This week, I had the opportunity to think about content creation strategy for an article for Cosmopolitan India. The journalist annoyingly chose a clickbait title for the article all about how to gain followers on IG but to be frank, it’s more about how to become a content creator. There is a surge of people using social media to build a side hustle. It is never a bad idea. Using your talent and skills to showcase your work will help in so many ways. My original goal with the blog was to learn digital marketing by getting my hands dirty. It not only keeps me current with things but also becomes a portfolio of work done. Additionally, you learn skills like editing, website architecture that would otherwise not be easy to learn.

As we see new content creators popping up on almost every platform, it worries me about one thing: how brands will engage with influencers moving forward. If you are a content creator, you might have heard of these words all the time “Would you like to collaborate for a barter engagement?” This phrase used to make my blood boil. It’s essentially a request to work for free with the promise of getting free products and some minor amplification on social media — neither of which felt an equitable engagement. I do however think about this a little differently now. There is some value in unpaid engagements when done strategically and for reasons that keep you as happy as the brand. When I go about negotiating an engagement, paid or otherwise, I think of three things: 1. What is the quantum of work that is needed to make this project successful? 2. What is the product I am promoting? Does it add value to my workflow today or is it just another brand promotion. 3. Am I engaging with the brand directly or an agency?

The first question is easy to answer, the more the deliverables the more the cost of the engagements. For barter engagements, I tend to keep costs and time allocated low. Today, this means 2-3 stories and that’s it. The content I write will be my own and I will never talk in the same brand language as prescribed because that makes the content a lot more advertorial than I like for it to be. The second one is interesting. Products can define how you engage with brands. For example, if a technology company wants to send me a studio light in lieu for content, I would be happy to do that because that’s a thing I would have to invest for through my revenue that now I get in lieu for my time which, while quantifiable is also cheaper than the loss of running revenue. In fact, there are brands that I work with through this fashion. Pots and Pans send me a variety of products that I tend to showcase on my feed all the time. Given that it is a cooking essential, my content may not be very advertorial and the brand still gets free mileage which makes such content extremely lucrative for both parties. The third question is important. If a brand is directly reaching out to you, it means that the company focus is to work with influencers through free barters. You really can’t change them much (SMBs are still a little malleable). With Agencies, I would suggest understanding who you are talking to, the brands the agency works with, and therefore build a relationship with them. They can be essential advocates for you with clients and these are the people you need to be on your side at all times. If you find value in the work the agency does and the person you are talking to you seems like someone who can get you business in the future, then go for it! All of this writing comes down to one thing: Please don’t go crazy with free brand promotions. Understand if the brand brings a deep value to the table, strictly define what you will be happy to do for barter and don’t change this expectation as you grow. The more free stuff you do, the more will be expected from the rest of us.

Snacks like these crispy chickpeas are the things I munch on while trying to solve hectic problem statements. They keep my mind focused on the problem and the repetitive movement of picking on chickpea at a time keeps my hands from fidgeting. Mid-day snacks like this are great. Small in size, big in flavour. What really makes this snack special is its ability to involve three textures at once. The obvious one is the crispy skin, the second being the soft fluffy interior akin to a teardrop size of mashed potatoes, and the raw spice mix on the top is filled with coarse cumin, chilli, and a little treat of sugar. It takes 20 minutes to make and can stay crispy in an airtight jar for up to a week! I hope you do try this and until next time, happy cooking!

Glimpses from the week

Ingredients

1 cup cooked chickpeas, Canned or made fresh both work

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 teaspoons salt

Spices

3 teaspoons of the spice mix

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp Tumeric

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 dried rosemary powder

Method

1. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 220°C

2. Pat the chickpeas very dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towels. They should look matte and feel dry to the touch; if you have time, leave them to air-dry for a few minutes. Remove any chickpea skins that come off while drying, but otherwise don’t worry about them.

3. In a bowl add oil and salt along with the chickpeas and mix well. Add to a baking tray and place it in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the chickpeas are dry to the touch and have a hark brown colour on all sides

4. While the chickpeas are in the oven, make your spice mix. The spices listed above are merely suggestions. Add spices that you like!

5. Sprinkle the spices if using over the chickpeas and stir to coat evenly. Serve while the chickpeas are still warm and crispy. They will gradually lose their crispiness as they cool, becoming addictively chewy. Served best hot and a great garnish on salads.