Being a "porter" on Pinduoduo, a short video earned 1,000 yuan

In the past, the sideline business of earning commissions by posting videos about goods on Duoduo Video was very popular. Now that the trend is gone, where will the "wool party" go? Look for the next trend, or take root and operate in a refined manner.

The two major short video platforms, Douyin and Kuaishou, are in a melee and have frequently made moves in content e-commerce. Video accounts have risen by leveraging the WeChat ecosystem. Xiaohongshu also promoted short videos to the first-level entrance of its homepage at the beginning of this year. Taobao and JD, two traditional e-commerce platforms, have also begun to focus on short videos.

Short videos have become an essential tool for every platform, and the entire Internet ecosystem is also transitioning to short videos. According to the 2022 China Mobile Internet Annual Report by data service provider QuestMobile, short videos are already the application with the highest user time, accounting for 28.5% of total user time, while instant messaging has dropped to 20.7%.

In the competitive short video field, Pinduoduo has become a silent dark horse. According to 36Kr, the number of daily active users of Pinduoduo's short video business Duoduo Video exceeded 150 million in early 2023 and is currently stable at 100-120 million.

Pinduoduo entered the short video track in 2020, but it was not until February 2022 that Duoduo Video was fully launched and had its own homepage first-level entrance. In 2022, Pinduoduo also took out nearly 1 billion in subsidies to nourish its short video ecosystem.

The starting point of "killing time" short videos is traffic, and the end of traffic is monetization. Duoduo Video attracted traffic with cash and also attracted countless "wool parties" with rewards. They started to sell goods through videos on Pinduoduo, hoping to realize monetization during the traffic bonus period of Duoduo Video.

"2022 is the year when most people entered the market. People around me who have side jobs are all doing Duoduo Video, and there are also a lot of tutorials and courses for sale on the Internet." Chunchun, a Duoduo Video player, told "E-Commerce Online" that in the second quarter of 2022, when Duoduo Video received the most subsidies, almost all side job groups were promoting Duoduo Video's money-making projects, and everyone was ready to make a fortune.

The low threshold, little competition, and the ability to "fleece" during the traffic bonus period are the reasons why many sideline players are targeting Duoduo Video. However, when Duoduo Video announced that its daily active users exceeded 150 million, many people have already begun to leave. "It is not as easy to make money as before. They have started to focus on non-original content, and they need to complete video tasks every month to get commissions. It is much more difficult than before."

Duoduo Video used traffic to tell an attractive story. A large number of "wool parties" quickly enriched the content ecology of Duoduo Video, but the pseudo-original videos copied by the platform could not become a content barrier. When the initial dividends of the platform were gone, Duoduo Video gradually began to build a new order. The "wool parties" could no longer get resources, and slowly turned to either deepening the platform and starting to operate in a refined manner, or leaving the platform to look for the next traffic outlet.

1. Taking advantage of Duoduo Video

From January to early February 2022, many side job communities and training circles began to offer video money-making projects.

Many bloggers with side jobs have said that Duoduo Video is now in a stage of wild growth and it is a good time to join the market. The threshold is low, the operation is simple, and the monetization is fast. A large number of people who want to take advantage of the platform have entered Duoduo Video, hoping to get some benefits.

Chunchun, a player of Duoduo Video, told E-commerce Online that she had previously spent 199 yuan to join a sideline training group. Since January 2022, the group owner encouraged everyone to make Duoduo Video, and she also joined the game at that time. The reason was very simple:

1. The official requirement for videos is low, no fans are required, and one person can have multiple accounts. Chunchun said that in the early days of Duoduo Video, there was no threshold for live streaming, no fans were required, and no original content was required. "At that time, Douyin and Kuaishou required 1,000 fans to live stream products. I have also done Taobao. At that time, if you wanted to live stream products, you had to publish 5 original content first. Many of these platforms also required real-name authentication, and you could only have a few accounts. But Duoduo Video was able to post live streaming videos from the beginning, and it did not require fans, and you could do it with multiple accounts, so it was the lowest threshold."

2. It is in the traffic bonus period. In the description of the bloggers who initially promoted Duoduo Video, they all mentioned the word "bonus period". They repeatedly said that not many people are doing Duoduo Video now, and Pinduoduo itself has 800 million user traffic, so it has a first-mover advantage to enter the market at this time. At the same time, Duoduo Video can get commissions as long as the buyer confirms receipt of the goods after the 7-day no-reason return and exchange period. The whole cycle is about 20 days. "

3. Low requirements for originality. Many sideline bloggers mentioned “no brainer copying, easy to get started” when recommending Duoduo Video. In the early days, Duoduo Video did not have high requirements for videos. Chunchun only needed to download some product promotion videos from other platforms and then copy them to Pinduoduo. “To copy videos on platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou, you still need to add the title yourself or re-dub them. But in the early days, you only needed to remove the watermark, title, extract frames in the middle, and add a few transitions to pass the review.”

The low threshold, bonus period and simple operation have attracted a large number of players who want to take advantage of the platform. There are more than 300 people in Chunchun’s paid sideline group. Last year, more than half of them were doing Duoduo Video, and the “results” were good. From time to time, someone would share how much money they made in the group. Some people created more than 20 accounts in one go, some had over 100,000 video views, and some had over 1,000 orders…

During this period, Duoduo Video grew wildly, and the review of original content was not strict. According to a report by Doujiao TMT, in 2022, a short video of former CCTV host Wang Xiaoqian appeared on Duoduo Video to promote products, but Wang Xiaoqian's team said that they did not enter Duoduo Video.

Another player, Liu Da, also said that the early review of Duoduo Video was not strict. He created 7 accounts at once, and each account could publish 10 relocated videos every day. Two accounts had good traffic, and the commission for the most videos exceeded 1,000 yuan. "As long as one of the seven accounts is successful, it will make money. Each account uploads the same video. You only need to check occasionally to see if there is any problem with the video link and whether it will be removed. There is no need to do anything else."

In the hot atmosphere, in April and May 2022, many bloggers in sideline communities and training circles began selling courses under the banner of "Duoduo Video, monthly income over 10,000 yuan", providing services such as popular tasks, pseudo-original transfer tutorials, editing tutorials and popular product selection. The course price can be as high as 980 yuan. Some people also sell "material libraries" to meet the needs of Duoduo Video players looking for videos to sell goods. They download short videos from other platforms and sell them in packages for 99 yuan, 199 yuan or even 299 yuan a month, providing materials for selling goods every week, which can complete the creation of content transfer faster.

2. The "wool party" was "counter-fleeced" by Pinduoduo

When the Duoduo Video money-making project was very popular, it was also the time when Duoduo Video provided the largest subsidies to users.

36Kr reported that the user subsidy amount of Duoduo Video in 2022 will be nearly 1 billion yuan, with the highest subsidy amount in the second quarter at 300-400 million yuan. The DAU (daily active users) of Duoduo Video also increased from 100 million in the first quarter to 120 million.

Duoduo Video has gradually built its own content ecosystem, but many "freeloaders" have said that they "have abandoned their accounts and quit."

Some players said that Duoduo Video has passed the initial traffic growth period, and the platform's rules are gradually maturing. In the next stage of refined operations, the platform needs original high-quality authors to improve the content ecology, rather than allowing "freeloaders" to copy and paste homogenized content. At this stage, Duoduo Video has begun to clear out these freeloaders.

In Chunchun's opinion, the main reason for people leaving is the rising threshold. "New rules were introduced in April last year, and there is a threshold for selling goods on Duoduo Video. Either you need to obtain certification from original influencers on other platforms and reach a certain level before you can continue to sell goods, or you need to complete 50 effective popular product tasks every month and pass the review of Duoduo Video before you are eligible to sell goods and get commissions next month."

In Liu's opinion, this wave of operations by Duoduo Video is more like a counter-money move against them. "First, we have to complete the 50 hit short video tasks that do not bring in any income, and then we can start selling goods. Those of us who want to take advantage of Pinduoduo are being molested instead."

The rules of the 50 best-selling product tasks that affect the authority to bring products have put a lot of pressure on many players.

Lingzi, who used to work for Duoduo Video, said that she gave up Duoduo Video because of the high uncertainty. "Before, I could update more than 90 videos a month. I just needed to check them regularly. It was not hard. But after the hot-selling tasks came out, I needed to keep an eye on whether the tasks were completed. If the tasks were not completed, I would not have the right to bring goods, and I would not get a penny of commission. It was like working in vain."

Liu and Chunchun both felt an overall decline in video traffic around October last year. On the one hand, there were more players on the platform, and on the other hand, their videos were almost all reposted, which made it easy for the platform to determine that they were non-original and have them removed. They also felt that their accounts were being restricted.

"Duoduo has also started to watch original content. Videos that are too homogeneous will be removed. Previously, a video could be uploaded again every few days, but now it is no longer possible. It also depends on luck to move a video. Some of them have to make opening credits or re-dubbing like Douyin and Kuaishou." The video material library shared by Liu in the community is now difficult to pass the review. He feels that these materials may have been used by other people on Duoduo Video, so they were cleared by the platform.

3. Find the next “DuoDuo Video”

Through "throwing out coins" for subsidies, the platform can obtain a large amount of content supply in the early stage, but if you want people to stay on the platform and watch more, high-quality content is the most core part of short videos.

Chunchun has used Taobao to shop before, and it was profitable when the platform mechanism was not yet perfect. However, as the platform rules were improved, external high-quality talents were introduced, and merchants were encouraged to create their own content, the "freeloaders" who simply copied videos gradually withdrew.

After completing the initial pursuit of quantity, the content platform will gradually reduce subsidies and improve the rules, and begin to further screen players and seek original high-quality content. The "wool party" who repost videos can hardly become a content barrier for Duoduo Video. Pinduoduo needs more high-quality content, and changing a group of players is the only way.

Some of the “wool-gathering party” began to operate in a refined manner on Duoduo Video. ”

First, start with “originality”. Some “wool parties” actively purchase products and incorporate real unboxing scenes into short videos to increase the originality ratio.

Secondly, they create accounts in batches. Powerful "wool parties" began to create accounts in large quantities, creating dozens or even hundreds of accounts at a time. One player revealed to "E-commerce Online" that he has more than 150 accounts that can bring goods, and now he has 150,000 yuan in commissions on Duoduo Video. "

Then, they will look for small influencers to authorize the transfer. This is also the choice of some studios’ “wool party”. Some bloggers in the training circle have also released relevant tutorials. They will even pretend to be Pinduoduo officials to go to various platforms to find small influencers to “authorize” or find small influencers whose videos have been stolen, saying that they can help them “protect their rights.”

Just set your avatar to Pinduoduo, change your account to "duoduo+number", and your location to Shanghai, and then talk to the small internet celebrity about cooperation. Once the small internet celebrity is willing to authorize or settle in, you can further sign a contract to agree on a profit sharing, use the identity of a small internet celebrity to obtain Duoduo Video certification, directly carry their videos, and obtain support and bonuses from the platform.

In addition to the above conventional means, some "wool-pulling parties" will also seek cooperation with Pinduoduo merchants. Pinduoduo merchants give "wool-pulling parties" product links and agree on commissions. "Wool-pulling parties" use short videos to help merchants increase traffic exposure.

However, most of the "freeloaders" still gave up on Duoduo Video and looked for the next traffic outlet.

Few people in Chunchun’s sideline group mentioned Duoduo Video. Everyone turned their attention to opening a store on Xiaohongshu and short drama projects, and also started to promote products through short videos on JD.com. “JD.com can also promote products through short videos now. Although the traffic is not large, the competition pressure is small. JD.com’s video review is relatively strict, but some people said that they have figured out how to pass JD.com’s review. When I have traffic, I will also buy courses to try.”

For most of the "freeloaders" chasing after traffic, they "do not produce videos, but are just video porters" and have no pursuit in content. When a platform's rules are perfected and they can no longer make money, they will look for the next platform that is at the forefront of traffic.

Chunchun and Da Liu have already started a short drama project, and Da Liu is also selling tutorials from Duoduo Video. "We can make money from the information gap. We can sell a tutorial by saying 'side job with a monthly income of tens of thousands'. It's easier and more convenient than moving videos."

The Internet's trends are changing rapidly. When platform supervision becomes increasingly strict, the "freeloaders" have to face elimination, just like Chunchun who works on short drama projects and Da Liu who sells courses. These players who live within the platform's rules will appear wherever the trends are.

Author: Wang Zhan

Source: WeChat official account: "E-commerce Online (ID: dianshangmj)"