Wei Jie

claudiamente@hotmail.com

STEPPING into Qiu Lin’s new livestreaming studio in Shenzhen’s Longgang District, one is instantly drawn to a vibrant livestreaming room, complete with a striking green backdrop, an array of multifunctional lights, and a table strewn with products from the previous livestreaming session.

“Please excuse the mess. We’ve just moved into this new office, so things aren’t quite organized yet,” said Qiu, a cross-border e-commerce livestreamer based in the Bantian area. Their new office in the Hasee Tianyun Building features three separate rooms that can accommodate multiple livestreams at the same time. “Our previous office had a large common area and only one small room for livestreaming, which no longer suited our requirements.”

Embracing cross-border e-commerce

Qiu mentioned that she plans to resume her livestreaming duties in May once the new office is fully set up. “Having front-line experience in livestreaming is crucial for me,” she explained. “I need to understand what new sale scripts or livestreaming tactics are most effective — insights I can then share with our foreign livestreamers.” This first-hand experience also enhances her ability to empathize with fellow streamers.

An outgoing personality makes livestreaming a perfect fit for Qiu. “I enjoy the feeling of being in front of the camera and interacting with people directly,” said the young woman. In her early 30s, she has worked in various professions before finally committing to cross-border livestreaming.

Qiu’s journey into livestreaming began after eight years in the U.S. There she ran a photography studio with friends after graduating from college and before returning to China. Back in Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou Province in southwestern China, she worked as an actress in short dramas on YouTube. “It was a chance encounter. I stumbled upon a recruitment ad for short-play actors when hunting for jobs in Guiyang. The position required a high level of English proficiency, which I possess. I thought it would be fun to give it a try,” recalled Qiu, adding that she quickly bonded with the short-play director.

A subsequent conversion with the director nudged her to transition into building an independent cross-border e-commerce site from scratch. “We were talking about the costs associated with managing a YouTube channel for short plays, which requires a substantial investment. I spontaneously suggested entering the cross-border e-commerce sector,” Qiu said.

“Cross-border e-commerce has become a trend. For an inland province like Guizhou, the government is eager to go global too.”

They decided to sell Miao ethnic-style silver jewelry and related products because exporting agricultural produce, despite Guizhou’s numerous varieties, would be more complex.

She started by learning relevant knowledge on YouTube while also navigating the process with two friends. She also researched several cross-commerce e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Shopee, and Lazada.

However, building an independent e-commerce site from scratch was never an easy task for a non-professional like Qiu, even with her full commitment to this work. “Sometimes a single bottleneck would delay our work for 10 to 15 days,” she said.

As they ventured further into the sector, Qiu felt the need to relocate to a new environment that offered better opportunities. She booked a flight to Shenzhen where she attended more than 15 job interviews in three days just to gain insight into the industry’s landscape and assess her own level and position. “I wanted to figure out my real situation.” After that she returned to Guiyang and spent two weeks dealing with errands in preparation for her relocation to Shenzhen. “I drove for 21 hours, with my four cats, to Shenzhen.”

Qiu continued interviewing for jobs while seeking opportunities in Shenzhen. Her experience operating social media accounts on platform like RedNote attracted interest from several business owners. “During my second week in Shenzhen, a business owner from Guangzhou invited me to join his cross-border business. However, I had already made up my mind to stay in Shenzhen because I truly appreciate the spirit of the innovation and entrepreneurship here.”

Her first job in Shenzhen was in business development. As a newcomer, she had to hustle at trade shows to build connections and seek resources. Her efforts paid off, and she secured her first deal within 10 days.

Transition to

livestreaming

Qiu’s career path took a decisive turn when she came across a businessman during her first job and tried livestreaming to help sell his products in November of 2024. That experience marked her entry into the livestreaming world. “I was so thrilled, and the results were encouraging.”

This initial success steered her towards a new career path. Shortly after the Spring Festival holiday in February, Qiu joined the Shenzhen branch of TKTK.com, a Beijing-based overseas marketing service provider. However, the beginning was fraught with challenges. She faced numerous frustrations and struggles. Despite her relentless efforts, her numbers just didn’t budge. She also had encounters with online harassment and one nasty comment could ruin her vibe on stream.

Qiu noted that the livestreaming sector in China is well-developed — consumers are accustomed to making purchases through streams. “It is not uncommon for domestic streamers to achieve a GMV (gross merchandise volume) exceeding several hundred thousand yuan in a four-hour streaming session. In contrast, the average GMV for cross-border streams is around US$800 per hour, which is a significant discrepancy that’s hard to accept for many streamers attempting to tap the overseas market.

To overcome these challenges, Qiu and her operations specialist conducted post-stream breakdown sessions that took up a lot of their time and energy but were vital for improvement.

“I barely had time for a personal life or socializing because my work schedule was completely out of sync with my friends,” she admitted. Yet she acknowledged that building a new stream from scratch based on organic traffic would require time and extra effort.

Through diligent post-stream analysis and process reviews, Qiu’s team made gradual improvements. She recalled one particular livestream targeting the North American market that began to gain viewership after continuously reviewing prior streams.

The client had a primary stream in New York City during prime time until 11 p.m. and reached out to Qiu for a supplementary stream during non-prime hours in Shenzhen. Their first livestream in Shenzhen was scheduled for 11 a.m. local time, but the viewership fell short of expectations.

They then adjusted the next stream to 1 p.m. to assess performance. After several reviews, they found out that streaming from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Shenzhen yielded the highest GMV, prompting them to fix their streaming schedule accordingly.

“By consistently streaming at the same time, we managed to increase our traffic to meet the targets set by the platform. Had we assumed the ideal times without conducting actual tests across various time frames, we might still be struggling with the viewership.”

Qiu primarily focuses on 3C (computers, communication, and consumer electronics) products in her livestream sales, catering to both branded and white-label goods — two categories that demand distinct presentation strategies. While she acknowledged the higher skill threshold required for promoting branded items, she expressed her preference for this segment.

"White-label products rely on a price-driven sales model where simplicity and affordability are the core appeals," she explained. "But with branded counterparts — take power banks as an example — the price point can be significantly higher than that of generic alternatives. To justify this premium, we must deconstruct the value proposition — the brand's heritage, warranty commitments, design innovations, and perhaps most crucially, the emotional resonance that white-label products cannot replicate."

Involving foreign faces in livestreaming

With successful streams under her belt, Qiu was appointed to mentor a fellow streamer from Ukraine, identified only as Damon. His debut stream Nov. 21, 2024 featuring power banks only sold 76 euros (US$86) worth of products in two hours.

“It was requested by the client who wanted a foreign face for that stream,” Qiu explained regarding the use of international streamers. She acknowledged that incorporating local presenters in livestreaming sessions helps build trust quickly and leverages their language skills. “This is a potentially smart approach to the overseas market.”

However, many international streamers often lack a systematic approach to effective livestreaming communication, particularly in areas such as audience retention strategies, urgency-building, languages, and engagement triggers.

Qiu took on the new responsibility of preparing foreign streamers for each session. “It involves a lot of work, such as gathering background information on the products they are going to sell and helping design rewards and incentives, like offering time-limited discounts and giveaways to retain the audience.” With proper training and preparation, the foreign streamers’ GMV began to pick up.

Currently, Qiu’s company works with foreign livestreamers from countries such as France, the U.K., Ukraine, Lebanon, and various Southeast Asian and African nations. They are recruited through employment agencies and word-of-mouth referrals from friends. “Many expats in Shenzhen are interested in joining livestreaming and attend our interviews.”

The dynamic combination of international streamers and China’s supply chain has boosted the global growth of Qiu’s company, requiring them to expand livestreaming capacity to meet growing demand.

When Qiu walked me out after the interview, she pointed to the expansive Huawei compound to the north of her office, and said, “It’s so good to be here.”