fostering emotional connections with them. This results in high brand recall/recognition, customer loyalty, and increased goodwill for the brand.ââ
There is Two-way communication
Unlike other marketing techniques, you may send an email, use social media, or make a TVC (television commercial), to sell your product/ service. Note that it merely involves you sending your message across to achieve your goal, but it does not allow your target audience to engage or interact with your brand. Experiential marketing creates that space for them.ââ
It Leaves Every Person with a Different Kind of Experience
For example, let us assume a company that manufactures cars is offering a test drive around a specified area of the range. Now, every person who will sit in the car and drive around will come out with a completely different kind of experience. Besides, they will get to know the features of the product that you are selling. Some may feel enthralled, enjoyable, excited, pleased, etc. Remember: feelings can also be negative, so try to create a positive experience for your audience.ââ
You align your brand’s personality with the experience
If your brand is associated with spreading happiness around people, what would you do to convey that perceived image of your brand to the audience? Experiential marketing is about giving your target audience a truly memorable experience. This will enable them to keep your product/services at the top of their minds and associate your brand with a particular experience.ââ
In fact, it may seem common for many brands to turn to celebrities or influencers for their campaigns that involve experiential marketing. That in turn does create a buzz, but there is a lot more than that to experiential marketing.
Experiential marketing, as mentioned above, involves two-way communication. So even if it involves a concert, creating a photo booth, or a billboard, it will end after a while. But the impression that experiential marketing leaves do not just go away; the audience continues to engage with it. For example, on social media, sharing the live event keeps the buzz around the event going.
Launch of a brand-new product
Even though advertisers use different mediums, billboards, video ads, magazines, etc. to market their products and services. The target audience has a low brand recall. The message is lost in the clutter. Adverts can feel like yelling, shouting, and screaming at your face when they appear all the time, though your consumers do not want to see it.
A key point of differentiation that you can build is the relationship that you have with your customers. Many established and well-known brands have strong relationships with their customers.
With experiential marketing, you can integrate the products and services of a brand with the event. Connecting to people on a personal level in an interactive, engaging way. Future partnerships can also thrive if it involves more than one brand involved in the event.
Creating positive brand associations
To strengthen your brand, have a rebound and a meaningful relationship with your customers. It helps and makes it easier to foster relationships with your customers.
With experiential marketing, conversations flow more naturally around your brand. It magically makes the process of marketing your brand out there feel less like marketing with two-way communication.
Increase brand awareness
An experiential marketing strategy involves you pulling something completely out of the box. This puts your brand into the spotlight, which will catch the attention of your audience as well as the media. With that, it establishes your presence as a brand in the market. People are more likely to share an experience that they had with others through word of mouth.
Getting media coverage
You need to pay to get coverage from the media. But if done correctly, experiential marketing can get you the media coverage without investing in it and drive PR (Public Relations) too. On a side note, it is believed that you need a high budget to bring your experiential marketing strategy to life. That does not have to be necessarily true. It is possible to score big even on a decent budget, with a unique message and a striking idea.
Dive deeper to build meaningful and emotional connections for brand loyalty
In the clutter of a thousand different products. Ad agencies make it a point to make ads that will help your audience recall your brand. The more time you spend engaging with something significant, the higher the probability that your audience will build a meaningful connection with your brand and even a long-term relationship. With this strategy, retention gradually increases. You have the chance to build meaningful connections that can increase loyalty towards your brand.
Elevate brands profile
It builds a strong affinity for your brand and your products. Conversions become easier. Higher brand recall, resulting in loyalty and ultimately, sales. The benefit of experiential marketing is that it gives consumers a hands-on experience with your product. The try before they buy stage improves your credibility.
Overall, elevating your brand’s profile. And also builds goodwill, if the impact created is for the greater good of the community in any way.
Immersive live events like concerts, engaging audiences into fun engaging activities like photo booths, demo zones, polls, samplings, virtual and augmented reality-based events, and much more.
There is no set definition of what one may or may not do. As long as you are giving your target audience an experience to remember or that involves engaging with their five senses, it counts as experiential marketing.
âExperiential has been moving towards becoming a mainstream marketing platform. We are all bombarded with messages all the time, but the most powerful way a marketer can communicate to their target audience is by getting them to remember something, by doing it face to face and creating an experience that the consumer wants to be part of and wants to pass on to other people.â – Stuart Bradbury
Examples of Experiential Marketing
As everyone knows, Coca-Cola is the fastest growing FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brand and one of the world’s most valuable brands. The brand focuses on how their brand makes people feel. It has not restricted itself to manufacturing carbonated drinks, but also sells non-carbonated drinks.
Under its brand profile, it has many other brands. Coca-Cola has a multi-branding strategy and is an expert at employing experiential marketing strategies to sell Coke. Let’s further dissect their campaigns to understand the tactics of experiential marketing better.
The small world machines
Cokes Small World Vending Machines Campaign
Erasing the barriers of hate and the perceived image of being enemies between the two nations of India and Pakistan. Coke, back in 2013, made a powerful campaign with a lasting impact on audiences residing in Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. The idea was to connect people through gestures. They included making positive symbols, like peace, love, and happiness, and even dancing with a shared can of Coke.
The results? In the end, you could see how their perspectives on each other changed, breaking the barriers and spreading the happiness that brought them together. In addition, it includes the indulgence of the five senses, leaving an impression.
Share a white Christmas
Shared a White Christmas campaign made by Ogilvy Asia for the brand Coke
This campaign makes a lasting impact on the target audience in both locations. By creating a positive image of the brand, the brand creates a perceived image of spreading happiness. The vending machines were installed in Finland and Singapore. Experiencing snow for the first time is something no one can forget, especially kids playing with it. Keep in mind that Singapore does not get any snow.
The Ogilvy Asia agency created a memorable strategy that no one could forget. Through the vending machines that were set up, more than 800,000 people interacted face to face. Along with the children, the adults also shared feelings of joy, excitement, and playfulness. Sharing a bottle of Coca-Cola and snow.
With this campaign, not only did Coke erase the boundaries that exist between the two countries, but it also showed us how globalization has changed the realm of experiential marketing. This has changed the meaning of connectivity over time.
Truck around Christmas
Coca-Colas Iconic truck
The company pulled up another brilliant idea by giving an unforgettable experience as part of its experiential marketing strategy. The marketing team came up with the idea to offer the chance of a night stay in Coca-Cola’s iconic truck during Christmas. Which came with a special playlist curated around the theme of Christmas, festive films and stockings full of gifts and presents. With loads of twinkly lights and a treat to Christmas dinner for the festive fans.
In fact, the famous truck has been a part of Christmas culture in the United Kingdom since 1995, when it was created by the W.B. Doner agency. Level up and learn experiential marketing from the masters themselves.
Things You Should Know Before Implementing Experiential Marketing
Use experiential marketing to leave a mark. This is done with an experience that aligns with how you want them to feel about your brand. If done effectively, the aim of a higher conversion rate can be achieved.
Get creative with your experiential marketing strategy to leave an impact and memory like none other. Remember that experiences bind us globally, so do not look at the people who buy your product/services as customers but as humans.
Experiential marketing strategies can be employed for higher ROI (Return of interest) The data obtained from the feedback given by your customers can be used to make your brand and your product better. Think like your customers and give them the experience that they want.
Marketing does not necessarily have to consist of simply sending your message across. You can make it fun and creative by engaging and interacting with your audience. Many brands have created heartwarming, touching, and successful campaigns that have produced a positive impact on average budgets. So, it is not necessary to have a high-end budget to create a campaign around experiential marketing.
Build a campaign that engages all the five or multiple senses of your target audience with experiential marketing. Additionally, you can offer your consumers the opportunity to try your products.
Create a positive experience for your target audience so that your audience can perceive you as such.
Test the idea for your experiential marketing campaign on a small group. Determine if it works. It will help that the campaign does not backfire and that damage can be prevented. You can also use focus groups.
Establish and define the objectives and results that you want to achieve.
Integrate experiential marketing with storytelling.
Conclusion
Experiential marketing strategies are the most effective yet overlooked when creating campaigns. They help you make meaningful and emotional connections with your customers. And create long-lasting relationships. It is more based on how your products/ services or you as a brand make them feel. Unlike traditional experiential marketing, it is authentic and elevates your brand’s profile when done correctly.
FAQ
What is an example of experiential marketing?
A great example of experiential marketing is Coca cola’s small world machines campaign.
What is the goal of experiential marketing?
To generate a buzz around your brand, launch a new product or service, and increase brand awareness.
What are the benefits of experiential marketing?
It leaves the customers with a positive experience, Consumers have a higher brand recall, and it increases brand awareness are some of the benefits of experiential marketing.
With the advent of globalization, there has been a massive growth in the import business of our country. Moreover, there is no denying that it is one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world. For the unversed, consumers are the ones who drive the economies including the production, marketing, and distribution.
People in India are crazy about imported items. So, it becomes a lucrative business option for many aspiring entrepreneurs. There is no denying that you can earn whopping amounts by doing import business. But how well do you know India’s import business? We have curated some facts below for you to brush up on your knowledge.
The production scale in India has also gone up in the past few decades. It is because Indian goods have a great demand in the foreign market. That is why more goods and services are exported to other countries at present times. The result of these exports is an increase in income generation and foreign exchange. This, in turn, helps the Indian economy to grow further.
Now, keeping this in mind, some of you might have planned to start an import business of your own. However, before diving in, you must understand that this business has its own set of challenges that you will have to face in the course of time. You need to familiarize yourself with everything including the guidelines, rules, and regulations to properly govern import business. Moreover, information about the same is scanty, so you need to be careful when investigating the same. So, Here’s a complete guide on how to start an import business in India in 2022.
Consumersâ demands are increasing daily in todayâs world. So, the imports help bridge the gap between domestic supply and domestic demand.
All about quality
There is no denying that imported goods are of better quality as compared to domestic goods. So, the consumers who can afford the product will always go for imported goods.
Cheaper price
In some cases, the imported goods come at a much cheaper price. The reason behind this is the larger production capacity of the foreign producer as compared to domestic producers.
A Complete Guide to Starting an Import Business in India
Select a Business Model
You need to choose the most effective business model for your franchise. It is important for you to select the business entity that you want to work on in the future. It will help you decide the financial expenses, manpower, and other factors required to start the business.
Final documentation process
You must settle the final documentation before beginning the business. Right from a PAN card to a trade license – you must make note of everything to avoid last-minute hassles or issues. It is necessary for businessmen to possess every legal document required for their business.
Compliance with rules
You must be aware of the rules and compliances associated with import business. Guidelines are a way of making people comply with the law and order. Once you are well-versed with the same, you can start your business smoothly.
Shipping the order
You need to ship your first order as soon as possible to get the business off the ground. Making connections with other dealers is another way of moving a step further to flourishing your import business.
Navigation of the business
You need to know effectively about learning to grow and navigate your business. You can take assistance from learned professionals or experienced persons in this regard. The mentorship and guidance that you will get from these people will help you discover a better version of yourself.
Pan Card is a Must
A PAN card is one of the most important documents that you need to possess when doing business. You must have a valid identity and address proof for all transactions and verifications. It is mandatory for everyone involved in businesses to apply for a PAN card at the Income Tax department in India.
Choose the Type of Business Entity
You need to choose the type of business entity you want to be a part of in the future. In this case, you need to choose from company types like LLP, private limited, partnership firm, and more. Your decision will depend on the structure of ownership of the said business. Also, do not forget to choose a unique name for your business entity.
Open a Current Account at the Bank
You must open a current account at the bank which will be used as your business account for all future purposes. This particular account is always used by business entities in the bank. Moreover, you will always need a current account to deal with other businesses or vendors.
Get the IEC and DGFT
You should also not forget about getting the Import Export Code (IEC). The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issues this unique registration code for all businesses. Moreover, you also need to produce various supporting documents with the same.
Choose the Right Product or Service
You must make sure to choose the correct product or service that suits your business needs. You need to keep various factors in mind when doing the same. It includes profitability, trade barriers, demand for the product, etc.
Find the Perfect Market and Buyers
You need to find the perfect market and buyers to sell your products or services at reliable profits. You should select your buyer only after having decided on the product and the market for the same.
Make sure your Finances are in Place
You also need to ensure that your finances are in place to help your business prosper further. Businesses are unlikely to take off without initial funding. So, make sure you estimate your business’s financial requirements before starting with anything else.
Import business has a great demand in India. Even the COVID-19 wave of 2020 could not dim the spirits of this business that flourished at its own pace. In fact, the country’s foreign trade relies heavily on imports. It has led the government to encourage domestic exports and manufacturing. However, India will still be dependent on imports for the long term as it is necessary for its export ambitions. So, if you are waiting to start your import business, now is the right time to do so.
FAQ
What is the best import products in India?
Jewellery and precious stones, Shoes, Perfumes, Electronics, Heavy machinery, Silk import, and Oil import are some of the best products you can import.
Which country does India import most?
China, the United States, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are some of the top countries India imports the most.
How do I find international buyers?
Visit Trade fairs and exhibitions, Approach Government bodies like Export Promotion Councils or Embassies, and Market research about companies.
ATHUL C K
