In the development process of online media, along with the practice of its own operations, the exploration of profit models has never stopped for a moment. In the Warring States Period of the Internet, media networks must have a keen business vision. Whoever seizes the opportunity will be ahead. Learn from experience and lessons, keep a close eye on market trends, adjust profit models, and ensure that online media operations are on a safe track. Chinese online media, especially those websites that have considerable scale and strength and have been operated as a company, are constantly innovating. Below, we break down the profit model of online media.
1. Common information content charges
Based on the current information content revenue models of Chinese and foreign online media, there are generally three types: 1. News and information content are packaged and sold to other websites or Media sales; 2. Users pay to browse the website; 3. Users pay to query the database.
The success of content charging does not happen overnight. It requires high quality of information, high uniqueness of content (that is, low substitutability), convenient and complete payment mechanism, sound consumer payment concepts, low Internet access rates, and high speed. Fast, clear market segmentation, content that is not easily counterfeited and copied, etc.
2. Internet-specific information
Network-specific information refers to a highly professional network media customized according to the special needs of relevant governments and enterprises and institutions. Electronic readers with certain practicality and effectiveness can be collected regularly by subscribers through the network pass (password) given by the online media. For example, various reference electronic texts are compiled for the financial system, real estate system, automobile, building materials, chemical industry, environmental protection and other industries respectively. This kind of text can also appear in conjunction with printed matter. Subscribers generally subscribe for half a year or a year at a time, and the charges for this kind of exclusive information are generally relatively high. People's Daily Online and Xinhuanet currently have this business. For example, People's Daily Online's e-reader of the latest policy information has a very good sales momentum.
3. Online live broadcast
This marketing model was introduced and developed from television and radio. According to the needs of government departments or enterprises, online media sends people to the scene to conduct live online broadcasts of their activities. Text, pictures or audio-visual content can be accessed online at the first time. Compared with other media, it has its own unique advantages. It does not require expensive equipment for live broadcasts, does not require a huge live broadcast team, and the charges are relatively low. It can also communicate with readers directly through the Internet. The live content can be read multiple times, and you can adjust it at any time long after. read.
. 4. Jointly launch online special topics with governments and enterprises
Online media provide publishing and technical platforms, and jointly launch online special topics within their business scope with governments and enterprises. There is a lot of space. This idea is based on the brand and influence of online media and is immortal. Governments and enterprises use a larger and better network platform to publish their own information, expand their influence, and promote their products. The effect is much better than their own websites, and they also save a lot of manpower and costs. Why not for?
5. Syndicated manuscripts
Syndicated manuscripts have been very developed abroad. The world's largest manuscript syndicated websites include iSyndicate, ScreamingMedia and YellowBrix. Manuscript syndication is the simplest way and way to share online media resources. Press releases, in-depth reports, and columnist articles are available for joint publication or purchase by various websites. This manuscript can be for the mass market or for niche markets.
For example, China Youth Network has produced a very detailed and in-depth report and information database on China’s college admissions this summer. This kind of information and manuscripts can be provided to other websites through syndication. Syndicating manuscripts can not only enrich content, reduce costs, and increase revenue, but also increase clicks by clicking on syndicated manuscripts. A syndicated title is more likely to drive clicks than a website's logo.
6. Turn traditional media content into a source of wealth for online media
News media leaders often worry that putting too much content from traditional media online will have a negative impact on print media. Negative impacts on operations will affect the protection of content, the most commercially valuable resource of traditional media. However, if excessive restrictions on the development of news-worthy content on the Internet “will disappoint netizens, because netizens are becoming more and more picky about the content of websites and their appetites are growing.
"In fact, most visitors to news media websites are not subscribers to the print version of the media. Most of the people who oppose putting print content online come from the publishing and distribution and other marketing departments of newspapers, rather than from the editorial departments of newspapers. When readers buy a magazine or newspaper, they pay not the cost of the content, but the cost of printing and distribution. Online media reduces the cost of media to zero and opens the door to new audiences who have not had the opportunity to read your content in the past. Readers have opened the door. These new audiences will become your new source of wealth.
7. Practical consumption information function charges
The Internet has a variety of powerful practical information services. In the past, in order to attract users, most functions such as email and homepage space were provided to users for free. However, paid services or paid VIP services have become the starting point for website operations. For websites with huge credibility and influence, social and economic development. Enterprises and institutions in various fields such as culture will think of using its communication platform. Therefore, the prospects for charging for services or achieving "win-win" through various cooperations are very broad.
Obviously, the information of online media is driving. Only after consuming and generating a value chain can it reflect its own value and bring economic benefits. With the process of digitalization, new consumption areas and value chains such as online expansion of digital photography and electronic photo albums are bound to be formed.
8. Mobile phone text message charges
Nowadays, mobile phones are not only a communication tool for two-way voice communication, but also a popular information dissemination tool. The title of "fifth media" seems to belong to it. my country's mobile phone text messages The growth is spectacular. In this emerging field and market, in addition to mobile telecommunications operators, the biggest beneficiaries are various content providers. Nowadays, mobile phone short message revenue has become an important source of online media revenue.
The biggest inspiration for us from mobile phone SMS revenue is that we need to make timely and accurate judgments about new technologies and new markets. As early as June 19, 2000, the online version of People’s Daily (renamed "In August of the same year"). "People's Daily Online") Japanese version and English version of the imode mobile website were officially opened in Japan, becoming the first website in China to enable mobile Internet access to send short messages to subscribers. However, after a lapse of two years, by May and June 2002, the World Cup At the time of the competition, People's Daily Online launched mobile phone text message news subscriptions in China. News media websites often unfortunately lost opportunities for development due to their lack of profit awareness and inflexible mechanisms.
9. E-commerce. Platform
It is also a common model for online media to build e-commerce platforms as a means of revenue. Among news media websites, the representative ones are the book sales of Dayang.com (Guangzhou Daily website) and YNET. COM (Beijing Youth Daily website)'s "group buying" platform
Dayang.com is the first news media website with obvious e-commerce nature in China, and its mark is that it was established in 2000. The "Ocean Book City" currently has two branch stations in Shanghai and Beijing in addition to the main station in Guangzhou. After Ocean Bookstore receives a customer's online order, the staff will confirm it by phone, and then use the nearly 3,000-person delivery team of Guangzhou Daily's self-run distribution network to deliver the goods to consumers in a short time. In terms of payment, Dayang Bookstore has cooperated with Guangdong UnionPay to establish an online payment system supported by more than 12 banks. With the addition of cash on delivery, post office remittance and other methods, readers have more flexible and convenient payment methods. It solves the two major problems of distribution and payment in e-commerce. Ocean Bookstore currently provides more than 100,000 kinds of books, CDs, software and other publications. In 2001, online sales reached nearly 10 million yuan. The phenomenon of individual consumers realizing "group purchasing" out of the same purchasing intention is a new market phenomenon and purchasing phenomenon in domestic economic life in 2002. Its emergence is closely related to network communication, and the latter is the most ideal intermediary and communication platform for the former.
E-commerce has gone through a long period of "burning money" and has finally begun to pick up. There are many ways to make profits. Such as the implementation of membership system is one of them.
Industry website membership fees vary, and some can receive tens of thousands of yuan. For example, Sinochem.com’s ‘network access fee’ for each member is 12,000 yuan, and an additional 6,000 yuan service fee is required every year. From this alone, the website’s annual revenue reaches more than 40 million yuan. Some websites make money by charging franchise fees. That is to open a franchise store online, or share resources together and obtain a corresponding proportion of returns.
For example, the 8848 website has opened an online alliance, where customers can open a store at any time, and the lowest fee is only 1 yuan per day. Some alliance stores charge rent or door fees, the amount varies. Since it relies on scale to make money, the general expenses are relatively low. Websites such as eBay, which are mainly B2C (business to individual consumers), mainly rely on charging platform usage fees. Such as merchant item registration fees, floor price setting fees, item recommendation fees, transaction service fees, etc. In addition, charging a price difference fee is also favored by some websites. For example, Zhuoyue, Dangdang, etc., through online logistics distribution, after customers purchase, they will be delivered to their doorsteps to earn the price difference.
Looking at the overall situation, e-commerce has emerged from the misunderstandings of the past two years that it was only about “creating eyeball appeal” and has begun to make profits. In 2003, China's online shopping transaction volume was approximately 790 million yuan, a growth rate of 116.2% over the previous year. Some experts predict that this year it will reach about 1.6 billion yuan. Jack Ma, chairman and CEO of Alibaba, predicted: "China's e-commerce industry pattern will undergo tremendous changes! China's Internet will transform from the era of "netizens" to the era of "online merchants."
10. Network Access< /p>
The largest operators of network access are China Telecom and Radio and Television. In other words, the technology and market size of telecommunications transmission networks and cable TV transmission networks determine the current growth and decline of ADSL and cable modem.
From a technical perspective, ADSL is constantly increasing in speed. For example, in July 2002, major ADSL operators in Japan announced that they were preparing to provide services with transmission speeds exceeding 8Mbit/s. In March 2003, Centillium Communications of the United States released the latest ADSL technology "eXtremeDSL MAX". Its characteristic is to simultaneously increase the maximum transmission speed of uplink and downlink, and can extend the ADSL service provision distance between base stations. In terms of transmission speed, the maximum transmission speed from the base station to the user's residence (downlink) is 50Mbit/s, and the maximum transmission speed from the user's residence to the base station (uplink) is 3Mbit/s. In addition, when the distance from the base station is up to 7km, it can still ensure a downlink transmission speed of 192kbit/s, which exceeds ISDN. ⑥From the perspective of the domestic market, although the bandwidth currently provided by ADSL is limited, the momentum of telecommunications promotion is aggressive. Although the cable TV transmission network has certain inherent advantages in terms of broadband network access, in the fierce competition, whether it can become the "big brother" in the market still needs to use its own actions to answer this challenge.
Here is a brief introduction to Taiwan Dongsen Media Technology Group (hereinafter referred to as "Dongsen Group"). Under the trend of global media integration of communication, information and telecommunications industries, Dongsen Group has taken the lead. Since 1995, it has rapidly transformed from its original role as a traditional cable TV operator to one that combines mass media and information networks. and cross-media operators in telecommunications. After 5 or 6 years of development, it has become a "four-in-one" media group covering radio, television, print media, and online media. Dongsen clearly proposed the concept of 4C media, which is the integrated marketing service of media content business (Content), network and communication business (Communication), customer resource integration community business (Community), and e-commerce business (E-Commerce). In terms of network services, there are two main companies: ETToday and ETWebs. The former focuses on the Internet of Dongsen TV news, especially audio and video content resources; the latter focuses on broadband Internet services, online interactive TV services, broadband platform and content provision, website mergers and acquisitions, and investment. Both have their own broadband portals and sub-website groups, providing all-inclusive information content and various network services. Dongsen began to invest 5 billion yuan in 1998 to complete the infrastructure construction of the island's fiber-coaxial hybrid transmission network. In 1999, it officially launched broadband Internet services. Users grew rapidly. At the same time, it also targeted Taiwan's 500 billion yuan telecommunications market. Dongsen Broadband Telecommunications Company was specially established in 2000, and ADSL broadband Internet access was launched in 2001, thus rapidly expanding its business tentacles from the original CableModem market to the general dial-up and ADSL fields, which is equivalent to taking over all ISP network access services, and Other rivals have launched strong competition.
(Note: Taiwan calls "network" "network" and "broadband" "broadband")
11. Diversified business
Online media is like other media. Can conduct a variety of business related or unrelated to itself. Related businesses include online advertising production, domain name registration, hosting, space leasing, etc. You can also use your mature technology to provide website construction services to other customers. In April 2001, Shanghai Oriental Network launched the "Oriental Outlets" project by leveraging its brand advantages. In December of the same year, Shanghai Oriental Outlet Chain Management Co., Ltd. was registered and established. In 2002, the Oriental Outlets chain store took shape. Currently, it has 238 chain franchise stores. Accounting for one-third of the total number of Internet cafes in Shanghai. This move not only found an appropriate solution to the "Internet cafe" problem that has been criticized by society, but also opened up a new revenue field for Oriental.com. In short, how to develop offline business areas is also something that online media should consider.
12. New broadband services
Broadband networks can provide richer and diversified content and service models. For users, the initial selling point of broadband networks is of course high-speed Internet access. However, after high-speed Internet access is realized, users will immediately face higher and more requirements. Whether service providers can provide the content and services that users demand will be related to their growth. The most important factor or not. In a word, the value of broadband Internet access does not lie in the Internet itself, but in its content provision and service provision.
One of the major changes brought about by broadband networks is that the entertainment functions of the network have been greatly improved. The most obvious manifestations at present are the two major upsurges in online games and online viewing and downloading of film and television works.
In 2000, the output value of Korean online games reached US$110 million, which was six times that of 1999. The rapid growth of the output value of South Korea's online gaming industry is a miracle created by the strong interaction with the prosperity of the Internet cafe industry and the popularization of broadband networks. Korean online games are currently making a big inroad into the domestic market. Many websites have identified online games as another profit growth point after mobile phone text messages.
Radio and television media are the largest owners of audio and video program resources and should play the role of major providers of broadband content in the market. What's more, in January this year, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued Order No. 15, which imposed strict restrictions on market access. But we must see that driven by profit, many websites providing audio and video programs have emerged today. The content may be pornographic, novel, exciting, or infringes copyright. However, users need to register and pay. This is the reason for the operation of such websites. Common practice. While radio and television online media are discussing how to face the market, these alternative websites are making money and enjoying themselves secretly. Regardless of whether it is broadband network access or broadband network content and service provision, the radio and television departments and the media have innate advantages. However, we have to admit that how to find the right market entrance and make profits as soon as possible is always a problem we face. .
13. Online Advertising
In the advertising market, although online media is still unable to compete with traditional media, it is an aspect of its revenue that cannot be ignored, and in recent years It has always maintained a growth trend. Since 2001, many innovations have been made in the form of online advertising, and the business philosophy has also undergone great changes. These have laid the foundation for competing for a larger advertising market share in the future. Here we will focus on this online advertising that has huge profit potential.
With the popularization of broadband networks, streaming media and multimedia web page production technology can transform traditional online advertising into an interactive mode. In addition to using video on demand, live broadcasts can also be used to attract the attention of netizens. For example, in January this year, there was an online underwear conference in Taiwan, which set a record of 100,000 online viewers at the same time. Interactive design is also the focus of online advertising effectiveness. For example, Coca-Cola launched a new online advertisement at the end of February. Netizens can enjoy three different styles of theme songs and vote for their favorite song online. "Expandable interactive advertising" is different from the previous forced viewing method. The characteristic is that the advertising creativity and information must be actively clicked by netizens before they are fully presented. It can increase brand favorability due to netizens' right to choose.
Recently, the Taipei Media Service Agents Association interviewed 107 advertisers and people above the media management level to produce a survey report on the development of the advertising industry and media trends in 2003. The conclusion shows that the Internet and TV are the most promising media for future development. Even more than half of advertisers believe that the Internet is the media with the greatest development potential in the next five years, while media professionals believe that the Internet and TV have equal potential. Advertising forms derived from traditional media are not the focus of this article.
14. Online distance education
The so-called online distance education is through computer network, multimedia and remote communication technology A new cross-regional and cross-school education system and teaching model implemented in a combined form. China's online media can fully utilize its existing advantages to cooperate with domestic and foreign educational institutions to carry out online distance education.
Compared with the teaching method in traditional education that is centered on teaching and uses blackboards, chalks and teacher's lectures as the main means, online distance education can not only replace its main functions, but also has incomparable advantages. superiority.
In the era of industrial economy, the model of education is that students walk into the classroom; in the era of information economy, the model of education is that the classroom leads to students. However, online distance education is not a universal education method, and it cannot completely replace traditional education methods. The traditional education method is a face-to-face education method between people. It has advantages that online distance education cannot match in terms of emotional cultivation and personality shaping. The dissemination of knowledge, demonstration of behavior, and communication of emotions cannot be achieved by a cold computer alone. In face-to-face direct communication, the teacher's personality charm and love, the parents' earnest teachings, and the emotional interactions between classmates are all part of education. People not only have natural attributes, but also social attributes. The traditional teaching method provides people with a living environment where everyone is the same: there are teachers and classmates, and a complete set of normative systems (such as school rules, Code), which is a microcosm of society, allowing students to learn to seek harmony and balance between collective society and individual freedom. This will enable students to learn to abide by the group's rules of the game and learn to respect, understand, compromise, care and help. In addition, online distance education may not be suitable for all education levels and courses. It requires students to have strong self-learning ability and be able to use computers. Some experts pointed out that there is still a long way to go before online distance education can be perfected, but no matter what, online distance education has become a powerful supplement to traditional teaching methods with its own advantages.
However, with the further popularization of the Internet, online distance education will surely become a hot spot for economic growth of online media.
15. Online games
Breaking through the "Korean" trend. Online game operators are desperate for profits. Since the second half of last year, Kingsoft has spent tens of millions of yuan gambling on "Swordsman Online" and made huge profits; Guangtong's "Legend 3" was crowded with servers on the day of its open beta, making tens of millions of yuan a day and making huge profits. Bundle. NetEase's online game revenue has accounted for 40% of total revenue.
The profit model of online games mainly relies on selling various game cards. In terms of channels, we have established a business system that directly faces end customers, mainly based on Internet cafes. Many websites have also built a large sales network across the country, selling through game stores in various places. At the same time, it has opened online payment functions for investment, industrial and commercial, people's livelihood, construction and other banks, as well as post office, wire transfer and other channels; in terms of price, popular games are basically maintained at less than 1 yuan and can be purchased for 10 points, while others depend on their popularity. Decreasingly; in terms of time, the monthly fee card can be used to surf the Internet at will within the specified period, while the point card is strictly consumed according to points. Each point can be played for about 15 minutes. The current game point card timing function is accurate to the second; in terms of content , currently major websites still focus on being foreign game agents, with domestic games accounting for less than 20%.
As a new form of entertainment, many websites are no longer willing to succumb to the "Korean" trend for a long time and are working hard to break through. "Nowadays, the price of being an agent for a good foreign game is too expensive, and the entry fee is generally between 5 million and 20 million." Zhang Hui, a business consultant at the Sina Game Information Center, said with deep emotion: "The share ratio in the operation is also heartbreaking. , foreign developers can account for as low as 10%, and even as high as 50%. Therefore, the road to localization will be the fundamental direction in the future.
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Major websites naturally understand this truth, have invested huge sums of money, increased independent research and development, and made great achievements. Since the end of last year, "The Way of Chivalry", "The Qing Empire", "Fantasy" "Journey to the West" and so on have been released and entered the market. Shanda's "Legendary World" has achieved unprecedented success. Its online sales system,
16. Multimedia Message (MMS) Business
MMS. (MMS) profit mainly lies in its multimedia information service function. For this reason, MMS operators have worked hard to continuously enrich the service space of this function. At present, MMS has been dyed with countless beautiful and attractive colors. On the Internet, merchants have opened channels such as "MMS pictures, animated classified navigation" for customers with various mobile phones. Customers can convert their favorite pictures of celebrities, pets, scenery, etc. on the Internet into MMS and send them out; Send music, greeting cards, MMS animations, ringtones, videos, etc. to the people you like; you are not restricted by word processing, even if you send a 5,000-word article to your lover; you can send and receive emails through online MMS for all kinds of making friends and doing business You can also subscribe and download many types of content, including photography, video, etc. Of course, the price is not cheap. If you want to send a color picture or greeting card, it will cost at least 1-3 yuan per month. Between 5 and 25 yuan, it is difficult for most civilians to accept it. The mainstream status of the text message (SMS) market is still irreplaceable, mainly due to its price advantage. Despite this, it is an indisputable fact that the number of MMS users is growing rapidly. , Businessmen are even more enthusiastic about it, and have carried out various activities.
17. Internet "Angel Financing"
my country's venture capital first sprouted in the early 1980s. The world is in an era of new technological revolution. On the other side of the Pacific, the "Silicon Valley" in the United States and the role of venture capital in promoting the new technological revolution have come into our eyes. "The Decision" pointed out: "For high-tech development work that changes rapidly and has high risks, venture capital investment can be established to support it. "In this way, the development of venture capital in China has a policy basis and guarantee. In September of the same year, China's first venture capital company, China New Technology Venture Capital Corporation, was approved to be established.
Entering the 1990s , with the gradual transformation of my country's economic system and the continuous expansion and deepening of opening up to the outside world, my country's development and guidance of high-tech development zones has gradually shifted to the direction of attracting venture capital and promoting high-tech industrialization. In 1984, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. It was the first to launch a loan business, and then other commercial banks also rushed to launch this business. In just a few years, the scale of the technology loan project increased rapidly from 15 million yuan to 80 million yuan. billion, has become the main channel for technology loans
In the high-tech industry and economic circles, venture capital, venture capital, venture capital, venture capital, etc. are no longer unfamiliar terms; they have become popular terms. A hot topic of increasing concern. In 1998, Intel and Motorola invested US$5 million in Shenzhen Shengrun Network Systems Co., Ltd. in my country. In a crazy state, when the venture capital boom hit, the second Zhongguancun Yinkeda Association, China's IT industry leader Lenovo Group, announced that it would invest 3.8 billion yuan in venture capital to enter the field of venture capital. They are: first, they must have financing capabilities and be able to operate capital according to the rules of the game; second, they must be professional experts with a full understanding of the market; third, they must be management experts who can identify good seedlings and help companies understand the market and operations; fourth, they must use extensive social communication capabilities to ensure smooth information channels in all aspects. 5. Professional talent pool, transporting talents to investment companies when needed.
18. Stock listing
Internet stock listing. Creating one miracle after another on Wall Street: the Amazon bookstore founded by JEFF changed its original investment from US$10,000 to US$300 million in three years, and Netscape went public. The boss of Netscape became a billionaire overnight, and all of this was breaking the rules of Wall Street: no profit record, no outstanding management team, and no business plan that could turn losses into profits in the short term. Iron-clad rules are useless in front of Internet companies.
Amazon Bookstore IPO: Turning the Tide. In the summer of 1996, under the influence of the general decline in technology stocks, Internet stocks experienced the first ebb in the history of "concept" stocks. During this period, the "concept" stock concept experienced its first serious challenge. Investors began to pay more attention to the operating performance of Internet companies, shifting from indiscriminately buying Internet stocks to selectively buying shares of Internet companies with good operating performance. . The cooling of Internet stocks lasted for about a year, during which several Internet companies began to postpone or cancel initial public offerings of stock listings, and the number of Internet companies conducting initial public offerings also decreased significantly.
In the context of the cooling of Internet initial public offerings, the listing of Amazon Bookstore has attracted particular attention. The listing of Amazon Bookstore can be said to turn the tide and reverse the decline of Internet initial public offerings. Amazon Bookstore began listing on Wall Street on May 16, 1997, selling 5.7 million shares for the first time. When the stock went public, it closed at $23 per share, a jaw-dropping miracle. The US$10,000 savings that Jeff invested in creating Amazon Bookstore three years ago turned into US$130 million after Amazon Bookstore was listed.
What is really surprising, and what best reflects Wall Street’s preference for the Internet, is that Wall Street has abandoned the golden rule that it has believed for many years: companies must have a reliable record of profitability before they can receive investment. . Netscape and the vast majority of Internet companies have no history of profitability when they go public, so why does Wall Street still flock to their stocks?
Wall Street believes that in the take-off stage of an industry's development, what really matters is not profitability, but growth rate and market share. Encouraged by Wall Street's optimism about the development of Internet companies, a large number of Internet companies began to rush to conduct initial public offerings of shares to raise funds for their development. Following the listing of nine Internet companies including Netscape in 1995, 36 Internet companies including Yahoo rushed to be listed on Wall Street in 1996, thus creating a wave of Internet company listings. By understanding the initial public offerings of stocks by Internet companies, we can draw the following insights: Internet companies with high-tech background can obtain funds for further development through initial public offerings of stocks. For the original investors in these startups, venture capital has achieved a staggering return on investment through an IPO. It can be said that the listing of shares is the most important exit mechanism for venture capital.