Internet Marketing In China...Anyone having success?

8 replies
It's really growing to the point of overwhelm. I'm dealing with more Chinese than ever and by sheer dumb luck one of the cartoon characters I created has a rapidly growing fan club over there.

I need to now do the marketing for the character. I figure licensing products alone should make a killing. Finding the right people over there to handle production is the next step. T-shirt licenses being the most lucrative. Another stroke of luck is that I have friends who work there as well as family who are Chinese. Putting this all together is beyond my ability.

So I'm wondering how many of you actually work IM in China? The marketers I've met so far have huge lists and although the public didn't have the income to pursue IM stuff before, they're rapidly gaining now especially with the major sweeping government and cultural changes announced last month. I figure that's what is opening so many doors.

Not all is perfect as you still have to deal with crooks but just that one or two honest people over there could mean the difference between success and failure.

It's time to learn how to write and speak Chinese.
#chinaanyone #internet #marketing #success
  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    Haven't touched the Chinese market but I can attest to their growing prominence.

    Over the last year I've noticed a surge of not only Chinese traffic, but Chinese users across a fascinating array of platforms.

    If you're going to bother learning Chinese make sure it's Mandarin.

    (The majority of Chinese users I've encountered can speak English, though fluency in their native language would be a tremendous advantage).

    :]

    Stay cool
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    Considering that China has the biggest number of Internet users, I think local internet marketing is doing just fine.
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    • Profile picture of the author EvolBaby
      Originally Posted by Adie View Post

      Considering that China has the biggest number of Internet users, I think local internet marketing is doing just fine.
      That's the point Adie. As their online population grows and incomes grow you're talking about a customer base that will dwarf the U.S. and Europe soon. Same with Africa. They're growing at an astonishing rate.
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  • Profile picture of the author EvolBaby
    Sarevok, you're spot on.

    China is in my top three traffic countries now no matter whether it's to my comic book sites or paranormal sites or whatever niche. Strong and growing. I'm getting more emails from China and clients who need copywriting and artwork. There are language and social barriers to handle as well but once ironed out things move smoothly.

    One thing to take into account is your lists. A list of solid Chinese customers can be lucrative if one knows what to do. They have tons of fan clubs over there too. Even on Pinterest I have Chinese connections coming in.

    Recently I started appearing at comic book stores to autograph books I've done and draw art commissions. Lo and behold we got emails from China asking for commissions. Totally unexpected but word got out via Facebook fan pages. Next is selling art to them. The possibilities are scary. If you get 5,000 loyal fans who will spend $1-$5 per month on whatever you sell them then for the single IMer it can turn into a major source of income.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    Another variable of consideration is the Internet usage "penetration".

    (Penetration = percentage of population that uses the Internet)

    India for example has a massive population but low penetration (14%).

    China has a massive population and mediocre penetration (42%)

    USA has a tiny population but huge penetration (81%)

    UK actually has a higher penetration than USA... Weird huh? (87%)

    These are really interesting, and powerful statistics.

    :]

    PS: I remember 10+ years ago, (When I was a kid), I was making sales from all over the world. Sales from Afghanistan, USA, Thailand, UK, you name it. (I was promoting something that charged per call, yep, even way back then). Those were the days.

    Fascinating how times change.

    Source and citation: List of countries by number of Internet users - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    PPS: There's definitely big bucks in this data.

    The trick is exploiting it wisely.

    :]

    Later
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    • Profile picture of the author EvolBaby
      You sure are spot on!

      My stats equal the ones you've presented.

      Also, the spending power quality of the traffic. We may get 10 million Chinese surfers but only 10,000 have enough money to spend whereas we get 10,000 American surfers who have $10 million to spend.

      The number of Chinese making more income is rising fast. Last month's announcement of sweeping changes in government and business means the barn doors have been kicked down and the number of consumers is going to be like a tsunami.

      China's 2014 growth in focus as leaders met on reform plans | Reuters

      When I chat with people over there it's much like talking to people in Russia or the former Soviet states. They say their money goes to buying their parents a home and stocking it to the brim with wide screen tvs and DVDs. Yes! DVDs! There are millions of people who've never seen the movies or tv shows we take for granted. Couch potatoes on a global basis

      So people are rapidly moving up to the creature comforts we in the West enjoy and they are not going to give them up. Providing them with services and products that are of quality is what's called for now.
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  • Profile picture of the author EvolBaby
    I checked more stats.

    It's the fan sites. Definitely.

    What's happening in my niche is that people over there like a comic book I've written or drawn, are part of a fan club and the popularity grows. They like to keep their fan clubs tight with not a million members but several thousand for a family like feeling. So instead of one giant fan club you might have thousands of smaller ones.

    They use Facebook and their own social networking sites to form fan sites. They feel that contacting the celebrity is impossible so they don't try. One of my former students is a huge printing exec in Hong Kong. Wish I had listened to him a long time ago. He says a celeb of a fan site can visit China and make a killing just signing autographs. It really means a lot to the fans.

    IMers need to look for what these people need in their lives and provide the right product and services. It will be a feeding frenzy for sure. In addition, China is investing in Africa like it's going out of style. Soon you'll be calling Africa "China Jr.". The U.S. was too slow in penetrating Africa as the Africans don't trust the Europeans or us Yanks. Africa's got so much in raw materials and manpower it's insane. Once ethics are put in they'll make money like there's no tomorrow. Just their coastlines and sports fishing could dominate.

    2014 is going to be a big test. Keep an eye on those stats and learn Chinese.
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