1.3.1 The Key to Microdramas is Getting Users to Pay------Questions About Heavy Payment and the Need for Stress Relief

User Question: Why Spend ¥200 on a Microdrama?

Let’s continue. Many of you might have a new question: “Teacher, I think I understood what you said earlier, but there’s one thing that still bothers me—why is it called ‘heavy payment’? How much is a lot? How much is enough?” Let me tell you, watching one microdrama can cost nearly ¥200.

Of course, there are different data packages. Some platforms might think you’ll only spend ¥30, so they price it at ¥30. Mini-programs can target different user groups with different data packages for ad placement. But I’ve seen some as high as ¥200—I’ve even come across ¥239 packages.

Are these microdramas really that popular? ¥200 could get you a yearly subscription on a long-video platform, giving you access to tens of thousands of shows. Why would anyone spend ¥200 here to watch just one?

Market Segmentation: The Billion-Dollar Novel Top-Up Market

We need to understand our users. Many of you say, “Teacher, I really don’t get this heavy payment thing—who would do this?” The domestic market is huge, and it’s clearly segmented—that’s the reality. Remember what I just told you: annual novel top-ups amount to 100 billion. You might think going to the movies with popcorn, soda, and your girlfriend is a big market—worth tens of billions a year—but novels are 100 billion. That’s market segmentation, understand? So, the user base for microdramas is massive; you just might not encounter them often. You might not know the user profile of heavy payers or vertical mini-program microdrama viewers.

Stress Relief: The Core Function of Microdramas

Since microdramas have only been around for a little over a year, their user profile isn’t stable yet. Early on, there was a theory that it was all male-oriented, right? Mostly men, and supposedly older men. If you look at market research on microdramas, some really say that. Early data did skew that way. Why? Just look at the early themes: live-in son-in-law, divorce, the Dragon King’s return, revenge, face-slapping—basically all that tropes. The story starts with me as a live-in son-in-law, married into the family, then they don’t recognize my worth and kick me out, right? Little do they know, I’m the Dragon King or the master of some divine temple, and I come back to put them in their place. Lots of stories follow this pattern. Why? It meets a basic need for certain men in lower-tier markets—older men with specific fantasies.

We say microdramas have a very important function, which is why they command heavy payment. Let’s introduce the term now—it’s actually about stress relief. Some might bluntly call it wish-fulfillment. In reality, microdramas are for decompression. Sometimes viewers have actually had these thoughts; other times, they haven’t, but you’re guiding them there. It’s essentially a form of stress relief. This group of people is under a lot of pressure, so they need psychological healing, a mental massage—that’s the most important role of microdramas.