1.1.3 Operation and Market Strategies of Vertical Microdramas

Mini-program Microdramas: Heavy Payment Logic and Explosion Points

Then with mini-programs, you see interesting material, go to a mini-program, and they say you need to pay a certain amount to watch the rest or unlock subsequent episodes. This actually follows a heavy payment logic. Those stories you’ve heard about ¥400,000 generating ¥200 million or overnight wealth freedom refer to these mini-program vertical microdramas. Of course, the difference between mini-program vertical microdramas and platform vertical microdramas isn’t that significant. You can understand them as essentially the same product type of vertical microdramas, just with different emphases.

We’ll explain later that they have different emphases, but they’re completely different from horizontal microdramas. Horizontal microdramas are relatives of web dramas - what we traditionally consider online dramas or TV dramas. Horizontal format is related to those, while vertical format is a completely different product. This we need to establish first - vertical microdramas basically fall into these three types, and the one currently exploding is the third type.

Market Status: Comparison Between Free and Paid Models

Have the first two types - free ones - had explosive successes? Yes, many have gone viral, like “Shi Qi” (Seventeen) or “Da Ying Bo Wu Guan” (The British Museum). However, their profit models aren’t yet mature. Why? Because relying on platforms creates transfer payment issues. Then the in-app payment model is actually quite good, right? Pay a little on the spot to watch the complete series. But this hasn’t fully taken off yet - the product model hasn’t been fully validated. The one currently exploding is the third type. To work in this field, we must understand this market. Of course, this market is changing rapidly because it’s developing - new things are emerging, and its development is very fast.

Market Entry Suggestions and Course Iteration

Students, we need to pay attention to two points. When new things emerge: first, enter immediately to establish a beachhead, don’t overthink why. You don’t even need to master everything completely before jumping in - just grab a position first. Second, you need to understand that things will change. Our course naturally summarizes the patterns up to now, but never think this is universal truth. I will continuously iterate the content too, okay? Just remember these two points - this is the current state of new things, this is the current market situation. You need to understand it, know what it is.