Jimei Monetization Strategy Concept Design
Role
Product Designer
Project Type
Strategic UX exploration & monetization design
What I Did
interaction, monetization, and dashboard design
Stage
Pre-launch (stakeholder buy-in phase completed)
Background
Meet Jimei: A subscription-based creator platform
Jimei is a content platform targeting mature-themed content creators in the Chinese market. While the product included a basic subscription model, the team saw an opportunity to explore more dynamic monetization strategies to increase creator revenue and user engagement.
CHALLENGE
Subscriptions alone weren’t enough
The existing monetization relied heavily on traditional monthly subscriptions. However, based on behavioral shifts and emerging platforms, we hypothesized that users—especially Gen Z—were seeking smaller, more personalized ways to support their favorite creators.
The goal was to expand the monetization toolkit while aligning with cultural and interactional patterns specific to the platform’s users. In the meantime, we also spotted that creators lacked visibility into how their content performed financially, making it harder to optimize.
Research & Insights
Creators earn more through frequent small payments
We conducted competitive research on 3–5 creator platforms with models similar to OnlyFans, Fansly, Fanvue, and compared them with Chinese social networking platforms like Tiktok and RedNote. These included features such as pay-per-view content, tip-based systems, and gated VIP access.
Key insights:
Platforms like Fansly and OnlyFans offer multiple monetization types beyond subscriptions.
Over 60% of creator earnings often came from low-cost, high-frequency payments such as pay-to-view content or tipping.
Users preferred shorter, more flexible payment formats and content that felt exclusive or personalized.
Creators cared deeply about revenue visibility and audience source tracking over traditional content performance stats.
Design Opportunities
Rethinking how fans connect and pay
Based on these insights, I designed three strategic interventions:
1. New Interaction-Based Monetization Features
Wishing Pond: Fans tip a small amount to request specific content. They can access direct messaging with creators, which is otherwise subscribers-only. It's a win-win situation: fans get easier access to direct contact to creators, and creators get a glimpse of what content their fans like.
Paid Messages: Fans receive exclusive content through gated messages in chat.
Segment Unlocking: Videos are split into chapters. Users unlock them in order, sometimes collectively. This offers a low-cost alternative than buying the whole video on one's own.
3. Preview Optimization — Giving more hook from the outside
Offering better hooks on profiles
Redesigned creator profile pages to clearly show the amount and type of exclusive content.
Included upfront pricing hints to set clear expectations before users enter paywalls.
Adding touch points for exclusive content
Introduced 5-second previews of paid content in high-traffic areas like the Explore tab.
Added in-line subscription prompts after previews to drive conversion at key moments.
Subscription sheet optimization
Removed confusing plan names and replaced them with clear duration labels (e.g., “7 days,” “365 days”).
Eliminated unnecessary cover photos to reduce visual clutter and cognitive load.
Impact & Next Steps
Defining success metrics for upcoming testing
While the new monetization features are still in the planning phase, this project laid the foundation for a more interaction-driven monetization strategy. Through competitive data and user behavior insights, we reframed the platform's revenue approach around emotional value and micro-conversion opportunities.
The revised subscription flow is currently being implemented. In the next phase, we plan to test interaction-based features like the Wish Pool and Segment Unlocking. Key metrics we aim to track include:
Subscription completion rate
Paid message volume
Average revenue per creator
By building on proven behavioral and market patterns, we hope to increase both creator earnings and fan engagement through meaningful digital experiences.