dkrc Chapter 9 Mastering Product Main Images
Chapter 9 Mastering Product Main Images
Lin Mu stared at the first main image and finalized the Photoshop caption: "One-way moisture wicking, air circulation and permeability."
The tone of this image is very clear—it exudes quality and sophistication. With a very high percentage of female users on Taobao, there's a high probability they'd impulsively buy it for their husbands or fathers after seeing such a neat and refined picture.
Next, the second main image was taken: underwear was hung on a clothes rack with a few thin threads, and the caption was "Extra-large pouch, three-dimensional wrap".
If the first image targeted female users, this one directly addresses male needs—the copywriting and image convey the message of "ample space and presentable attire," making male consumers feel that their bodies are large.
The third main image is more geared towards a gift-giving scenario: Lin Mu found a few small tin boxes containing mooncakes, neatly folded his underwear and put them inside, arranged the four tin boxes side by side, and placed a simple gift bag in the background with the caption "A little pricey, but very comfortable."
This image is specifically designed for girls in love—it presents a high-end and sophisticated visual style, paired with straightforward quality slogans, giving the first impression of "superior quality." It's a perfectly presentable gift for your boyfriend.
The fourth main image takes a practical approach: a hand is spreading the silk underwear to both sides, with the tagline "breathable and breathable, skin-friendly and won't roll up," serving as a supplementary selling point for male users and reinforcing the core function.
The fifth picture shows a clever trick: the underwear is rolled up and the camera settings are adjusted to make the stacked underwear look like delicate socks, highlighting the implicit need for "portable storage".
In the subsequent sixth, seventh, and eighth images, Lin Mu targeted specific groups of people and application scenarios—fitness, daily commuting, home leisure, etc.—striving to cover the potential needs of different users.
"These images will all be uploaded to streaming platforms, and the one with the best upload rate will be chosen as the final main image," Lin Mu explained to Li Zhi.
"Awesome, Brother Lin is truly amazing!" Li Zhi exclaimed in amazement. "This is so complicated! I want to buy every single picture. How did you come up with so many creative ideas!"
Lin Mu chuckled inwardly: "Are you kidding me? These are all best-selling main image templates that have been proven by the market in later generations. Each one corresponds to a store with monthly sales of tens or hundreds of thousands, and the slogans are the best of the best."
But he always felt something was missing—the main images were good, but too "serious." Now that there's a huge amount of traffic from Tieba waiting to be redirected, he could definitely try a more unconventional and abstract style.
In the online environment of 2008, "fun" was sometimes more appealing to users than "correct".
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him: when it comes to bringing abstract concepts to life, professional designers are far inferior to the vast number of netizens! He could simply solicit creative ideas from netizens in the thread, which would not only increase the interaction rate but also give netizens a sense of belonging, "This is a business we are all involved in."
……
In the afternoon, at Alibaba headquarters.
Lin Mu shared his ideas with his colleagues, hoping they would brainstorm and come up with an abstract main image. His colleagues took it very seriously—they knew that this marketing campaign would likely become a classic case in e-commerce history, and being involved would not only be a topic of conversation but also add to their resumes.
Before long, Lin Mu received a whole bunch of diverse designs: some were serious functional demonstration diagrams, some were wildly imaginative abstract diagrams, and some were so bizarre that they made people laugh and cry. Among them were some eye-catching works.
"Lin Mu, check your email, I also sent you a picture." Wang Zaixing walked over.
Lin Mu opened his email and his eyes lit up instantly—the picture Wang Zaixing sent him had a background of piles of raw silk, with a pair of pure white silk underwear laid out in the center. Under the focused light, the delicate texture of the fabric was on full display, and the caption was just four words: "The true taste of silk".
Based on his years of e-commerce experience, Lin Mu immediately concluded: This image is by no means inferior to the commercially validated main images of later generations! If we use it for advertising, the advertising ratio will most likely reach a terrifying 1:8.
要知道，淘宝内部GG的正常投流比是1:2.5，1:4算优秀，1:6以上就是顶尖水平，1:8足以成为细分领域的年度经典案例。
"Fugui (nickname), this picture of yours is really good!" Lin Mu praised sincerely. "Thanks, I'll treat you to dinner after get off work."
Wang Zaixing proudly raised his head slightly and said, "Don't choose a restaurant that's too low-class."
As soon as Wang Zaixing left, Lu Hai strode over: "Dayan, I know a big shot in the design circle. He saw your post on Tieba and was very interested. Knowing that you were soliciting main images, he specially made one, and I forwarded it to you."
"Thank you, sir!" Lin Mu quickly expressed his gratitude. He knew that Lu Hai had extensive connections and had high expectations for this bigwig's work.
Meanwhile, Lin Mu used a secondary account to post the collected main images to forum posts, observing netizens' reactions while continuing to collect self-made images.
The forum instantly became lively:
"This one won't do, it's too boring, it's no different from a regular online store."
"I think it's alright. I saw it and wanted to buy it for my dad."
"This 'extra-large sac' is something else, guys who know, know!"
Each image has a large number of comments, both positive and negative, creating a lively discussion. While netizens aren't professionals and may not be able to discern the professional quality of the main image, their intuitive feelings are precisely the key to traffic conversion.
Lin Mu also came across several highly creative fan-made images: one netizen draped his underwear over a whiteboard with a pile of ice blocks underneath, the silk underwear paired with the sliding ice blocks, and the caption read, "So cold, just like you said."
"Brilliant! So abstract!" Lin Mu couldn't help but exclaim. The image received rave reviews, with everyone finding it "interesting"—even if they weren't moved by the story, they were willing to click into the shop just to see the fun picture.
He also posted Wang Zaixing's picture, and the enthusiasm of netizens for interaction remained high:
"Holy crap, whoever came up with this picture is a genius! The silk threads are piled up so realistically!"
"Excellent, very powerful, this is more in line with the story!"
"Stop testing, OP! Just post the link! My wallet is itching for a bite!"
There were also dissenting voices: "The 'Good Ice' one is more fun; this one is a bit too serious."
Lin Mu checked the time and felt that he had collected enough images. He was about to package them up and submit them for testing when a new email popped up in his inbox—it was from the design guru recommended by Lu Hai.
Lin Mu opened the email, glanced at it, and couldn't help but curse: "Holy crap! They actually have this kind of idea!"
He glanced at the email details and learned that this was a big shot recommended by Lu Hai, who was said to be a freelance painter specializing in abstract art.
Lin Mu thought to himself, "No wonder he's a genius at abstract art; he can come up with such an interesting combination."