posted on March 10th, 2009 in Commerce, Merchandise, Tools 

Rizzo Tees gives a coupon code to every new Twitter follower. Smart.

Rizzo Tees followed Undependent on Twitter.  I followed back. Check this promotional offer within the Bio:
Follow me and I’ll auto-DM you a 10% off coupon code to my funny t-shirt website.
Smart stuff.
I can confirm the DM arrives. If this code also escapes into the coupon aggregators, that’s even better since more new [...]

posted on July 1st, 2008 in Best Practices, Commerce, News 

Something Completely Different: Eyes on the Price

This is going somewhere, I promise.

(more…)

posted on January 26th, 2008 in Best Practices, Commerce, Merchandise, Monetizing, Podcast, Tiki Bar TV 

Tiki Bar TV introduces ‘The Drinkbot Decanter’

Previously in Undependent…

• We profiled Tiki Bar TV’s Lala Pinup Calendar and praised it for:
  • Its direct function as a wall calendar
  • Its value as a shibboleth for Tiki Bar TV fans…
  • Its deepening of the Tiki Bar TV brand thanks in part to its perfectly executed Vargas-style retro aesthetic

So now we’re introducing to Undependent readers Tiki Bar TV’s new “Drinkbot Decanter.”

Again, Tiki Bar has produced a genuinely original product here. Like the Lala Calendar and the Charooba Mug before it, Drinkbot Decanter scores a direct hit for true fans. But we at Undependent, presuming as we do to be experts, also have to praise Tiki Bar TV particularly their manufacturer Tiki Farm for a tiny detail which serves as the crowning achievement of this product. As this will factor into future merchandise profiles, we’ll call it the “You’ve Got to be Kidding Me” factor.

Drinkbot Decanter’s capstone is the tiny, detailed lampshade included with the order. If you haven’t done so already, watch the classic Drinkbot episode for this perfect bit of prop comedy. Being confident comedians, they don’t stop everything to ensure viewers see the lampshade on Drinkbot’s head. It’s just another example of theinspired lunacy that is the signature of Tiki Bar TV.

So, if you were making an expensive, completely custom mug, would you go to the trouble and add more cost to it for this small joke? Of course you wouldn’t. That’s why we’re not writing about you, we’re writing about someone who really gets how tangible the little intangibles ARE. Cheers and mahalo to Tiki Bar and Tiki Farm for really going the extra mile for a joke.

Now that you think about it, you agree, right? Buy a Drinkbot Decanter to say so!

posted on November 17th, 2007 in Best Practices, Commerce, Content, Merch, Monetizing, Penny Arcade, Web Comics 

Penny Arcade adds Prints of almost every Comic Ever

Penny Arcade today pulled the curtain off of their new Print-on-Demand Comics. Now almost every comic they’ve ever made is available as a super high quality 11×17 (or 11×11) poster.

Ordering couldn’t be simpler. The familiar navigator located beneath each comic strip simply has a new button that reads “Buy a Print.” Click it and you’re done. No Ajax, no Logins, the item is automatically added to the Penny Arcade shopping cart. You can return to the navigator to add more strips, shop for other PA merch in their store, or just checkout.

A simple, subtle, nearly frictionless purchase process. You can read more about it in Gabe’s announcement here.

posted on November 16th, 2007 in Best Practices, Catalog, Commerce, Despair, Inc., Monetizing 

Despair launches its own line of Plastic Gift Cards

So today Despair soft-launched their new line of Gift Cards.

These cards parody the seemingly endless number of precious-metal credit cards. Despair’s Card comes in Rust, Pyrite (shown) and Tin. But this isn’t everything. The cards are working physical gift certificates. Each is serialized, like any gift card, each can be redeemed online at their store. They’re printed on metallic card stocks, feature embossed alphanumeric gift codes as well as a scratch off panel on the back. (What’s under the scratch off? I’ll never tell.)

posted on October 11th, 2007 in Ask a Ninja, Commerce, Monetizing 

If you let others advertise to your fans, why not promote yourself, too?

To create and to connect directly with their fans, Undies have tremendous tools and techniques at their disposal. More cool stuff shows up regularly as the web continues to evolve.  We will try to profile these developments over time here at undependent.com.
Some of the best tricks are really simple.  Here’s one small example:

Ask a Ninja smartly boosts online sales by advertising their own store at the end of their videos.  Sometimes, they even share coupon codes in these ads as well.  I’m pretty sure that they use CastFire for these ads.  The best trick is that when they update their ad, it plays at the end of every video in their entire archive.  That’s great because as more new fans continue to discover the Ninja, they all get to learn about the great stuff available in the Ninja Mart.
Thus, viewership isn’t the only stat that climbs when a new episode is released. Sales rise, too.

posted on October 11th, 2007 in Commerce, Community, Conventions, Monetizing 

great advice on conventions from Web Comics Weekly

We’ve talked about conventions here.   In case you missed it, I recommend episode 4 of Web Comics Weekly.
These four folks offer tons of good advice and insight related to their experiences in comics conventions. Give it a listen.

And as always, support these Undies by going to their sites, browsing their stores, and buying lots of stuff.