#43: The Lagniappe
Though the Louisiana French word may be unfamiliar, we've all experienced the lagniappe. The word refers to a small, unexpected gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of purchase. It's the proverbial 13th donut that comes with the baker's dozen. And it is incredibly powerful.
The other day, I decided to check out The Shake Shack, a new small business in town. I was greeted by two enthusiastic ladies, and handed a shake order form. I wrote the number of the shake I wanted. (Dreamsicle. Yum.) I circled non-fat milk, and 5 grams of extra protein ('cause I'm a dude and that's the only way to butch-up a dreamsicle). At the bottom, there was something about a tea, but I ignored it. I was there for a shake. I turned my form in and they started making it.
"Hey, did you get your shot?" one of the ladies asked me.
It was a Tuesday morning...WAY too early for shots.
"Excuse me?" I replied.
She handed me a Dixie cup containing a refreshing shot of aloe juice. Unexpected. On the house. Down the hatch.
"And which tea did you want?"
Again, "Excuse me?"
"Every shake comes with an energizing tea. Do you want lemon, peach or raspberry?"
Well, sure, I came for the shake, but I'm not about to turn down a free raspberry tea. I paid my $5.50 and walked out of the place pleased with my purchase, a delicious dreamsicle shake in one hand and a free raspberry energy tea in the other.
In the month since then, I've been back so many times, they've started calling me "Two-Fisted Tyler" at work.
The lagniappe is a powerful thing. It's unexpected. And we humans LOVE to talk about unexpected things. I've found myself talking up The Shake Shack to everyone lately (and I'm writing about it in this column.) I've been telling people all about the quirky, upbeat ladies behind the counter and the free aloe shot and energy teas. Of course, their tasty shakes eventually also get mentioned.
So, what does this have to do with you and your comics?
Everything.
I'm willing to bet that there is not a single reader of this column who has achieved all of his or her goals and is exactly where he or she wants to be in comics. This column is targeted toward creators who are in the trenches "trying to make it." As such, every single one of you would love to double, triple, or quadruple your readership. Nothing wrong with that.
But, sometimes we put so much focus on attracting new readers and trying to get strangers interested in us or grab the attention of some assumed tastemaker or influencer, that we slack on ways to provide truly remarkable experiences for the people whose attention we already have. Most marketing efforts and resources are spent trying to get on the radar of strangers. Smart marketers, however, spend most of their time focused on turning interested fans into buyers, buyers into repeat buyers, and repeat buyers into evangelists. And guess what evangelists do?
They're the ones spreading the word about you and your work to the strangers so you don't have to!
If you've been regularly spending time or money essentially marketing to strangers, how about taking a couple of months off and instead put that money, time, and effort toward doing a little something extra and unexpected for the readers you already have?
Smart businesses make the extra effort to provide a lagniappe, and it costs them next to nothing. Buy a sandwich at the local deli and the big, beautiful smile from the pretty girl behind the counter comes with it. Get your car serviced and they take a few extra minutes to vacuum the car. Buy the book from your favorite creator at a convention and he or she takes an extra minute to write some really nice words or draw a quick sketch in it for you, looks you in the eye, and thanks you by name for the purchase. The lagniappe MATTERS.
[It's pronounced LAN-yap, by the way.]
How are hardworking creators providing a lagniappe to their fans? Here are a few examples:
- Krishna Sadasivam , creator of PC Weenies , always tries to include an unadvertised bonus with every reader order- Original art from the comic, stickers, or some other little treat.
- My pal Chris Flick, creator of Capes & Babes and co-host of The Lightbox Podcast always draws a cartoon on the back side of the envelopes or packages he mails. Though he admits he originally started doing it simply to pass the time at the Post Office, he realized his readers really dug the toons, and started blogging about them and posting pics online.
- While stuck behind my table at the Boston Comic Con earlier this year, I had CR's Eric Ratcliffe do me a solid and get my 30 Days of Night trade signed by Mr. Ben Templesmith. Not only did Ben sign it, but he drew a killer vampire sketch on the book.
The opportunities to provide a lagniappe are endless. So, what about you? What are you doing to delight your fans, whether you have 10 or 10,000? What can you do to provide that little unexpected extra for the people who are already supporting you? (And believe it or not, there are PLENTY of people who are already supporting you.) I'd love to hear your ideas.
As for me, the other day I woke up to an online order for a $15 artist edition of Tears of the Dragon , my fantasy webcomic. My online sales, though picking up a bit lately, are still sporadic, so a purchase is always a nice way to start the morning. I grabbed a book from my stack and addressed the envelope to the purchaser. My stomach growled, suggesting I starting the day with- you guessed it- a delicious Shake Shack shake (+ energy tea! + aloe shot!) Before I sealed the envelope, I thought of the ladies working there, and decided to drop a sketch card in with the book as well.
It wasn't asked for. It won't be expected. It's not much. It's just a lagniappe.
But it works.
***
Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over , a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writes Tears of the Dragon , an epic fantasy webcomic, and EPIC , a new superteen comic debuting at the Baltimore Comic Con. His work has been featured at Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element , a political action thriller, and Super Seed , the story of the world's first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company.
Contact Tyler directly at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keep up with him at his blog , or follow him on Twitter .
Previous Columns
1: Big Goals
2: Resolutions
3: The Great Idea
4: Research Part I
5: Research Part II
6: The Killer Pitch Part I - The High Concept
7: The Killer Pitch Part II - The Synopsis
8: Pay Your Artists
9: Zuda Comics- A Tale of Five Submissions
10: Creating Great Characters Part I (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
11: Creating Great Characters Part II (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
12: Structurally Sound- The Beginning
13: Your Reputation
14: Structurally Sound- The Middle
15: Structurally Sound - The End
16: Your First Con
17: Beat It
18: Memorable Scenes
19: Mailbag
20: Comics Dialogue - Part I
21: Comics Dialogue - Part II
22: Baltimore Comic Con - Part I
23: Baltimore Comic Con - Part II
24: Is It Worth It?
25: The Re-Write Part I
26: The Re-Write Part II
27: The Re-Write Part III
28: Taking Initiative
29: Setting the Table for a New Year of Creating Comics
30: Ready to Script
31: An Artist Ready Script
32: Going All In
33: The Dip and Being the Best in the World
34: Patience Pep Talk
35: Tools You Should Be Using: Viddler
36: Zuda Says No More Competitions
37: Business Mailbag
38: 30 Characters Challenge Post-Script
39: Google Wave - 5 Uses for Comic Creators
40: What May Be Holding You Back, and What Definitely Isn't
41: The Danger of the New Idea
42: When Collaborations Go Sour
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