vrk the marketer

vrkdoesnotlovemarketing

a refresher of my strengths & weaknesses

Hello my friends!!

It’s been about a month since Pouch has been out for preorder, and in this month I have been focused on Pouch’s marketing.

And HOOOOOOoooooooo oh ho ho ho ho

OOOohhhhh

ohhhHHH boy!!!

Marketing is definitely not my strong suit 😭 But I have been doing things!! Now, am I doing anything effective? Or am I just making noises that are somewhere between a Santa laugh and whale sounds? Keep reading to find out!!

In today’s newsletter, I’m gonna tell you all about marketing Pouch: The big big big vision, my immediate goals, what I’ve tried so far, some news about FESTIVALS(!) and generally how’s it going!

I also need to balance my marketing work with my work-on-Pouch, since Pouch Issue 1 is not finished yet. Thank you to my early readers who have given such incredibly helpful feedback so far 💖  I am just starting work on revisions and additions and I am so excited with how it is turning out…! 

I have a secret – should I tell you my secret? – OK I'll tell you: I am secretly hoping to double the page count of Pouch Issue 1 🤫 from 20ish to 40ish pages. I THINK I can do it, and I have soooo much exciting content both from me AND from the community!! But it has been harder than I'd like to get heads down time for work-on-Pouch (because of work-on-marketing-Pouch). So my work-on-marketing-Pouch is going to taper down a bit, and work-on-Pouch is going to be my priority again for the next 4ish weeks.

Alright, I gotta get back to working-on-Pouch!! I hope you enjoy these updates!

♡ vrk

why a cheese? KEEP READING!!

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🔮 The big Big BIG Vision 🔮

Before I go into how I’m “““marketing””” Pouch, I wanted to explain what I’m really working toward with all this. I don’t know if I’ve properly expressed this on my newsletter yet!!

I’m making Pouch the magazine, but my goal is not to make a magazine!
(Oh wow, I have never felt more like a Browser Co alum!)
(“We’re not building a browser” was a common refrain when I was there, and seems to still be 😄)

Ultimately I want to build software for paper lovers. I’ve been calling this software “Pouch Studio.”

In my head, Pouch Studio is a creator tool for paper hobbyists, a modern reimagining of The Print Shop. It lets you create paper crafts you can print out on your home printer, but also through this software, you can make digital creations just as easily.

So imagine that you wake up one day and you want to make a calendar:

You go onto Pouch Studio,

and you can make a paper calendar you can print at home, OR a digital calendar app you can use on your phone — and it’s just as easy to make either one. Same tools, same interface, same primitives; print vs digital is just a different means of publishing.

I have a few objectives in creating Pouch Studio:

1. To serve an underserved community of creators: Analog journalers & paper crafters. (This community also happens to be predominantly women.) I know soooooo many women who are creating the coolest, funnest, funniest, freshest, most thoughtful, creative and heartfelt paper creations: these are zines, comics, stickers, tapes, planners, stamps, journals, collages, calendars... These creators use software in their practice, but today’s software for paper & crafting is often complicated, expensive, woefully out of date, and made by people who do not actually create with paper themselves. I want to make software for these creators — software that’s beautiful, modern, and a joy to use — by someone who understands their craft.

2. To introduce coding to an arts & crafts audience. (An audience that also happens to be majority women.) If I can make it as easy to create, say, a paper calendar as it is to create a digital one, it is not much more of a stretch to add some coding elements into these digital calendars as well. Women are already hacking Goodnotes and Notion to sell their own digital products. What if they did this on a platform that was intended for them to build their own products?
   It’s also important to me that this isn’t forced: You don’t have to code if you don’t want to. But I want the option to be there if you ever think you might want to try.

3. All while respecting artists’s work and livelihood. To put it bluntly, I’m not interested in using generative AI that has been trained* using the work of artists without their consent. (*to the argument, “but that’s how people learn to draw:” it’s really not! I know this because I’ve been taking drawing classes these days 😂)

OK so that’s the big vision!

Then why am I making a magazine?!

For many reasons:

1. BECAUSE I WANT TO

2. Because I need to expand my networks to include (way) more people in the paper and stationery community in order to have any luck developing useful software for them.

3. Because I was D-tier at design!!! Making Pouch has been great for project-based learning for design. There’s SO MUCH STUFF to design in a magazine and everything else that goes with it. With all this practice, I feel like I’ve moved up to bottom of C tier now…!

4. Because if I succeed, Pouch the magazine also works toward objective #1 of Pouch Studio: It’s a service to the paper-loving community. I want Pouch to be an analog platform for paper lovers. Paper lovers love paper, and yet all their work has to be published on digital platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest to be seen. What if they could publish their work on a medium they know and love best?
   And from pure speed perspective, I believe I can launch a magazine that is fun and immediately useful to the paper community much faster than I can make software to do the same. I think the software would be more impactful, but will take longer to make (and probably needs a bigger team than just myself).

Pouch magazine will continue to be my focus through my first full year of sabbatical, i.e. through June 2024.

Starting July 2024, I hope to continue Pouch mag, but my focus will shift to Pouch Studio…!

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🎯 My goals with Pouch mag

OK!!!!!

I talked about the big Big BIG vision so that you can properly contextualize my goals with Pouch mag.

Namely, I’m not trying to make Pouch magazine into a self-sustaining business.

My goals with Pouch mag:

1. Make a great magazine. Create a fun and entertaining magazine for people who love paper and stationery. I want this to be a magazine where it’s common for its readers to read every page, and reading is an effortless joy.

2. Grow a community. Grow and cultivate a community of stationery lovers and paper DIYers through readership of Pouch.

3. Don’t spend too much of my own money 😂 Money-wise, I’d like to break even on production. That said, I also want to avoid being penny-wise pound-foolish.

So then with those goals in mind: Why am I marketing Pouch?

• I want to be able to test whether Pouch is a great magazine, and so in order to do that, I need to put Pouch in the hands of paper and stationery lovers and get their feedback.

• I want to grow a community of stationery lovers, hopefully through Pouch! I’m testing whether a magazine is an effective means of cultivating community.

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📈 vrk the marketer

So then with all that context: Here is how I’ve been trying to market Pouch!

Instagram

I created an Instagram for Pouch called pouch.cafe:

FOLLOW MEEEEEEE

♟️ Strategy:

• Post content that could be articles in Pouch (things like journal inspiration, DIYs, product reviews), but reduced down to bite-sized Instagram posts.

• Use hashtags!

• Try to post 1-3 times / week. Once Pouch issue 1 is done, post 1 Reel / week. (Reels tend to do better on IG but omgggggg it takes me so long to create videos lol. I don’t have time right now!)

• Post authentic content with my own voice. Post content that I stand behind, even if it means I don’t post as often as I “should.”

😵‍💫 How’s it going?

Weelllllllllllll 😂

First the good parts: I have been enjoying creating the content more than I thought! And since I have only a small following, engagement feels really meaningful and easy to manage 💕

Where I’m struggling:

• ⏰ TIME-CONSUMING: Whew it is NOT easy for me to create Instagram content! Reels take me hoooours to make, and tbh the image-only posts take me a long time, too. This is especially a problem since I have a lot of work to do on Pouch issue 1!

• 📭 Growth is so slow: It’s also really hard to gain followers!! Gosh I have new appreciation for people who have 100, 500, 1000 followers on IG. 10k? 100k+? I can’t even imagine. Every new follower is a struggle!!

• 🌟 Communicating that Pouch is a magazine is difficult for me thru the grid: An active Instagram account should be able to give visitors an idea of what sort of work is behind the account. This has nothing to do with follower count! But I don’t think I’m succeeding at this. If you scan my @pouch.cafe Instagram, I think it’s hard to tell what Pouch is. I’m not sure how to solve this yet… I feel like maybe I need to sprinkle in more posts that show off Pouch the magazine? Ahh I don’t know how to do that non-awkwardly though!

🙋🏼‍♀️ Request for help:

Would love ideas on how to mitigate any of my struggle points above!!

ALSO: Follow me on pouch.cafe!! 😆

Featured creators in Pouch

I’ve been DMing creators and journaling influencers about featuring their work in Pouch, like so:

sample DM!!

♟️ Strategy:

• DM folks with beautiful journal layouts & indie stationery to ask whether I can include their work in Pouch. This both makes for a better, richer magazine, and it also spreads awareness about Pouch.

• In return, I’ll give them a free digital copy of Pouch. (I want to be able to give free physical copies too, but I can’t promise that yet!)

• I haven’t been asking for anything in return, such as posting about Pouch on their IG… I’ll probably ask this after Pouch issue 1 is ready and I can show them their work in the magazine!

😵‍💫 How’s it going?

• This has gone well so far! About 50% of the people I DM say yes (and the rest don’t reply). I have already made a few internet friends though this!

• But I could probably be utilizing this better? IDK let me know!!

Zine Fairs & Stationery Conventions

I’m going to Milwaukee!! Hence the cheese graphic earlier

I’ve been applying to Zine Fairs and Stationery Conventions as a vendor for Pouch.

Well, more accurately: I’ve applied to exactly one zine fair (Milwaukee Zine Fest) and exactly one stationery convention (Stationery Fest!!! brand new!!! happening in Greenpoint!!!).

The verdict:

• I got into Milwaukee Zine Fest!! I’ll be there on April 20!!

• I got a response from Stationery Fest 😂 I don’t have a spot yet but I’m in the running!! August 7 - 9!!

♟️ Strategy:

• Sell Pouch at conventions

• Make friends at conventions

😵‍💫 How’s it going?

• Well I’ve had luck with the 2 I’ve applied to so far!!

• But in general it’s quite hard to find zine fairs and stationery conventions.

• Zine fairs in NYC are also soooo competitive and/or insular and hard to get into.

🙋🏼‍♀️ Requests for help:

If you know of any zine fairs or stationery conventions that are accepting applications, or other fair-type-things you think Pouch would be a good fit for, please let me know!!

I’ve also never tabled at a convention before, so I’d love any and all advice for this!!

Online Clubs & Discords

I’ve joined a few Patreon-exclusive Discords by some creatives in the journaling space (thanks so much Nikki for the idea!!!) and I’ve been checking out a few zine clubs too.

♟️ Strategy:

• Meet people in the paper community

• Spread the word about Pouch

• Help others in their own creative endeavors, too!

😵‍💫 How’s it going?

• Pretty good! Wow it’s so much less work to participate in a community vs trying to build your own 😂 (Ei-Nyung has told me this….)

• Clubs are not no work though - it takes a while to find a group you vibe with! And many clubs are quick to go dormant, which means searching for another club…

• Zine clubs especially can be hit & miss in my experience — but I just went to a meeting from Zine Club Chicago and it was fantastic! Great group, super welcoming, and extremely well-organized.

Store-to-Store

I haven’t done this yet, but when Pouch Issue 1 is complete, I’m planning to go to local businesses with a free copy of Pouch and ask whether they would be willing to sell a few copies.

♟️ Strategy:

• Sell Pouch at places that are interested in selling work by local creators.

😵‍💫 How’s it going?

• Haven’t done this yet with Pouch!

• But some of my other zines are selling at Desert Island! …. though I am too scared to drop by the store to see how they’re doing 😭

🙋🏼‍♀️ Request for help:

Curious if anyone has had success getting a small-scale physical product (like a zine, or a handmade something) into local stores. How did you do it??

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🎬 in conclusion

As always, if you made it this far, you have my wholehearted gratitude!! 💖

More than usual, I’m glad I wrote this month’s newsletter. I had been feeling pretty frustrated that I haven’t had much time to work on Pouch Issue 1, especially when the marketing work I’m doing doesn’t result in an immediate (or guaranteed) payoff. Now that I look back on what I’ve done… it’s actually a lot!

Also more than usual, I feel like I’m making it up as I go these days! Part of why I spent time explaining my vision and my goals is because I’d love feedback, suggestions and advice on my strategy & tactics for marketing Pouch. If you have ideas, reply to this email, or leave a comment on Substack!

Cross your fingers I get into Stationery Fest 😂 and let me send some links your way:

• 🌤️ A chill day with no plans is a fantastic name for sticker sheet. And is she walking a cat??

• 💮 I am LOVING pattern stamps these days. I wanna make my own stamps!! I’ve carved stamps before, but I wonder if I can 3D print them…? This is a project I need to start after Pouch Issue 1 is finished!

• 🐶 Omg I bought this Cinnamoroll file folder from Digiso on a total whim and it’s actually an MVP item for me right now!! It’s housing some of my zines, stickers, letters I need to reply to, boring stuff like tax forms 😆 and I also have a folder that’s just my “junk drawer” for paper. Kinda game-changing!!

• 📝 The Hobonichi Techo Survey is available now! Gosh, Hobonichi is such an inspiration to me. Hobonichi, founded by Shigesato Itoi, who also made iconic game EarthBound (a favorite of mine) (this is also why Hobonichi regularly has EarthBound-themed products), who also made a fishing game where HE HIMSELF is the main character of the game 😭😭😭

Finally, I leave you with this message from Hobonichi:

PAPER IS ON THE RISE!!!!!