Abhijith · Product Designer

top secrets

Case study · 10 MIN READ

Role

UI/UX, Interaction

TIMELINE

Mar '24 - May '24

Company

OpeninApp

95% content creators in India are earning little to no revenue despite their valuable content. We designed a platform that allows them to monetize content through micro transactions, enabling seamless fan purchases via UPI.

Goto final design

THE Problem

The Monetization Gap in India's Content Creator Economy

Why Most Creators Struggle to Turn Passion into Income

Platforms like YouTube and Instagram offer lower payouts

Rising competition is dropping engagement rates

Paid brand deals are out of reach for smaller creators

Creator Data - India

Objective & goals

Help Creators to Monetize their Content

Build a Product where Creators can Sell their Content to Fans

Creator goal

Create a webpage where they can sell their content, distribute it and earn

Creator goal

Create a webpage where they can sell their content, distribute it and earn

Creator goal

Create a webpage where they can sell their content, distribute it and earn

FANS goal

Buy contents of their favorite creators effortlessly and experience it

FANS goal

Buy contents of their favorite creators effortlessly and experience it

FANS goal

Buy contents of their favorite creators effortlessly and experience it

Business goal

Empower creators to monetize effectively and charge commission

Business goal

Empower creators to monetize effectively and charge commission

Business goal

Empower creators to monetize effectively and charge commission

Research & Insights

Breaking down Indian Creator Economy

There are 2.5 Million Creators on Instagram in India

Out of this, 80% aspiring to become full-time creators

However, only 0.2% are able to monetize significantly

Creators underestimate the value of exclusive contents

Micro-payment are the future of content monetisation

Understanding the Target Users more Deeply

Mega and Macro Creators

>250k followers

As these creators grow, platform payouts decrease because views don’t keep up with subscriber growth. Too many brand deals can hurt their credibility, and selling expensive items like courses often fails since only a small part of their audience can afford them.

Mid tier Creators

10k - 250K followers

These creators often struggle with inconsistent brand deals and low platform payouts, making it hard to support full-time content creation. The increasing competition in a saturated market further makes it difficult to stand out and stay profitable.

Micro and Nano Creators

<10k followers

These creators have high engagement but receive no payouts or brand deals. The pressure to constantly create quality content while finding ways to earn can limit their ability to grow and sustain their online presence.

What do Creators sell exactly?

Creators are creating contents in very vast categories. They can sell anything digital for their fans and earn . We found that some category of contents has really good scope for business.

Potential use cases & content categories

IDEATION & CONCEPTS

An Instant Store Generator for Creators

For Creators, Ideal Platform should be

Creators can sell digital goods priced as low as ₹5

Mobile first design approach for creator's ease of use

See sales details, store performance and earnings

Seamless earning withdrawal

For Fans, Ideal Experience should be

Delightful content purchase experience

Consume or download content as soon as bought

Easy and fast payment process

Fans should be able see more contents from same creator

The solution

Introducing Top Secrets

Sell Content and Earn Money

Top Secret enabled creators to monetize their fanbase via micro - transactions. This is an ultimate tool for micro, nano and mid-tier content creators to grow. Fans can easily buy content through UPI payment and experience the content.

Top secret selling page

Top secrets website

The "Vault" Experience

We crafted the fan side content selling page with a vault-inspired design, making it interactive, special, and joyful for users.

Vault Concept

Fan side buying flow

A Little High Interaction Cost but Worth It!

We took a bold decision to break down selling page creation flow into 5 steps compared to conventional long form, single page scroll followed by our competitors. This decision was taken for better experience in mobile devices.

We knew it was interaction cost heavy and had potential drop off points but by rewarding users in progress, we made the flow seamless.

Top secret store creation flow

Showing Creator Earnings made Simple

Communicating settlements was tricky, but showing only the essential information in right hierarchy reduced the confusion and queries related to earnings.

Creator Earning Screen

FINAL DESIGN

A Unique Purchase Experience for Fans

Turning Fans into Loyal Customers

We designed the experience in a way that fans are addicted to buy what creators sell. The joy of buying can make recurring purchases. Eventually a loyal customer of the creator.