Social Media and Crowdfunding
In developing his own brand, Patrick often shared his own art. This is a brief summary of the process of monetizing the “Rx Yo’Self” design.
While developing my personal brand, I often shared my own artwork. The video above was shared on Instagram as part of this practice. The online response it received was of particular interest when I was looking to explore online merchandising.
In 2016, following a recently successful Kickstarter, Patrick was eager to see how quickly he could create another success. This campaign had more modest goals, getting stickers made. This whole process was designed to match the success of artist Jose Pulido who seemed to have a very simple approach to funding the creation of his own store of merchandise.
The sticker itself would be an exact replica of the art featured in the video. A pricing system was created and clearly presented, again taking from the strategies of Mr. Pulido. The dream was to fund the stickers first, a short and attainable goal, and try to fund a pin as a stretch goal.
However the initial reception was poor, perhaps because it immediately followed the Santa Skull pin Kickstarter. Given that Patrick’s true goal was the pin design, he cancelled the Kickstarter in favor of funding the production from the profits of other designs.
The design itself was personal to Patrick. Being a member of the neurodivergent community, he’d been medicated at a young age through a litany of different prescriptions before learning to live unmedicated in his early thirties. The Rx Yo’Self design, and the video above made for social media promotion spoke to the culture of medicating children before they’re old enough to learn to truly communicate their emptions or understand themselves and how it creates a society predisposed to drug use.
The polished appearance of the soft enamel pin was more popular than the original art. This may be the difference between someone buying something in person preferring a more organic “authentic” item versus someone online who cannot pick an item, feel the weight or the quality. There “shine” is more important.
The “Rx Yo’Self” pin was one of the best selling of the original designs, resulting in multiple re-orders and a neon-color variant.
Lesson Learned
It’s better to pursue your goal and the gambling on a less appealing middleground.