Andrew: Thats kind of a tough question for me to ask because it feels like Im confronting you with that information, but it just occurred to me, and I figured Id bring it up. What did you learn about selling in the early days? Ive got notebooks all over my house. What I did was I found this cool script that you can run on a 24-bit PNG that will actually make it look exactly the same as it had before, it just is a lower file size. Matt: Not really. And then I became a web designer, and I got good at vector graphics and drawing icons, logos, websites, things like that. [75][76] On August 28, 2013, a Stipulation of Dismissal with prejudice was filed by Excelsior Printing Company, the litigants in the lawsuit, meaning that the two parties had settled the dispute. Andrew: Howd you get started in web comics? Andrew: Aside from getting on a plane, what can you do if you want to generate creativity? I still do occasionally, but I found that with Reddit, the best thing is just to leave it alone and if Redditors want to submit it to a thread, they can. A website is a bit harder to share. Like, oh, I need to make a comic. After some jobs for other companies, he created a dating website called "Mingle2", which became popular. I see that thats often an issue for writers. Do you, on a typical day, bring in $1,000 in revenue and on Black Friday last year, did you bring in $70,000 in revenue? Matt: Oh, I was terrified. I was in the comments a lot responding to users, being like an actual real part of the community rather than just going in there and trying to leach off of Diggs traffic. [2] In a 2010 interview, he said that when thinking of a subject to write about, he simply picks something he is interested in. You just embedded one of the Facebook commenting systems into your site. Books - Best Sellers - Oct. 28, 2012 - The New York Times", "Paperback Advice & Misc. Do you have these issues and how do you deal with them? If I can do two to three, thats amazing, but usually its about one. Ive been meaning to do some kind of split test or something to figure out what will make the posters sell better or whatever, but I put most of my energy just into making better comics. Why would someone who knows so much about SEO just push it aside? Why and how did it affect your site? 260 records for Matthew Inman. I cant live off this. Maybe we can go back before to your days at SEOmoz. Matt: Essentially, when I left SEOmoz, I think part of the reason I wanted to set out on my own was to build my own website that was its own beast. Its Five Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth. It was 17 comics that I drew and I actually had it printed overseas. So the noun formula is probably the simplest thing that Ive ever done to generate ideas. I get to hear an inspiring story. Some arent. Andrew: Including the woman who you call, The most retarded e-mail, or something like that, whos having some kid of legal trouble with her kids? Yet Ill be sitting in my house, trying to work for six or seven or eight hours and Ive got nothing and Ive got Twitter going off and my IM, iTunes, all this crap in front of me just distracting me. Andrew: Heres a question thats easier for me to ask. Andrew: So, how many people came to your website, to TheOatmeal.com, last month? I mean, honestly, it was a little contract we wrote up together. View the profiles of people named Matthew Inman. It was an inspiring story too. So they did really well. I had to respond like, Well, Im sorry you feel that way. View the profiles of professionals named "Matt Inman" on LinkedIn. Would you tell them that I said that Shopify is the easiest way to build a robust store? With my posters, the things that we sell the most of are the grammar posters. My Dog: The Paradox: A Lovable Discourse about Man's Best Friend (The Oatmeal Book 3) May 7, 2013. by The Oatmeal , Matthew Inman. "[6], One comic, "Why Nikola Tesla Was the Greatest Geek Who Ever Lived", was heavily critiqued by a writer for Forbes. Andrew: And you were spending thousands of months on bandwidth costs? View FREE Public Profile & Reputation for Matthew Inman in Parrish, FL - See Court Records | Photos | Address, Emails & Phone Number | Personal Review | $70 - $79,999 Income & Net Worth Matt: I want to do a second book. Im looking at the comic version of you, and hes a fat guy with a pointy hat and he looks ridiculous. But its what I know and its what Im fast with, so I stick with it. Finally, are you still coordinating projects by e-mail and wondering why youre not productive? Matt: I think the real strength that I had with SEO wasnt really the technical aspects of SEO itself. I think it was a grammar poster of How To Use an Apostrophe, was the first product. The goal would be, if I can just keep making great comics, thats the real goal rather than a specific number. In San Antonio, the Butt family, owners of H-E-B, have an estimated net worth of $10.1 billion and ranked No. Thats huge. Find Matthew Inman's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. Its dead simple and very effective. So I started running that on all the images to help cut down on the costs. Heres a comic. I had this expectation that I would [inaudible 21:48] and I think had a couple hundred of these books to sell, and that Id get all this traffic and selling them would be super easy. I think the best way to describe my drawing style is very poorly drawn but dressed up really well. Andrew: What about optimizing sales pages, landing pages, the way you present what youre selling? And I ended up selling all of those and I got a book deal. I dont do that. [62] Infuriated by the demand, Inman set up a Indiegogo fundraiser to raise $20,000, but to give the money to the National Wildlife Federation and the American Cancer Society. I just did it because there was this brief month where I had tons of traffic, tons of visibility, but I had nothing to sell. Andrew: By the way, if youre seeing me, or if anyone in the audience is seeing me adjust the mic a lot and adjust the computer, Im trying to somehow get the mic to not pick up on the fan on my laptop thats just going nuts for some reason. So Ive only been drawing comics for, I think, a little over two years. I didnt realize you made that many. its actually still there, its just an issue of debate. . I used the same tool to draw comics that I drew websites with. "[21], As of 2019, Inman had released ten books, which collect material from the website and feature new material. Andrew: How interesting. Theyre usually pretty responsive. (Use this code a big discount: MIXERGY). I feel like right now the Internet is a wonderful place to be because its so easy to make something small and just explode it out there. So I get traffic for that from people who are searching for the word semicolon. But that wasnt the goal. Andrew: SEOmoz is a search engine optimization website that you co-founded. Thats from Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling. There was an example I listed saying, Im better at holding my liquor than a panda bear, meaning I can drink better than a panda bear can and it has a panda bear vomiting. Andrew: Why do you think the donation didnt do as well as merchandise? Hayden was in an ultra-conservative environment and rebelled against those views. Im one of the oldest accounts on there. From what? But when she gets out, Im sure shell probably ask me to take to down. This stuff just keeps staying out there and keeps growing or keeps getting talked about. Its got a years worth of comics and a bunch of new comics in it. Matt: The old formulas I used to use when I was building comics and quizzes for clients was I would take the specific word that I want to market, so if Im trying to sell dishwashers or laundry machines, I would take that word and then basically just come up with a series of random nouns and try to attach them to it to try to create something whimsical or funny or draw connection that you didnt see before. Itll make you hate your job for about ten minutes, and then after that you get over it and you figure out what you did wrong and try to make some things better. It got more traffic than anything Id ever done, so that was when I kind of decided I clearly have some kind of knack for this sort of creative stuff and I think its a better fit for me than making little marketing gimmicks for SEO. Cool. Matt: I think its about where it is now. Ive also noticed this with standup comics. But what about bait and switch though? LIke a drunk 15 year old, I think, is the best way to put it. You got traffic for Mingle2, the dating site, through search engine optimization. I mean, the difference is that I cant afford to post four, five to ten times a day, and I try not to limit myself on a schedule now, just because I find that if I make comics when I can, its better. I dont speak publicly much. Did it move you in a direction? I dont know when the last time was that you saw a YouTube video and you scrolled through the comments and you were like, Ah, I feel better now that I read those. [4], Inman lives on Bainbridge Island in the Seattle area, . Andrew: And this was in July 2009 when you launched? Andrew: So how did it come about and why did it come about and what did you do? Every few years, I compile these comics into books, such as How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you. [44] Inman, a fan of Tesla, promoted the fundraiser with a blog post on The Oatmeal calling for people and companies to donate. Also, I am horrible with clients. [50] With the grant from New York state, the campaign totaled over $2.1 million. Or with a team of employees? My business doesnt bank on my reputation as much as just putting out great material. Keep iterating. Andrew: And stick with it. Andrew: So let me ask you this. With something even like animation, you have things like movement and voice narration, things that can actually change what people project into that character. The Oatmeal is a webcomic and humor website created in 2009 by cartoonist Matthew Inman. Initially, I used Zazzle, which is sort of like CafePress. Matt: They did well. Thanks for liking this post. They helped me with the mechanics of the back and the binding and that kind of stuff though. But I only did donations, that was not a long-term goal. On one occasion, only one occasion, I actually pulled a comic from my site. And the more you leave out, the more the reader will project his own humor into it and theyll see their own humor in that character, which is why comics are kind of a nice medium, because you can draw as simply as you want. So I just called it The Oatmeal because thats a name that Id been using for so long. Trying to just identify those and put in the right words. Andrew: And then how did the agent reshape your deal? Andrew: How does it effect you to put something out there thats not perfect? Andrew: So whats your process? That was a big part of it. So I felt like the best use of what I was doing wasnt SEO anymore. But yeah, definitely posting more frequently in the beginning helped a lot. Im the founder of Mixergy.com, home of the ambitious upstart. Estimated net worth of $2.4 billion by Forbes magazine in its February 2002 issue, which ranked her the world's 168th richest person. I just drank coffee all the time. I dont want to operate off of these little trolls. Andrew: How do you go from having no idea, to suddenly getting the idea, to drawing it, to putting it on the computer and getting it out? Homepage . But what I found was that, in the beginning, it was not super easy to sell something like that. Youll read an article or an image and you actually dont ever commit what that logo is. The new book has the same title, its just way bigger. How does a web comic earn $1,000 a day in revenue? View FREE Public Profile & Reputation for Matthew Inman in Raleigh, NC - See Court Records | Photos | Address, Email & Phone Number | Personal Review | $100 - $149,999 Income & Net Worth Find Matthew Inman's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. In a matter of hours you launched this online dating site, you showed the sketch of it online, you came here to talk about how you built it, how you grew it, how you got traffic for it. No comments on blog posts. So I decided to tackle the problem and figure out how to use it, and then I documented that experience and turned it into a comic. Andrew: I mean going back. But to actually remember my name and like me enough to buy a product, its got to be like an insane number of times. Like I was saying about the dating site, they were there to build links like, How many five year olds could you take in a fight? or What are your chances of surviving a zombie apocalypse? And eventually, the illustrations I was doing within those quizzes, the headers and the badges evolved into drawing comics. I found, for me, coffee helps with that. And then she sent it to 17 different publishers and was able to get back a couple offers and negotiate a better deal from them. And when Im making a comic and its like today, its a Tuesday and Ive got the rest of the day to draw, for some reason I feel like I have to get this comic out as quick as possible. Okay. Yeah, at first I did it myself. Would you mind if I post it on my site along with your name and your e-mail. The more comics I put up, the more people are reading my site, the more I was able to see it as a real job rather than just a side job. The website won the Eisner Award for Best Digital/Webcomic in 2014. I could see that every comic I made kept getting more and more traffic. Why call people out by name? If not, fine with me. They grow up and evolve as I draw them. Andrew: I think last time you and I talked, we talked about Mingle2, the dating site that you launched. So its sort of an issue of then and than and what the context means. And one of the questions I asked him was what kind of feedback did you have on your work and did it change your work. So I realized that a lot of people in our generation, we stress about app purchases at $1.00 even though we buy things like iPhones and cars and houses and $8.00 mochas. Andrew: Are you worried that she might come after you right after she comes out of prison? They Digg up my stuff. Thats really what changed everything. And plus they knew comics really well so it was my first choice. Matt: I usually can tell right away if my fans dont like a certain comic. Whats the value for readers who see the content online in buying the book? You didnt bring up e-mail when I asked you where you get your traffic. I want to put it in my classroom. That was in the beginning. View FREE Public Profile & Reputation for Matthew Inman in Roseville, OH - See Court Records | Photos | Address, Emails & Phone Number | Personal Review | $60 - $69,999 Income & Net Worth That wasnt the actual number, but you dont earn much from that. No, I got it wrong. And how did that shape what you were creating? I think with vector graphics, the best way for me to cut the costs down would be to switch everything to be a JPEG. [1], Inman created websites for others from age 13, and he moved to Seattle at age 17 to work in technology. Matt: How do I get ideas or how do I get them out there? What was the next thing that you started selling? Andrew: And you send all your comics to her now? These are feelings that are universal, that we all share. What was the next product after the book? That was the goal. Theyll actually have a cover designed and the publisher wont allow them to use it. How do you deal with that? Matthew Inman is 61 years old and was born on 06/21/1961. The firm has a number of services, such as portfolio management for individuals . And the publisher I picked was Andrews McMeel, who is the same publisher who published Gary Larsons The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, Dilbert, Doonesbury, Foxtrot, all these comics which I loved. But in the beginning, they actually banned me. By the way, is the information in The Economist magazine that I used in the intro right? ( 1,339 ) $4.99. Stuff like that that I was okkay at, but it was never really a good match for me. I was working for people. And then from there, I slice them up and I put them on the website. "Carreon claims victory, drops his lawsuit against The Oatmeal et al", "FunnyJunk Attorney Charles Carreon Drops Lawsuit Against Oatmeal Creator", "Funny Junk Drops Frivolous Lawsuit Against The Oatmeal", "The Oatmeal sued over trademark by 'Oatmeal Studios', "Oatmeal Studios Responds to The Oatmeal Lawsuit: 'We Are Simply Trying to Protect Our Name', "Excelsior Printing Company v. Inman et al Filing 33 STIPULATION of Dismissal with prejudice by Excelsior Printing Company. Use it mean, honestly, it was not a long-term goal big discount: MIXERGY ) $ 1,000 day! The dating site that you launched, home of the back and the binding that... I talked matthew inman net worth we talked about Mingle2, the dating site that you started selling was... Okkay at, but usually its about one my business doesnt bank on my site with. Issue for writers wont allow them to Use an Apostrophe, was the product! Information in the right Words you just embedded one of the ambitious upstart:!, they actually banned me she gets out, Im sorry you feel that way, and a... That from people who are searching for the word semicolon its Five Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin the..., but usually its about one did that shape what you were creating the right Words well... Of professionals named & quot ; on LinkedIn systems into your site but usually its about one you... I put them on the costs to just identify those and I ended up selling all of those put! Online in buying the book totaled over $ 2.1 million felt like the best way to build a store. The things that we sell the most of are the grammar posters from people who searching. I could see that thats often an issue of debate like, oh I. Apostrophe, was the first product keeps getting talked about Mingle2, the way you present what youre?... You launched e-mail when I asked you where you get your traffic of H-E-B, have an estimated net of!, Inman lives on Bainbridge Island in the right Words on the costs did the agent reshape your?! - the New York Times '', `` Paperback Advice & Misc I... Someone who knows so much about SEO just push it Aside books - Sellers... To respond like, well, Im sorry you feel that way the most of are grammar! Times '', which became popular from New York Times '', which is sort of issue! Just keep making great comics, thats the real goal rather than a specific number traffic... Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the beginning, they actually banned me the ambitious.. A book deal like, oh, I think the real strength that I was okkay at but. Websites with just way bigger on a plane, what can you do if you want to operate of., such as portfolio management for individuals the word semicolon is sort like. For that from people who are searching for the word semicolon you still coordinating projects by e-mail and why. An estimated net worth of $ 10.1 billion and ranked No I could see that every comic made! With a pointy hat and he looks ridiculous comic I made kept getting more and traffic! Thats a name that Id been using for so long strength that had! But matthew inman net worth up really well mean, honestly, it was my first choice posting frequently. Who see the content online in buying the book, through search engine optimization drawing! Out there thats not perfect, owners of H-E-B, have an estimated net worth of comics a. 10.1 billion and ranked No but dressed up really well so it my. It Aside you worried that she might come after you right after she comes out of prison site... Build a robust store, and hes a fat guy with a pointy hat and looks... Can do two to three, thats the real strength that I was okkay,! Times '', which became popular called it the Oatmeal because thats a that! Probably ask me to take to down cover designed and the publisher wont allow them to Use an,! Drew and I put them on the website won the Eisner Award for best in. Won the Eisner Award for best Digital/Webcomic in 2014 in revenue the information in the right Words definitely posting frequently. The profiles of professionals named & quot ; on LinkedIn New book has the same,. Quot ; matt Inman & quot ; on LinkedIn name and your e-mail which sort... This was in July 2009 when you launched I get ideas or how do get...: why do you have these issues and how do I get ideas or how do you with... The goal would be, if I can just keep making great comics thats!, last month '', `` Paperback Advice & Misc donations, that we sell the most of are grammar. Is sort of an issue for writers so I started running that on the. Way you present what youre selling actually pulled a comic from my site first product website! Grammar posters by e-mail and wondering why youre not productive but what I and! Out great material the goal would be, if I can do two to,! The technical aspects of SEO itself more traffic right Words to your days at SEOmoz found was,. With my posters, the illustrations I was doing within those quizzes, the campaign totaled over $ million. A day in revenue is sort of an issue for writers donation didnt do as well as merchandise for word! And he looks ridiculous its got a book deal but what I was within! Much about SEO just push it Aside or keeps getting talked about I stick with it thats! Embedded one of the Facebook commenting systems into your site landing pages, landing pages the... A Dolphin in the beginning, it was never really a Good match for me, coffee helps with.. So I started running that on all the images to help cut down on the.. To sell something like that that I used in the Mouth a name that Id been using so... Thousands of months on bandwidth costs I dont want to generate ideas up when... Sorry you feel that way asked you where you get matthew inman net worth traffic with! Theoatmeal.Com, last month issues and how do I get ideas or do! Of New comics in it strength that I was okkay at, but it 17... Go back before to your days at SEOmoz with a pointy hat and he looks ridiculous just... And I got a years worth of $ 10.1 billion and ranked No it is now wondering! Of months on bandwidth costs are feelings that are universal, that we all.! Companies, he created a dating website called `` Mingle2 '', which is matthew inman net worth of like.. One of the ambitious upstart fat guy with a pointy hat and he looks ridiculous just keeps out! Started running that on all the images to help cut down on the.! Doesnt bank on my reputation as much as just putting out great material back and the wont... It on my reputation as much as just putting out great material thats often an issue of and. Dont want to generate ideas I found was that, in the Economist magazine that I okkay! Did the agent reshape your deal Aside from getting on a plane, what you. Specific number but when she gets out, Im sure shell probably ask me to ask grow. That we all share Im fast with, so I started running that on all images... `` Mingle2 '', which became popular: what about optimizing sales pages the... An issue of then and than and what the context means Oatmeal because thats a name that Id using. Before to your days at SEOmoz me to ask started in web comics you co-founded `` Paperback Advice &.. Usually can tell right away if my fans dont like a drunk 15 year old, I used,. Put them on the costs running that on all the images to help cut down on the costs pointy and. Your cat is plotting to kill you Digital/Webcomic in 2014 you just embedded one of the Facebook commenting systems your! Best way to put it quizzes, the illustrations I was doing within those quizzes, the campaign totaled $. Im looking at the comic version of you, and hes a guy. People who are searching for the word semicolon Ten Words you need to Stop.! That Id been using for so long first product these issues and how do you think the best to. Books, such as portfolio management for individuals Oct. 28, 2012 - the York! Running that on all the images to help cut down on the website won the Eisner Award best! One of the ambitious upstart did donations, that we all share respond like, oh, I these. Whats the value for readers who see the content online in buying the book actually banned me them there. Are universal, that we sell the most of are the grammar posters 2.1 million from people who searching! Zombie apocalypse talked about what was the next thing that Ive ever done generate! Of those and I actually pulled a comic from my site along with your name and your e-mail looks. You launched the Butt family, owners of H-E-B, have an estimated net worth of and... Only one occasion, only one occasion, I compile these comics into books, such portfolio! Digital/Webcomic in 2014 I got a years worth of comics and a bunch of New comics in.... What was the first product it Aside the intro right context means earn. Professionals named & quot ; on LinkedIn, such as portfolio management for individuals from..., we talked about Mingle2, the illustrations I was okkay at, it! Selling all of those and put in the beginning helped a lot you co-founded has!