All you should know about Author Merchandising- Abhijeet Kini

Abhijeet Kini is a creative professional specializing in illustrations, graphic designs, animations and copywriting. Butterfingers is one of his popular creations.   So is Angry Maushi.  Abhijeet is one of the few Indian artists who has successfully managed to use merchandising to create a buzz around his books and comic characters.  Kahani Takbak approached him to delve into the world of author merchandising.

Merchandising Manager Diksha with  Artist Abhijeet Kini

1.      What made you create merchandise for your books?

We started off the merchandising project with the first Mumbai comic con. And we saw the response we got to these and decided to keep this going. Diksha handles all the merchandising we do, and I handle the art. We noticed that when our own comic characters like Angry Maushi, etc are featured on collectibles, the recall value goes up. It also leads to more sales of the comics. So that's when we have actively featured our comic characters on coasters,fridge magnets, mugs, etc, along with the other jokes and gags we feature on them.

2.      What should be keep in mind while chasing a merchandise to promote a book?

  I think one must keep in mind that the merchandise made should be of high utility value, that is, people should actually use the collectibles. So, we focus more on everyday usable items such as coasters, magnets, mouse pads, mugs, etc where your artwork can be seen by all at any time of the day and not forgotten. Also, one must design the art for these collectibles in such a way that they are relatively 'safe' to keep at one's place. Not anything offensive, tongue in cheek is fine, but not controversial.

3.      Since space is a big, what should the ideal ordering stock for merchandise?  How many for T-shirts?

We do less of tshirts, we concentrate more on smaller products. stocking definitely is a problem, considering space is always an issue. so we do minimum quantities of merchandise and usually that is around the comic cons, so most of our stock gets sold there and the rest we stock at home in boxes, tucked away in our rooms, mostly for online sales.

4.      Which is the most effective value for money author merchandise? Book marks?

 Bookmarks are something people won't really buy, they'd expect for free. In our line of collectibles, we keep everything relatively affordable and value for money. In fact, we choose to make products which are affordable to all. I think art-prints or posters are the best value for money, next to coasters and magnets.

5.      What do you suggest for authors?  Print in demand route or print in bulk?

I think in today's scenario, where printing options are aplenty and there is a bit of help from multiple platforms, print on demand is the best. But in cases where you can't help but print in bulk, one needs to do that. It does come to be cheaper in the latter scenario.

6.      What are the possible places to sell author merchandise?

. I think online spaces are the best way to reach a bigger audience. One must look at selling via the online portals or even through social media.

7.      Are there any disadvantages of choosing the author merchandise to promote books?

 I don't really see any disadvantages, I think at the end of the day your content must reach people, through one medium or another. They all are means to a common end.

8.      In your experience has the author merchandise made buyers aware of your books and made them to browse through your comics?

 Yes, definitely. Our merchandise line is quite popular among our target audience, which frankly spans across all age groups. They have picked up our comics after they have seen what each character is like and what’s the kind of humour they can expect. So in a way, the merchandise is like a trailer to the final movie!

9.      Who are the typical buyers for your merchandise? 

Like I mentioned, our target audience has people from all age groups, right from children to senior citizens. There's something for everyone when it comes to the collectibles, we design them that way. So yes, there are fans of my books who pick up some magnets and mugs, there would be first timers who would find the art funny and pick up some, some pick these up as gifts for others and so on. Few have clicked pictures of our merchandise in their office spaces and shared the same with us, which makes us feel so good!

10.  Anything else you would like us to know about author merchandise.

I think it's a great way to promote your books/comics/content/art to people. Collecting quirky stuff is something that has caught on and I feel that one must use this to one's advantage.

Artist Abhijeet Kini designs merchandise for authors. He can be reached at abhijeetkini@gmail.com

To know more about Abhijeet visit www.abhijeetkini.com