Why India is the Next Big Market for Business-Oriented Subscription Sites

India is the next big market for subscription sites, and I’m not saying that because I’m Indian (really). According to new data released from

India is the next big market for subscription sites, and I’m not saying that because I’m Indian (really).According to new data released from The Media Briefing, India has four major factors that make it a hot, growing market for English-language publications:

  1. India has 125 million English speakers, second only to the US in terms of sheer numbers.
  2. The number of Internet users is growing. In 2013, there were 137 million Internet users. Granted that’s a small fraction of a population toppling 1 billion, but 137 million is still huge. And that number represents a 37% increase over 2012, when the number of Internet users was 100 million.
  3. Internet penetration is growing. It’s currently at 11.4% (but look at that — 11% penetration, and you’ve got 137 million prospects).
  4. The Indian middle class is growing, which means more and more people have some form of disposable income.

However, given the small margin of disposable income, Indians are most likely to pay for information that advances their careers or business, and previous research has found that business books are particular popular in Indian market.Traditionally, Indian audiences are used to ad-supported media. So it’s no surprise that predominantly ad-supported brands are looking to launch in India, including Quartz, Buzzfeed and Business Insider. Also, there will be a resistance to turning consumer publications to digital since the newsprint industry supports many side businesses, as street vendors use paper to wrap food and goods.However, B2C subscription sites that are not traditional news or information sites could find more success. Flipkart, Indian’s biggest retail portal, just launched its own subscription service. Meanwhile, paid subscription sites for music and video (including one by YouTube) have popped up. And our Case Study on IndiaProperty.com shows how the massive amount of home construction can lend itself to subscription services for both consumers and advertisers.So if you’re providing interesting content (that’s not just simple news or information) via the Web, and especially if you’re in the business niche, India might be your best bet for growing a global brand.

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