Something That Might Sell

[larry cottrill]

Looking back at the books for 2003, I realize my company had zero revenue, and there is darn little for this year. I need a commodity I can sell that people would enjoy having, as well as something to get the name out there and establish instant recognizability.

So, here's the deal. We can make some money together if you have some good photos that I can produce and market as pulsejet posters. What we would do is, if I use one or more pix that belong to you to make a poster, I would cover production and marketing and the net profit from each one sold would be split between you and me. I would have to figure out what pricing the market will bear, and figure out how to keep the costs of production within reason.

To submit a picture for this, you MUST OWN IT - nothing cabbaged off the forum or the net anywhere or copied from anyone else in any manner! Your name will be shown on the poster [in SMALL type] as the photographer. The copyright for the POSTER will be mine, though you would retain copyright to your original picture, of course. If your picture is of something you personally built or designed, I'll mention your name more prominently in a brief description as part of the graphic content area.

Each poster would feature either my company name and/or my jetZILLA trademark, also small but prominent enough to be readable at ordinary viewing distance. What I really want to do is expand 'jetZILLA' to be a recognized brand for my designs, though I don't think the subject matter needs to be limited to my stuff at all. You might think of it as the kind of ad poster that you see tacked up advertising a tool company or materials company or something like that. I will also try to include some kind of concise 'grab line', such as "If you don't have a PULSE, you're nothing ..." or some such, just to grab the interest of the idly curious who are catching the poster for the first time.

For a single picture to comprise a poster by itself, it will have to be a darn good one: dramatic in some way, well-focused, high resolution. Smaller, lower quality photos could be used as a photo montage poster, though I don't think that's as effective as one big shot. [My four shots of steel being blown apart by the Dynajet might be a valid example.] Your part of the net profit would be paid to you periodically as a license fee for permission to print your work, say quarterly or something.

Obviously, nobody's going to get rich doing this, but it might help publicize the hobby as well as my company while giving some name recognition to contributors and netting a little cash along the way. And, I think I can handle the production end fairly quickly [days, not months]. You would have to submit your work to me as jpegs, gifs or something that can be sent over the net, or that I can download from a site you own.

What are your opinions of this idea? What kind of target price do you think would be saleable, and what kind of size should a poster be? Or should there be a couple of sizes of each to choose from? All comments are welcome.

L Cottrill

[steve]

what do you guys think of this?

[Mark]

Here's an interesting blend of rocket science and jet science.
Mark

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/

[Mark]

Larry,
That's a worthwhile idea. Good photographs are a powerful way to convey creativity.
Mark

[larry cottrill]

what do you guys think of this?

Steve, that's very good. From a design standpoint, I would change the lettering to white or bright yellow. You need your copyright notice at the bottom.

Do you want me to produce and market it for you? I have a good printer that can supposedly do it, though I haven't seen anything yet to judge what kind of quality is achievable.

L Cottrill

[larry cottrill]

I thought maybe something like this.

L Cottrill

[steve]

Steve, that's very good. From a design standpoint, I would change the lettering to white or bright yellow. You need your copyright notice at the bottom.

L Cottrill

It is actually there, you just have to click on the picture and view it full size. If you want me to send you the unedited version I can e-mail it to you.

[larry cottrill]

Steve, that's very good. From a design standpoint, I would change the lettering to white or bright yellow. You need your copyright notice at the bottom.

L Cottrill

It is actually there, you just have to click on the picture and view it full size. If you want me to send you the unedited version I can e-mail it to you.

Steve -

Yes, please do that. I'll get back to you in a day or two or three with what I think it might/should look like. If you want to send full-size originals of other shots, too, that would be fine - send as ONE shot per email, please!

Assuming we can agree on a good final "look" for this one, do you feel OK about what I said earlier about splitting net profit down the middle, and paying it to you as a license fee? [We want to do this in a way that makes you an independent supplier, i.e. that makes it clear you are not acting as an employee. "You may want to consult with your tax professional".]

L Cottrill

[steve]

Ooops! sorry larry! I already sent all my good photos attached to one email so the file size is going to be rather large. In short- I hope you aren't using a dialup connection!

Assuming we can agree on a good final "look" for this one, do you feel OK about what I said earlier about splitting net profit down the middle, and paying it to you as a license fee?

Absolutely! you should know me by now- I'll do almost anything to make a buck.

[hinote]

if you have some good photos that I can produce and market as pulsejet posters.

Larry--I can offer the attached, if you're interested.

Bill H.
Acoustic Propulsion Concepts


".......some day soon we'll be flying airplanes powered by pulsejets."

[Hank]

Larry- I admire your entrepenorial spirit. Just one thing. Who is the market going to be? Anyone who cares a fig about these gizmos is here.
You might try for the Japanese market or perhaps the Chinese, either of which has more expendable income than an American in wartime who has the superrich to coddle. Accept payment in gold only. Whatever, Good Luck.
Hank

[Tom]

I think applying yourself to the "more money then sense" market would be a thing to consider. There must be hundreds, thousands that would spend money just to see something simple for a proof of concept....right?

Tom

[Mike Everman]

I'm with Hank. WE are your demographic, and we'd probably rather buy spark plugs with our hobby money. I will, however probably make my own scrapbook of nice prints of my friends motors, and oh so tediously bring it out at cocktail parties!

[Mike Kirney]

Well I still want a Larry "Shotgun" Cottrill poster and I will pay 7 US dollars for it (plus shipping by USPS Air Mail). Posters are one product that could be moved on E-Bay very easily. If the poster is affordable and has some humour to it, you will get a lot of impulse buys by people who know nothing of pulsejets but just want to buy something to put on their wall, especially if you can ship it overnight to the lower 48 for just a couple of bucks. Something psychedelic, with a little trompe de l'oeil, and with a pulsejet prominently featured would work nicely and would also generate new interest in the hobby.

[larry cottrill]

Well I still want a Larry "Shotgun" Cottrill poster and I will pay 7 US dollars for it (plus shipping by USPS Air Mail). Posters are one product that could be moved on E-Bay very easily. If the poster is affordable and has some humour to it, you will get a lot of impulse buys by people who know nothing of pulsejets but just want to buy something to put on their wall, especially if you can ship it overnight to the lower 48 for just a couple of bucks. Something psychedelic, with a little trompe de l'oeil, and with a pulsejet prominently featured would work nicely and would also generate new interest in the hobby.

Mike -

You are a lot closer to having the heart of a marketer than these other dudes. For most people shopping for poster art, there is only one moment when they know what they want: The first time they see it.

Remember: "People don't want their needs met - they want to have better needs"

L Cottrill