I have Iron Man Ablative Armor business cards!
Business business business. Numbers. Is this working?
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. This guy has finally gone off the deep end. He’s only got a hundred people a month visiting his site (it turns out not a lot of people search for Ablative Suit Iron Man but I’m not stopping you can’t make me!) and now he’s ordering business cards with he Model 23 on them?
Hear me out. There’s actually some logic to it. Really. Keep reading. Please.
It Helps With Custom Art Commissions
Let’s imagine I’m at a convention (imagine is all I can do during Covid) and I like the style of a particular artist. In the past I’ve said “look up the ablative armor” and the first thing I have to do is spell it. After all, we’re in a big hall and it’s noisy. (“Imitative? Is it a chameleon suit?” No, sir, it is a salamander suit!) And other people are trying to talk to them. And also they don’t know how to spell ablative anyway.
They type it in on their phone, then they have to go back and add “Iron Man” to the search, because they forgot. As of this writing, the top result brings up the Pagulayan version from the Iron Manuals, and as much as I like it, I often want them to follow the original first-page Teranishi. That doesn’t even begin to address the model numbering system, where sometimes Axol is Model 23 and sometimes Model 24. Sorry, but I’m not looking for a commission of the Pentagon Armor.
Next problem: they’re only getting one angle. Considering nearly every picture of the Ablative is from one of the two images mentioned above, they have no idea how to draw the back of the head, the profile of the helmet, or even <gasp!> the kiln.
Now imagine I hand them this:
Happy Halloween!
and on the back I write /comic-pages.
Now they don’t have to go searching for every angle and every panel. (Or even every Pagulayan angle panel.) It’s all right there on my IMAA site. Original art I get back will be much more accurate, and they also have my contact info.
And hey, it’s another few clicks on my site that tells Google I’m more active, and there’s nothing wrong with that. They might even tell someone else about the “weirdest commission I got today, and this guy had a whole site about it.” Oh, who am I kidding…the weirdest commission they got was for a pregnant Sonic the Hedgehog licking a Model Railroader Magazine while drinking a McFlurry and riding a mockmaid on Dathomir.
Changing the subject abruptly and speaking of clicking…
It’s An Honest Way To Get Clicks
Google looks at so much when they’re trying to figure out how to rank a site. Keywords are a big one. (Check out these amazing SEO skills and how I so effortlessly work weird Iron Man suits including the Ablative Armor that’s named Axol into it. Pure genius.) They’re checking how often you update, if there are any new pages, and, of course, how many clicks you’re getting compared to the other sites.
When I go to comic shops, I show my geek cred by leaving one of these cards behind. When I sell and ship comics, I tape one of these cards to the inner package. Sure, I don’t get many clicks from these, but a lot of it is about getting people to come and enjoy what’s here. And maybe click some more.
Speaking of selling comics…
It Works As Contact Info
If I’m at a garage sale and the subject of comics happens to come up, people will sometimes say, “I have some, but I can’t get to them right now.” They’re busy with the garage sale itself at the moment, after all.
What do I do? Hand them a card so they can get back to me later. People are much more likely to remember a colorful business card than they are the corner of a scrap piece of paper. Bam, I see more comic collections.
And then I feel like this.
See? It’s not so silly.
I mean it is, but it isn’t. And it doesn’t cost much, either. If these cards get me better original art or score me one comic book collection, they’ve more than paid for themselves. Maybe you’re silly for not having Iron Man Ablative Armor business cards.
No, wait, it’s just me.
Epilogue:
I hate the fact that I’ll soon rank #1 for “pregnant Sonic the Hedgehog licking a Model Railroader Magazine while drinking a McFlurry and riding a mockmaid on Dathomir.”
