Yuewen, Zhangyue have been listed; “Delay jubilee strategy”, “azraell” and so on literature IP hit show, make the network literature industry and continue to be valued by the capital market, so that although palm reading, QQ to read two pattern has been basically stable, but recruit players or an endless stream, such as iQIYI reading, reading novels and so on, and these new players are active user data in the past six months have good performance.

Iqiyi, which launched in the middle of last year, saw its monthly active users grow to more than 9 million in just over eight months, and its growth from June to September 2018 was phenomenal, with more than 5 million users added in three months, according to Analysys qianfan. As of January 2019, the monthly active users of Meread and Lianshang free reading have reached 20 million and 19 million respectively.

In addition to the fast growth of the new platform, shuqi novels in the back of the waist are also worth noting. Although Shuqi’s monthly active users are only more than 16 million now, compared with the peak period, but the success is stable, monthly active users have maintained a stable level for more than half a year. There is a fierce competition for the storage period of users. Iqiyi Reading, Shuqi and other rear platforms can grow rapidly or not be affected by the two-strong pattern of IQiyi Reading and QQ Reading, so there must be a clever way.

There have been enough analyses of ireader and reading articles. It is better to take a look at the waist and back platform with relatively bright growth, and explore the differentiated way to obtain the dividend of the network literature industry.

The secret of high-speed growth and stability maintenance of the rear platform is actually very simple, contact other industries to compare the up-and-comers, the answer will come out. The key to pinduoduo’s success lies in its choice of a completely different social e-commerce model from jd.com and Taobao, while Qutoutiao’s rapid rise is also due to its choice of the opposite path, integrating hand-earned software into news reading.

In other words, late-entry players are able to overtake by going outside the box and finding a way to differentiate themselves or a new market that has yet to be developed. Iqiyi reading, Shuqi Novel and other platforms just meet these two points. From the perspective of the differentiation of these platforms, even though online literature has entered a stage of prosperity, there are still opportunities to strike after being struck.

IP regurgitates the differentiated way of literature

Iqiyi reading and Shuqi novel, one is an emerging reading platform, the other is an old reading platform, but they have something in common. For example, iQiyi Reading online and Shuqi Novel were acquired by Ali to lay out the upper reaches of the pan entertainment industry chain. For example, the way to differentiate the two is to feed literature platform through IP operation, focusing on the long tail realization ability.

First, the flag novel; One of the advantages of Alibaba and Tencent is that their business has already covered the upstream and downstream of the whole pan-entertainment industry. Tencent’s pan-entertainment system includes Yuewen, Tencent Video, Tencent Comics, etc. Ali also has Ali literature, Youku, tao piao, etc. Thanks to the improvement of the industrial chain, plus Tao Piaopiao has previously participated in the publicity of a number of high box office films, can also help Ali literature in literary adaptation of films and TV plays, Ali literature incubation literary IP is easier. For example, in November last year, Ali Literature and Alibaba Pictures jointly launched an essay contest for Plan A, in which winning works could receive support from home cinemas. Book banner novel as one of the focus of Ali literature is easier to obtain resources tilt.

Look at iQiyi reading; It chose the reading route of “reading original works of films and TV series”, mainly promoting original novels of popular films and TV series, and launched the “Cloud Cloud Project” to assist the adaptation of IP films and TV series of network literature, forming a good linkage mode with iQiyi’s online video business.

Judging from the operation results of the existing IP project based on network literature, it is feasible that the fan base of literary IP can drive the audience rating of films and TV series, and in turn promote the development of literature platform from the downstream of the industrial chain, because users’ enthusiasm for reading original works of films and TV series will also bring a large number of new users to the platform.

On the one hand, films and TV dramas such as The Wandering Earth and A Great River have driven the reading volume of original works, which has proved the feedback ability of IP films and TV dramas to literature. It is reported that after the release of the Wandering Earth, the reading volume of the novel of the same name on major literary platforms has increased several times or tens of times, and the downloads of relevant apps have increased significantly. Daily sales of ruyizhuan increased nearly fivefold during the show, according to Yuewen. The rapid growth of iQiyi reading is also due to the reversal of the popularity of many IP dramas on IQiyi, which brings new users.

On the other hand, the online literature industry has entered the stage of comprehensive copyright development. The income from IP adaptation of movies and TV series, animation, comics and derivative sales is much higher than the income from paid reading, and the head creators attach more importance to copyright operation ability.

Up-and-comers like Ali Literature and IQiyi Reading are very attractive to new authors, as well as those from the waist up who want to get more resources. After all, there is a huge number of IP of the head players such as Yuewen, and the competition for copyright adaptation is also very fierce. The top traffic authors are the main objects supported by the platform. For example, authors such as Shui Qiancheng, Fresh Guoguo and Tang Jiasanshao, members of the architect team of IQiyi Literature, used to be heavyweight authors of Qidian or Jinjiang Literature City.

Nowadays, the copyright competition of the head works is very fierce, and the copyright costs remain high. The waist and back platform supports the literary IP of this platform. If the films and TV plays adapted from IP become popular, it can also attract more reading users with a small and large audience at a low cost.

Look for new incremental markets

In addition to feeding literary works through IP to drive the user growth of online literature platform, looking for new incremental market and grasping the needs of incremental users is another effective differentiation way to Rome under the background of stock competition.

Like retail and other industries, the third-tier and lower-tier cities are also new incremental markets for literature industry in the context of Internet traffic fading, as well as untapped fields for top players such as Ireader and QQ reader. Data from IMedia Research showed that the youth population in China’s small towns was about 112 million in 2018, and reading accounted for 25% of their leisure and entertainment APP preferences, second only to video.

Well quickly, interesting headline and spelling of platform’s success is based on accurate insight into the content of the small town youth consumption demand and consumption demand, and read novels, even it is free to read the same depend on exploiting new incremental market differentiation, adopt appropriate town youth consumption habits free + AD model’s success in winning the market.

The success of the free + advertising model in the online reading industry can be traced, because the free + advertising model is also a big business model trend in the whole Internet change environment. The success of Qutoutiao and Universal wifi has demonstrated the feasibility of the free + advertising model in the sinking market. The number of freemium + AD games on Google Paly is increasing, and while users can acquire items either by paying for them or by watching ads, some items in some console games can only be acquired by watching ads.

The rapid growth of meread novels and lianchang free reading has also made “paying players” notice this differentiated path. Iqiyi Reading, which relies on IP to feed literature, is now trying the free model on the basis of retaining the paid membership model, and holding free reading activities. Judging from the growth of free reading in Meread and Lianshang, the adoption of free reading model may also be another reason for the stable growth of IQiyi Literature.

Behind differentiation: be careful of insufficient IP stock

IP regains literature and seeks new incremental markets are effective ways to break out of the situation by differentiation. In the long run, once the platform catches the opportunity brought by differentiation and maintains the current growth momentum, the pattern of network literature may be another face soon.

But, either way are achieved the breakthrough, won the victory of the front-end, inevitably will face the same problem, namely the content platform to retain users, the decisive conditions or high quality content, differentiation may in the short term will be users to go to, but the lack of enough high quality content, the user will be lost in the end.

Take IP feedback literature as an example, not only iQiyi reading isosceles rear platform, but also Iqiyi reading and reading are mainly IP incubation, and the stock is larger, the probability of cultivating explosive, the pulling effect is no less than the literature IP of waist rear platform. Therefore, for the platform at the back of the waist, after the number of users has always to solve the problem of insufficient IP stock. In fact, the negative impact of the lack of quality content is already happening: Monthly active users of Lianshang, who own only 5 percent of QQ’s books, registered negative growth for the first time, according to Analysys qianfan.

This shows, spell front end, back end resource reserve also must keep up. The situation that the reading volume of movies and TV plays is driven only happens to the adaption of high-quality films and TV plays and the explosion, but the explosion is not common, and the reserve of high-quality works is indispensable.

In order to retain the audience attracted by IP dramas or the word “free”, the back of the waist platform needs something else — premium content — to strengthen its connection with the platform. When preparing to overtake cars in curves, Ali Literature and IQiyi Reading isosceles rear platform need to consider how to improve the stock OF IP, essay and other activities have been homogenized, it is time to explore new methods to increase the STOCK of IP.

In addition, unless IP of film and TV series corresponds to exclusive literary works, users who have the idea of reading because of film and TV series tend to choose the online literature platforms with better experience, better reputation and more quality works in stock.

In this way, the head platform will benefit more. It is not a long-term feasible strategy for the back and waist platform to distribute traffic through copyright. The dividend of traffic will always end one day. Just as toutiao and other platforms that started their business with technology and free models now focus on fostering original content, lower-back platforms that grow rapidly by differentiation will eventually have to supplement the course of quality content.

Article/Liu Kuang public number, ID: Liukuang110, this article first kuang Venture capital network