side hustle

The Steps You Need to Take When Marketing Cigars Online

marketing cigars online

If you’re interested in becoming an online tobacco merchant with a wide range of cigar brands and accessories available to consumers, you have to be prepared to offer quite a bit of education regarding your products and cigars in general. Investing in a comprehensive experience that’s welcoming and allows your customers to intuitively navigate through the website will pay off in the long run.

While you’ll attract customers who are already familiar with cigars, inevitably, you’ll engage with many more that are simply curious or recently attended a bachelor party or similar gathering, and are now interested in pursuing the pastime. How will they make sense of the immense variety of cigars on the market and what kind suits their taste? How do they avoid wasting untold sums of money by purchasing accessories they don’t need, or neglecting to care for their cigars properly?

Blogs

Blogs can help keep your customers abreast of the latest trends in the industry as well as fascinating history and trivia regarding cigars and tobacco. Regularly posting brief articles that educate your customers won’t only reinforce your expertise, but offer your customers further insight into the diversion they have adopted. This is an opportunity to give your customers the tools they need to develop an underlying mastery, so they begin to recognize and distinguish between the various characteristics of the tobacco.

Protocol

Introductions to cigar etiquette are essential. Many customers won’t know exactly what to do with their cigars, or they may have picked up bad habits from their friends.

Clearly lay out the importance of caring for cigars along with the techniques. Allowing them to age like a fine wine will often improve the overall enjoyment of the cigars. Explain that the cigar needs to be cut properly to enhance the experience and to keep from ruining it. Make sure they are aware of the different styles of cutters that can be used. Demonstrate how to light a cigar, keeping the flame from actually touching the cigar itself as it’s rotated, until the end is heated evenly. Warn them about the risk of the odor from cheap lighters or matches affecting the taste of the cigar so they can consider alternatives like cigar-specific lighters or wooden matches. Caution your customers not to inhale, and that the cigar will go out if they stop puffing. In fact, remind them that’s how to extinguish a cigar, by letting it go out on its own in an ashtray.

This self-service model allows consumers to peruse your site 24 hours a day to get the information they need, significantly reducing the need to contact customer service. While you may never be able to completely eliminate the resources dedicated to resolving customer inquiries, you can redirect a considerable amount of effort toward the profit centers of your business. More importantly, you’re building a relationship with your customers based on trust and service that will ensure they keep coming back to your site, and generate additional buzz through positive word of mouth.

Image Source: Pexels.

Gig Economy: Which Generation Is Doing The Gig Work?

gig economy

Recently a news report has been making the rounds about how baby boomers are the generation making the most as workers of the gig economy. However, the report was based entirely on one company’s workers. Therefore, I got curious and wanted to dig deeper into this.

Are Baby Boomers Doing Best in the Gig Economy?

The Mercury News was just one of many sources that shared the news recently that baby boomers are thriving in the gig economy. Based on this report, baby boomers:

  • Took the most gigs
  • Earned the highest ratings from customers
  • Tend to do more of the physical labor jobs rather than admin work
  • Made the most money, out-earning millennials by $200+ monthly

The information comes from Wonolo, a company that gig workers can use to find jobs. The report revealed that workers range in age from 18 – 80+.

Why Baby Boomers May Thrive as Gig Economy Workers

If it’s true that baby boomers are the generation thriving most in the gig economy, then what’s causing that? There could be a any number of reasons.

First of all, if you’re Baby Boomer age and looking for work then perhaps you’re very motivated. Maybe you lost your job recently and find it hard to get new traditional work because of persistent ageism. Or perhaps you’re struggling as you support both your adult children and your elderly parents, so you have to take on extra gigs. Either way, you’re motivated to work a lot and earn as much as possible.

However, there could be more to it than that. Some suggestions in The Mercury News article include:

  • Maturity leads to a stronger work ethic and willingness to put in the effort
  • Experience means that you’re able to do the work effectively and efficiently
  • Baby boomers as a whole may be more reliable workers
  • After working other jobs for years, they find the work particularly enjoyable, so they put in the effort
  • With more experience, they may be able to command higher prices even in the gig economy

Are More Millennials Working in the Gig Economy?

The recent report indicates that Baby Boomers are doing better than other generations in the gig economy. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they make up a majority of the side hustle workforce. CBS News reports that nearly half of all working millennials have engaged in gig work for extra income. In contrast, less than 40% of Gen X and barely more than one quarter of Baby Boomers have taken gigs.

Gig Economy Differences Between the Generations

Members of Gen Z, Gen X, Millennials, and Baby Boomers are participate in the gig economy. Therefore, the question might not be who is doing the work but rather what’s the difference between their experiences. Fortune reports on twokey findings:

  • Baby Boomers often take gig jobs for better work-family balance. In contrast, younger generations seek to make more money with gigs as a “second job.”
  • Baby Boomers are most affected by, and worried about, the lack of benefits that come with working in the gig economy.

Deloitte Insights adds some additional information:

  • Millennials in the gig economy often rely on others (such as parents) to help pay some of their expenses. Those who choose the gig economy over a traditional job (instead of in addition to it as a side income) make less than their full-time employed peers.
  • Whereas Baby Boomers tend to get physical gig jobs, millennials often get jobs in admin and the arts. That said, maintenance is also high on the millennial gig list.

It’s also important to recognize that there are many different types of gig work. Some people participate mostly in the sharing economy (driving for Lyft, for example). In contrast, others take contract work in offices or do freelance jobs. The generations may vary in their job choices as well as their reasons for joining the gig economy.

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