Sort of some brainstorming/thinking out loud going on here based on some articles I've been reading and podcasts I've been listening too, as well as my own observation.
Most webcomics in terms of their merchandise seem to go pretty standard with the same stuff. T-shirts, buttons, stickers, books, etc. And while I don't discount the must-have standbys, I have to question the logic of always walking down the same path. One can only own so many shirts, books, etc. There's also the issue that a lot of comic merch with comic logo/comic characters doesn't usually sell as well as more generalized merchandise.
So Kory Bing of
Skin Deep did something that I think is brilliant. She made a piece of merchandise not only unique to her comic, but also very novel. It ties in beautifully, yet its generic enough to be appreciated by people who might not be familiar with her comic. She did these
medallions based off the medallions worn by the characters in her comic.
The brilliance is that these are unique. No one else is doing them. They are great for fans and for non fans alike. Sitting in an artists alley I could see these really stand out.
So this got me to thinking. Is there any other 'sideways merch' out there? Stuff that you don't see everyday that's unique to a particular webcomic? What sorts of things might we pull out of our comics that would be novel?
This does require some high level thinking, in terms of pulling back from details and looking at our genres and general audience. What sort of people do you attract? What genre are you appealing to?
People are attracted to novelty. Novelty, difference, it stands out. In this day and age when people are being more cautious about their pocket money spending, what can we offer that they haven't seen a million times and might be a little dazzled with?
Maybe we could do a little brainstorming around each others comics? Throw some ideas out there of what might be unique offerings that might be viable to do?
For example, my comic, Brymstone, is a fantasy comic. There's these special red stones called brymstones. I thought maybe I could go to a glassblower (there's one locally) and have some specialty glass beads made so I could do some hand made beaded jewelry with a bit of a medieval flare.
Any takers with thoughts on this sort of approach to merchandise offerings?
