Tyler James over at ComixTribe turned me onto to Seth Godin–a great influential marketeer. So I ordered a couple of his books. While I’m waiting for them to get here I picked up a copy of Purple Cow from the library. Fantastic read. I’ve just started and have already gotten a lot out of it.
With a quick skim in the book, I know this will be a valuable resource for you to use in your comic book library. Not many artists I’ve ever seen have marketing books in their library–much is filled with art books, how to draw, how to paint, and a ton of comics. When you start creating your own comics, though, you have to change your thinking from consumer – to – producer. It is an incredibly important distinction.
Just in the intro pages of the book, Seth Godin states the Purple Cow is about being remarkable. He tends to elaborate on the product being not ordinary.
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I wanted to share two really keen insights that I found extremely helpful to the comic book world and helping you create your comics.
1. “Instead of making a better product for your customer’s standard behavior, change their behavior to make the product work better.” — Seth Godin, Purple Cow.
As comic book entrepreneurs we want to change people’s behaviors from not buying comic books, to trying them, buying them, and reading them. They’ll enjoy them when they do and they’ll tell their friends.
2. “Take your products and reinvest in something new.” — Seth Godin, Purple Cow.
As comic book marketers, we have to know when the tides are changing, we are on the forefront of the industry now, and we have to capitalize on that. Shift the media from TV, radio, newspaper, and magazines to narrative art. Captive audience at your fingertips.
I also wanted to share one VISIONARY TACTIC that will help lead us into the future.
This book is a couple of years old, so I wanted to give you some updated hottest current trends. In the book he says this:
” OLD RULE: Create safe ordinary products and combine them with great marketing.”
“NEW RULE: Create remarkable products that the right people seek out.”
This is good advice for companies who have money to waste on products, a newer rule that I would engage in is this.
NEWER RULE: Create remarkable marketing that the right people seek out then create your remarkable product.
Seth says how in the days of the T.V. Industrial Complex, companies would create an ad and once they had a commercial for Captain Crunch, they could then create a cereal and pump that out to anyone. The cereal was secondary to the marketing of it. Not so nowadays because everyone is so tired of being marketed to they ignore almost any image before them.
He further states that customers are turning away from TV, newspapers, and magazines and want more relevant material that will suit their needs. “You can’t afford to introduce Captain Crunch today, kids won’t listen.”
The truth is you can’t afford to introduce him on TV today. You can still launch him on the internet through the narrative art (comic book) medium. Hitting direct targets to people who want to pay attention. My advice would be to do that. I can help you.
If you want more info how to market your characters specifically, or use narrative art to market your brand via the internet put your name and email in the box to the right and I’ll help you do just that.