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UP is short for upload, and an UP master can also be referred to as an uploader, referring to those who upload audio and video on platforms such as video websites and forums; we can also call them bloggers.

One characteristic of this media industry is that people within the industry feel it is quite easy; even if everything resets today, they can quickly stand up again. In contrast, those outside the industry feel that it is very "involutionary," with so many people becoming UP masters, how could they possibly succeed? The phenomenon itself is not important; what matters is the significant meaning reflected by this phenomenon, proving that the success of this industry can be traced. The difference between whether a person is inside or outside the industry lies in their understanding of the market and methods.

Before this, I wanted to remind everyone why you want to become an UP master. Is it to find like-minded people, to make money, or to enhance your own influence? Regardless of the reason, I hope you can firmly establish your position. Those with passion will not only go further on this path but will also earn money, and only in this way will they walk more comfortably.

Generally speaking, the main sources of income for UP masters come from traffic views, tips (charging), commercial advertisements, e-commerce sales, contracts, etc. These sources account for 90% of most UP masters' income. There is a key point here: many UP masters tend to focus solely on one platform. However, since there are works, why not distribute them across multiple platforms? Platforms like Xigua Video, Douyin, Jinri Toutiao, Xiaohongshu, Tencent Penguin Account, Video Account, Kuaishou, Baijiahao, Weibo, WeChat Official Account, NetEase Account, YouTube... all of these can bring us income. Therefore, positioning is very important; in the initial planning stage, try to establish yourself as a solid IP while these platforms are fluid. We will elaborate on this in more detail later.

Everyone should recognize an objective fact: the UP master industry is destined for most people to eventually become cannon fodder, with only a few succeeding. However, the biggest difference between this field and other industries is that it does not require you to be a top expert or perfect to become outstanding. Just like Ban Fo Xian Ren, Wu Shi Cai Jing, Director Xiao Ce, Dao Yue She, etc., they are not top experts in their fields, but they bring something different, meeting the needs of different groups and levels.

You may see on platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou, and Video Account that even a 60-year-old person dancing in a square dance video can attract hundreds of thousands of followers; this is a phenomenon. Due to the platform's algorithm recommendations, we may not even come across these videos, but there is a group of people, perhaps your parents back home, or your grandparents, who enjoy these videos, leading to the emergence of this type of emotional blogger.

Interestingly, before you start, you may not know how to make videos, operate, or understand platform rules. Only by integrating these abilities can you better present yourself to everyone. At that time, you will not only gain many followers but also receive corresponding material benefits.

Now, let's address the following questions:

1. For media, workplace operators tend to understand from the perspective of brand clients and are not adept at viewing from the perspective of self-media creators.
2. Even if they know that the self-media industry has a good development prospect, their practical experience is still insufficient, and the content style produced in the past does not suit today's self-media market and users.
3. Self-media requires a person to possess comprehensive abilities in content output, operation, editing, data analysis, and business, but as workplace operators, they only need to excel in one aspect to earn a good salary in the company.
4. The successful methodology formed in the company has a premise: it can rely on the company's resources and funds. When individuals do these things, lacking resources and funds in the early stages, past methodologies will be greatly discounted.
5. In a low-threshold and severely involuted working environment, there is no extra energy to do additional things.
6. They have thought about doing it but are not particularly clear about what they are suited for, so they have been dragging it out without action. From the feedback of some workplace individuals, we believe that those who "understand media" have not ventured into this field mainly for three reasons: mismatched abilities, unclear direction, and poor execution.

Regarding partner selection standards, I have a set of criteria for what kind of partners to choose: complementary abilities, similar value standards, and consistent expected goals, with early decision-making in case of disagreements.

First, complementary abilities are essential. When operating an account, it is best if one person excels at writing copy while another excels at shooting and editing; this is complementary. When two people's abilities are on par, problems arise. For example, if you are strong in copywriting and planning, and the other person is also strong, there may be a situation where neither respects the other in the team. They both consider themselves experts, which may ultimately lead to discord.

Second, value standards must be similar. Partners' values should be generally consistent. Values are our standards for judging right and wrong. For example, if a client requests a kickback, will you give it or not? Our standard is that we absolutely do not allow such things to exist. At the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I established six value standards for myself and my team: professionalism, facts, efficiency, honesty, responsibility, and mutual achievement.

"Professionalism" means that when we do anything, we must first learn to find professional methods. The summaries from predecessors will help us avoid many unnecessary pitfalls. If it is our first time doing something, we must learn to summarize methods ourselves so that we have a sufficient professional theoretical and experiential foundation for future endeavors.

When making videos, we summarize during weekly meetings and daily reviews. For example, when writing scripts, how many forms do we generally have? Do we write narrative pieces or analytical pieces? What are the differences in logic? If it is not a real person on screen, where can we find more suitable materials? How can we arrange the editing process to ensure video quality while improving editing efficiency? This is also the original intention of writing this book. "Facts" means that we must start from facts; all published content must be objective, neither exaggerating nor defaming. At the same time, reviews for clients and internally must be based on facts, neither overestimating ourselves nor belittling our peers. Good is good, and bad is bad; if we make a mistake, we must face the objective facts to move forward better.

Typically, when a B-side company connects with an A-side client, they often like to embellish their past achievements, such as exaggerating their follower count or view count. However, when we report externally, we will provide screenshots directly. When making videos, especially in finance-related content, we need to base our work directly on data; good and bad are objective facts, and the economy cannot be improved merely by media exaggeration.

In summary, when we follow the facts, we find that many things become much simpler, colleagues no longer bicker, and fans and clients recognize you more.

"Efficiency" means we should not blindly work overtime but should streamline and standardize complex processes and learn to use existing tools and resources to improve efficiency. We often encounter situations in the workplace where some people work overtime every day while others leave on time.

Traditional bosses tend to praise those who work overtime and give thumbs up to those who leave late and post on social media. We see this as a terrible trend, as it encourages many colleagues to sit around even after finishing their tasks, feeling embarrassed to leave. In reality, what the company wants is results; hard work should not be advocated. Only those who deliver results efficiently in a short time deserve more rewards and praise. This way, employees are relaxed, and the company is relaxed.

"Honesty, responsibility, and mutual achievement" are also part of our values. Speak up when there are issues, be straightforward, do not shift blame, and be willing to take responsibility; this is a fundamental quality that allows soldiers to become generals. Every partner, whether a co-founder, employee, client, or peer, is essentially on the same boat, mutually achieving success. Maintaining an altruistic mindset will make your future path broader.

Using the 4W1H method to find your direction, the highest success rate for account positioning is to seek possibilities from existing resources. If you are a white-collar worker, your existing resources are your workplace, your knowledge, and your industry; if you are a stay-at-home mom, your existing resources are...

The creator's work is essentially conveying emotions, which will be transmitted to the audience through the work. For the audience, watching a video engages their visual, auditory, and cognitive senses. Therefore, in terms of video rhythm, we need to put effort into aspects such as copywriting, voiceovers, background music, and video visuals, and these aspects will have different weights in different fields (which also reflects the creator's ideology and social class).

Different content determines different key points for quality. When viewers watch knowledge-based videos, they engage more with their thoughts.

Triangle Market Analysis Method: First, look at the field and choose a blue ocean market; second, look at market content and create differentiated content; third, choose channels and innovate through imitation. The first step is to look at the field for the Triangle Market Analysis Method.

The historical analysis method and data analysis method are commonly used, while copywriting mostly employs logical reasoning analysis. Lawyers have judicial thinking, operators have operational thinking, product managers have product thinking, and risk control personnel have risk control thinking. Therefore, sometimes analysis methods are not fixed. Compared to analytical writing, narrative writing is favored by more knowledge-type authors because storytelling is more universal, and users have a higher acceptance of story-based videos.

When writing narrative video scripts, there are generally two structures: chronological narrative and spatial narrative. The simplest timeline writing method is like this: 20 years ago... at the age of 10... now at 20... in the future at 30... When writing narrative scripts, the most important thing is to clarify the structure of time or space, that is, to list what was done in which year, and then continuously refine it. Let's take a look at the story timeline structure of Li Dabing's "The Rise and Fall of Domestic Instant Noodles Over 50 Years."

The conclusion of the script must meet user expectations. The opening should let users know why they are watching, the middle should answer users' questions, and the conclusion should fulfill users' expectations. For a video of about 10 minutes, if it carries too much information, users will not remember it all. Therefore, I will summarize better at the end of my scripts to help users organize their thoughts. What constitutes a good conclusion? We can evaluate it using the following three points:

• Users achieve the results they want and express recognition and satisfaction with the entire content.
• The conclusion elevates the entire content, leaving users wanting more.
• Users have expectations for your future content (sense of anticipation).

Avoid bureaucratic language in scripts. I highlight this point because I find that many people easily resort to official language when writing articles. This involves categorizing and listing while comparing to oneself. Therefore, speaking plainly can be summarized in the following six points:

• Use conversational language; the narrative style should be simple and direct.
• The tone should be relatable to the audience.
• Use storytelling language in a process-oriented manner.
• Summarize and highlight key points.
• Categorize and list during the summary.
• Ensure that data is compared to oneself.

Speaking plainly makes it more comfortable for users to watch videos. It should feel like someone is sitting in front of them telling a story, which will make the video more engaging. Audio and video must also be standardized; sound is an important aspect of how users receive information from creators. When I recorded my first video, I used the original Apple headphones for hardware and Adobe Audition for software. Since my videos are mixed editing, I only needed to use noise reduction and progress editing for the voiceover.

The mainstream platforms currently available on the market can be categorized as follows:

• Xigua Video (Jinri Toutiao): Users are older, more experienced, mainly seeking information.
• Douyin: A large and diverse user base, mainly seeking quick "fast food" information.
• Bilibili: Younger users, newcomers, mainly focused on entertainment and popular knowledge.
• Video Account: Older users, more down-to-earth, leaning towards emotional content.
• Xiaohongshu: More fashion influencers, predominantly female.
• YouTube: Overseas users.
• Others: Penguin Account, Baijiahao, NetEase Account, Kuaishou, Zhihu, Weibo, WeChat Official Account, Pipi Shrimp, Douyu, Huya, iQIYI Video, Tencent Classroom, Huxiu, Dou Xiao Shi (formerly known as Quanmin Xiaovideo), A Station (acquired by Kuaishou), Youku.

The strategy for most of our accounts is to focus primarily on Xigua Video and supplement with other platforms. Understanding platform rules and logic aims to help us achieve better results during operation. Next, let's discuss how to operate each traffic entry.

How to gain users from the platform's homepage: When users enter the app, they will see our content from many entry points. If it's on Douyin, users are more likely to directly scroll to us or find our homepage; however, on other platforms, there are many entry points. We need to ensure that each entry point is relatively well-operated.

Taking Bilibili as an example, the main traffic entry points include homepage recommendations, keyword search pages, similar video recommendations, personal homepages, user friend circle sharing pages, popular recommendations, channel and section recommendation pages, joint submissions, and topic activity entries, etc.

• Content should be systematic and complete.
• The angle of approach should be differentiated.
• Video styles should be varied.

Time is money. Video production requires collaboration among multiple people; when working solo, the production cycle is usually longer and not suitable for frequently chasing trends. Content should be systematic and complete. When an event first emerges, many people comment on it, but the specific causes and consequences of the event need to be thoroughly explained in one video to extend its lifecycle.

This type of video essentially conveys information to the audience. The angle of approach should be differentiated. When the same event is exposed, you can observe it from many aspects, such as the event's background perspective, historical perspective, perspective of involved parties, god's perspective analysis, logical inventory perspective, and personal spectator perspective; all of these can be utilized. The historical perspective and god's perspective analysis are the two methods I use most frequently. Video styles can be serious commentary or humorous satire, but this varies from person to person. Typically, one person has one style, and changing it is challenging; we often choose topics that can merge with our own style.

Occupying high-frequency keywords means using quality content to position users' search terms. For example, if users search for "aging" on many platforms, they can find my video "20..." which thoroughly explains this matter, effectively covering 80% of the topic. I use such quality content to position one topic at a time, which is why my video conversion efficiency is relatively high. There is also a rule that for the same topic, even if you have previously produced a video, its weight will gradually decrease. Generally, after a year or two, it becomes quite difficult to maintain visibility in the search results for corresponding keywords. Therefore, even for demographic topics, I will revisit and discuss them again after more than a year.

There are three methods for keyword positioning:

1. Occupy basic vocabulary. For example, common terms like funds, stocks, and new energy vehicles have already been discussed by many people, so unless you can provide deeper insights, it is best not to touch on them.
2. Homogenization of currently popular videos. For example, you can imitate Li Dabing. This is market competition; as long as you can provide better quality products, it is worth pursuing.
3. Anticipate future keywords. This is relatively difficult; for example, redefine good topics from a competitive perspective. Every topic has many people discussing it, so when grasping the competitive strategy for topics, you should avoid the spotlight, either by going deep into shallow topics or by being quick to tackle slower ones.

The cover and title are the main factors attracting users. In homepage recommendations, the primary factors that attract users to click are the cover and title. I have seen some people's titles and covers with the same text, which reflects poor operational skills. Regarding cover operation, there are six major rules:

1. Differentiated background colors. In the layout shown in Figure 4-2, which cover do you see first? Most people will answer Xigua and Sun, as their background colors are darker than others, creating a strong first impression visually. Since video recommendations on various platforms are mainly algorithm-driven, we cannot know what the surrounding environment of the video will be when it is recommended on the homepage, so we mainly focus on differentiating our cover colors from our peers.
2. The background pattern should align with the article's theme and have an impact, creating a sense of familiarity for users.
3. Cover text should complement the pattern and directly address user pain points.
4. Cover text should be centered, and the word count should be kept within 12 words. This is a small detail; our tests show that if the number of words on the cover exceeds 12, it either won't fit or the font size will be too small, significantly affecting user experience. If a user is browsing on the homepage...
5. Subsequent copy and images should be updated promptly. A video’s user attention varies during peak and quiet periods. During peak periods, users mostly come from homepage recommendations, while after that heat period, they may come more from search boxes or personal homepages. During peak periods, users will save...
6. Cover styles should be unified. We see that Lin Chao, Li He Finance, and others have relatively unified cover styles. The benefit of uniformity is that it is refreshing, especially when entering the homepage; over time, users will recognize the cover style as belonging to a specific UP master. However, sometimes, uniformity can limit one's creativity. When your recognition is not that high yet, it may be better to change to a cover style exclusive to that topic. Simply put, in the early stages, we do not need to consider style uniformity; rather, having each video with its unique cover and character will be more beneficial. As followers increase later, a comprehensive cover overhaul can be conducted.

The title and cover should complement each other. To enhance the video's display and playback rate, the cover and title must work together; the cover should impact users, while the title should clarify for users. How to write a good title? The most important points are:

• The title should complement the cover to spark user interest.
• It should occupy important keywords. The title writing should be distinct from the cover text; the main difference is that the cover copy is meant to pique user interest and is more marketing-oriented, while the title copy aims to clarify the article's main point and is more focused on stating the main idea.

The search results for keywords also require a certain level of operation, but this is relatively less emphasized. For example, when users search for "thinking," many videos discussing thinking will appear, with some having black covers and others white covers. If we want users to still click on our video after watching others, we need to create some differentiation, such as cover differences or topic differences, while using the same search keywords. This is a very detailed operational item, and few people will do it this meticulously. Although it does not need to be done perfectly, you should know and understand that these small details can be addressed in video operations.

Recommended similar videos will appear below each video. For this method, we can find some popular topics and videos, then follow these topics to explain from different angles.

Other sources of traffic entry include actions that can bring traffic to videos:

1. Official activities. Actively participate in official activities, such as knowledge-sharing officers, Bilibili newcomer plans, Xigua newcomer plans, etc. Each platform has activities targeting newcomers at different times; including topics when sending videos can lead to recommended traffic from activities, which can greatly assist in the continuous recommendation of videos, helping the platform survive.

Different platforms have different recommendation logics. Jinri Toutiao (Xigua Video) and Xigua Video are heavily algorithm-driven platforms, so understanding algorithm logic becomes particularly important. The expansion of a content recommendation is a process of continuous iteration. The algorithm will first find a batch of people and recommend it to them; based on their feedback, the system will then decide whether to recommend it to the next batch, and so on.

The specific data that the system recommends looks at first is the click-through rate, known in the industry as CTR, where the numerator is the click count of a single chapter, and the denominator is the recommendation count. The videos users see are mainly displayed on the "recommended" page based on Jinri Toutiao's recommendation mechanism. The pool is beneficial for early account growth, while Bilibili and Zhihu are communities suitable for later sedimentation.

Zhihu is another key platform among existing platforms. Since Zhihu's content format is mainly based on Q&A, its account growth logic differs from platforms like Toutiao. Let's first look at Zhihu's algorithm mechanism.

Factors affecting Zhihu's ranking include:

• The number of approvals, collections, and likes accumulated by the account in a specific field, with approvals and collections being core indicators.
• The number of answers and articles produced by the account in a specific field.
• The number of professional badges obtained by the account in a specific field.
• The number of official editor recommendations and daily inclusions received by the account in a specific field.
• The creator level of the account (1-10 levels).
• The account's salt value (0-1000 salt value).
• The quality of the content, meaning the writing quality.
• The number of likes, comments, collections, and favorites received after answering.
• The number of downvotes received after answering. The first six are based on objective factors of the algorithm, with the first four being local weights and the last two being global weights. Local means the weight accumulated in a specific field; for example, if I have accumulated a lot of the first four points in the finance and business field, then when I answer a question about entrepreneurship, even if there are 100 answers and I have zero approvals, my answer can still rank in the top 10 for that question.

Global means the weight in the entire ecosystem can only be accumulated slowly. For example, if A is a level 10 creator with 1000 salt value and B is 0, then regardless of the question or field, A's ranking will definitely be higher than B's.

The last three are a dynamic evaluation process based on content quality, which is a relatively subjective factor for the platform regarding quality content. Therefore, regardless of the platform, "watering down" is unlikely to yield long-term benefits.

• Reporting low-quality content is the fastest way to increase salt value, but do not report too many in one day, around 10 is sufficient.
• Content creation, meaning consistently writing articles, answering questions, sharing thoughts, and asking questions daily, is best accompanied by video releases.
• Complete personal information.
• Engage in more comments, likes, and follows to enhance Zhihu's system's goodwill towards you, indicating you are not a bot, which will also increase the account's weight.
• Strengthen interactions, not just with people but also by exploring circles, communities, live lectures, etc.
• Never violate rules; new accounts should avoid marketing. Engaging in marketing when the account weight is low can easily lead to account suspension.
• It is advisable to activate membership, which can enhance resistance to reports and provide exclusive customer service for timely responses to your messages, which can also help increase account weight.
• You can open a column in your area of expertise.
• Try to earn as many badges as possible and improve badge levels.
• Content is king; strive for answers to exceed 300 words and include an image under each question, which will enhance creator level and increase weight.
• Become an arbitrator. Once you become an arbitrator, daily arbitration will rapidly increase your salt value.

Since it is a content platform, content is king; only those who continuously produce quality content will gain more traffic. Therefore, Zhihu has established a creator level system. So how to improve creator levels?

• Write 1-3 answers daily, each over 300 words, with images and text for the best effect.
• Besides quality answers, also publish an article or share some thoughts.

Douyin's recommendation mechanism: After a new video is released, the system will first check for violations. If there are violations, the video will be deleted or the account will be suspended. Whether the account is suspended mainly depends on the degree of violation; generally, only the video is deleted. If there are no violations, the work will be successfully uploaded and simultaneously recommended to 200-500 online users. Thus, the initial traffic pool is about 300 people. If these 300 people achieve the required number of likes, comments, completions (watching the video to the end), and shares, the video will enter the pending recommendation list and move to the next traffic pool.

The overall traffic pool mechanism is as follows:

• Level 1: 200-500;
• Level 2: 1000-5000;
• Level 3: 10,000-20,000;
• Level 4: 100,000-120,000;
• Level 5: 400,000-600,000 (beginning manual review for recommendations);
• Level 6: 2 million-5 million;
• Level 7: 7 million-11 million.

Zombie accounts: If a person continuously publishes works for a week and their view count remains below 100, it can be determined that this account is a zombie account. Zombie accounts are difficult to gain traction. Generally, a person has only one real-name Douyin account; if such a situation occurs, you should prepare to re-establish the account.

Lowest weight accounts: If the works in your account have a view count between 100-200 for a week, it belongs to the lowest weight account. The lowest weight account will only be recommended to the D-level traffic pool. If your works do not exceed this view count for half a month, your account will be downgraded to a zombie account, effectively becoming useless.

Downgraded accounts: If an account is downgraded, the Douyin platform will send a clear notification. For example, if an account that previously had tens of thousands of views suddenly posts an advertisement or...

What is user operation? One definition is a behavior aimed at achieving product user activity, retention, and payment by formulating operational plans based on user needs.

In the content field, the purpose of user operation is singular: to become friends with users. This user operation is not entirely on the "technique" level but is more about resonating with users' emotions and reaching a consensus with their understanding (opinion leaders of social classes).

The emergence of these phenomenon-level excellent UP masters seems simple but actually captures the core pain points of users—sense of belonging and recognition. Here, I want to ask the first question: Do you understand your fans? To understand your fans, you mainly need to examine two aspects: user attributes and user behavior (which also reflects the uploader's ideology).

The role of user attributes is to help us understand users. Before we look at user attributes, we sometimes imagine what users look like, which can easily lead to content deviations. Over time, we will improve, and in fact, user attributes are also constantly changing.

Understanding user attributes and behaviors aims to achieve refined operations. When followers are below 100, we can cater to everyone; but when followers reach 10,000, you will find that the fan group will show clear differentiation. Only a few in the group will continuously interact with you, while the majority will become spectators, with their most common action being to simply like or nod at the screen. Therefore, it is essential to categorize and grade fan operations.

Categorization and grading are not new concepts; Moutai's management of distributors, Alibaba, Didi, Alipay, Weibo, Meituan, and others' management of members all utilize categorization and grading. When applied to video user operations, users are divided into three categories:

• Core users: Almost watch every video and frequently interact with you.
• General users: Often watch your videos but rarely interact.
• Casual fans: Belong to the onlookers, only watching when there is content of interest; otherwise, they do not pay much attention.

Effective refined management is crucial; having fans with energy levels too low or too high is undesirable. If your work is significantly above or below the user's understanding, it is a bad situation. This phenomenon has been validated in many fields; for example, Van Gogh's works were not appreciated by the public during his lifetime, but after his death, they became masterpieces; Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey" was a box office failure upon release, but years later, it became a classic film with high ratings.

The reason for this phenomenon is that the creator's ability and understanding are too advanced, making it difficult for users to comprehend, and they may even be rejected. However, it is highly likely that it will become a "masterpiece" later on.

I say this is bad in business but successful in art. Most creators I meet have some degree of passion and want to create "art" rather than merely "products." Good content, good knowledge, and good art can withstand the test of time. Even many years later, looking back, they will still be considered good content and not seen as nonsense from the author.

Whether positive or negative reviews, I believe they will bring some positive effects. Negative reviews may attract "haters," but "haters" usually observe you more closely; they are willing to find flaws in everything you say to refute you. Over time, if "haters" turn into "normal fans," they may become even more loyal.

Using content to express and maintain users deepens user understanding. Every internet celebrity has a lifecycle, just like artists in the entertainment industry. When we look back at many artists who became famous after starring in one or two dramas, they seem to disappear for many years afterward. The reason for this phenomenon is that artists fail to continuously produce better works.

Therefore, user operation should be straightforward with users; never deceive fans, as this is a major taboo for public figures. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and there is nothing wrong with being honest about them. We are all ordinary people; having flaws can actually make us more relatable and down-to-earth. However, if serious deception occurs, your influence will plummet, and there will be no hope of recovery.

Before becoming an UP master, one must be an upright person. After becoming an UP master, do not take yourself too seriously, nor should you belittle yourself; arrogance and inferiority will drive people away. The reason people like you is that you have shining points; if all content deviates from the essence and relies solely on performance, it will not last long.

Planning, executing, monitoring, and reviewing operational activities: The simplest and most direct way to stimulate user activity on public platforms is through activities, directly using basic monetary benefits to stimulate users.

This could involve making a repost, posting a dynamic update, or putting up a poster, but in reality, these are just forms of activities. If you have not established a complete understanding of activity operation, it will be difficult to replicate others' experiences, and evaluating the effectiveness will also be challenging.

However, the activity route has its thresholds for UP masters. For example, to have dynamic lottery privileges on platforms like Bilibili, you need an electromagnetic level of ≥ LV7, but this does not mean that activity operation is unimportant. There are many other forms of activities. Although the forms of activities available on various platforms today are still limited, they will definitely diversify in the future.

A basic way of thinking about activity operation is that regardless of how platform rules change in the future, you can respond freely. The simplest activity requires four steps: planning, execution, monitoring, and review.

Planning: Regardless of the scale of the activity, two crucial factors must be considered during planning: activity goals and activity budget. Each activity must have clear objectives, whether it is to attract new users or enhance engagement; both should be specified with concrete indicators while considering long-term results. If you say you just want to give fans some gifts without any other plans, that should not be considered a complete activity. An activity is a commercial behavior and comes with certain commercial purposes; giving gifts is merely a personal act.

When planning an activity, the first thing to choose is the activity form. Different activity forms will have different impacts on the goals. For example, a Weibo repost lottery activity is very simple, and those who hold such activities usually hope to expand their influence.

Activity goals (the core of the activity): All actions revolve around the goals. It is best to set a preliminary goal before starting, as this will provide an anchor point for executing and reviewing the activity. Activity themes: Themes need to be formulated to align with the current environment; "Double Eleven Shopping Festival," "New Year Goods Festival," and "Home Appliance Month" are all examples of activity themes.

Target audience: Either existing fans or new fans, usually aimed at attracting new users or stimulating activity. However, before conducting an activity, it is necessary to understand user attributes and have a thorough understanding of fan profiles to more easily formulate activity themes and forms.

Activity timing: Typically includes preheating time, start time, end time, and reward distribution time. Activity forms and rules: These are formulated based on the activity theme and goals. For example, we can refer to Alipay's New Year "Collect Five Blessings" activity, which has a main storyline.

Promotion channels: Depending on different activities, choose different channels and prepare different promotional materials. For instance, if some UP masters want others to help repost something, they will prepare videos or articles; if they plan to promote their products, they will prepare online posters and offline pull-up banners.

Indicator monitoring: The purpose of indicator monitoring is to control potential risks that may arise during the activity or adjust parameters based on the environment, such as cost indicators and target indicators. For example, if conducting a community traffic diversion activity, after the posters and videos are released, if it is found that everyone only claims rewards but is unwilling to join the community, the reason needs to be identified. The reason may be that the value of the community has not been clearly communicated, requiring adjustments to the relevant copy in the promotional materials.

Common FAQs: Many large activities will have a FAQ document for operators or customer service to answer user questions. However, for many small activities held by UP masters themselves, the rules are not that complex, so this item is usually not included.

Activity review: I believe the activity review is the most important part of the entire activity. Many people treat the review as a celebration or performance statistics meeting. However, the purpose of the review is singular: to do better in the future.

Execution and monitoring: During execution, adhere to unified standards and execute rigorously; during monitoring, adapt to headwinds and take advantage of tailwinds.
Review: During the review, it is necessary to have a sufficient understanding of the overall situation. If it is a company review, every participant should be involved; if it is a personal review, one should develop a good habit of recording indicators at each time point. This way, during the review process, it will be easier to restore the changes in various indicators throughout the activity and summarize experiences better.

Data operation: Use data to speak during the review. Data is the only standard for testing the quality of the video market. A film may win awards but not necessarily have high box office; it may also have average reviews but high box office. For a commercial behavior, the second scenario is successful; for art, the first scenario is successful.

Statistical key video data to avoid disconnecting from the market.

The biggest benefit of data statistics and reviews is that they can lead to unexpected conclusions. Let's walk through the review process together.

When collecting data, there are two important data tables: one is the daily data table, and the other is the individual work data table. Daily data table: The daily data table mainly collects the following data: video impressions, views, likes, comments, net follower growth, view-to-follower growth efficiency, view-to-like efficiency, total follower count; these data are compiled according to each platform's statistics.

It is important to note that the statistical rules differ across platforms. The main platforms are Xigua Video, Douyin, and Bilibili, so we primarily collect data from these three platforms. If your focus is on other platforms, you can emphasize collecting data from those platforms. For example, the backend of Xigua Video and Bilibili shows daily corresponding data, which can be found in the "Creator Backend - Work Data." Douyin's data is also available in its backend, but Douyin only retains data for one month. If your review cycle is long, you should develop a habit of regularly updating data.

Individual work data table: The second table is the statistical data for individual works, with specific indicators including sending time, cover title, video type, total duration, average completion duration, completion rate, view-to-like rate, follower growth stagnation point, view stagnation point, like stagnation point, comment stagnation point, view-to-follower conversion rate, and like-to-follower conversion rate.

Like rate (coin rate), comment rate, collection rate, and share rate are four evaluation indicators for video quality. If it is a normal video, the like rate (coin rate) is usually high; if it is a hardcore knowledge video, the collection rate will be high; if it is a humorous or absurd video, the comment rate and share rate will be high.

Therefore, these four indicators have different standards for measuring quality depending on the type of video. Since my videos are all hardcore knowledge content, the main indicators I focus on are the like rate (coin rate) and collection rate.

The data from a single video cannot reflect quality; only by comparing it with other works can its strengths and weaknesses be identified. Next, let's discuss how to conduct regular data reviews and which aspects to focus on during data reviews.

Regarding work-to-follower conversion rate and total view-to-follower conversion rate, there are calculation formulas:
Work-to-follower conversion rate = follower count / work count
Total view-to-follower conversion rate = total view count / total follower count

For UP masters, if one starts with the sole purpose of making money, it may backfire; without the support of interest and passion, coupled with a long period without income, many will retreat. If you start by creating out of love, it can make the subsequent path easier.

The other extreme is that some people create purely out of love, without considering anything else, which is also overly radical; after all, understanding more information is generally a good thing (cognitive bias and cognitive anchoring).

For some small UP masters, with follower counts only between 10,000 and 50,000, it is relatively difficult for them to secure many commercial contracts, especially on platforms like Douyin (it is relatively easier on Bilibili). Therefore, entering a vertical field, accurately attracting followers, and using high conversion paths for strong monetization is also a viable option.

So, should we plan our monetization path from day one? The answer is not to force it, nor to completely disregard it. If you are entering a vertical field, it is advisable to investigate the monetization situations of others in the same field in advance and focus on follower conversion rates in subsequent content creation. If you belong to narrative or aesthetic fields that are not vertical, then initially aim for a larger volume; at this time, finding ways to produce super viral videos that can trend is more important.

Monetization method one: Traffic monetization.

The advantage of traffic monetization is that it is direct and simple, while the downside is that the scale is small. A few thousand yuan in traffic income is like a drop in the bucket for many living in first- and second-tier cities. What is truly valuable is other income, such as commercial advertising, which is also a key source of income for other UP masters.

Monetization method two: Commercial advertising. Commercial advertising is the simplest and fastest way for most UP masters to monetize. Because the value of fans differs across platforms and fields, the quotes given by clients also vary. However, there is a general principle: "Small accounts do not underquote, large accounts do not overquote." Taking Bilibili as an example, in the early stages, a video from a UP master with 10,000 followers may have a similar impact and exposure as a video from a UP master with 50,000 followers, but many small UP masters with 10,000 followers are hesitant to quote.

For top UP masters, the general ratio of followers to commercial contract prices is between 4-8 (a UP master with 1 million followers quotes 150,000-250,000 yuan). Of course, there are exceptions, mainly depending on the UP master's influence. Overall, fields like knowledge, technology, and automotive are relatively high-value areas, while food and beauty fields tend to have lower prices due to weaker fan loyalty and insufficient verticality.

Bilibili's Huohuo commercial contracts, Douyin, and Xigua Video's Xingtu platform are places where creators can connect with clients. Typically, the guiding prices given by Huohuo commercial contracts are relatively low. If it is a vertical field account, you can quote higher and consult your peers. Platforms have provided price protection mechanisms to avoid price competition, allowing you to quote directly according to the guiding price. Generally speaking, the main source of commercial contracts comes from private messages sent to you by various platforms, so everyone should develop a good habit of responding to private messages.

Since the threshold for starting an MCN is not very high, many media representatives come to ask for prices, with a significant proportion being "just asking, not buying." At this point, it is advisable to clarify their needs: Which company is the client? What are the specific requirements? When is the advertising period? What are the main platforms for advertising? Can you see the specific task prompts? Once you have asked all these questions, you will have a good idea of whether the media or client is sincere.

Commercial advertising resources require long-term accumulation. Even if you do not have any in the early stages, it is okay. When your works go viral, many will come to you on their own.

When negotiating commercial contracts, many media representatives will request a kickback; this is an unwritten rule, but whether to give it depends on the UP master. From a purely profit perspective, if you have very few advertisers and mainly rely on a few people's resources, giving a kickback may be necessary. If you have many advertisers, you can choose to refuse to give kickbacks.

A UP master's commercial contract catalog includes several important pieces of information: account name, platform, follower count, cooperation form, contract price, and notes.

When media representatives or clients request a catalog, they usually come from a single platform, so if you feel that this client is promising, you can recommend more platforms to them. This way, the client's return on investment will be higher, and the UP master can earn more.

On many platforms, the catalog content format is not limited to videos; it also includes text, dynamics, and Q&A. Videos, text, and dynamics can be further divided into customized and direct releases. Customized means the client provides requirements, and the UP master writes and produces corresponding content based on those requirements; direct release means the client has ready-made content and only hopes the UP master can publish it on their account.

Monetization method three: Signing contracts.

Signing contracts involves a trade-off between stability and risk. Signing contracts provides a stable cash flow supply, giving you security in operations; however, signing with a single platform means losing some other possibilities.

Basically, this is viewed from today's perspective regarding the future. Many people may encounter such issues in the future. Here, I want to say that if you want to sign a contract, you must clarify several things: What are the details of the contract? Is it just for videos or the entire IP? What will you gain after signing? What will you lose? How will the remuneration be provided? What are the certain and uncertain forms of remuneration? How long is the contract period? Under what circumstances would it constitute a breach of contract? How will compensation be handled? Are the breach clauses mutually equitable?

All these questions cannot be decided by others; you must strive to see the environment clearly before making a decision.

Monetization method four: E-commerce and paid knowledge.

E-commerce monetization is the method that contributes the most to revenue across platforms. When we scroll through Douyin, we see many UP masters recommending toothbrushes, towels, or knowledge courses; when scrolling through Bilibili, we can also see people selling snacks or tech products.

The most common monetization method for knowledge UP masters. In addition to the monetization methods mentioned above, user tips, platform activity rewards, and paid user consultations can also generate income. However, from an overall platform perspective, these account for a relatively small proportion, so I will not elaborate further.

Understanding the Various Forms of MCN#

The MCN model originates from the mature operation of influencer economies abroad. The existing MCN institutions in China are more about uniting creators and packaging content influence and commercial value for sale to advertisers, thus achieving a connection between both ends. Many domestic MCNs primarily act as media advertising intermediaries, while a few MCNs also provide full-chain services such as content output, supply chain provision, and IP operation.

What are the values of signing with an MCN? The common forms of cooperation with MCNs on the market mainly include the following:

• Providing UP masters with script writing, video editing, and other content production services. Since this method increases costs, MCNs usually choose to cooperate with UP masters in this way only in the early stages to bind resources with the UP masters or to secure cooperation with larger UP masters.
• Providing basic operational tasks such as account video publishing, comment replies, and promotional follower acquisition.

Since these services can vary greatly, they are often difficult to quantify in contracts, which is why many MCN institutions love to mention these conditions when signing contracts with UP masters. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, it is not advisable to cooperate with MCN institutions solely for this reason. If cooperation is necessary, you can achieve graded quantification in the contract, for example, if followers are below 10,000, the MCN institution does not participate in any revenue sharing; if followers reach 50,000, the revenue sharing method for commercial contracts is ××; if followers reach 200,000, the revenue sharing method for commercial contracts is ××. These stipulations will increase the motivation of the MCN.

Providing business cooperation services will involve revenue sharing. This behavior essentially means that anyone can sign, but no one is responsible. When a UP master becomes successful, the MCN institution can benefit.

The second form is IP selling. If the contract states that IP ownership and usage rights belong to the MCN, such a contract is a "rogue contract." If the MCN's capabilities are strong enough, there is no need for such monopolization; if monopolization occurs, it indicates a desire for unearned gains.

The MCN industry faces significant monetization pressure, and the dividends from various platforms are gradually diminishing; these dividends will eventually disappear. Additionally, since MCN institutions typically have fixed profit margins, the increasing number of competitors intensifies the pressure, making it difficult for many MCNs to operate.

When a small UP master signs with an MCN institution, they should conduct thorough research; otherwise, they may not even realize when the MCN goes bankrupt. Some content-heavy MCNs have long monetization cycles, and finding paths can be slow. For MCNs that act as agents, while monetization speed may be slightly faster, the profit margins are not high; for e-commerce supply chain MCNs, the model is too heavy, requiring relatively large capital; for IP licensing MCNs, the initial investment is too high, but future certainty is very low; for MCNs focusing on operational marketing, they require high resource integration capabilities, and if advertising partnerships are unstable, operational risks may arise at any time; for other knowledge payment and community payment MCNs, the current scale is too small to form a climate.

Currently, the two most common types of MCN institutions on the market are those that independently incubate influencers, holding absolute control over the influencers' IP, and those that sign existing well-known influencers, primarily expanding their business by providing commercial contract services. IP and content are the two most valuable links in the entire industry chain, and those who hold the high ground will dominate. Gaining the high ground requires either strong capabilities or significant capital investment. If neither is present, it is nearly impossible to make a name for oneself in this field under the current environment.

For platforms, it is best to have a solid platform to deal with the flowing UP masters. However, for most small and medium UP masters, it is also acceptable to first hold onto a decent "big leg" and become a mainstay on that platform before branching out.

IP and content are the evergreen cores of platform works. Whether it is the platform's traffic recommendations or operational rules, other resources obtained are merely icing on the cake and should not be blindly followed.

Being an UP master requires continuously producing quality content, and there will always be issues with content updates. The first major issue for most UP masters is how to continuously produce quality content.

Every profession has its distinctions between professionals and amateurs. Professionals need to have good professional qualities, solid knowledge and skills, and unique insights, while inexperienced college students and those with only one or two years of work experience lack sufficient accumulation. When market conditions change, how do we determine whether our content is problematic, whether the platform rules have changed, or whether the macro environment of the entire industry has shrunk? These judgments require information support. Since newcomers find it difficult to receive this information, biases may arise in decision-making, leading to complaints about the platform or believing their content is inadequate, resulting in interruptions or severe delays in updates, ultimately affecting the account's weight.

The dividing line between full-time and part-time is essentially whether one's cash flow is positive. If stable income equals rigid expenses, it means the UP master has more choices and can pursue a more diversified path.

Future opportunities for UP masters:

Where are the future opportunities for being an UP master? In summary: "Make short videos longer, make medium and long videos refined, do what big UP masters have not done well, and do what small UP masters cannot do."

Make short videos longer. This point is based on user demand. Whether it is a dance video featuring handsome men and beautiful women, a singing video from a music blogger, or a food-making and eating broadcast, to provide users with a satisfying experience, a minimum length of 5 minutes is required, with some even needing 30 minutes.

Do what big UP masters have not done well. Every UP master has their own style and characteristics, so someone good at A is unlikely to excel at B. Those who have done A do not have the time or energy to do B. Finding market gaps where big UP masters have not performed well is the best entry opportunity for us as newcomers. We can read comments in their video comment sections and find that some users are looking forward to certain content that these top creators have not adequately met.

Do what small UP masters cannot do. This is a form of dimensionality reduction attack; more accurately, it means doing what you are good at, focusing on content within your expertise. Since we are professionals, the works we produce will be of higher quality than most others. We can see that many successful narrative accounts are run by actors or screenwriters, and high-quality knowledge UP masters are also professionals in their respective fields.

The cooperation process is also a mutual selection process; it is normal for some to stay and some to leave.

How can UP masters continue to thrive? Every industry and profession has its lifecycle, with periods of prosperity and decline; this is an objective law. Here, I want to mention the following two points:

• The times are changing, and platform demands and internal management are also changing, as are aesthetic standards.
• Very few people can remain popular for long. Good content is a product of the times and can reflect economic and market changes. Many films are called classics precisely because they reflect the sentiments of people during that era (the hindsight effect) and address the inner needs of people at that time. The way people consume art is also influenced by market economics.

In a market economy, competition exists between individuals; when you earn 10 yuan, someone else earns 20 yuan, which means you have effectively lost 10 yuan. Because when others earn 20 yuan, prices will inevitably rise, and your 10 yuan will significantly reduce your purchasing power, resulting in a loss.

If making money is a game, it is definitely a race. Based on this, there is a rule that business profits, entry barriers, and the number of practitioners cannot coexist simultaneously. Businesses with high profits may be less known, allowing those who are aware to benefit from the information disparity (information is not very transparent within circles).

Profits, barriers, and the number of practitioners can only take two out of three. If a business has low entry barriers and high profits, it is likely that few people know about it. If many people know about it and profits remain high, it indicates that the entry barriers are high, such as in real estate, AI, and smart hardware. Everyone knows that these industries have good profits, but the entry barriers are too high; without capital or core technology, it is difficult to succeed.

What is business? Business is about finding demand prices; customers are actually paying for their needs, not for your product costs.

For example, the same cup of water can be sold for 10,000 yuan in an endless desert, and thirsty people will buy it. However, if it is sold at a supermarket near your home for 10 yuan, it will affect sales. This is due to the different environments, which cause variations in the rigidity of demand.

Looking at consulting companies, they rarely take on businesses from small and medium enterprises, not because there is no demand, but because when providing consulting to large enterprises in the same industry, the workload does not increase significantly. For consulting companies, the costs are roughly the same. When consulting information is provided to enterprises, if a small enterprise's performance increases from 500,000 to 2 million, it may pay you 200,000; however, if a large enterprise's profit increases from 10 million to 20 million, it may pay you 2 million for consulting.

Viewing UP masters from an investment perspective#

Investment is a lifelong endeavor. Perhaps when I grow old, my body and time will not allow me to start a business again, but I will continue to invest.

In fact, entrepreneurship is also an investment, and the investment is not just money but also people. Whether to choose the path of being an UP master is itself a significant investment decision.

Recognizing the macro market environment, understanding your own needs and inner self, being an UP master is not easy; the threshold is low, the competition is fierce, and the platform dynamics must be navigated to survive.