We all know that fission is a popular way of playing. It includes many types. Among them, the one that makes people more familiar with it, or the one that is very easy to become popular in everyone’s circle of friends is called distribution. The popularity of distribution is mainly due to several popular activities in early 2018, such as NetEase Xijing Class and Xinshixiang Marketing Class, which allowed us to witness the unique charm of this growth method.

In fact, distribution includes many types. For example, some of the traffic-generating distribution we see is the most basic model. Of course, there are also some distribution models similar to the WeChat business model, which require recommending some downstream customers before obtaining commissions. Its entire profit calculation system is much more complicated than simple distribution.

In order to help everyone understand the underlying logic of distribution, we will take the simplest distribution model to explain to everyone how to operate distribution? This article will explain from the following aspects.

01Product Positioning

For distribution, suitable products are mainly some high-profit-margin products, such as cosmetics, books, daily necessities, and some virtual products, such as memberships, courses, etc.

The low cost of the former is mainly reflected in its raw materials and standardized process flow, which is a natural advantage for some specific commodities. For the latter, its cost is actually difficult to quantify, and it can even be said to be zero cost.

For example, if some products are stolen from an external content platform through piracy, then this will be zero-cost for those who want to distribute it, and it may only require technical means or simple manual operations to achieve.

For some content producers, there may be a standardized production process, and the people who produce the content may be people they have trained themselves, or they may be the ones producing the content themselves. In this case, the cost will be very high because they need to pay salaries and put in a certain amount of effort. However, if he produces a large amount of relatively standardized content, he can arrange and combine them to form a relatively high-profit product and explore distribution models.

From a domain perspective, knowledge products may be more suitable for simple distribution models. This type of product is divided into two categories. One is products presented in audio, video and other forms, such as the three popular courses we saw in early 2018: NetEase Drama Course, New World Marketing Course and Sanlian Life Weekly Membership. The other type is products presented in physical forms such as manuals and maps, such as the skills map of the Operations Research Society.

Knowledge distribution products have several characteristics. The first is low price, mostly in the range of 9 to 49 yuan. The second is that there will be a value point, which may be the gimmick of a famous teacher or the density of knowledge. The purpose is to satisfy people's pursuit of authority and greed for dense information. Under the influence of these two psychological factors, combined with interest incentives, distribution has become a very powerful promotion method in the fields of education and knowledge payment.

02Distribution Tools

Next, let’s understand the basic path of distribution. First, the user will see the interface for generating a distribution poster, and then share the poster. When friends scan your exclusive poster and complete the payment, the system will prompt you to receive a portion of the commission. This is the simplest distribution process.

In addition, if a friend of a friend completes the payment, you may also receive a portion of the commission. This is called secondary distribution. If it exceeds three levels, it will be considered a pyramid scheme, which is a red line that cannot be violated during design. And if you invite other people to become specialized distributors like you, you may also get a part of the commission. In short, the commission rule setting for distribution is the main difference from other fission gameplays.

To some extent, distribution is a kind of creativity, and in order to display the creativity, tools must be designed. Currently, there are three types of tools for displaying distribution creativity:

1. B-side distribution tools

B-end distribution tools are a relatively common type. A complete technical solution is provided by a third party, and then it is modified according to the needs of B-end users, such as poster design, public account binding, product form, group joining method, etc., to personalize the entire process. Simply put, it provides a standardized tool, and users only need to try to transform it according to their own operation plan.

Currently, the suppliers providing such tools include Zero-One Fission, Distribution Group Fission, and mainstream fission tool providers such as Small Fission and Media Think, etc.

Taking the distribution group fission as an example, the operator can sneak his product posters into the distribution group fission background, and configure the personal number QR code at the corresponding entrance, so that the paying users can be guided into the group after adding, and the official account can be bound to the tool. After the user completes the payment, he can receive cash reminders and withdraw cash on your official account, thereby stimulating continued forwarding.

It should be noted that your product usage platform and the B-end distribution tool are two systems and user information will not be connected. This is the main difference between the B-end distribution tool and other distribution tools. For example, with C-end distribution tools, when invited users place orders on the platform, distributors can withdraw cash directly, and user information is completely deposited on the platform and in the hands of merchants.

The so-called C-end distribution tools refer to merchants completing the listing and use of goods on the platform. Any user who sees any product on the platform or from a merchant can directly become a sharer and gain income by completing the sharing. Then, based on the type of product, C-end distribution tools can be divided into knowledge-based payment distribution tools and e-commerce distribution tools.

2. Knowledge payment distribution tools

As the name suggests, paid knowledge distribution tools put courses on the platform as commodities for sale, and then set up a distribution function for each course, allowing merchants or platform users to share and earn profits. For example, the NetEase Xijing Class, which once went viral, used the Zhihu paid distribution function.

How can users become distributors of paid knowledge products? Two ways. The first method is to directly generate posters at the corresponding entrance of the course to complete distribution. The second way is to apply to become a promoter and complete the distribution of individual courses on the platform. The specific path is the same as the first way, but it requires an application process, which is mainly provided by the store.

Currently, the three most common paid knowledge distribution platforms are Qianliao, Lizhi Microclass, and Xiaoetong.

They will call on merchants to open stores on their own platforms and upload some courses, and then enable the distribution function for each course, allowing merchant users or users on the platform to see their courses and complete sharing. The official will also launch a promoter recruitment function to guide promoters to enter the content distribution platform to distribute other merchants' courses, helping knowledge payment platforms and merchants to achieve growth together.

3. E-commerce distribution tools

The underlying logic of e-commerce distribution tools and paid knowledge distribution tools is the same. The difference is that e-commerce products are mostly physical products, and users earn profits by sharing these products.

The current mainstream e-commerce distribution tool is Youzan, which also requires opening a store. The products on the shelves can be physical or virtual courses, but the latter need to be used on other platforms after purchase, so it has stronger e-commerce attributes. It also has promoter functions, which is no different from paid knowledge distribution tools.

The most recent case in my memory of using Youzan's distribution to achieve hit product success was the "Operation Skills Map" released by the Operation Research Society, which sold tens of thousands of copies within a few days, even though the distribution entrance was hidden very deeply. Later, many map products followed suit and all used Youzan, which shows that Youzan has become one of the mainstream distribution tools since then.

03Flow Mechanism

The author has shared an experience on many platforms, that is, for fission, it actually only needs to focus on three aspects, namely products, gameplay and channels. Distribution, as a form of fission, also meets these three points. In the first two sections of this article, we talked about products and gameplay. Finally, let’s talk about the channel level, which I call the traffic mechanism, which mainly includes five aspects.

1. Commission ratio

Distribution uses profit incentives as the motivation for sharing, so the design of the commission ratio is crucial. If the commission ratio is set reasonably, it can bring great dissemination power. The author has observed many distribution cases and found that the mainstream commission ratio is mostly between 30% and 50%, and the higher the unit price, the lower the commission ratio.

Some people may think that this is the result of precise calculations. In fact, I think it is the result of practice. It has been verified by many people that the effect is good, so it has become an industry consensus.

In addition, you can make your money back by inviting 2 to 3 people, and you don’t even need to pay. You can get good returns by just inviting 1 to 2 people. Although it is not a particularly huge fortune, it will satisfy a person’s desire to get a small bargain, and such motivation is enough to make the distribution spread widely.

2. Drainage system

Distribution can build a traffic system, which mainly refers to the product system. For example, you can set up a product for 1 yuan and return 90% to users, which is equivalent to free registration. After users share it, other people will find that one yuan is not a very high threshold and they will pay and share it again. This will form a large amount of traffic on the front end, and then this part of the traffic will be directed to the products that are really to be distributed, thereby bringing in even greater traffic through a multi-layer distribution system.

The Fission Growth Laboratory has long promoted a 1-yuan, 90% distribution ratio drainage product in the community, with the aim of covering more people and bringing more potential and accurate users to member distribution products.

3. Step price increase

For any product, price adjustment can significantly affect sales, and distribution is no exception. Reasonable price adjustment can greatly enhance the communication effect of distribution.

There is a classic way of playing called step price increase. The principle behind it is very simple, called the loss aversion effect. A typical example is the marketing course of Xin Shi Xiang, which requires a 5 yuan increase for every 10,000 people paying, which can easily cause anxiety. Because for buyers, they will miss the opportunity to buy courses at a low price, so they place an order. For sharers, they can get higher commissions, so they share more vigorously. So, the marketing routine is very sophisticated.

4. Team competition

For distribution, in addition to making some changes in price, we will also provide assistance in operations. A typical example is to recruit a group of users who are willing to experience the product in advance and are happy to distribute it before officially starting distribution. These people are the main force of early distribution and the main channel for contributing a large number of paying users.

After recruiting them, they will receive a simple training to tell them how to participate in distribution. In addition, they will be required to form teams freely or recruit teams, hold team distribution competitions, and provide additional rewards based on the team's distribution ranking. The highest reward is often very large and extremely tempting.

Through the team distribution competition mechanism, the enthusiasm of these people can be fully mobilized. Many distribution cases can be quickly screened, and this method has contributed greatly.

5. Social media campaign

Fission can be spread, and actually enjoys great convenience in channels. One type of channel is high-potential users recruited in advance, and the other type is original traffic channels, such as official accounts and communities.

Among them, active communities can play a very important role in communication.

When we release distribution activities in some traffic communities that we have prepared in advance, it will quickly form a momentum of screen-sweeping in the group. Everyone will brush each other in the group, thereby attracting many people to follow suit, and more people will join the group later, and these people will spread it again. In short, as the group expands, the base of dissemination will continue to expand.

Therefore, no matter what kind of distribution, as long as there are a large number of communities to create momentum, the speed of spread will be beyond imagination.

04 Conclusion

Distribution, as a form of fission, basically meets the three elements of products, channels, and gameplay.

In terms of product positioning, it is suitable for products with high profit margins, and it is also applicable to knowledge products with standardized production.

In terms of distribution tools, they are mainly divided into two categories, B-end distribution tools and C-end distribution tools. The latter are further divided into two types, namely knowledge payment distribution tools and e-commerce distribution tools.

In terms of traffic mechanism, the distribution effect is mainly affected by five aspects, namely commission ratio, traffic diversion system, step-by-step price increase, team competition and community momentum.

Author: Wild Mushroom

Source: Wild Operation Community