Sometimes I feel as if I have thousands of bosses. Because any time I screw up, that’s how many people gleefully let me know about it. I assume it is fun to criticize me because you know I’ll read the criticisms, and you know there won’t be any repercussions to you. Criticizing always feels good, but in addition, sometimes something good might come of it.
Today I give you a delightful opportunity to do it again. I’m doing a SOFT launch of my new website, www.dilbert4sale.com [no longer available]. The site will be selling two products:
1. My original Dilbert comic art, framed
2. Dilbert Slide Show for business events
I’m looking for opinions on anything from user friendliness to marketing to anything else that occurs to you.
This is a separate website from dilbert.com because it’s my own business. Dilbert.com is operated by my comic syndication company, United Media. Dilbert.com will be referring traffic to dilbert4sale.com once I get the wrinkles ironed out.
Any other web site can also refer business to dilbert4sale.com by going to a site called shareasale.com and signing up to get a 10% commission on referrals that lead to a sale.
Here are the description of the products:
ORIGINAL COMIC ART
For the past few years, I have drawn Dilbert directly to the computer, so there will be no new originals. For the first 10 years or so, I used a water-based ink for my originals, and those would fade in direct light, so they can’t be sold unless I solve that problem. The only Dilbert originals suitable for sale are the ones created during a certain window when I used a permanent ink. I have framed a few of them, signed the mat with a drawing of Dogbert, and included in the frame a smaller finished version of the comic as it ran in newspapers. The originals are in pencil, with only the outside panels and the drawings inked-over. The text was later completed on the computer so it shows up as pencil on the original. The price is $1,500.
The target market includes serious comic art collectors, people with too much money, and art investors who think I don’t seem healthy.
DILBERT SLIDE SHOW
This product is a slide show of business-themed Dilbert comics, in color. It’s designed for public viewing, at business events, conventions, meetings, and similar gatherings. The recommended use is as a background show during mixers, or when audiences enter or exit a ballroom, or between events, for example.
The slide show lasts about an hour. It ships on a CD, for Windows. All you need to play it is the free Powerpoint™ viewer. It is priced at $800 for a license to use it at a particular event. The target audience is professional event planners. You can download a short sample from dilbert4sale.com.
Your comments are welcome. Thank you in advance.