How a product with 100,000 daily active users was killed by the platform!

This article shares the challenges and difficulties that entrepreneurs encounter when developing content tools, including online review, filing qualifications, illegal splitting, content review, and iOS payment restrictions. Through detailed descriptions, it reveals the difficulties and hardships of starting a business in the current Internet industry where competition among giants is fierce. It has a high reference value for entrepreneurs and Internet practitioners who want to understand the current status of Internet entrepreneurship and face related challenges.

Two years ago, we had a mini program tool with over 100,000 daily active users.

But the good times did not last long. Under various platform policies, such a product that emerged among the giants was slowly eliminated.

Today I would like to share with you some of the pitfalls we encountered when we were starting a content tool business.

From this, we have to sigh that it is becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary people to start a business.

Let me explain the background first. We have developed a small tool that can quickly publish marketing materials, and can also set up functions such as paid reading and rewards.

1. Online Review

Due to the prevalence of self-media in China, the right to express oneself was previously only held by a few newspapers and radio stations, and it was difficult for ordinary people’s expressions to be spread.

But since the rise of mobile social Internet, ordinary people's right to express themselves and their influence have been infinitely magnified.

The risks brought about by this are that rumors are flying everywhere, inflammatory remarks are emerging in an endless stream, and negative information is exaggerated and targeted.

In order to manage speech in an orderly manner, all content tools in the form of forums, blogs, notes, etc. need to be reviewed.

For example, before a mini program goes online, it needs to be reviewed by local Internet police, and if it involves notes, it will take at least 7 days.

The listing of apps also requires local Internet police to review their security and compliance.

It took us a month to make an app, and another month to review and launch it online.

2. Registration Qualifications

In the past, websites needed to apply for registration before they could go online. Now, mini-programs and apps also need to apply for registration, and the qualifications required for registration are very strict.

For example, from designing to publishing news, news-related certificates are required.

Publishing financial and securities information requires financial-related qualifications.

As we provide video and audio playback functions, we need certificates related to online literature and TV program production.

The application for these certificates is different for different platforms and products, so you have to do it all and spend money on it, otherwise you can’t put them on the shelves.

3. Account splitting violations

Distribution is a very common and effective way to attract new customers, generate revenue and make money.

We started developing according to the usual revenue splitting method, but suddenly one day WeChat said we were violating the revenue splitting rules and needed to make corrections.

We must connect to WeChat Pay and become a service provider. All users who want to receive payments must become merchants.

Because of this development, the product functions were restricted for more than half a month, and hundreds of thousands of them are still frozen.

Moreover, when using WeChat merchants, the maximum distribution commission is only 20% (deducted by the platform), which is extremely inefficient in attracting new customers.

4. Vulgar content

Because we allow users to upload family photos, product materials and other types of content, some users have shared their own sexy photos, or brands selling underwear, swimsuits and yoga pants have uploaded pictures.

From our own perspective, these contents do not contain nudity, private parts, or sexual innuendo, and we think they are normal information releases.

But one day, our product was directly removed from the shelves and users could not open it.

It wasn’t until I checked the backend that I found out the reason. The user posted several photos, which WeChat judged to be vulgar. They then asked for rectification and the account was blocked for another 20 days.

How do you define vulgarity? We are also helpless.

Compared with the content on Weibo, Xiaohongshu and the official accounts’ own platforms, how can we compare to vulgarity?

5. iOS payment is limited

Many users have been complaining to us, asking why Apple phones cannot be used for payment and why Apple phones cannot be set up for payment.

We are even more helpless about this.

When giants fight, small businesses suffer.

In order to suppress the rise of mini programs, Apple has restricted virtual payments in IOS mini programs.

If not allowing payment is acceptable, the key is that there should not be any text, price or guidance regarding payment or making money on the IOS side.

For this reason, our product was removed from search results, restricted payments and a series of other measures, which delayed it for more than half a month.

6. Continuous rectification

Whether faced with various reports or version reviews, what we have to do is to continuously make rectifications in accordance with official requirements.

There are two painful places here:

First, if you don’t perfect the app, mini program, H5, and web version at the beginning, as long as one platform is restricted, you will lose your users.

Moreover, the review standards for apps and mini-programs are different on each platform.

Second, if the auditor points out our problems all at once, we can act faster.

But in reality, the situation we face is that we submit once and it is rejected once.

Sometimes the version we submit is version 1.0, but in fact we have already developed to version 3.0, and version 1.0 is still under review.

This wastes a lot of time. For example, for Apple and Huawei, it normally takes more than half a month to pass a version.

Therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to start a business on the Internet, especially in areas related to content and distribution.

I wonder if anyone has had this experience?

Author: Shili Village

Source: WeChat public account "Shili Village (shilipxl)"