What does “Licensed Influencer” mean? How does it work to get this status? Could you give us 3 facts your Instagram community might not know about you? How long have you been an influencer and what are the brands you have worked with so far? What do you look for in a brand when working with them? What advice can you give to other influencers who would like to work with brands as you do? From New York to Dubai… are you currently living the life of your dreams? When and how did your new life in the Emirates begin? Follow her on Instagram @meghasingh
I did an internship when I was in engineering school and noticed that every employee at the company was uninspired so I didn’t want the same future for myself. Later, I got myself an internship at a tech startup incubator and loved the energy there, so that confirmed it was the right path for me. After engineering school, I borrowed $4000 from my dad to start a fashion ecommerce company. I spent all the money on inventory, so I had to learn how to market with zero cash. It was doing fairly well as a lifestyle business, but I learned another skill – marketing. So, I am now onto my next startup which has to do with marketing hyperlocal businesses.
If you live in UAE and accept payments/products from brands, you need to have an Influencer License. This is to ensure transparency of sponsored posts, earnings and real influence. This also means that I need to present myself in a respectable way. There are certain rules that come with this license around how you present your personal brand, example I cannot promote drinking/smoking directly or indirectly. An agency got it for me and I am an influencer with them. Some people can get it themselves, it costs about $5000 (AED 15000) and can take a few months for approval.
I spend most of my time working on my new marketing business. I think my followers think I am always out and about and traveling but the truth is I work 12 hours/day everyday (no weekends). I visit a new city every month for 2-3 days. Those are the only off days that I take every month. I dislike being called an influencer because it’s such a loosely used term and I am also a business person first.“Monetize your reach even if you have low followers. Every business has to make money. The earlier you start the process the better.”
I think I did my first sponsored post 3 years ago. It was for a Motorola International Women’s day. Since then I have worked with a lot of luxury brands like ForeverMark Diamonds.
I think it is important for me to actually like the brands that I promote. So I only choose brands/products that I personally use and love.
Well I have three advices : Create original compelling content. Don’t copy other influencers. Grow your reach EVERY DAY. Think of your personal brand as a business and increase your reach every day. Don’t just post and ghost. Monetize your reach even if you have low followers. Every business has to make money. The earlier you start the process the better.
Actually it is the other way around, from Dubai to New York. I grew up in UAE and now I live between NYC and UAE. I have only recently moved to NYC, it has barely been a few weeks. Life in UAE is amazing – incredible energy, great people, a lot of opportunities. NYC is exactly the same.Order your copy now:
