I’m constantly quizzed as to why I have so many web sites and sell so many of my Londons Times Cartoon products. “Why not just be a cartoonist,” many ask. That’s a good question, though, at the risk of sounding cynical, the mortgage must be paid. So I start with something with which they can identify.
At the risk of sounding like the elderly professor in the Xerox commercial regarding publishing is not done much because it costs “MONEY”, that is the first answer that comes to mind. We like making moolah. But that is our cynical side. We also like making people happy. No, really.
Humor domination of the world wide web is a good start. Ok, a little joke, but that does not mean it cannot be a goal. I know it is
Image via Wikipedia arrogant but it is so, and why lie? I am told that in any given year there are approximately 10,000 cartoons on the Internet and out of those 10k cartoons only about 5 or so last longer than a year. This is our tenth year and to be honest, we didn’t even start to monetize the site with stores until 14 months ago; and even think about Google Adwords until a few years ago? Why? Because we really looked at the entire thing as a hobby and my creative team was entirely voluntary. Then we started selling. Then manufacturing came. Then we were suddenly a business. It all took a life of its own.
Our main site, Londons Times Cartoons remains free. We want to always keep it that way; as, with 8500 original cartoons, mostly in color, we look at it as a cyber-museum of sorts, and to make it a membership site, as we once thought about doing, to us, would dampen the spirit of the whole idea of it. Why pay for the opportunity to have a good laugh (we hope, anyway).
Learning what sells in a marketplace that is untapped is not the easiest thing in the world. Nobody really knows in the cartoon world except other cartoonists and their licensing people. So one has to run down to Barnes and Nobles and find out what is selling well. And it turns out it’s not just t-shirts and coffee mugs anymore.
Other mass-sellers I’ve discovered are coasters, sweats, hoodies, aprons, clocks, infant wear, thongs, kids tees, sweats, and teddy bears, men’s women’s tops, baseball jerseys, tote bags and a number of other items that have surprised me.
Rather than open one big store, I launched several large stores and a number of niche shops. This gave me a chance to test the market and see who liked what.
There are other reasons for operating out of more than one web store. Many shoppers don’t want to go to a large department store, for instance, many shoppers know exactly what they are looking for and if they know the store that has it, they can click the mouse, find the product, and order. That is what has made the Internet so convenient for shoppers. It is fast and easy.
Some shoppers for instance, know they want a funny but romantic holiday gift for their soulmate so they are more likely to visit our thong store, AThongInMyHeart.Com, rather than RickLondonCollection.com or Ricklondonwear.com simply because they don’t have to wade through other items and can find exactly what they want click, buy, and have it at their door within a few days, and not too many days longer overseas.
The same is true for hoodies, mouse pads, greeting cards, mugs and steins, and other such online shopping stores in which we have narrowed it down to niche marketing. We do not charge any more for products that are in those stores, that are also in our larger stores, we simply offer an alternative quicker convenient buying method for those who do not want to “go shopping” but have a general or exact idea of the item for which they are seeking.
Whether buying or selling, we are just laying out common sense guidelines that might work for you. There are many other ways to “do it right”. All of this depends on your style of both shopping or buying. In any case, every time you create a transactin on the web, jobs are created and you are saving time and usually money. It’s good business.
We get a kick out of watching the stastics from sites that measure rankings and such and see how each site is doing. Generally they remain popular and gain in popularity as the days go by (thanks to you) and it keeps us motivated to keep our creative juices flowing.
Do you enjoy online shopping as much as I do? I love it because it is so nice to find items that are difficult if not impossible to find in real shopping malls, you may enjoy comparison shopping channels like Shop.com, Google Base and other shopping channels. I enjoy using those for home entertainment, computer equipment etc. But they really are not made for the niche shopper looking for that one-of-a-kind product that can only be bought in one store (and its affiliate stores) priced identically.
I also look on Ebay, Shop.com etc. to see ifa particular online store has items featured there. I check their rankings on Ebay particularly if they are. For instance, 3drose, our manufacturer, sells our products on Ebay, Shop.com, Amazon.com and various other shopping channels. I check their ratings. We are fortunate with 3drose. They have a 99.4% positive feedback rating with almost 12,000 transactions, being one of Ebay’s oldest and largest power-sellers. This helps us, of course, as we want the quality of our products to be top-notch.
About the Author:
Cartoonist entrepreneur Rick London started as a cartoonist and it was “only a hobby. Now he has 9 e-stores of funny gifts including the award-winning Rick London Collection Rated Funniest Cartoon Gifts & T Shirts On The Net Rick London Collection
