Telegram Mini Apps: how to generate traffic and earn money

Hello, community! The Chinese market has always leaned heavily into marketing. In fact, a huge share of its products is built almost entirely around it. But not in the best sense. Take Xiaomi, for example — it only got its first real wave of hype when it started copying iPhone features, at least when it comes to smartphones. 

But modern China is very different from what its market looked like ten years ago. Hits like TikTok came from there. And more recently, another Chinese service has become popular — Temu. The marketplace quickly turned into a meme, but that did absolutely nothing to slow down the massive sales generated by the Chinese app. So what is the secret behind its success? Let’s break it down.  

But before we begin, we recommend checking out one of our recent articles. In it, we talked about AI dating and why it is the future of the industry.  

Where did Temu come from? 

Temu is a relatively young project created by Chinese programmer Colin Huang. Its story began in 2022. In fact, Temu is a subsidiary of Pinduoduo, an extremely popular Chinese marketplace.  

However, Temu was deliberately launched into a completely different market — the U.S. market. At first, its marketing strategy was purely affiliate marketing-driven: ads on Instagram and Facebook. But the budget was enormous, so the peak of the campaign was advertising during the Super Bowl. 

What’s more, the app’s ad aired during the tournament twice — in 2023 and 2024. And the 2024 commercial did not just perform well. It became real jet fuel for the ad campaign, because right after it aired, the number of transactions on Temu in the U.S. jumped by 26%!  

Even now, Chinese Temu ranks 4th among the most popular marketplaces in the U.S., according to SimilarWeb. And in some other European countries, including Ukraine, the app was actually Top 1 among the most downloaded. So what is the secret to its success? One great commercial? Of course not.  

What is the magic behind Temu? 

First of all, sorry for the tautology, but the magic of the marketplace is that there is no magic at all. All those downloads and sales are the result of high-quality marketing, which can be traced across many different aspects. But let’s take it step by step. 

Temu’s main advantages are as follows:  

• Low prices. This is a typical feature of the Chinese market in general. There are plenty of examples. Even AliExpress. But in Temu’s case, the prices are genuinely strange. Sometimes it feels like products are being sold at almost half their cost price. 
• Selection. The range of products is enormous. From all sorts of small home goods to gaming PCs.  
• Logistics. Products are delivered relatively quickly to almost any corner of the world. Partly because Temu has a large number of its own warehouses. They also very often offer completely free shipping, which helps drive conversions. But that depends on the order value and the country. 
• Convenient payment methods. The marketplace does everything possible to make sure users do not run into any issues during checkout. So there are many payment options here — something most competitors cannot really boast about.  
• Interface. Nothing extra. Just products and everything related to them: specs, photos and videos, ratings, and reviews.  

And of course, it is impossible to ignore the fact that a lot of the products are low-quality junk. But people are very simple creatures: if something costs next to nothing, they are often willing to overlook the quality.  

Especially when you also consider customer support. Solving most issues with low-quality or damaged goods is much easier than in the case of the aforementioned AliExpress. So in this respect too, Temu outperforms its competitors, which is exactly why it generates even more profit. 

But what matters even more is not just the marketplace itself, but also the methods used to promote it and the tactics used to retain users.  

What marketing tools does Temu use? 

Overall, the marketplace invests a lot of money into advertising. It is literally everywhere: from social media feeds to the already mentioned Super Bowl final. But there are also some interesting marketing elements that deserve special attention:  

• Gamification. One of the biggest trends of 2025. And for the most part, Temu helped make it so. At certain moments, the marketplace practically turns into a real casino. They even offer a spin-the-wheel feature. There are also plenty of instant offers in a “right here, right now” format. Plus, all sorts of bonuses accumulate while shopping. All of this turns ordinary purchases into something like a game. 
• Countdowns on the latest offers. This could also be considered part of gamification, but they rely on it so heavily that it deserves a separate mention. Users are warned that a product is about to run out, and are even shown exactly how many units are left. It immediately gives off the vibe of landing pages from around 2015.  
• Promotions and special offers. Many of these offers are also personalized. Users are encouraged to buy the products they are most interested in at выгодны? need translate naturally. Let’s continue proper –>
• A focus on influencers. The marketplace is promoted by a large number of well-known bloggers. And they generate a substantial share of its total traffic. This is also a trend, and once again, Temu played a major role in making it one. 

So, as we can see, the app has all the characteristics of a modern product when viewed through the lens of marketing. And it becomes obvious that staying on top of trends delivers results. So your own app can also become Top 1 in the world if you do not neglect the tools available for product promotion and user retention.  

What awaits Temu in the future? 

But no matter how you look at it, business is not just about marketing. You also have to make money. And in that regard, many experts believe the marketplace may run into serious problems in the future. 

The main reason is dumping. We already mentioned that the prices of some products are not just very low — they are outright absurd. Sometimes it is immediately obvious that a product is being sold at a serious loss.  

And of course, there is logic behind that. Because this is how the app generates dopamine in the user. And once that effect wears off, they need another “hit.” That is when the same buyer goes on to purchase another item that already comes with a proper markup. 

You can already see it now. In the second half of 2025, sales amounted to around $14 billion, and the growth rate slowed significantly compared to 2024, the year when Temu hype was at its peak. Meanwhile, the number of active users in the U.S. dropped by nearly half. 

Conclusion 

But despite its recent problems, Temu is still a great example for affiliates. It is a perfect case of a relatively short-lived advertising campaign that still managed to generate massive profits in that time. And it all happened not just because of a good product, but because of extremely effective marketing. 

Have you ever bought anything on Temu? Share your experience in our Telegram community, where we talk about more than just affiliate marketing! 

With respect, Your Geek! 

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