How I learned the importance of Vision.

One of my favorite podcasts is Creative ScreenWriting Magazine because every week they interview a writer and begin each discussion with "breaking in" stories.

This isn't exactly my breaking in story but it is interesting non the less so please indulge me.

As many of you know (cause I keep typing it here on my blog over and over) I used to make comic books for a living and through running my own publishing company I learned most of the lessons I share now in my fancy pants role as "The Smartest Man in the World". Probably my favorite lesson that I have never shared was "How I learned the importance of Vision" so grab a coffee and enjoy cause this one is a tear jerker!

In comics I had the pleasure of working with some amazing artists. One of my favorites was Bill Maus (That is his Batgirl drawing) because he drew beautifully, we got along well and he would make me think about stuff.

Bill told me this story about before he got enough work to draw comics full time he was also a caricature/portrait artist at Sea World in San Diego. One day while working there, a family came up to get a portrait of their son. The boy sat down and Bill noticed that he was missing an eye and didn't have a patch just an exposed socket. He began drawing the boy and purposely left the eyes for last because he had to decide how he would tackle this. After a little thought he drew the boy with two perfect eyes because he assumed that in the mind of his parents that is how he saw them. When he presented the drawing the look on the parents face confirmed he had made the right decision.

I was thinking about this recently and it dawned on me that this is a business lesson. You not only need to see your company or brand as what it is right now but also what it can be and what you want it to be, because how you see your business is going to shape how you discuss your business and how you discuss it is going to also be how others see it.

I haven't spoken to Bill in a while and for all I know I am remembering this the way I want to but either way I'm going to give him a call and say hi and thank him for the inspiration.

When it comes to Marketing or your Personal Brand what is your "right page last panel"?

Before I became one of the worlds smartest and most handsome word of mouth marketers I supported myself (not very well I might add) for a bunch of years as a comic book writer and publisher.

A lot of what I know and do today was learned in those years and one of the biggest lessons I am going to share with you now.

Now this is going to seem like a lesson on writing a comic book (and it is) but the message is the same for marketing or personal branding so pay attention.

People used to ask me all the time what the secret to writing comic books was. My answer was always "Right Page Bottom Panel".

Basically when people are reading a comic book or any book they read left to right and top to bottom. So using that logic you should write your book with a reveal in the first panel of the left page and a cliffhanger or just something interesting on the "right page bottom panel". The best way to use that last panel is to be interesting and even pose a question or something that makes people want to come back for more and be surprised on that next page.

Do you see what I am getting at?

OK I will make it more clear by asking you a direct question. Using this little lesson you should ask yourself...What are you doing in your marketing or personal branding that is making people want to keep coming back for more...and are you living up to the reveal on the next page?

I hope so because I love a good reveal!

My BitStrips experiment continues.....

Here is another Bitstrip from my business trip...I will keep these coming as long as I have time or something interesting to say!

I am heading south tomorrow....

I am heading south tomorrow to New York City. I am booked solid with meetings and activities so I am not sure if I will have time to blog but if I do find some time, and if there is anything interesting to hare I may say what I got to say exclusively through comic strips powered by the fine folks at Bitstrips.

Here is my first one and like I said...there may be many many more!



...and yes Naive London Girl is a guilty pleasure of mine :)

Selling Ice to Eskimos.....when they least expect it!

As some of you know, I spent a bunch of years in the comic book industry and the biggest problem/complaint I would here from other publishers is that it was hard to get people to notice you....or to get them to try your books instead of the tried and true Spider-Man, Batman books.

I used to spend a bunch of time figuring out solutions to this problem and think I finally have it. (and with a little imagination, this can apply to just about any product or service)

Ya ready?

Sitting down?

Stop trying to sell Comic Books (or whatever) to Comic Book Fans!

Sounds simple huh?

Makes perfect sense...right?

Maybe I should explain.

For years and years I traveled all around North America going from Comic Book Convention to Comic Book Convention and while this was some of the best times I have ever had I realize now that I was wasting my time competing with Batman and the likes. Looking back I would have been better off going to places where comic book people hung out but where I could be the only one there.

This was never more apparent to me then this past week while I was attending SXSW. 7500 tech geeks (of which I am one) in one place. I am willing to bet a bunch like/love comic books and not one publisher in the place. With some clever planning I could have probably converted more people in this environment then I usually did at major comic book convention with 50,000 attendees.

Handing out books (or digital versions) at such a place would probably be a better investment then a major comic book convention because people would see this as something different and would also act as a distraction from all the "work" related stuff they will be getting from others.

....and like I said, this doesn't just apply to comic books. If I was a band and was preforming at SXSW I would get there a week early (during the film and interactive festival) and work that crowd before all the other bands hit town.

I could go on and on with examples of ways to work non-traditional audiences for your products but think it would be best if you came up with them on your own.

Or you could just email me and I will be glad to help!

I know you are busy so I am reading the internet for you!

Greetings and Salutations,

Usually I post about things that caught my eye or something I dreamed up but tonight/today I wanted to remind you all that I like to read.

I read everything.

In fact I scour the entire internets daily to find any morsel of interesting information so you don't have to commit the time or energy.

You see any time I find something interesting I share it on my Google Reader I know this probably sounds like a commercial for them but I assure you I am doing this for you and not them.

So any time you need to know what is going on in the world (or at least the parts of the world I find interesting) head over to my Google Share Reader.

Why as we speak there are articles about:
Apple MacBook Air
Penn Jillette
Using Social Media to Meet People
Nike Air Force One New Release Pictures
Marketing Advice and Stories
Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise
Stuff about Saul Colt
and comic book and writers strike info

Go Check em out!

-saul

p.s. and while you are at it...why not bookmark this RSS feed...and this one too!

I have been tagged and now I have to share personal things about me!

I am “it”.

I am saying this because I was tagged by by Stephanie Fierman to participate in a b5media’s meme about 7 (G-rated) things you may not know about me (or care)....so here is my list:

1- I love Blaxploitation films like Coffee, Black Belt Jones, and Dolomite
2- I sold my 20,000+ comic book collection because I didn’t want to move them with me into my new house....but I kept my 500+ trade paperbacks.
3- I own 12 suits, 45 shirts and 100+ ties and yet I wear jeans and superhero t-shirts everyday
4- My two favourite fiction authors are Lee Child and Harlan Coben.
5- I fall asleep listening to podcasts
6- If I am home alone for dinner I will usually eat cereal.
7- I usually read two books a week...and by books I mean real books (business or fiction books)

And as a bonus.......#8 – I am the Smartest Man in the World (I bet you saw that coming)


Stolen directly from Stephanie Fierman's site

According to The New York Times, a meme “is an infectious idea or any other thing that spreads by imitation from person to person… the World Wide Web is the perfect Petri dish for memes.” It seems like a 21st century chain letter to me but (a) neither I nor any of my family was threatened with death if I didn’t ‘pass it on,’ so that’s an improvement, and (b) it seems a harmless way to connect with people and to promote websites and blogs not only inside your existing network but to a broader audience, as well. Perhaps memes could be worked into fresh “Refer A Friend” online customer acquisition campaigns.

I tagged email a few folks and told them to participate but I am not going to publicly tag anyone!

Hope you liked my list

-saul

A good old fashioned amazing idea!

I love ideas!

The bigger/bolder an idea is makes it more attractive to me and I consider myself an idea guy.

Perhaps even “The Greatest Idea Guy Ever” (since I call myself The Smartest Man in the World is it really a stretch to say I am the greatest Idea person ever?).

I see ideas and opportunities everywhere and like Spider-Man's powers this is both a gift and a curse....in fact I have mentioned a few times on this blog that I am happy to consult people and give out free ideas because they come to me so quick and clean.

Just last week I got an email taking me up on my challenge and all it said was that he was looking for a character to attach to a mortgage company idea. I responded (in minutes) with a character based on a house who loves the people inside of him, his family, and wants to see them pay off their mortgage quicker so they can own him and not the bank! I have no idea if this will get used but if you see it around soon just remember where it came from :)

I was going through some old computer files yesterday and came across a folder of ideas I put together about 5 years ago to help bring the Comic Book Industry into the mainstream spotlight and deliver new fans from non traditional sources...or to recapture the imagination of people who grew up with comics but are now professionals and think it is just "kids stuff". The folder had about 20 or so ideas and while for the most part they still hold up and could be implemented today with great success there was one that I love so much I am determined to do this somehow (even for another industry but it just “works” so perfectly for Comics) for someone!

Before I post this I should let you know that this idea is an awareness idea with ROI but this idea is not about generating money per se but deliver new readers and instill new passion in folks who over time will become loyal customers.....also I considered editing it and giving it a modern day polish but chose to present you the idea exactly as I had conceived it half a decade ago. Looking at it now with fresh eyes I see ways to make even better and develop it into a yearly franchise that would pay for itself!

ONE FINAL THING* You will see the name DC COMICS all over this idea. Please remember this is just a concept and DC COMICS is a great example of who could pull this off but this can be executed with Marvel Comics or even a large group of Independent Comic Publishers on a smaller scale.

OK enough build up........here it is..........and please let me know what you think!

Idea #1 – Awareness through Art


The following idea is not intended to make money per se (but is designed not to lose money either). This idea is more of a cultural event designed to stimulate interest in the characters and open up comics to people who would never consider entering a comic book shop.


The idea is to create art exhibits in local art galleries featuring local artists painting DC COMICS iconic art.


To make this a unique experience it needs to follow the following structure.


The artists have to be local and have to be relatively unknown (possibly never having a gallery show before) Artists will need to be screened well but can be found at local art schools or art shop recommendations/open “casting” call. By avoiding "famous" artists there will not be an issue of releasing copyright to the art. It is important for DC to have the rights as you will see at the end.


The gallery must be a "hot" gallery that will bring people in and help promote the event. I called a few places for research purposes (asking general questions and not claiming to work for DC etc) and how the Gallery system works is that they do not charge for the space but take a small percentage of the sale of the art. This works fine as the art will be for sale. This also creates a "benefit" to the artist to participate.


I see the show running from Thursday to Sunday with Thursday open for schools to visit. The rest of the weekend will be open to the public with a very small entrance fee (maybe $1.00 to 2.00) and this fee gets donated to a local literacy foundation. Each person will receive a DC Comics "goody" bag as they leave with books and information on ordering more books.


Saturday night of the showing will be a (insert appropriate price here….maybe $100 per ticket) charitable viewing with socialites and celebrities all invited. There are many celebrities interested in comics, like Sean Combs, Samuel L. Jackson and Shaq O'Neal . Saturday night should be covered by local and entertainment media giving even more exposure to DC Comics as well as the artists participating.

One must is that all the art and the Saturday Night party must be professionally photographed but I will get to more on that in a minute.

Sunday returns to the same format as Friday and Saturday (daytime) with the small entrance fee.

These events need to have a local feel to them and the "Celebrities" invited to the Saturday night should be local as well.

Here is why this works and is "win/win" for all parties concerned.

-The artists get major exposure for their work with the only stipulation that they draw DC Iconic Characters doing whatever they want (just no nudity or excessive violence)
-The Appeal to the artist would be they get to work to their strength. If they work in a POP ART style then their piece will be POP ART. If they work in Sculpture then their piece will be a statue etc.
-The artist have an opportunity to sell their work with the understanding that will donate a small percentage (maybe 3-5%) to the local literacy charity chosen for this even.
-The Gallery gets a high profile show that will bring a lot of people to the gallery to possibly buy works of art.
-The Charity receives a donation plus exposure.
-The whole event will cost very little (just the cost to promote it) and even that cost can be underwritten by a corporate sponsor. I.e.: Coke, Playstation etc or a DC Comics Parent company movie tie in.
-DC COMICS gets good press for the event and the donations as well as needed exposure for comics and extends the perception of them as a leader in the industry and community.
-DC COMICS hands out a goody bag to people therefore actually getting product into people’s hands.
-The first event would be held in New York with additional events held every 4-5 months in other cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Toronto) and can be planned to co-inside with existing comic conventions.
-Since DC COMICS will own the copyright on the art (and has photographed and documented the whole event) it can then publish a coffee table book and market it to comic fans as well art lovers. This book would also have a built in audience for anyone who attended and this is how DC Comics makes money on this idea.


Final Thoughts on Idea #1


I understand this is not the type of thing DC Comics does or gets involved with but that is the exact reason to do it. I did an informal market survey and concluded that the type of people that look down on comics did find this idea intriguing. As with all ideas and plans targeting to the mainstream and not just the direct market you need to remember who buys your books and not alienate them. This would open new worlds to all people attending and be welcoming to all parties.

I know I am repeating myself but I love this idea! Sure it lacks the boldness of my current thinking but this is a good old fashioned nugget of gold!

I gotta do this someday.

Happy Wednesday

-saul

Postcards on TV

Here is a cool video starring my friend Jason Rodriguez. Watch him as he walks through antique shops looking for creative inspiration in an unlikely place.

Postcards.



Enjoy!

-saul

OJ Simpson and I have something in common....people are selling my stuff!

I came across an EBAY auction the other day where someone was selling the one piece of "Saul" memorabilia from my days publishing comics that I don't own. I was going to write about this last week but I didn't want to drive up the bidding.

The item in the auction is the original cover art for Eclipse and Vega : Super Sized Special drawn by Bill Morrison. Bill is the top dog at Bongo Comics (Owned by Matt Groening and publishers of all the Simpsons Comics). I love this cover and so did Bill since he wouldn't sell it to me when he was done. I had heard he had donated it to a charity auction a few years back (because he is a good guy!) and that it got some good money for the cause.

I was all giddy when it popped up on eBay and I got into the bidding action right away...but instead of putting the full amount of what i would have paid I kept raising my bid in increments.

Long story short (it is probably too late for that but....) I fell a sleep before this closed and never saw that I was outbid.

Oh well.....I hope it is in a good home!

-saul

p.s. Wanna read the book? Click here and enjoy!

In Search of Steve Ditko (the other guy who created Spider-Man)

A big thank you to Heidi MacDonald from the Beat for originally posting this incredible YouTube Video on the BBC Documentary "In Search of Steve Ditko".

For those no in the "know", Steve Ditko is the co-creator of Spider-Man and until recently wasn't given public credit for his creation. This is an interesting doc for comic book fans since Steve Ditko is a bit of an enigma. He walked away from the book after 40 issues and refuses to speak about it......check that.....he refuses to talk to anyone!

Check out the video (about 9 mins long) and if you find it interesting check out the rest and enjoy!



-saul

Hollywood isn't the only ones taking inspiration from comics

OK so in the interest of full disclosure I should let you know that I know the fine folks at Goloco (www.goloco.com) and think the world of them. This post is in no way making fun of them and if anything I am posting it so they will get further exposure since they are doing great work and trying to save the world.

Now that I have said that I thought it was interesting to see their new viral video....it is very well done and funny but I had seen it somewhere before. I am not saying they copied it because they didn't but I did think it was cool to see the concept used for two companies I admire a great deal.

See for yourself





-saul

The Wire isn't listening anymore

I watch a lot of TV.

Probably not more then most people but enough to know what is good TV and bad TV. This is why I get upset when I see not just good TV go off the air but GREAT TV.

The Washington Post has an interesting story on the filming of the final episode of HBO police drama THE WIRE. Created by some of the same people as HOMICIDE: Life on the street (another incredible show) this show was probably the truest portrayal (not that I would know firsthand) of urban city Police work.......good and the bad....and while season two was a bit of a “miss” for me personally I still think this show was brilliant and deserved a wider audience.

....anyone curious where this “Wire” art is from? Well several years back I worked with HBO to bring the Wire to comics. Stuff happened and no one saw it except a handful of folks but like the show, the comic would’ve been incredible!

-saul

I should shower more often.......

I should shower more often because this came to me as I was rinsing soap off of my hard to reach places.....and while I considered saving this post for tomorrow I figured if I wrote it tonight I could charge you time and a half for reading it.

I get reflective in the shower as it is one of the places I can truly let my mind wander and I got to thinking of a new story line for a comic book I am writing "Eclipse and Vega vs. Al Queda" and from there I started thinking of all the interviews I did while I was in the comic book industry. I loved doing interviews and worked very hard to make them all interesting. I did this by telling embarassing stories, giving away trade secrets (come on...it was the comics industry) and never never never cancelling an interview no matter what was going on with me.

My two favorite examples were........the interview that was conducted from Midnight to Three am from a hotel room in Boston while I was on an unrelated business trip and who can forget the hour long interview with me in the waiting room and then exam room of my doctor while I was really sick (these all took place before I had media training).

Anyway as per usual with this here blog I am kinda getting off track so here I go to reel things back in.

In an interview I was asked the standard question of who my industry influences are/where and while my answer today would be the exact same I am pretty sure that the thought process in coming to it would be very different.

My answer was "I am not influenced by anyone.......People all around me are doing great work but if I let people influence me then I am doing a version of their work and not my own"

Even today I think that is pretty clever but to take it further I agree that people really shouldn't be influenced by other people's work.....well not if you fancy yourself as a thought leader or a creative type (or even the Smartest Man in the World)

If I was asked that question today I would answer it with the following added to the end.

"While I am not influenced by anyone I do notice that some people inspire me to take chances and make great discoveries. My work is my own and not only do I stand by it (because everyone else is too embarrassed to do so) but I do appreciate and draw from the work of truly great thinkers in the world. Only one person can be the Smartest Man in the World but there is plenty of room for thought leaders"

See...I am still trying to hard to make my quotes interesting.

Well I am not sure if this came out the way I had thunk it up in the shower but I do get easily distracted and forget stuff when I am washing my hard to reach places.

-saul

p.s. If you are interested in what a free wheeling podcast/interview sounds like from me (before I had media training and knew what I was doing) check out the incredible Word Balloon Podcast featuring yours truly being interviewed by the beautiful and talented John Siuntres.

....and the doctor office interview If you listen closely you can hear me sweating :)

August 28th is a good day for Birthdays!

Today is my son "Crackers" birthday. He turned four and we had a small celebration at the house tonight. A few weeks back I blogged about the "email" history I am doing for my kids and tonight I sent my first entry into Crackers' email account. It felt good and I knew after I was done that I was doing something cool.

Crackers isn't the only person important to me that was born on August 28th. Much to my surprise....and shame on me for not knowing this but Jack "King" Kirby would've been 90 today. Jack Kirby is a Comic Book Pioneer (I refuse to speak of him in past tense since his work and influence is still very much felt in the industry......He was the King) who defined how comic books would look and feel over 60 years ago........oh ya and he just happened to have co-created The Fantastic Four, Captain America, The Hulk....to name a few.

Kirby was a guy that was overshadowed by Stan Lee for most of his life and is only now getting some of the praise owed. I have been very verbal for my admiration of Stan Lee (most comic book fans think you have to be a Lee fan or a Kirby fan and not both) but I also love and respect every think Jack Kirby did for and in comics.

If you are interested in reading more about Jack Kirby there is a good piece in today's New York Times or if you are truly interested I highly recommend Tales To Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution by Ronin Ro. It is an incredible read and well worth the investment in time.

-saul

Wacky Wonder Woman Wednesday!

Wonder Woman is a guilty pleasure of mine. I have a WW painting in my house and watch the WW (Linda Carter) TV show on DVD with my son all the time. I wouldn't call my WW fascination a fetish because I don't get all creepy about it BUT I do appreciate Wacky Wonder Woman Wednesday perhaps more then I should.

Over on cartoonist Craig Yoe's blog he posts up a different picture of a foxy lady dressed in a Wonder Woman costume (and yes there have been a few men in WW costumes as well) Craig has a great site with a bunch of cool content but I still look forward to Wednesday the best.

Superhero Pornography

There are a bunch of picts floating around the interweb today of a dudes dressed as Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Robin, and a few others all engaging in sexual acts for the purpose of making a gay porn video.

I considered posting them here but I don't want to lose my PG-13 rating :)

Anyway it got me thinking about an article I read in DETAILS magazine a few years back about a guy who has made a living making superhero inspired bondage films. The thing is that the charm of his videos were that they were SUPER low budget and that there was no nudity.......just a lot of spandex wearing girls getting tied up and struggling etc.

After a little Internet sleuthing I was able to find a video on Youtube that I will now present to you............for no reason what so ever!

The book "Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened" is having a contest!

Hi Y'all,

I have written a few times about the book "Postcards : True Stories That Never Happened" because it is an awesomely original graphic novel anthology book with a concept so incredible that I wish I had though about it.....seriously!


The concept is simple (as the best ideas usually are). The editor (Jason Rodriguez) gave creative teams actual postcards he collected from antique shops. They were to use the postcards as inspiration for their story and BOOM! you have an fantastic book.


So why am I writing about it now?


Well they are having a pretty cool contest to win a signed copy of the book and since this is an anthology with a bunch of people contributing, calling this a signed book is really not doing it justice. There are signatures and sketches so this is pretty cool.....and I want to win it!


The contest is as simple as the concept of the book. Jason Rodriguez has posted up a Postcard and is asking people to write their own little story (500 words or less). I am going to throw my hat in the ring here and post my little idea below. Not my absolute best work since I am tired and stuff (I am already making excuses and you haven't even read it yet) but I like the story anyway.
Here is the postcard for the contest

and here is my story......

When George was a kid we wanted to grow up to be just like Babe Ruth. He practiced everyday until the sun went down and then he practiced some more. He thought there was no way he could not be a famous baseball player….but things don’t always end up the way you think they will when you are a kid.

If you were to ask George he would tell you he didn’t know how he ended up in a loveless marriage…and he would tell you he didn’t know how he ended up as a traveling postcard salesman…..and he would tell you he didn’t know how he ended up with a kid he doesn’t know….and he would tell you he didn’t know how or why he started sending his sample postcards to his wife with only a few words at a time so he could drag out bad news…..and he would tell you he doesn’t know how he fell in love with a small town prostitute…..but he does know one thing.

He knows he doesn’t want to go home…..and he knows he doesn’t want to face his wife….and he knows it will break her heart….but he knows this is the only way he can be happy……so he pulls out the most colorful postcard in his sample case and scribbles.

Guess What?

Go check out the site and enter for yourself! It is fun.

Have a great weekend everyone!

saul

What do the Simpsons Movie and the City of San Diego have in common?

Well?

Ok I will tell you.. Not only is this weekend the opening weekend of the Simpsons Movie but this is also the weekend of the World's Largest Pop Culture show. Some people call it COMIC CON, the actual name is Comic Con International but anyone in the comic book industry just calls it "San Diego".

Now all this is wonderful but I still haven't told you what they have in common....well for only the second time in seven years I am not in San Diego for "San Diego" and I haven't had a chance to see the Simpsons Movie...so the connection is that I am missing both and wishing I wasn't.

So many amazing opportunities as well as friendships were made in San Diego so I since I am not there I am pretty much living vicariously through my friends calls and various blog reports.

Oh well ....nuff feeling sorry for myself :) and enjoy a few of my favorite picts from my days in SD

Movie Marketing is getting smarter and smarter

Call this number

1-800-395-9646

I won't spoil it for you but it is a tie in for the new Batman movie

saul