New Tactic Marketing

I'm sure it's tough to be a "creative whatever" these days, which is certainly the case for your typical cartoonist/illustrator. With access to inexpensive (read: cheap crap) internet option, coupled with no money to go around, it's all about that proverbial "bang for your buck" for potential clientele. So, when said client does come your way, more often than not it's a shoestring gig that would barely pay your cell phone bill, but you take it since money is green (which is always a good thing) -- as opposed to pizza and beer that can make you green (which is a good thing... if you're a masochist).

And, with an unstable income comes a tight budget, especially for advertising your services.  Gone are the days of 10,000 postcard mass-mailers. Gone are the days of expensive websites designed to thrill a would-be wallet. Gone are the days of costly print advertising.  These days, it's all about creative, cheap-o guerilla marketing.

Personally, I'm going the way of podcasting. Others hit up more "traditional" methods of underground marketing.  Stickers are one way -- you can't discard what you can't remove, right?  But stickers cost money, which leads me to a new tactic I recently wandered across: Tagging.

It's actually quite genius. if you're unafraid of getting busted by the fuzz. Turning your mug and number into an illegal form of street art (if you DON'T know what "tagging" is, which means you're over 75 and shouldn't be reading blogs anyway, let alone knowing how to operate a computer) is brilliant.  Tools of the trade are simple and easily acquired: A can of Krylon black, a bike or bus pass (of which you probably already own), and time (if you're unemployed, not a problem).  The idea here is to tag, not bomb (which is another form of tagging to my geriatric readers), so it remains legible enough for it to be easily read on the six o'clock news.

The news?

Yup... simply put, that art is going EVERYWHERE! In every part of the city. On every clean wall. On the side of every Metro bus, and perhaps a school bus or two.  You shall soon be the scourge of the law. This will make you... an outlaw!  The media LOVES outlaws, and that means exposure.  Of course, with so much exposure, a producer or two might decide to cash in on the buzz and cast you in a summer blockbuster before you're dumped into the pokey for an extended stay. But, of course, this will make you even more famous (or infamous, if you're 75... why the %$#@ are you reading this blog??!!).

Yeah, the side effect is jail time, but your wish had been granted. You finally made it. You're a star. And hey, don't you worry about that prison sentence. If Paris Hilton can skate, so can you.