Marketing

[Adam]

What's your marketing plan for PS? I'm halfway thinking of purchasing a dozen books (after the divorce is further along, or settled), and simply leaving them lay around the gaming stores, anime places, and even the University up here. We DO have a large Asian influence in Alaska, namely the Japanese tourists that LOVE to drop tons of money here every winter. There are also some independent bookstores here in town as well. Could I simply special order them via ISBN at a retail bookstore? That goes for any of Dirk's comrades in the biz.

[Baiyu-Dan]

The marketing plan looks like it is going to be more Web based than anything else. Press releases, banners at related sites, etc. It's cheaper than traditional print ads, and considering the events to come (Dirk's Wedding and honeymoon), he'll need to save all the cash he can. In theory, if the ISBN is listed, you should be able to order the book by that number at any bookstore.

[Dirk]

In theory, if the ISBN is listed, you should be able to order the book by that number at any bookstore.

Well, yes, but only after it's listed in distributor's catalogs.  Otherwise, you might as well just order directly from me.

The initial plan is to get listed in Diamond Comics, and then contact potentially friendly comic shops and bookstores who order from their catalog to see if they'll bite.  Once it's in the catalog, it would be incredibly helpful if you and anyone else who's interested to hit up your local (and not so local) shops to encourage them to order a few copies.

On the web front, my initial plan is to simply get ahead in the story, so I'm not stressing over each new page every week.  The short term is to get all the pages I currently have scripted finished by the end of next week (before I head off to Anime Iowa), so I can spend a few weeks getting the rest of the script together.  Then after the wedding, the plan is to hit it as close to full time as possible, with the intention of finishing Part Three before the holidays.  If I can make this happen, there will also be site redesigns, and possibly more frequent page updates on the web.  I will make no promises until this actually happens, though.

The rest of the plan entails hitting more conventions into the fall, and then releasing Part Three with fanfare early next year, with a real book release party, hopefully an art show at a gallery here in Chicago, and then followed by much con-going throughout 2008.  Of course, this will assume I start in the next installment in there before the updates run out.

Anyway, that's just the shorthand version.  I've been doing plenty of thinking while I've been away the past few weeks.  I'm all ears if you guys have more ideas, too.

[Baiyu-Dan]

So, does this mean you will be needing any help soon?
Pleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyes!

[Dirk]

I'd say that's a yes.  Let me get some planning in order first, though.  You up for an ART NIGHT on Saturday, btw?

[KurtMitchell]

Two words...

'frigerator magnets...

[Dirk]

Hope they work for you!  I may get a few of those, too.

BTW, what's your next show?  Wizard?

[Adam]

Web Game.
Magnets.


Stuffed animals... err Dolls... errr dunno how to word it.

[Dirk]

... plushies?

[Adam]

Sure... why not?

We need you to market stuff so when you become famous we can get rich off of the collectors market on EBay!

anything in the works for animation, television series, or video game?

[Dirk]

God, I wish.  Only time for the comic at the moment.   Until I have piles of cash or friends in the industry, that all I can do at the moment.

BTW, I thought you were talking about plushies when you were talking stuffed animals/dolls, etc...  I have one custom Chibi Kate plushie thanks to BunnyBeth, but I'm in no shape to mass produce them at the moment.

Keep the ideas coming!

[Adam]

-Google Ads (take out some stunning PS ads)
-Pod Cast that goes with what you were thinking and doing when making the comic, even do a how to on youtube, or something like that. "sell" the whole learning process. Be the Bob Ross of Comics!!!
-Monkey Advertising Campaign (Think guerilla marketing, but monkeys just sounds better). Basically, get some shirts made up for starters... and encourage your local friends to just flood the local Cons, or any they can attend. Have some cliffhanger chapter-type pages done up... you know, the opening of the book.. and hand em out.
- Plushies, like the prototype... What more you could do is let's say... Have a hypothetical plushy of a Dog... turn inside out into a Cat.. or whatever it is you want...
- Magnets, like was suggested before. Perhaps a Mug as well.... look into custom PS labels for Hot Coco even!!!

Some of it isn't cheap, and is more geared towards a franchise. I could see if there's any marketing people I know that would be willing to assist...

Curious, do you have a voice you hear for your characters? What about placing that voice into some advertisement, almost as a journal podcast.. Imagine Kate's Podcast as a supplement to the actual comic...

I believe that convergence is something that makes the web... well more than just TV or just Print, or simply radio.. it's interactive, it's a combination of it all. I'm sure there would be technical and even artistic help out there.. me, I can provide a 2 1/2 year old for inspiration and comic relief.

[KurtMitchell]

The magnets were the best thing I did. I had so much fun with those at the con and at the hotel... I was handing them out like candy in elevators, leaving them with tips at restaurants. One dinner companion actually complained that it was like going to dinner with P.T. Barnum. HAH!! DEAL with it!!! I'm here for a reason, and it's not to conform to your ideal of propriety!

I'll be at Wizard World Chicago... next to Bman... table 4104... COME and GET YOUR MAGNETS!!!

BWAWWWWWHAHHHHAHHHHAHHHHH................................ (geez, what an a$$h*le I am.)

[Baiyu-Dan]

You up for an ART NIGHT on Saturday, btw?

Depends on what time it starts. I have a birthday party to attend.

[Dirk]

Okay, question for you guys:

How would you describe Paradigm Shift? 

This is something I consistantly have problem with when trying to explain it to people, especially in the context of conventions.  This comment was left on the site the week after Connecticon:

This is way better than you make it out to be when you're advertising!!!

The problem is if I just boil it down to the basic premise ("Werewolf detective story" or "Detective story with a supernatural twist") it leaves so much out.  Like a good novel, I'm trying to make this more than just the sum of its parts.  I don't want to just lean on the basic concept alone -- especially when there's much more coming that hasn't actually appeared in the comic, yet.

Anyway, how would you explain it?