Uncovering the hidden links of Zhihu tweets

More and more people are looking for side jobs besides their full-time jobs. For example, the tweets and videos that can be seen on short video platforms are some people's attempts at side jobs, and the real purpose of these tweets and videos is to attract traffic to Zhihu novels. So, what kind of conversion links are hidden behind these tweets and videos? In this article, the author expressed his views, let's take a look.

"The Emperor told me, Concubine Rong, I intend to make you the empress, but for the sake of the stability of the government, the empress cannot have children. Are you willing?"

"I was silent for a long while, and finally I knelt down with my seven-month-old belly numb and kowtowed, saying, 'I am willing...'"

In the video, a mechanical female voice tells a love story with ups and downs without any emotion. The ups and downs of the plot form a very sharp contrast with the voice of the machine AI. Coupled with the decompression video footage of making fancy pastries, the entire video elements are a bit confusing.

But such a 2-minute video has received 7,600 likes and over a thousand collections. In the comment area, many netizens said that the plot of the novel was too cruel and wanted to know the subsequent development. However, the blogger said that due to copyright reasons, if you want to see the subsequent development, you can only go to Zhihu to search for "封后传".

It is not difficult to see that the real purpose of this video is to attract traffic to Zhihu novels.

Open Zhihu and search for "封后传", and the related novel is called "醉红妆：愿我如星和王如月". In the comment area, many netizens expressed that "this is the novel that Yanxuan members should read", "good luck to the author, I love this kind of novel", and other netizens said that they saw this novel on video platforms such as Kuaishou/TikTok/video accounts. At that time, the bloggers provided different names, sometimes called "权霸荣妃传", sometimes called "封后传", and sometimes called "荣妃她重权都野".

But the same thing is that after searching these keywords on Zhihu, the same novel is displayed, and it is a novel exclusive to Yanxuan members.

According to the keywords provided by these netizens, AI Blue Media found these videos on different platforms. In addition to the AI ​​female voice + decompressed video, the displayed results also include a collection of screenshots of novel text, text screen recordings with BGM, and film and television drama clips unrelated to the novel content + AI female voice. Some video screens are even screen recordings of games such as "Temple Run", "Happy Candy Crush", and "Sheep and Sheep".

Although the forms of expression are different and even a bit outrageous, judging from the comments section of this Zhihu novel, the effect is indeed good.

At the same time, searching for #知乎推推# on these short video platforms, the search results show that there are many similar tweet-generating videos, with the number of likes ranging from less than 10 times to tens of thousands. Some of the publishers are tweet-type accounts, while others are personal accounts.

Following this line, AI Blue Media discovered that these tweets and videos have actually become a side job for many people. Not only have they long since formed an organized and large-scale business, but the traffic sharing rules, threshold requirements, and video production techniques also have very strict regulations, forming a secret industrial chain closely related to Zhihu members.

1. The part-time worker who earned 500 yuan in 200 hours was determined not to give up

Yang Ling, 23, has been working as a Zhihu video posting worker for more than two months. She has spent all her free time on this sideline except for eating and sleeping. So far, she has produced hundreds of videos, spending at least 200 hours of her time, but the share she has received is only 500 to 600 yuan.

It seems that income and effort are not as proportional as imagined.

Despite this, she still feels that this side business has a vast blue ocean and is worth investing enough enthusiasm and time.

"As far as I know, many people have earned several thousand yuan in commissions by making a popular video. I am just not that lucky one yet," Yang Ling said. "Besides, this job does not require high technical skills. It all depends on persistence."

She introduced the workflow to AI Blue Media: "Find a novel you want to share" - "Make the text into an audio video, there is no limit to the video content" - "Think of a unique search keyword for your video" - "Submit the keyword and publish the video".

The way to get traffic share is not complicated: when users see this video, if they are attracted by the story, they will naturally want to read the follow-up article. The publisher only needs to provide the keywords they have prepared in the comment area for users to search on Zhihu. Once the user purchases a Zhihu membership to continue reading the novel, it is counted as a conversion, and the publisher can get a share ranging from 6 to 12 yuan.

In short, publishers can earn revenue by using their own exclusive videos to bring conversions to Zhihu members.

The operation process and conversion rules seem simple, but according to Yang Ling's actual experience, the most difficult and core secret is to find a suitable and simple keyword. She gave a simple example, such as the keyword "霸道总裁爱你我" is definitely more popular and simpler than "玲龙骰子安红豆", and the search volume is naturally higher.

When the search volume reaches one or two hundred, only 3-5 Zhihu member conversions can be generated, which means a maximum share of 60 yuan.

If you want to get thousands of shares like those "lucky ones", the search volume must be at least 6,000-7,000 times, and the playback volume must be at least tens of thousands.

For any ordinary personal blogger, this is a number that is difficult to achieve unless they get the "sky-high traffic recommendation" from the platform.

Despite the difficulties, in order to be the lucky one who gets a high return, Yang Ling spends a lot of time every day looking for and reading novels on Zhihu. Sometimes it is late at night when she finishes making a video, and she will look for novels until the early morning to have "stock" for the next day.

"In fact, there are many people like me who do this part-time job, but most people cannot stick to it for too long. After doing it a few times, their only thought is to earn back the 'apprenticeship fee'." Yang Ling told AI Blue Media.

Second, recruit apprentices and become agents, and use "authorization fees" to support third parties

Since you are an "apprentice", you naturally need a "master".

AI Blue Media searched the keyword "Zhihu Tweets" on Xiaohongshu, and the associated keywords "How to make money from Zhihu Tweets", "How to get authorization for Zhihu Tweets", etc. appeared. On these keyword pages, there are many notes using practical and attractive cases to show that making Zhihu Tweets videos can earn more than 10,000 yuan a month, and a single video can get thousands of commissions, and that you can earn this part-time income by following them.

AI Blue Media randomly found one of the bloggers who was recruiting apprentices, joined his pre-apprentice group on Xiaohongshu, and added his WeChat as requested. After expressing the desire to learn more about the part-time job, the other party sent a PPT introduction on the monetization logic of Zhihu tweet project.

PPT screenshots provided by the other party

In this PPT, the other party stated that "they have connected with a certain level of Zhihu official agency", which is responsible for promoting Zhihu novels. Not only can they obtain the genuine authorization of Zhihu novels, but they can also count and judge the conversion of Zhihu members for keywords for you. At the same time, the PPT also stated that those who don’t know how to make videos can directly download the pictures from the website they provide, and AI voice can be imported using a small program, which is simple to use and low cost.

Between the lines, this PPT reveals a message: the keyword search mechanism is the core of this part-time job and is also the business code that one has mastered.

After further communication with this "master", the other party said that I could spend 39.9 yuan for the novel licensing fee to do it myself, or I could spend 199 yuan to participate in the "Master's Training Camp" to obtain synchronized information, answers to questions and other services.

During the whole process, the other party stated that the final counterparty for this part-time job is Zhihu official, which has official attributes, but the other party did not respond as to whether the licensing fee is ultimately related to Zhihu and the author of the novel himself.

He also showed several cases where a single video starting from scratch earned nearly 1,000 yuan in revenue, and said that for the same video with 20,000 views, some had a revenue of only 9 yuan, while others could reach several hundred yuan. The key lies in luck, persistence and "the ability to discover good articles."

Image source: Blogger’s circle of friends

Such rhetoric has convinced many people that as long as they have a keen eye, are willing to work hard, and have some luck, they can earn a good income. As of the morning of January 2, AI Blue Media had more than 300 people joining the preparatory apprentice group, but at around 17:00 in the afternoon, the system prompted that "there are security risks in the group and the system administrator has disbanded the group." On community platforms such as Weibo, Zhihu, and Douban, many people have also asked about this part-time job, hoping to become the "chosen one" with a monthly income of over 10,000 yuan.

It is understood that many similar bloggers have stated that if they spend 499-599 yuan or even higher apprenticeship fees, they can get better services such as daily profit sharing, Zhihu premium member novel lists, and video production on behalf of others.

On the other hand, according to the "official Zhihu agent of a certain level" mentioned by the blogger in the PPT, AI Blue Media found the official account of this agent. The official account introduced the main business of this agent, which is to promote Zhihu novels through the keyword search system. If you want to use their mini program and get the share of the income brought by keywords, you need to contact the "contact person" for a quote.

An agent business explanation video

In this regard, AI Blue Media wanted to contact the agent to inquire about relevant matters, but as of press time, the other party has not responded.

3. Are the layoffs in the business department aimed at reducing costs and increasing efficiency for Zhihu?

From actual operators like Yang Ling, to middlemen who recruit apprentices, to those organizations that claim to be Zhihu's first-level agents, Zhihu's novel promotion business has become a system of its own.

During interviews and surveys, many middlemen and agents called Zhihu tweets an entrepreneurial project with a vast blue ocean.

At the same time, according to some Zhihu employees, the keyword search system belongs to Zhihu's membership department and is a very important tool. "Novels are the most important business of the membership department. Users basically open memberships to read novels. In this way, it is not difficult to understand why many people do this part-time job." Zhang Yang, who has worked in Zhihu's advertising department for a year and a half, said.

However, Zhang Yang also mentioned that since late December 2022, Zhihu has been undergoing a new round of layoffs, with the largest number of layoffs in the business departments to which Zhihu members belong.

"Novels and members actually belong to the business department, which should be the most stable department on Zhihu. I don't know why it has become the hardest hit area," Zhang Yang said. "My guess is that it may be because they don't need so many people anymore."

The fact is that Zhihu membership is indeed maintaining steady growth.

According to Zhihu's third quarter 2022 financial report, the number of monthly paying users reached 10.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 99.5%, and the number of monthly paying users in the second quarter also reached 8.5 million. As CEO, Zhou Yuan also mentioned in the two quarterly financial reports that Zhihu will currently focus on "maintaining high-quality user growth in a sustainable and efficient way."

Of course, it is impossible to completely link layoffs and short videos for Zhihu tweets, but perhaps, for Zhihu, one of the current ways to achieve efficient user growth is to cut off employees sitting in the office, reduce costs and increase efficiency, and use "external forces" to allow people like Yang Ling to attract more membership growth through part-time work.

It will take time to tell how long this growth model will remain "sustainable and efficient" and how much it will help Zhihu's future commercialization.

Author: Yan Ye, Editor: Wei Xiao

Source public account: AI Lanmeihui (ID: lanmeih001), a well-known new media reporting on AI and Internet industries.