SaidIt Promotional Ideas

submitted by JasonCarswell from self.SaidIt

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[–]magnora7 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

We have a donation page, but no sales. What kind of saidit-themed 3d printed objects do you imagine people would want to buy?

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Firstly, there's my characters that can be printed like bobble heads, action figures, vinyl collectibles like KidRobot https://www.kidrobot.com/ , etc. The characters can be wearing or holding or pimping your logo or whatev. But we can leave my characters out of it for some time.

Now I don't know much about 3D printing. For example, I don't know if vinyl printing is a thing, with semi-soft leather-like pliability, or for a harder plastic product. Both hard and soft have their pros and cons.

However I do know first hand it takes a lot to set up to do fabric stitching for clothing, caps, patches/badges, etc. While that may be good in bulk orders it's not good for one-offs or small quantities for our on demand market. And until demand becomes big and reliable that's not a good option for sales. Maybe it'd be good to get 20 caps for $200 to give away at a truthers convention or whatever but that's a narrow promotion.

That's why I thought DIY one-off as needed 3D vinyl or plastic patches of your logo would be better. Add some other products with a decent adhesive and it's even more diverse and potentially better. Glue your logo on kitchen kitch, hats, belt buckles, geekery gadgets, backpacks, whatever - or let folks stick/glue it themselves.

This image features a round badge/patch with a slight convex curve like Captain America's shield, but you can clearly see stitching around the circumference and three levels in three colours. https://i.pinimg.com/236x/d0/60/43/d060438922264386bb70fc4ce041465d--pet-travel-pvc-patches.jpg

You could even print glow in the dark stuff, assuming you get the right gear and supplies. I mean you could go to town and add el-wire or LEDs and and and...

Search for "vinyl 3D patch" or badge on DDG or Google and you find shitty examples, but they get the idea across. Maybe I'm not using the best words or maybe those ugly things are the most prevalent.

Here's the dilemma - It's inevitable that you need to raise funds somehow unless there's a way we don't know about to get angel funding seed money or giant gift enough to not worry. So whether you start an online store side business or start a homegrown indie side business with a 3D printer filling orders, or something else entirely - to raise funds you're branching from your prime focus, this site. The "side" business is necessary.

Even if this site took on advertising (another option), it's still a process and hassle to deal with and requires further accounting.

Perhaps in your region you might be able to find either a professional or an artisan who can make things you might otherwise get from an online print-on-demad store. For example, a professional T-shirt guy in your neighborhood might be more expensive, but maybe the rapor and relationship built is worth it. Also, it may cost you $200 just to set up a silk screen that you wouldn't be charged online, but after you sell 20 shirts it may actually be cheaper to get them made locally (even with shipping). Alternative to the "professional" maybe you find an artist who does "rougher" original work with infinitely more charm than factory products, or they're one of a kind made from reused items or something. Add a magnora7 signature or a limited series number and it's even more valuable. There's lots to consider.

I don't think "what people would want" so much as 1) that it's available as a support option and 2) how it's offered. By this I mean, maybe folks would buy something to support you then give it to their nephew who would never wear it or use it to clean toilets. Obviously it would be better to find good products people want - if only there were a voting forum we could discuss this on.

To the second point, how it's offered. You could sell vitality snake oil in uncouth obnoxious ads or be classy, available, and present without interrupting. This stuff matters. Sex sells too but how you use it speaks volumes. Bimbos in bikinis may get eyes but may counter your message and not gain sales.

All of that said, my advice, find the most attractive willing supportive long term friend(s) you can that are willing to become the face of SaidIt products, not to be confused with the face of SaidIt. Just the products. Or, perhaps it's you and they are actually one and the same. I would try for an attractive female, solo or in addition to your and/or others. If not a friend, then a model willing to go long term. Why? Consistency is important. Branding is powerful. Consistent branding even more so. Even for small fries. If you go with the 3D printer idea, you simply make some for yourselves and apply them to objects or whatever. Don't apply them to objects that you can't supply. Maybe you apply the same logo to different objects for your gallery. You can add "*objects may not be exactly as illustrated" or whatever as necessary. This person or people will simply be photographed with these potential products. Getting a good photograph is key too. It doesn't have to be great but it has to be good and clean. Often a mediocre shot can be radically improved with Photoshop fixing contrast levels, saturation, etc. not even getting into touch ups or fakery. I could do that for you if you don't have local resources. Then you've got your gallery and store. Maybe you keep everyone in the loop as you develop and tweak it or maybe you spring it all at once. Either way you'll get feedback and action of some sort. Hopefully it won't be a waste of time and energy.

You can embed payment systems, use a dark net market, or let eBay or Amazon take a huge chunk. Maybe marry the products to Patreon. But that's another chapter.

Yet another chapter... Find like-minded folks to team with. Tin Foil Hat already has their thing going but maybe they wouldn't mind branching, sharing resources (ie their store), collaborating for a special product or a product line. Same goes for lots of podcasts. Maybe invite a bunch of them to co-develop custom things for SaidIt and become their official or unofficial fan club discussion forum. Zoon Politikon and many others don't have anything going store-wise yet. Maybe you or they or a third party might centrally manage all these accounts and sales. Maybe you guys start a cooperative. Maybe you go socialist and split even to support the smaller guys, or maybe you get all the money except for the set up and maintenance fees. It takes time to actually set up these stores with every design on every product with pricing, etc. Or maybe it's all about percentages. A coop could make things easier, but you'd have to be cautious regarding egos and/or finance/trust issues, but there are resources out there for establishing coops. Of course there may be competition between truther products under one truther store but I suspect the unified convenience is worth it.

Anyway, I think I'm empty now.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Also, the links in the footer, or at least the donations should be more prominent, like where the user info is, and move the user to the top. IMHO.

[–]magnora7 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Thanks for the ideas but I really am not sure anyone will want to buy this stuff, even to support the website. Most people don't want to give their name and address to a site that deals in information like this. I really don't think it would work unless you can figure out a specific 3d printed object that actually somehow relates to the site. I am unconvinced a product offering would be anything other than a huge waste of time and effort.

I like your ideas about collaborating with other established groups in the same circles is good though, I'll have to think about it some more. Thanks for taking the time to write up all these ideas!

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Maybe you're right. I don't think so though.

First, you made a great point. Commerce with "the enemy". It's a real issue. I don't know of any good solutions. Free-markets on the Dark Net are watched by the po-po anyway, besides being a huge hassle unless you're already there, in which case it's great. There are new decentralized systems being developed all the time and crypto (hassle) currencies. OpenBazzar is on IPFS though I've not visited it yet. And "collecting" addresses is problematic for all involved.

Second, yes there will be people who won't want the stigma of SaidIt, but they won't likely come here anyway. Presently there's not near enough folks here but this could change with persistence. With numbers grow trolls and devotees. The latter will support you if they can and it all remains authentic, whatever that means or grow to mean. This support won't be easily earned, especially in this era. But it's worth the fight for this site and all else besides. Maybe merch isn't the answer. Maybe it is.

Third, I wonder if you're trying to reinvent the wheel. Before we even get into campaigns, a sticker, patch or t-shirt doesn't have to be "desirable". It most definitely helps. Lots of things help. Nice quality, price, nice design, humour, whatever. People wear brands for all sorts of reasons, including by default or because its clean. Your logo is not profound, but what it stands for is. For some it's worth supporting, for some it's worth bragging about, for some it's a conversation starter, etc. Your product doesn't have to be "new" or super unique. But it should be authentic to some degree. SaidIt Cereal, SaidIt Tampons, and SaidIt Flamethrowers are not your brand.

"A product offering" makes it sound like you're rolling out 20,000 automobiles. I'm talking about starting with one at a time. Assuming SaidIt actually gets a crowd, sooner or later, then you can openly develop this with them. One way to force a conversation, whether it's about product development, donation options, or asking for fund raising ideas, is to prominently place it. Maybe add a tab or few in the header or rig it so the topic is pinned to the top or whatever. (Not in the footer.)

So best for last. Your logo is a proto-logo. It's good but not great. I like the modern font but it says nothing about this site. It's not even a real logo, it's just word in a font with nothing more. That can be addressed by tweaking it, redesigning it, or placing it as is within a context. For example, if you put that proto-logo in a word bubble suddenly you have self-referential design. If adopted to all branding it is then your (new) logo. If it's only used once or twice it's still just a design and not your identity. If you search "word bubble" images you'll see they are not all oval and the directional pointer-tail-thing can have different shapes too. Infinite variations of line quality, texture, thickness, flourish, amateur hand drawn, clean professional, modern, tech, grunge, glitch, whatever you want. If you don't like the word bubble search "pow" images for something more dynamic. Or forget this graphic train of though altogether and we can delve into concepts more appropriate for trutherism and/or conspiracy theory and/or conspirophilia. But before we ditch this I want to pitch you a t-shirt and/or sticker and/or patch idea... Not fancy, a word bubble, with a good comic book font (most are bad but some are good) that says "PROUD TRUTHER! That's right, I..." and then your SaidIt proto-logo concluding the word bubble. Stick that on your coffee mug and drink it.

Maybe that's not the best taste, but it's a sample. Even if you don't like the attitude, we haven't even begun regarding campaign development. But that's for another time. Can you tell I spent a couple decades mostly making commercials?

If you want some information about authentic democratic worker directed enterprises, aka cooperatives, then check out Marxist economics Professor Richard Wolf and the Democracy @ Work group and site he helped start. He's got a big following on YouTube and the D@W site has great resources for starting coops.

I've been procrastinating but I'd like to start a local Windsor Ontario coop for my projects (assuming anyone would want to join a ragtag struggling startup from nothing, assuming they are truther-copacetic, and assuming they are trustworthy and ego compatible). If it goes well the coop would handle the accounting/merch, social media/marketing, webmastery, producing/animating, etc. to support an animation studio and servers as well as be a supportive foundation for an online community hopefully as big if not bigger that would virtually do much of the same towards open development of open projects. I'm pretty sure it's just easier to start a thing in person, otherwise I'm not really that rooted. That's my dream anyway.

Take all the time you need to think about this stuff. I'm in no hurry. At present I have very little to offer, and won't for some time to come. But either I'll prove to be full of shit or I'll prove to be of some value at least if not a success and/or a legit threat to the establishment with my projects. So in that spirit I hope you might save a seat for me.

I will certainly disappear for long stretches at a time, perhaps for months. During this time I'll be either researching, procrastinating, or working on the projects. I'll check back tomorrow but I really need to minimize my SaidIt and research time to spend on the actual productions or they'll remain theoretical forever.

[–]magnora7 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate the input. I'll think about the things you presented.