Recently, Wechat's "godson" Wechat has begun to engage in some "young moths" at Wechat school.

For example, a web version has been launched to allow users to read books on their computers at work.

A campaign to "carve up unlimited cards for 1 million days" has also been launched. This degree of wealth is no weaker than Tmall's double 11 division of 2 billion. I looked at the list and found that some people's unlimited card days have been added up to next year.

Just a few days ago, Wechat Reader also did a "Monday" column, asking the product manager to come out and "meet it online." under the message area of each issue, it looked like a complaint meeting.

I thought to myself, aren't Wechat's "godsons" always very tough? In May this year, Wechat wantonly banned fission, Wechat reading is still crazy to do fission. Why are you so humble now?

Through recent observation, I found that it is really not easy to read on Wechat today. Users "just want to read quietly", while Wechat users "can't even afford to pay the electricity bill".

1. The road to realization with twists and turns

Since the beginning of this year, Wechat Reader has been trying to cash in, but the results are not ideal, and even every attempt will be submerged in the user's "spit star".

For example, the previous addition of the "story" module and the cancellation of the "time exchange for book currency" function in the latest version are actually an attempt to cash in. However, every time it is complained crazily by users.

According to Quest Mobile's "Mobile Internet Autumn report", the 10 fastest growing App in the online reading industry are generally realized commercially in the mode of paid reading or "free + advertising".

So, what about Wechat?

(1) two attempts to cash out of payment failed

In fact, as early as May 2017, Wechat tried the "paid cash" model.

Friends who have used Wechat for reading should know that Wechat has a "book coin" function, and book money can buy books. If you want to get the book coin, you can choose to pay the "soft girl coin", or you can choose to study hard and exchange it with the length of time you spend reading.

In the past, the exchange rule for Wechat Reading was to exchange one book coin for every half an hour of reading, and you could receive up to 10 book coins a week.

In that revision, Wechat Reader adjusted the exchange rules to a step-by-step system. The longer you read, the more difficult it is to get book coins.

If you read for less than 1 hour, you will exchange one book coin every half hour; if you read for 1-5 hours, you will exchange one book coin every two hours; if you read for more than five hours, you will exchange one book coin every three hours.

In other words, the time it takes for users to get 10 free book coins has soared from 5 hours a week to 23 hours a week.

Obviously, Wechat Reading is trying to increase the payment by compressing benefits, but the hasty change of the rules has caused a lot of negative comments, with the app rating dropping from 4.5 to 1.5 at one point.

Under the pressure of word-of-mouth, Wechat later restored the rule to half an hour for one book, citing second-anniversary benefits.

Although the restoration of the rules has saved word of mouth, it also means that its first attempt to cash out failed.

In the second half of last year, Wechat Reader began to try unlimited reading cards (membership cards), shifting the focus of cash from recharging bookcoins to buying members. Unlimited cards can read all books for free.

At first, Wechat Reader only offered an one-day or three celestial body test card, presumably to allow users to buy members after the trial.

But later, the infinite card gradually became a tool of fission and recall.

Through activities such as drawing cards in teams and sharing unlimited cards, users' unlimited cards are basically inexhaustible. On this basis, users who read every week can also exchange book coins to buy books.

It can be said that users have no need to buy unlimited cards at all. In this way, it seems that the mode that Wechat studies want to cash with unlimited cards is a bit out of place.

At this point, the road of "paid cash" for Wechat reading seems to have come to an end, and book coins and unlimited cards have completely become tools for Wechat reading customers to obtain and retain.

However, this is not what Wechat wants, it still does not give up the use of "book coins" and "unlimited cards" to cash.

Just recently, there was a special "ghost animal" in Wechat reading. When you were fascinated by the book, you were forced to "sell" unlimited card renewal fees. The advertisement lasted 20 seconds, and it would not disappear until you clicked in.

On the listening page, a "dog skin plaster" advertising space has been added to promote unlimited cards.

The recent cancellation of the "exchange book currency" function is actually to allow those users who have the potential to pay to recharge to buy books.

(2) resist the pressure and seek the realization of advertising.

Wechat Reading, which has been repeatedly frustrated in paying for cash, how else can it be realized? After thinking about it, it seems that the advertisement has been realized.

As a result, in June this year, Wechat Reader launched a new function "story", replacing the previous "idea" function.

The original "idea" shows friends' notes and thoughts while reading, while the new feature "story" turns into entertainment gossip, and some users even complain that it opens Jinri Toutiao.

It is reasonable to speculate that the emergence of the "story" module is an attempt to realize the advertising of information flow. after all, App such as Jinri Toutiao and Seven Cat novels have provided very good successful cases.

In the Weekly attack a few days ago, the product manager came up with a set of data, and those powerful headlines and content were watched by many and long-lasting people.

Probably because of this, despite the repeated curses of the "story" module over the past six months, Wechat Reading never gave in. After all, as long as the click-through rate and reading time data are rising, then the "story" module has the possibility of advertising.

Eager to seek a cash breakthrough Wechat Reading, how can easily give up this potential "cash machine"?

As can be seen from the "or likes" vote at the bottom of "Monday", the proportion of likes and dislikes is actually similar, 56% and 44%, respectively.

Although Wechat Reading ends with "you (users) win", it does not stop the "story" function completely, but adds the option to "close the story".

I think this is the biggest concession made by the Wechat team under the pressure of cash.

Wechat Reader is now forced to sell advertisements on Mini Program.

Can Wechat's "story" section really bring cash? We don't know at present, but what we can see is that Wechat Reader has been working hard for this goal.

2. "fancy growth" that has to be done

If you want to realize through information flow advertising, DAU is the biggest process indicator. In order to make more users use and rely on Wechat to read books, it has introduced new tricks for growth.

As we mentioned earlier, Wechat is good at growth, and every growth pattern is fun. However, objectively speaking, the "multifarious" growth pattern of Wechat reading actually has something to do with its current predicament.

According to the iResearch App index, Wechat Reader has entered a mode of negative growth since the monthly number of independent devices peaked at 10.79 million in January.

As a result, Wechat Reader has been growing since June this year, and the number of monthly independent devices has gradually increased in recent months.

In the past two months, Wechat Reader has also launched two new growth games, namely, the Daily answer and the Reading team.

(1) answer once a day

The "answer every day" campaign was launched in October this year. As long as you answer 12 questions in a row, you can carve up a million days of unlimited cards. Does this wave of operation look a little familiar, as if it is the "double 11 2 billion" activity of Wechat's reading version.

The questions of "one answer every day" are not difficult. Most of them are knowledge learned in nine years of compulsory education, or some common sense questions.

The drunken man's meaning is not in the wine, in fact, the purpose of setting up this game is obviously to allow users to help Wechat read books in the game to achieve the goal of customer acquisition, activity and retention.

First of all, let users get unlimited cards through the game (and have a chance every day), is to use unlimited cards to keep users, so that users continue to use Wechat to read and read.

There are also three kinds of prop cards in this game, namely, "skip question card", "renewal card" and "change question card". When you encounter a problem that you will not know, you can choose "change question" or "skip question"; if you answer wrong, you can use the "renewal card" to renew your life.

In addition to buying these prop cards directly with book coins, there are two ways to obtain these prop cards, namely, "log in for 3 days in a row" and "invite a friend to participate in the game".

On the prop card page, there is also an entrance to "answer to the end" of the practice match.

This module has a comparison of chicken thieves, although it is said that "answer wins the prop card", however, I finally got promoted, it unexpectedly asked me to share to get the prop card, but also had to "other users through the link to participate in the game, to get a change card"!

Then won't I just share it with my friends? Why take the time to answer the questions?

However, taking the time to answer questions does have an advantage, that is, I can get an unlimited card, but I broke through 10 levels and answered 60 questions before I got an unlimited card for one day.

2) Reading team

The reading team is a function launched by Wechat Reader in August this year. It is actually a "points system". Three people form a reading team and begin to score points every 21 days.

In the cycle, when the team score reaches 20 points, 60 points and 80 points, they can get unlimited card rewards of 2 days, 5 days and 7 days respectively. At the same time, the team with 60 points will be automatically upgraded to a six-man team in the next issue, winning more prizes.

To put it bluntly, in fact, it is to let users keep reading, get unlimited cards, and then continue to read, thus forming a dependence on Wechat reading.

The rules for getting points are also very simple and rough, that is, login, reading, comment and interaction, which is actually to improve the activity of users.

Interestingly, in the reading team, the captain also has the right to remove members from the team. If some players do not contribute points for a long time, the captain can kick them directly.

Wechat reading this move is also "smart" enough, not to do it yourself, but to give the "captain" motivation, let the "captain" to help them clean up those worthless users.

As a captain, I kicked out a friend of our team when I wrote here.

In addition to the reading team, Wechat Reading has actually formed a growing combination of games with "unlimited cards" as the core, such as forming a team to draw unlimited cards, "flipping" to get unlimited cards, and collecting likes to get unlimited cards.

For users, this is also a kind of welfare. Take me, for example, I haven't spent any money on Wechat for a long time, and I have already realized the "unlimited card reading freedom".

The Wechat team itself said that unlimited cards are already the biggest benefit that can be given.

3. Conclusion

The growth of Wechat Reading has always been a lot and fun, but now it seems that with the rapid rise of free reading App, constantly changing growth seems to be something that has to be done.

Looking back on the road to the realization of Wechat study, it can be said that there are twists and turns, which makes people a little sad.

In fact, Wechat Reading App is facing the bottleneck that NetEase, Inc Yun Music, QQ Music and other music App experienced at that time. For them, royalties are a considerable cost in the process of operation. after all, content creators also have to make a living.

Therefore, Wechat reading should also be appropriate, in order to continue to buy more book rights to "feed" users. How to read from "free" to get users to accept "pay" is the problem that needs to be solved at the moment.

At the same time, the establishment of better copyright barriers can also help Wechat to "pay" for reading.

Like Tencent Music (including QQ Music, Kuwi Music and KuGou Music), among other things, the copyright of "Don't cry" earned it more than 20 million in less than 24 hours.