Elevator Pitch

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to start reading books. Like any other resolution, it started great. I read 2 books in the first two months, but by March, life took over and I couldn't make time for reading in my everyday schedule. I started my third book with high hopes of finishing it, but since I could only spare about 30 minutes every day, by the time I could finish a book, I would lose interest halfway or end up completely forgetting about it. When I got back to it, I would not remember a thing about what I had read. Feeling frustrated, there went my resolution... down the drain.

Giving up on the idea of reading, I moved on with my life as usual until one day, a friend of mine told me about a new book he read on Blinkist. 'Blinkist?' I asked. He told me about it, and that's when, ladies and gentlemen, a reader in me was born, and there was no looking back. Blinkist summarized 5000+ bestselling non-fiction books and podcasts that I could read or listen to and complete in just 15 minutes! I could literally finish a book on my commute from work or just before going to bed. Since they were short, it was very easy to digest the information and remember it. And I was back on track with my resolution!

Understanding the Product

What does the product solve for?

Blinkist enables users to get the key insights of any nonfiction book in just 15 min! Perfect for curious people who love to learn, busy individuals who don’t get the time to read, and even people who aren’t into reading.

What's the core value prop of the product?

More knowledge in less time

Product Selection Framework and Statistics

Understanding the User

ICP Research

ICP Prioritization

Final ICP Selection

Prioritized based on the following:

1. Ease of Adoption - Should be early adopters

2. Usage - Should have a high usage frequency

3. Appetite to Pay - Should have both the willingness and appetite to pay

4. Sizable TAM - Should be large enough / growing TAM

5. Distribution Potential - Should be easy to distribute

Based on the above prioritization framework, ICP 1, ICP3 and ICP 4 are chosen as primary ICPs

Understanding the Market

Total Addressable Market (TAM) Calculation

We are looking to target the Indian population who don't read books

Literacy rate in India is 74%

Population of India is ~ 142 Cr

Therefore, the population of literate people in India : ~ 105 Cr

Population in India who are book readers: ~ 470M

So, the TAM of non book readers in India: 105 Cr - 470M = ~58.5 Cr

References: https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/books/india#revenue

Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) Calculation

We are looking to service non-readers who want to consume easily digestible short form content and readers who don't get the time to read.

Approximately 30% of book readers in India don't get the time to read: 30% * 470M = ~ 14.1 Cr

and, 45% of non-readers want to start reading short digestible content: 45% *58.5 Cr = ~26.3 Cr

Adding the two for our SAM: 14.1 Cr + 26.3 Cr = 40.4 Cr

References: https://inc42.com/resources/indian-millennials-reading-enough/

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) Calculation

Considering the youth of India looking for TLDR content is of the age 18-35 from our SAM = 30%

30% * 40.4 Cr = ~ 13.4 Cr

References: https://inc42.com/resources/indian-millennials-reading-enough/

Acquisition Strategies

Channel Selection Framework

• Organic: Requires high effort, low flexibility and scale is medium. We wont be using organic search for fulfilling intent since people might look for book summaries online and Blinkist needs a paid subscription for people to view it. It does not make sense to work on organic channel.
• Referral: Since Blinkist is a product that gives pleasure to people wanting to read, word of mouth will help greatly in scaling it to new audiences who would need that trust factor to get themselves started.
• Paid ads: Paid channel will be high cost but very scalable within a short span
• Product integration: Product integrations may cost high, will require some effort, but will drive long term scalability + quality

Reference: https://www.similarweb.com/website/blinkist.com/#traffic-sources

Diving Into Select Channels for Acquisition

Referral

Referer's flow

Observations:

• The referral option is at the bottom of the homepage. Should have it at the top.
• No information about referral benefits
• Referral message is not personal, has a simple "Click here to try Blinkist"
• No mention of value proposition
• They have a referral tracking dashboard to track the status of the referrals sent out

Referee's flow

Observations:

• Message feels impersonal and most likely to be ignored
• No value proposition mentioned
• There's a reminder before the trial period expires, which is a good thing

How we can make Blinkist's referral strategy better

Brag-worthy Proposition

• Gain insights from books & podcasts in 15 minutes
• Get access to powerful ideas from more than 6,500 nonfiction books and podcasts
• Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations

Referrer Incentive

• Add referral reward milestones and keep increasing the stakes. For eg: First referral - 1 month extension of the plan. 5+ referrals - 1 year extension.

Platform currency

• Platform currency is extended access to the premium plan / discount for the premium plan for non-premium users

Who will we ask for referrals? (Customers who have had the AHA moment)

• Users who have finished a streak of blinks (3, 5 or 10)
• Users who are using it everyday
• Users who give 4+ star ratings

How will users discover the referral program?

• On the home page with a clear CTA and referrer incentives called out. Right now one has to scroll to the bottom of the homepage
• After the payment process for premium subscription
• A referral pop-up once the user finishes listening to a streak of blinks
• Pop-up after rating a blink with 3+ stars

How will users share their referral code?

• The referral link can be shared across Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, X and Email along with a compelling message and a link which redirects them to the website. Currently they only have the link and the option to share it on Facebook and Twitter

• Current referral message: Click here to try Blinkist free for 1 month: [link]

Suggested updated referral message

Hey <user>, I have been using Blinkist and I love it! Get 15-min summaries of bestsellers & podcasts. Use my code for 20% off on the premium membership! 📚✨ Don't miss out!

How will referees track their referrals?

Currently it shows the status of a referral sent but could include more details on what part of the funnel the referred users are currently at.

How will they see the referral landing page?

Currently the landing page does not include the product's USP and just mentions the '30 days free' incentive not giving a reason for the referee to download the app.

Paid Channel

While slightly expensive, paid campaigns can help Blinkist aggressively scale if the correct audiences are targeted. Will require a one time effort to create ad films highlighting value props and relatable instances to the right set of users.

Considering CAC:LTV > 3 we can proceed with paid channels of acquisition

Channel Selection Framework:

Audience Segment

Audience Strategy

The ads created are meant to cater to all personas. Through high impressions and reach-frequency model, we will be able to drive the core messaging to all our personas, at least 3 time.

Creative Strategy

• Break the pattern: We will adopt creative strategies that stand out from the usual posts on that platform, making users stop their scroll
• Adapt the form factor: We will ensure the creatives are of the right size for the platforms and include subtitles for videos
• Paint a problem: We will focus on the problem more than the product. In this case - Non-readers who are not able to finish a book simply because it takes too long / readers who don't have the time to read in their busy schedules.
• Show the solution: Show how Blinkist solves this problem with 15 min short blinks on 6500+ best selling non-fiction books
• Make them trust you: Collaborate with relevant influencers/celebrities. Promote video testimonials of users who love Blinkist
• Establish urgency: Promote discounts for a limited period

Distribution strategy

Static - Straight forward, value prop and CTA first

Video - Short format, light, engaging, entertaining and easy to consume. Highlights the USP

1. Highlights the desirable state of the user once he downloads Blinkist.

2. Establishes urgency and shows the user enjoying Blinkist

3. Paints a problem and offers the solution, highlighting the USP (15min read)

4. Motivates the user to check out the app, highlighting the value proposition

5. Clear mention of the value proposition

6. Highlights the current problem that users face and proposes a solution

7. Builds a sense of trust and motivation by mentioning that this how Billionaires are doing it

8. Builds trust by mentioning a loved brand

Product Integrations

Let’s Model out Product Integrations for our ICP.

Short summary of who our ICP is

• How old are they: 18-35
• Where they live: Metro and Tier 1 Cities
• What they spend on: Commute, food, travel, running the house
• What they spend their time doing: Commute, work, gym, chilling with friends and family.

We will select Uber to kick off product integration experiments for user acquisition

Uber and other ride hailing services (PWA Integration)

• Since Blinkist is a German brand, it might be easier to work with Uber than Ola/Rapido. But nonetheless, the same concept would apply to all types of ride hailing apps.
• The integration will be on Uber's flow once the user has got in the cab and given the OTP. Basically, the trip tracking screen. We will have Blinkist integrated so the user can listen to short blinks/podcasts on their commute, escaping the traffic frustration.
• Users will receive a notification/ nudge with relevant or trending blink recommendations based on the demographics, destination (location saved as work/home/public locations)
• CTA - 12min : Listen to "The Lean Startup" before you reach your destination <Razorpay office>

THAT'S A WRAP!

THANK YOU