Thread: Four levels of use for t-shirts and merchandiise

This is reprinted from my post to Johanne, but it's a good thing for anybody doing the indie route to keep in mind.


You get a good design and a cool tagline/slogan and slap on your URL and what you'vegot is a multi-faceted marketing tool that goes beyond promotion andnot a lot of writers understand.

Now, understanding that you can get shirts (and totel and coffee cups)POD one-off from those sites, zazzle, cafepress, etc, here's the way Isee it

Level one--you get a shirt and wear it all over the place. You have atote. Your coffee mug at work or down at your favorite java joint hasyour thang on it. You get your hot GF to wear a small one (if not athong). You're buying a whole lot of views for like $20. You givethem to friends, get more views. You do a show or signing or are onradio, whatever...zap, you're a walking banner.

Level two--self-liquidating promotion. You do a book fair orsomething. You agree to work a band's t-shirt CD table if you can sellyour own shirts, you do a street fair, cut a deal with your local baror coffee house... wherever you can sell your merch, you can sell it atcost, thus getting "viral promotion" for free.

Level three -- one way your "Thousand True Fans" support you is bybuying shirts and mousepads and mugs and calendars and crap. A cashflow situation.

Level four-- you want to try to haul your "Verizon network" ofreadership/fans in to leverage a deal with an agent or publisher... youhave a shirt or mug to send them.

The cooler the stuff is, the better all of this works.

I recently told a girl thinking of self-publishing a novel to start bycommissioning a cool T-shirt/tattoo/mug graphic, then building hercover around it.

This is really fascinating. I would never have thought of using cups and clothing to promote writing, much less as a cash line. I will certainly think about it.

I rather like the idea that an appealling graphic and catchy phrase would sell products of this kind, rather than just putting a title and character portrait of an unknown book. Of course, "appealling" and "catchy" are easier said than done, but worth thinking about.

I would think this would be a gold mine for talent like Johanne and John.

This is excellent advice. I put a very basic tshirt and coffee mug design as a link on my blog and have been making a nice little haul ever since, even though I only update rarely. Self promotion can be uncomfortable for many of us, but when you're competeing with with every aspiring writer with internet access, it's a necessary evil. I even started a google adwords account to market the fact that merchandise was now available at my site and traffic, along with sales, jumped to levels I hadn't previously imagined. If you have a little extra cash to market yourself, it can be a great investment.

Excatly. I don't understand why people are shy to promote their books. I tell people they can put a sign on their car or yard and they freak out.
Why should a plumber or realtor be able to do this, but not a writer.

A publisher I worked for once (the greatest ad salesperson I ever met, total piece of crap as a person) first told be about always having your book on you, cover visible, always sitting on the table, displayed, always around. And copies to sell available right there. She was talking about newspaper ads, but it applies to books. Everybody in your neighborhood should know you're an author. They like that. They take pride in it. Spread your brand wherever you are, and spread it out from your skin to as far as you can reach.

If somebody doesn't like the idea of a T-shirt, there are tote bags, calendars for the office and school, hats, polo shirts, thong bikinis fr crissakes. You shouldn't leave any doubt that you're an author and the name of your book.

Originally Posted by lin

Excatly. I don't understand why people are shy to promote their books. I tell people they can put a sign on their car or yard and they freak out.
Why should a plumber or realtor be able to do this, but not a writer.

A publisher I worked for once (the greatest ad salesperson I ever met, total piece of crap as a person) first told be about always having your book on you, cover visible, always sitting on the table, displayed, always around. And copies to sell available right there. She was talking about newspaper ads, but it applies to books. Everybody in your neighborhood should know you're an author. They like that. They take pride in it. Spread your brand wherever you are, and spread it out from your skin to as far as you can reach.

If somebody doesn't like the idea of a T-shirt, there are tote bags, calendars for the office and school, hats, polo shirts, thong bikinis fr crissakes. You shouldn't leave any doubt that you're an author and the name of your book.

I was uncomfortable at first. But then once I was receiving cool comments. I've started to like it.