Alibaba.com Content Strategist

Overview:

I was the lead English Content Strategist for Alibaba.com. My main focus was user growth. I was tasked with looking for unique opportunities within the platform to generate new users and/or convert current users to complete their first purchase. By completing a competitive analysis and conducting user interviews, we found that creating referral platforms and first-time buyer incentive programs would generate more conversion and retention.

My Key Contributions:

  • Content Writer

  • UX Writer

  • Research Analyst

Team:

  • Designers, Product Managers, UX Researchers, and C-level executives.

Tools:

  • Alibaba platform tools

Timeline:

  • Started Feb. 2024

  • Ended Nov. 2024

Trust in what you know

There is already a lot of hesitancy when it comes to making large online purchases. Especially when it comes to sourcing for your business. We needed to find a unique way to showcase that Alibaba.com was a trusted platform for users’ sourcing needs. Programs were already in place to showcase a guarantee in product quality, but that wasn’t strong enough to create purchases from new users. The research showcased that looking to build a stronger referral program would better incentivize new users to join the platform and make their first purchase.

Our Goal:

Leverage current users to reach out to business associates/friends and refer them to purchase through Alibaba.com.

The overarching goal of our referral program was to encourage new users to make their first purchase through Alibaba.com. When they perform that action, both the referrer and new user will receive their bonus. New users (at the time of writing) were also eligible for “Free Shipping”. We didn’t want to stop at just one referral. Once we had one, how do we get another from the same referrer?

The Problem:

Alibaba.com has manufacturers that are certified to deliver quality products but can’t find a reliable way to get new users to make a purchase.

It’s never easy to put your trust in online purchasing. We can read reviews, see pictures/videos, and so much more now. Even then, we still may not receive the product we initially wanted to purchase. There may be quality issues, incorrect product delivery, or scams. So how can first-time buyers guarantee that the product they see is what they get? This alone was enough for many users to not complete a purchase.

The Solution:

Trust Your Friends

By creating a strong referral program, we can both incentivize current users an opportunity to earn rewards, but also gain new users to source with Alibaba.com for the first time.

I developed and wrote a tiered-based system for the referral program with a focus on encouraging current users to reach out to their friends to join. I didn’t want them to stop at just one referral, so by creating a checklist incentive program, current users could see how close they were to achieving the next reward goal.

My writing focus was to make sure everything was as simple as possible for any user to read and understand how to achieve their next goal. We tested with a select group of users to make sure that the tiered-base system was clear enough for them and to check the incentives.

Project Reflections:

Unable to develop the writing further.

At the time of writing, I will be moving on from Alibaba.com. This means I would be unable to see the completion of this referral program and how it performed. Looking back on the program requirements, I was pleased with the writing I did for the program. I had to take into consideration how to write simply because this program would eventually be converted to several other languages. It was a rewarding experience to be able to sit in on the research, and I would have loved to continue on with this program.