Teller Novel

Case Study

Leveraging BytePlus
Technology forEnhanced Efficiency
and Business Growth1|

Case Study

Teller Novel

Executive Summary
Teller Novel, a rapidly growing user-generated content (UGC) platform focused on light novels,sought to improve user engagement, content consumption, and revenue generation. By partneringwith BytePlus and utilizing their advanced AI/ML technology, Teller Novel significantly increased
their click-through rate (CTR), daily active users (DAU), and overall business performance.

Company Overview
Teller Novel, originating from Japan, is a user-generated content (UGC) platform specializing in lightnovels, catering to a diverse and growing audience of authors and readers. Boasting a monthly active
user base of 1 million and a diverse content library of over 6 million articles, Teller Novel is an energetic
and flourishing virtual hub for literary enthusiasts. Users on the platform can be both authors,contributing original content, and readers, consuming and engaging with the vast array of novels.
The platform encompasses a diverse array of genres, catering to the unique preferences of its users,
thereby cultivating a vibrant and captivating environment for the members of its community. To ensure
steady revenue generation, Teller Novel offers a premium subscription model, granting users access toexclusive content, alongside embedding advertisements within the content for additional income.
More importantly, Teller Novel stands at the precipice of an extraordinary opportunity — the creationof innovative and captivating characters that could rival the cultural impact of Pokémon. Suchintellectual property (IP) holds the potential to significantly boost the platform’s value during thispivotal phase of growth. The stakes are high, as the successful development of these new, revenuegenerating characters hinges on fostering a deeply connected community of readers and authors.

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Teller NovelTo seize this opportunity, Teller Novel must deploy a sophisticated recommendation engine thateffortlessly unites passionate readers and talented authors, nurturing a collaborative environment
where creativity flourishes. By tapping into the collective imagination and resourcefulness of its userbase, Teller Novel can drive the development of groundbreaking content that captures the hearts andminds of audiences worldwide, propelling the platform to even greater heights.

Light Novels Unveiled:
Breezy Reads for the Modern
Literary Explorer
A light novel is a style of Japanese literature that is typically aimed at young adults and features short,easy-to-read volumes. These novels are characterized by their compact length, often containing
around 50,000 words, and are usually serialized with multiple volumes in a series. Light novels
often include illustrations, which are usually drawn in manga or anime style, to enhance the reader’sexperience and provide visual context.
The storytelling in light novels typically focuses on dialogue and fast-paced plots, making them easily
digestible and engaging for the target audience. While light novels cover a wide range of genres, suchas romance, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery, they often contain elements of pop culture and aresometimes adapted into manga, anime, or live-action adaptations, further increasing their popularity.

Notable successful animations/TV shows adaptedfrom light novels:
1. Violet Evergarden
2. Re:Zero
3. The Melancholy of Haruchi Suzumiya
4. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill3|Case Study

Teller NovelNavigating the Challenges of Teller
Novel’s Expanding BusinessTeller Novel faced limitations in their existing recommendation system using Google Cloud Platform’s(GCP) AI technology. Their CTR had plateaued, and they needed a more scalable and adaptable
solution to continuously improve engagement. Additionally, the cost of continuous tuning andoptimization on GCP and AWS was prohibitive.
Imagine the excitement and promise that comes with operating a flourishing content platform likeTeller Novel. With each day, the library of light novels grows, and the community of passionate authors
and readers expands. However, this remarkable growth brings with it a set of pressing challenges thatmust be addressed.
Facing the responsibility of managing a rapidly expanding content library and user base, the platform’s
success hinges on delivering personalized and optimized experiences to its users. Without an effective
solution, Teller Novel risks losing the very essence that makes it so captivating — declining user
engagement, reduced content consumption, and a slump in revenue from premium subscriptions andadvertisements.
But the aspirations of Teller Novel extend beyond maintaining the status quo. The platform envisions afuture where users are not only readers but also empowered authors contributing valuable intellectualproperty (IP) to the ecosystem. This vision aims to elevate Teller Novel’s growth and market value, but
it requires implementing a sophisticated recommendation engine capable of connecting interestedreaders with potential authors, fostering a truly collaborative and creative environment.

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Teller Novel

Why BytePlus
Teller Novel’s CEO, an avid fan of TikTok, recognized the potential of ByteDance’s AI and deep machinelearning technology for improving UGC content recommendations. BytePlus provided a flexible,
customizable solution, allowing Teller Novel to surpass the limitations of GCP and AWS.
Before partnering with BytePlus, Teller Novel faced several challenges with its earlier system that wasunable to meet Teller Novel’s unique and evolving requirements, leaving gaps in user experience andhindering the platform’s growth.
One major limitation of Teller Novel’s system was the inability to recommend content based on theuser’s followers. This meant that users were missing out on the opportunity to discover content that
their social circle enjoyed. Recognizing the importance of social connection, BytePlus implemented asolution that incorporated recommendations from the user’s followers, fostering a sense of communityand enhancing the overall platform experience.
Another area where the previous system fell short was in reacting to users’ recent behaviors. As
a result, the recommendations failed to keep up with users’ changing interests and preferences.
BytePlus addressed this issue by developing a dynamic system that quickly adapted to users’ recentbehaviors, ensuring that the content served remained relevant and engaging.
Lastly, Teller Novel required complex customizations, such as promoting new items, prioritizing certain
categories, and improving the experience for new users. BytePlus rose to the challenge, offering highly
tailored solutions that catered to these specific needs.

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Teller NovelSolution Implementation
By leveraging BytePlus’ advanced recommendation engine, Teller Novel improved content targetingand personalization for their users, resulting in increased engagement, premium subscriptions, andadvertisement exposure. This was achieved through a seamless API integration and continuous
support from BytePlus’ engineering team.

Results

Transforming User Experience
with Groundbreaking
Personalization Solutions
Teller Novel experienced a notable 40% increase in click per user, along with improvements in DAU,
demonstrating the effectiveness of BytePlus’ solution during the A/B tests
BytePlus’ collaboration with Teller Novel led to significant improvements in user engagement byimplementing a customized personalization strategy. Although deep learning was already thebackbone of their personalization efforts, the BytePlus team recognized the potential for furtherenhancements.
We’ve introduced several targeted adjustments to refine Teller Novel’s personalization algorithms. One
such tweak was to place a stronger emphasis on the user’s most read tags. By analyzing the user’s
reading preferences and prioritizing content related to their favorite topics, BytePlus was able tocreate a more tailored experience for each user.
Additionally, the Recommendation team incorporated theconcept of click polarity into the personalization process.
This technique helped to identify and serve content that
resonated with users’ preferences, based on their previousinteractions with similar content.
These strategic refinements, combined with the powerof deep learning, resulted in a significant increase inuser engagement metrics, such as click per user anddaily active users. Ultimately, the collaboration between
BytePlus and Teller Novel demonstrated the value offine-tuning personalization algorithms to better cater toindividual user interests and drive greater user satisfaction.

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Teller Novel

Competitive Advantage
In the fast-paced and competitive world of digital content platforms, achieving desired results often
requires tailored expertise to address unique challenges. When Teller Novel relied on Google Cloud
Platform (GCP), they faced limitations due to the absence of dedicated experts who could help them
optimize performance for their specific scenarios. This lack of personalized support acted as a barrier
to their growth and hindered their ability to adapt and evolve.
BytePlus has established itself as a leader in the field of personalized content recommendation, thanks
to its unique approach and commitment to client success. While many competitors focus solely oncore metrics like click-through rates (CTR), BytePlus understands the importance of taking a morecomprehensive approach to address the diverse needs of user-generated content (UGC) platforms.
One of the key competitive advantages of BytePlus is our ability to customize their systems tooptimize a wide range of metrics, such as coverage and diversity. By understanding the value of thesemetrics for UGC platforms, BytePlus ensures that the recommended content not only engages users
but also exposes them to a broader array of topics and creators.
We developed tailored solutions that cater to Teller Novel’s specific requirements. For instance,implementing custom features that limit recommendations to only original content, excluding fanfiction, in certain situations upon the Teller Novel’s request. This level of flexibility allows us to provide
highly targeted solutions that truly address the unique needs of each platform.
These experts could identify granular details of Teller Novel’s performance, enabling them to adapt
and implement changes swiftly and effectively:
1.

The intricate connections between various performance metrics and how they relate to individualcomponents or features within the system. This understanding helps in determining theeffectiveness and impact of each element on the overall performance.

2.

Examining the presence of any biases within the system and assessing whether these align withthe platform’s inclinations. If discrepancies are found, it’s crucial to identify the root causes andaddress them to ensure the system’s recommendations align with the platform’s objectives.

This personalized support empowered Teller Novel to overcome the obstacles that had previously
hindered their progress, paving the way for continued growth and success.

Customer Testimonial
Teller Novel’s CEO and COO have expressed satisfaction with BytePlus’ solution and haveenthusiastically recommended the product to other potential clients, including C-suite executives
within their network. This endorsement highlights the transformative impact of BytePlus’technology on Teller Novel’s business growth.

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Case Study