ryethenovel Chapter 10 Product Launch
Chapter 10 Product Launch
Lin Mu clicked on the email attachment and was instantly stunned by the picture before him—in the center of the image was a huge cicada with its wings fully spread, but the originally transparent wings had been replaced by silk underwear. The cicada's body texture was clearly visible, and paired with the delicate texture of the silk underwear, it was both absurd and visually striking, making it unforgettable at first glance.
"Amazing!" Lin Mu immediately downloaded the picture and posted it on the forum.
The post went viral instantly, with hundreds of replies appearing in just a few minutes:
"Holy crap? Cicada-wing underwear? This idea is brilliant!"
"This is hilarious! I could laugh at this picture for a year!"
"Just for this picture, I'll definitely buy it tomorrow!"
"It's so outrageous, it's actually kind of addictive!"
Lin Mu selected 10 images with the highest positive reviews from netizens and asked Li Zhi to create 10 product links, with each image corresponding to a product. These products would not be listed for the time being, but would be used for final pre-launch promotion on the Tieba forum.
He edited the post and wrote:
Thank you all for your creative support! I've selected 10 of the best designs, and I'll be releasing 10 product links tomorrow at noon.
I am filled with trepidation; the past few days have felt like a dream. I hope everything goes well tomorrow, and that the people of this land will forgive me, so that I will not make money through unethical means.
"It's finally going to be available! I can't wait!"
"I'll be waiting until midnight, I must support the poster!"
"The alarm is already set!"
Countless netizens who have been quietly following the story left comments below, their anticipation reaching its peak.
……
In a university dormitory, Zhang Kaiming had already budgeted 200 yuan, planning to buy twenty or thirty pairs of underwear the next day. "I'm taking care of all my underwear this year!" A loyal World of Warcraft player, he was filled with pride for this amazing post born on the forum. "Where else on the forum can you find a post like this? Only our Warcraft forum can have this kind of prestige!"
He figured that as long as the underwear was of good quality, he could buy his dad about ten more pairs and maybe even earn some extra pocket money. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
In the president's office of another company, Jiang Chao looked at the post with a smile. Ever since he came across this post on Jiongba, he had been following it closely and had even sent a private message to the poster offering to transfer money as assistance, but it was politely declined. "This young man has backbone; he won't accept handouts."
He has decided to order 100 pieces after they go on sale tomorrow; they're suitable for him to wear or as year-end gifts for his employees.
……
The next day, at exactly 12 noon.
Li Zhi clicked the "List" button on time, and 10 product links went live simultaneously.
Zeng Wen was a veteran World of Warcraft player and a heavy user of Baidu Tieba, spending his days browsing the WoW forum after finishing his game. On the day Lin Mu posted, he managed to get the second comment and witnessed the legendary post grow from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of comments.
Now his second-floor replies have exceeded a thousand, making him a somewhat famous "holder of the second-floor master post," which he has been showing off to his friends.
As an art major, he also participated in the main image design competition and casually drew an abstract picture that read, "Your words are so cold, just like these underwear." He never expected that it would be selected.
"Nobody watches my serious artwork, but my casually made 'awkward' pictures go viral?" Zeng Wen once questioned his life, but now, looking at the main image he designed on the Taobao interface, his heart couldn't help but race.
This picture is so distinctive—an orange pair of underwear is draped over ice against a white background, with the ice sliding down the edge of the underwear. The caption is eye-catching and poignant.
"Buy, I have to buy everything!" Zeng Wen immediately placed an order, spending 140 yuan to buy 5 sets of underwear (3 pieces per set, 28 yuan shipping included).
He remembered that the original poster had frankly stated the costs in the post: one pair of underwear cost 5 yuan, so three pairs would cost 15 yuan. Adding packaging fees, shipping fees, and platform service fees, the profit per set was only 6 yuan. "The original poster is really honest, actually revealing the costs on their own initiative." Zeng Wen not only didn't mind being made money off, but also felt that the original poster was earning too little.
Just as I was about to take a screenshot and show it off on Tieba, a notification popped up on Taobao—it was a private message from the store:
"Thanks for your strong support, bro! But bro, just buy what you need. These days, making money isn't easy for anyone. I'll process the refund for you; one set should be enough for you."
Zeng Wen's lips unconsciously curled into a smile, his heart warmed. This was the first time he'd ever experienced being "discouraged" from online shopping by a seller. He replied, "Brother, no need to return it! It's just a small amount of money. These 15 pairs are enough for me to wear and for giving to friends. You can rest assured and ship them back!"
The shop owner quickly replied: "Thank you so much! (clasps hands in a gesture of respect) Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll send you some local specialty snacks from my hometown. It's just a small token of my appreciation, so please don't refuse!"
The two even exchanged World of Warcraft IDs. Zeng Wen happily took screenshots of the order and chat history, then posted them on the World of Warcraft forum with the title: "My most bizarre online shopping experience! The shop owner actually advised me to buy less?"
……
Meanwhile, in Li Zhi's small factory, Lin Mu and Li Zhi were staring intently at the Taobao merchant backend, not daring to blink.
"The first image is of the gift box packaging; 100 sets!"
"The second picture, 'True Silk,' 240 sets!"
"The third picture shows ice-cold underwear, 600 sets!"
"The fourth image shows cicada-wing underwear, 680 sets available!"
The data was still fluctuating wildly; with each refresh, sales surged. In just one hour, total sales of the 10 products exceeded 3000 sets!
"My God..." Li Zhi stared in disbelief, nearly dropping his water glass. "It's only been an hour!"
Lin Mu was also speechless with astonishment—he had seen many best-selling products in his previous life, but very few had the explosive power of this kind of single-day sales. In 2008 on Taobao, a store's monthly sales of over a thousand were considered best-sellers, but they achieved in just one hour what others couldn't achieve in several months.
The two kept an eye on the backstage until late at night, when the sales figures gradually slowed down.
The final sales figures were released early the next morning:
**Daily Sales: 1 units!**
Total revenue: 28 yuan!
Li Zhi sold half of his 6 pairs of underwear that he had stockpiled in one day (each set contains three pairs of underwear).
"Sold...sold 1 units?" Li Zhi's voice trembled as he repeatedly refreshed the backend to confirm. "28 in revenue? Brother Lin, we...we made money?"
Lin Mu took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, and nodded, saying, "We made money. Moreover, we not only made money, but also created a classic case study in e-commerce marketing."
He knew very well that the success of this marketing campaign wasn't just about the story and traffic—from soliciting creative ideas on Baidu Tieba to resonate with users, to the abstract main image attracting attention, and then to the genuine interaction between the store and users, every step hit the mark with the users. In particular, the creation of a sense of participation among netizens made this consumption not just a simple "buying things," but "supporting a story in which they participated."
The image of the cicada-wing underwear ultimately became the top seller with 3 sets sold in a single day, and the distribution ratio reached an astonishing 1:83! It's a miracle!
Any one of these three data points could be considered an annual benchmark in its respective field.
"Quickly hire more people to restock!" Lin Mu snapped out of his daze and said to Li Zhi, "The goods must be shipped out as soon as possible; we can't ruin our reputation. Also, contact the fabric supplier and increase our inventory; more orders will definitely come!"