Creating a physical product is a fun endeavor. I had a public speaking event back in September and I shared about a book that I self published around five years ago. It’s so special to me and I love knowing that 300 people purchased it and (hopefully) have it in their home. It also cost me tens of thousands of dollars to make it happen. I did not make any profit on that book - I lost money! And I have no regrets.
I share that because I want you to know that if you’re not selling products as your full-time gig or a consumer packaged goods brand with investors or capital…selling even a single product is difficult. It requires a whole different set of supporting tools, overhead, collaborators, and mindset.
Back in June, I interviewed a few brilliant people about their relationship to collecting objects. I talked about collecting toys with Madison and Ryan of toyhaus studio. And then I had a conversation about vintage finds and the thrill of the hunt with Virginia Chamlee, author of Big Thrift Energy and the Substack What’s Left.
Your fans will recognize quality
It’s almost 2027. We can tell when someone is cheaply made. A lot of people can tell when something is AI. We want to see a size chart. We want to know what the fabric is made of. Your fans are going to be so much more discerning than the average buyer. They like what you like! Do you like what you’re selling?
When I was talking to Virginia, she talked about how sometimes the quality and interest in a specific product makes her a fan first and then a fan of the brand second. When talking about a vintage jacket that she loves, she shared, “I saw it and I was like, God, this looks so good, and the quality is so good, and it’s 100% silk. And that’s when I started researching the designer.”
Photo from Virginia’s Substack
Sure, your merch and your products can excite your fans but how cool would it be if your products were so good on their own that it pulled new people in?
Fans can tell the difference between extension and extraction
We’re shifting gears here a bit but if you’re thinking about creating a physical object to sell or gift to your fans, it’s worth considering if you want to join up with other IP or another brand. You expand your reach and the collaboration can create a lot of innovation (and increase the budget).
Madison and Ryan shared about a Monster High Skullector x Alien doll. The doll drew so much attention and love that Alien fans found themselves being a fan of dolls. And people who love dolls (but not necessarily the Alien franchise) found themselves in the Alien lore. Madison shared, “You can tell that a lot of love and detail went into it. Lots of people who don’t collect dolls wanted it because they love Alien and this is so well done.”
To take on representing a fandom is a challenge and I love examples where it succeeds expectations. I have a feeling that the people who were in the room creating the doll were huge fans of both. Your fan’s affection is not permission to lower the bar.
A physical object makes an intangible fandom tangible
Let’s be honest. We’re all online a lot. We crave real life experiences both in-person and experiential but also physical and analog. If you’re an online personality, your clients built a big online business, or you provide a service…it’s hard to find a way to make things feel REAL. Think of these products as a souvenir of a space in time. What would you make if somebody still had it 20 years from now? What would it feel like if you took the time to understand who your fan actually is and built to their level of appreciation?
Virginia, Maison, and Ryan all enjoy the hunt and the experience of finding something worth keeping. It doesn’t have to be easy for it to be beloved. I’d say the opposite is true, actually. Virginia talked about sometimes finding something incredible and not even purchasing it herself. She'll post it so someone else can get it. The discovery itself scratches part of the itch! And then the thrill of connecting someone else with the object.
Of course, it has to work on the spreadsheet. Unless it doesn’t need to. I lost $6,000 producing a book that connected me and my personal artwork and storytelling with my friends, my family, and strangers. I manifested being picked up by Anthroplogie before I designed the over (they reached out the day I opened up my online store for pre-orders). Things like merch, clothing, cookbooks, art, textiles, and toys…they can take you to a goal that isn’t just financial profit.
PS If there are typos or grammatical errors, my apologies. I am not a professional writer and I don’t use AI to write Huge Fan!
