China’s 1.5-trillion-yuan influencer economy projects an image of effortless wealth. However, behind these colossal figures lies high-intensity labour, sleep deprivation, and the ruthless scrutiny of algorithmic systems. Is this glamorous profession truly as easy as it seems?
On a January night in 2023, Black Liu was broadcasting live from a Beijing studio, sharing the latest skincare techniques. Three hours into the stream, he was still demonstrating the effects of each product to thousands of online fans, providing step-by-step usage instructions. As a male streamer selling women’s cosmetics, he is not an exception in China. Although he has been in the industry for over five years, such tenure is still considered young within the influencer community.
Douyin’s backend data revealed that over the past month, Black Liu’s team earned more than 3 million yuan across commission sales, advertising partnerships, and in-house brand sales. Yet, according to Black Liu’s experience, this success demands countless sleepless nights and highly intensive labour.
The rapid expansion of China’s social media and live-streaming systems has encouraged an increasing number of people to join the influencer industry. As market competition intensifies, innovating and exploring new models has become a survival challenge that every influencer must confront. Behind these dazzling financial figures lies a heavy professional toll, including excessively long working hours and the long-term overuse of melatonin just to secure sleep.
“I must exhaustively test fifty cosmetic products, then stay up until dawn memorising product specifications, only to produce videos during each broadcast the following day,” Black Liu confessed. This high-intensity exposure has blurred his self-perception: “Through the camera, which serves as my second face, I completely fail to recognise my bare face when I remove my makeup”.
Black Liu shared, “Every scheduled live broadcast is a new pain point; streamers must maintain sensitivity to audience reactions during the broadcast while simultaneously anticipating and preparing content”.
The cruellest aspect is the platform algorithm’s cold logic: “If today’s sales figures drop by 10% compared to yesterday’s performance, the platform’s push system will reduce our traffic tomorrow”. Black Liu admitted that platform algorithms not only drive creators to produce extreme content but also force them into a difficult choice between creating questionable material or facing elimination by the platform.
Within this complex ecosystem, a variety of different perspectives collectively form a complete picture of China’s influencer industry. Initially, Black Liu was just an ordinary member among numerous beauty bloggers, but he quickly noticed that relying solely on product recommendations made it difficult for him to stand out amongst his peers.
He suddenly conceived a plan: combining personal expertise with scientific understanding might attract more audience attention. To achieve this, he began systematically studying dermatological science to apply it during his daily live broadcasts. To maintain his leading position in the industry, Black Liu even sets aside time to attend professional training courses twice a month.
Facing a fiercely competitive market, he transformed his live-streaming room into an immersive showroom, where every broadcast integrates the story of fashion design with real-time interaction. “The basic sales model no longer works because today’s users require emotional connections,” Black Liu concluded. This insight was validated by data: analysis showed that his fans’ repurchase rate climbed to 42%, compared to just 15% six months prior.
To further captivate his audience, he frequently delves into traditional culture, attempting to unearth stories that resonate with modern times before presenting them to viewers as short videos. “I realised that many young people are deeply interested in classical Chinese literature and historical stories, but they lack suitable channels to access this knowledge”. Based on this insight, Black Liu produced a series of videos interpreting the Dream of the Red Chamber, which unexpectedly gained massive popularity. “I hope that through my efforts, I can allow more people to experience the charm of Chinese culture,” he said.
After successfully transitioning into an internet celebrity, Black Liu pioneered a new commercial model of “live factory visits and customised production”. During a live broadcast at the Yiwu Commodity City, he collected real-time fan voting data on jumper designs, completing sampling, pre-sales, and supply chain responses within 72 hours.
“Traditional e-commerce inventory turnover takes 60 days; we have now compressed it to 7 days,” he said proudly. This C2M (Customer-to-Manufacturer) model propelled his private label’s annual sales beyond 120 million yuan, a 300% increase from the company’s early stages.
However, ethical dilemmas remain a major pain point for the industry; in 2024, over 32% of influencers engaged in data falsification. Black Liu warned against this: “Focusing entirely on maximising numbers inflicts fundamental damage on industry standards”. “Influencers operating purely for direct profit will ultimately cause the industry to lose its fundamental value”. To this end, he insists on responsible marketing: “I will reveal both the advantages and disadvantages of new products to customers, allowing them to make the optimal choice…”.
Building a personal brand in this fiercely competitive space requires more than just capital; it demands authentic connections. Taking a significant step toward this, Liu launched his own beauty brand last year: “Managing the entire process from product selection to marketing… although initial sales were lower than expected, user stickiness improved significantly”.
In 2024, his company eliminated half of its commission-based partnerships, shifting instead to establishing product development relationships with internet personalities. Changing market conditions are forcing internet users to transition from acting as promotional tools to building their own content-based commercial strategies. “The industry is shifting from an eye-catching subculture towards specialised, deep cultivation; currently, over 40% of the top 100 influencers operate knowledge-based accounts”.
The challenging landscape has prompted practitioners to revert to traditional business models; Black Liu is preparing to launch an offline experience store in 2025 and organise a beauty training school to guide newcomers in their career development. “The market will ultimately return to an operational model based on core values,” he stated with certainty.
Observing Black Liu’s active presence on that cold winter night evoked a multitude of emotions within us. Becoming a successful internet celebrity is by no means an overnight achievement. It demands a long period of hard work and accumulation, alongside a spirit of continuous innovation.
Black Liu looks forward to seeing more truthful and reliable information on the internet, expressing his hope: “I hope every influencer can become a broadcaster of positive energy”. He summarised the future survival rule for the industry: “Those who survive in the future will not simply be influencers who can make money, but ecological builders who can establish a positive cycle of ‘value-trust-revenue'”. At the end of the interview, Black Liu articulated the collective anxiety and expectation of the entire industry: “Our generation has witnessed the myth of traffic; now, we must consider exactly what we should leave behind”.
“Influencers operating purely for direct profit will ultimately cause the industry to lose its fundamental value”.
To this end, he insists on responsible marketing: “I will reveal both the advantages and disadvantages of new products to customers, allowing them to make the optimal choice…”.
In terms of brand building, he took a significant step: “Last year, I launched my own beauty brand, managing the entire process from product selection to marketing; although initial sales were lower than expected, user stickiness improved significantly”.
In 2024, his company eliminated half of its commission-based partnerships, shifting instead to establishing product development relationships with internet personalities.
Changing market conditions are forcing internet users to transition from acting as promotional tools to building their own content-based commercial strategies. “The industry is shifting from an eye-catching subculture towards specialised, deep cultivation; currently, over 40% of the top 100 influencers operate knowledge-based accounts”.
The challenging landscape has prompted practitioners to revert to traditional business models; Black Liu is preparing to launch an offline experience store in 2025 and organise a beauty training school to guide newcomers in their career development. “The market will ultimately return to an operational model based on core values,” he stated with certainty.
Observing Black Liu’s active presence on that cold winter night evoked a multitude of emotions within us. Becoming a successful internet celebrity is by no means an overnight achievement. It demands a long period of hard work and accumulation, alongside a spirit of continuous innovation.
Black Liu looks forward to seeing more truthful and reliable information on the internet, expressing his hope: “I hope every influencer can become a broadcaster of positive energy”. He summarised the future survival rule for the industry: “Those who survive in the future will not simply be influencers who can make money, but ecological builders who can establish a positive cycle of ‘value-trust-revenue'”.
At the end of the interview, Black Liu articulated the collective anxiety and expectation of the entire industry: “Our generation has witnessed the myth of traffic; now, we must consider exactly what we should leave behind”.