Are developers being forced to retreat by the difficulty of monetization? Does the WeChat Mini Program bonus still exist?

In recent months, fewer and fewer development teams have received financing for an outstanding mini-program. Is it because investors are not optimistic about independent mini-programs, or is it because the number of mini-program teams has decreased?

There are not enough good developers, and they may not make money from mini programs yet

What was the last mini-program that was all over the screen? Grabbing lipsticks, drawing prizes... These are not representative mini-programs, but a category of mini-programs. A large number of them appear at the same time, harvesting users' clicks and attention.

Looking further back, the mini program that successfully swept the screen and was well-known was the "Girl's Outfit Diary" produced by Huangyou Camera.

So, where are the independent developers and teams that once created the popular mini-apps? Why are there fewer or even no independent mini-apps that have been popular recently?

Manpower shortage is one reason. On the one hand, the original popular mini-program teams began to focus on the continued operation of existing projects, and some popular mini-programs were inevitably attracted to other platforms, including Alipay, Baidu, Kuai Apps, Toutiao mini-programs and self-produced apps.

On the other hand, there is a lack of excellent developers. The existing excellent developers have already entered, and the influx of fresh blood has begun to slow down. Previously, a developer in Silicon Valley said that people around them are very concerned about mini programs, but if they want to develop an application, they will still choose an app first.
There are many new developers who are just trying to "grab" traffic. They have never learned development, but they are jealous of the huge traffic of WeChat, so they form a makeshift group and rush in. They do whatever can make money, be it raffles, lipsticks, mini-games, they are brave enough to just put on a shell.

In addition, some mini programs have gradually ceased operations. When you open it, you can only see a sentence like "XX mini program is being updated and maintained" or "XX is lost, come back later." After waiting for half a year, when you go in again, you still see the same prompt. This can only make you feel that this mini program is doomed.

There are not enough developers coming in, and a small number of the original developers have chosen to give up. In this regard, WeChat's failure to establish rules and developers' difficulty in monetizing must be blamed.

Zhang Xiaolong himself admits that WeChat rules are changing frequently and are difficult to predict. He said at the WeChat Open Class in 2016, "Many people would ask, why does your platform keep changing? Why are your rules always unclear? Why can't you write them out clearly for us? I'm sorry, we really can't give you something particularly clear, because we ourselves are also changing."

The changes in WeChat have left some developers confused as to why their mini-programs were blocked but theirs were not, and how this rule was determined.

What some mini program developers can’t figure out is monetization. My mini program has a lot of traffic and daily active users, so why can I only make so little money?

Monetization is difficult, and monetization relying solely on advertising is even more difficult

In contrast to the works of most developers, the social group buying that has received the most funding in recent months belongs to mini-programs that have clear monetization models. As a social group buying e-commerce platform, commission rebates and advertising can bring cash flow to entrepreneurial teams focusing on social group buying.

However, even if the mini program is related to e-commerce, monetization may not be as smooth as expected.

The "Lipstick Color Trial" mini program takes the path of monetization through advertising. They were originally a company focusing on B-side services, and made a to C attempt through mini programs. They hope that their mini-programs can go beyond the definition of tools and be both fun and practical, so that users will not leave after using them.

The current main monetization model for "Lipstick Swatch" is still advertising. They are currently focusing on improving user retention and will continue to connect merchants to the mini program next year. The reason why they said continue is that they had actually connected with merchants at the beginning of this year, but the merchants responded that the purchase conversion rate was very low.

The team's analysis is that user stickiness and retention are not sufficient to support the conversion from browsing to purchase. After all, the proportion of new users of "Lipstick Swatch" was always high last year, and it has only gradually returned to normal this year, so they chose to remove the merchant page and focus on the basic highlight functions. In their opinion, users are more concerned about whether their lipstick category is complete. The mini program should still focus on this part of the content first before making other monetization attempts. After all, Xiaohongshu also spent a long time developing content and community before turning to e-commerce.

But compared to other mini programs, products like "Lipstick Color Trial" already have a relatively clear monetization model. Most mini programs currently can only rely on advertising to realize monetization. Even for the rare membership-based paid mini-programs, the payment rate is relatively low, which is difficult to meet the needs of entrepreneurial teams.

The same goes for mini-games. Although mini-games allow for in-app purchases of props, the proportion of paying users is relatively small. This has led to the already well-known "Seaside Match 3" to add a new entry on the recharge page of its mini-game to earn recharge coins by watching videos, trying to get users to watch video ads to realize monetization.

Compared to the ads in "Seaside Match 3" that guide clicks, some mini-games are even crazier. When you click on the mini-game, there is a big advertising banner at the bottom of the homepage. You can also see advertisements everywhere during the gaming experience. Life extensions and props will guide users to click on a video ad to watch. The large amount of advertisements in these mini-games has seriously affected the user experience.

The WeChat mini-program’s presets and developers’ ambitions are to build their own mini-programs in the cloud for merchants in various industries.
For developers, the difficulty of monetization is like a huge mountain weighing down their shoulders. Even if you are number one in the industry and have a monopoly position on WeChat, it does not mean that you can easily monetize traffic and users.

Monetization and advertising are both very commercial terms, and users are tired of these commercial things. But it is impossible for developers to get tired of these things. The team needs money to survive and continue operating. If Fanfou didn’t have Wang Xing, it would have stopped long ago.
Business and user experience are contradictory, and WeChat’s default settings for mini-programs are very anti-business. It should serve as a supplement to the WeChat platform, providing users with extended, high-quality services. In order to ensure that the services provided by developers are within a controllable range, WeChat has also imposed many restrictions on mini programs.
WeChat’s premise is very good. It aims to build itself into a platform, open up its traffic to third parties, and enrich its own ecological content. Large traffic is what attracts developers to try mini programs, but all developers ultimately want to convert the traffic they get on WeChat into actual profits.

WeChat’s traffic dividend is an important factor in attracting mini-program developers to join the market, but it also restricts mini-programs from taking further steps forward. Everyone is eager to grab traffic, but only a few of these active tryers provide valuable services. Reader Zeming, who knows the program, said, "I think WeChat has helped us retain users, and the mini program is a convenient tool in the WeChat ecosystem."

At present, most users are attracted to mini programs because of WeChat’s advantages of no installation, multiple entrances, and relationship chains, not because the services themselves have outstanding advantages. Most mini-programs are still reaping the benefits of WeChat, and rewards for sharing, forwarding, and fission are still the primary factors that most mini-programs focus on. The mini-programs and mini-games that have created sufficient value for WeChat also have to face the rapid arrival of plagiarists and replicators.

Small programs that became famous early, such as Xiaodaka and Xiaoshuimian, have to face a large number of imitators who provide users with similar services with similar models. Although the user base of these mini-programs cannot be compared with the former, their number is very large. After becoming famous, mini programs such as Xianwushuo and Duozhaoyu were also subjected to a wave of crazy imitation and transplantation. These mini programs even innovated their business models and introduced new products based on the original versions.

Relying on the huge traffic of WeChat, these quickly replicated mini-programs can also "make" a fortune. Mini-games, lipstick grabbing, lucky draws...these are all categories that can still be monetized despite catching up from behind. Developers who want to try innovative things are still trying and struggling; but those who follow the successful developers can really make money. This will hit developers who are still trying to explore, and it is not a situation that WeChat wants to see.

Zhang Xiaolong said, "The fundamental value of WeChat itself is to hope that all people who create value in the entire industry can get value in return."
How to restrict developers who only want to "grab" traffic, attract development teams that can truly create value, and provide them with a relaxed and inclusive development environment, this is what WeChat needs to care about.