My intensions for posting "Bakit ba mabenta ang comic strip na ito." a few days ago is actually to gather information. It is like a feasibility study for me on the things that we should do to make a comics (or any product) to make it a hit. This list can also be applied to any product in business in general. And thank you very much to those that have contributed on answering this question. And here are the list.
1.) Be nice
And yes, Manix Abrera of Kikomachine is a very nice guy. It is not forced, but rather comes out naturally from him. Noong last comic-con nakasalubong ko sya bandang miryeda time. Without any hesitation, he smiled at me and I smiled back. Yung iba kong kasama, ang sabi sa akin ay kinamayan nya kaagad kahit hindi nya naman kilala talaga ito. Ganyan talaga sya ka bait. I think it is a common sense that if you want your product to sell. You should be friendly with your customers. When I was still in elementary, we had a family sari-sari store. Customer are always piling up, I think it is because my father is a very friendly person. He always tell jokes and make people laugh in our store. And I think that it is a key ingredient to have a in any business.
2.) Know your target market
Kaya daw mahaba ang pila sa table ni Manix noong last Komikon ay dahil swak na swak daw ang target market nya dun sa UP area. Dahil ang Kikomachine ay na ka setup sa isang student/collage life setup. Tamang tama ito para sa mga buyers nya sa UP. At ang mga umatend ay karamihan ay estudyante or atlease ay nakaka relate sa story nya. In business, I think knowing your target market is very important.
3.) Do your research
Isa sa nag post dito sa blog ko ang nagsabi na pinag isipan daw talaga ni Manix ang mga script nya kaya patok na patok at kwelang kwela. Nakabasa ako online ng mga gawa nya. And I very much agree, some of my friends even says that they laugh their ass off every time they read his comic strip. Hindi daw ito katulad ng ibang comic strip na parang naubusan daw ng idea or parang pilit daw ang dating. Product research are constanly being done by companies and even individual that wants to better their products.
4.) Good product
Good product is always a key factor for the customer to like it, with a compromising cost(of course). Buyers will always goes for a better quality product. You must constantly upgrade your comics in terms of story, art and the quality of the paper it self. Always try to reinvent your product for the better.
5.) Love what you do
Manix realy love what he does. And it shows naman dahil kwelang kwela ang mga komik strip nya. At ang mahabang pila sa Komikon ang magpapatunay nito. So in comic strip making, you must have a good sense of humor. If you are a serious person that wants to do a funny comics strip, I sudgest that you do a serious story instead like drama, action or suspense. Because you will be much effective there. Loving what you do, or investing something that you like, it is much probable that you will succed there. There is also a saying that "If you love what you do, you will never work a single day of your life."
If I still miss something else, please feel free to add more on the comment area.
