Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities

Chapter 463: Chapter 254: Product Count! I’m Not a Casual Person

The advertisement on Tiao Yin was an announcement about the launch of the shopping cart feature.

On October 10th, Tiao Yin would officially launch its shopping cart feature. Any Tiao Yin creator could apply for it, and once approved, they could use the shopping cart to start selling products through their videos.

That was right. Initially, the shopping cart feature wouldn’t be fully open to everyone. It required a certain number of followers and an approved application.

The main reason was that Tiao Yin had no experience in this area and was in a hurry to use the shopping cart feature to defeat Kuaishou.

This was also one of the reasons for the subsequent outbreak of false advertising and product quality scandals in video-based e-commerce.

Chen Jincheng knew this would happen, so he had to avoid getting entangled in it at all costs. He had to be meticulous with both product selection and sample testing.

He would also have to sign guarantee agreements with the merchants. They would have to ensure the quality and appearance of the shipped products matched the samples, or else they would have to pay a penalty of three times the value for any fakes.

If they wouldn’t sign the contract, he’d rather not work with them at all.

Just as Chen Jincheng was mulling this over, a call came in from Lin Hao. He answered, and Lin Hao’s excited voice burst through the phone, "Lao Cheng, did you see Tiao Yin’s latest announcement? The shopping cart is finally going live!"

Chen Jincheng chuckled. "Lin Hao, you must have been preparing for video sales on your end, right?"

"Of course! I’ve already picked out more than twenty products. My old man assigned me two product selection and quality control teams a while ago." Lin Hao’s voice grew even more excited.

It was no wonder he was so excited. After all, he’d heard about the shopping cart from Lao Cheng a long time ago and had just been waiting for Tiao Yin to finally launch the feature.

Now that the feature was finally here, all his recent preparations hadn’t been for nothing.

Chen Jincheng felt a twinge of envy when he heard that. After all, Lin Hao had his family’s support and could afford to pick over twenty products right out of the gate.

He, on the other hand, didn’t dare take such a big first step.

Second-Life Star was only planning to feature a few products to start.

First up was Jiang Xiaobai, who would be selling the alluring pajamas from Jinghong Women’s Clothing.

After all, their previous collaboration for the experimental shopping cart feature had resulted in over 700,000 orders (Chapter 52), so working together again was a natural next step.

Second, Yinyin would be selling Meng Lu’s Stockings; they already had data from a previous video ad for that.

Third, there was Sister Feiyan’s shampoo.

The fourth was a secretary outfit designed by Ximeng’s own tea-art secretary studio.

The fifth would be him, but that had to wait until he landed the mobile phone ad deal with Rice Group.

There was no rush for the other girls.

Second-Life Star wasn’t a huge company, and more importantly, they lacked experience. Taking on too much would just lead to one problem after another down the line.

He would create a template first. Then, he would slowly bring in the other Miss Chengs.

As for the rest, once Sister Hong saw his template, she would surely know how to proceed and could then steadily roll out plans for the company’s other artists.

Besides, even though his first batch would only feature five products, he could still generate massive returns as long as the videos were well-made.

In the era of video-based sales, everything depended on a video’s ability to drive traffic. The better you were at driving traffic, the more orders you’d get, and the more money you’d make.

And that was his advantage.

As long as he adapted the viral marketing plans from his past life, he could maximize the profits from his video sales.

Of course, there were also those who made money purely from "slotting fees," like the streamers who did live battles.

The whole concept of a "slotting fee" was popularized by them.

The false advertising and product quality scandals on Tiao Yin were initially triggered by those same battle streamers.

This was because battle streamers had no real product selection process. The goods they promoted were usually from the companies of their biggest gifters. If a "whale" paid the slotting fee, the streamer pretty much had to feature their product.

Sometimes, just to win a live battle, they’d have those whales or product owners pay the slotting fee in advance to help them win, essentially owing them a product promotion video.

In other words, they’d take the money first without knowing anything about the product, and then they’d be forced to promote it.

Everyone knew how that would end. One battle streamer’s product promotion after another would blow up in a scandal, and the fallout would then spread to other influencers who sold products through videos.

That’s why, even though Chen Jincheng knew about slotting fees, he had no intention of implementing them. By 2024, top sellers, whether it was Dong Yuhui or other e-commerce gurus, had basically stopped using the slotting fee model.

After all, far too many influencers and celebrities had accepted exorbitant slotting fees only for the sales to completely flop, barely moving any units.

There was no need for him to pioneer something that was not only destined to fail but would also ruin his reputation.

Lin Hao’s voice came over the phone again. "Lao Chen, let’s get together at Extreme Bar tonight. I also have a few things I want to ask you about video sales."

Chen Jincheng agreed. "Perfect. I actually have a favor to ask you, too."

Hearing this, Lin Hao sounded a little miffed. "Lao Cheng, what’s with all this ’favor’ talk between us? Let’s just hash it out when we meet tonight."

"Alright, talk tonight," Chen Jincheng said before hanging up. He then went back to talking with Wang Yuan.

After they finished their meal, Chen Jincheng had Wang Yuan book a hotel room for Cai Xiaoyi.

As he grew more famous, he couldn’t do things like this himself anymore. The chances of being recognized were getting higher and higher. If a hotel employee recognized him, started watching him, and filmed a video of him with a girl, he’d have to go through the trouble of fabricating a story to deny it.

"Go back, shower, and change into a fresh set of clothes. I’m taking you to my bar tonight!" Chen Jincheng told Cai Xiaoyi.

The other girls were still in Shanya and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.

Knowing Lin Hao’s usual style, he would definitely bring a girl to Extreme Bar. Chen Jincheng couldn’t show up without some ’face’ and have to ask one of the bar’s hostesses to keep him company...

So, he had no choice but to have Cai Xiaoyi go with him.