Have you ever studied novelty buttons and bumper stickers?
I mean really studied them?
They’re short. They’re pithy. And people get paid to write them.
People like you and me.
How much can you make selling slogans to novelty button and bumper sticker publishers? Well, I was paid $25 for “I just want revenge. Is that so wrong?” That’s a little better than $3 per word! I was also paid $35 for “Menopause Poster Bitch” – that’s more than $11 per word! Both per word rates are far higher than most (if not all) of the highest paying magazine markets!
While I’ve sold a good number of novelty button and bumper sticker slogans, the income wouldn’t be enough to live on. It is, however, an excellent occasional source of income. Most novelty button and bumper sticker companies publish new runs either quarterly (every three months) or every month. And, as with all writing endeavors, there’s no guarantee that everything (or anything) you write will be accepted. For every 20 slogans I write, for instance, four or five might be considered and one or two might be purchased.
That’s fine. It takes me 20 minutes to write roughly 40 slogans. I weed out the weaker ones and pump up the stronger ones in about 10 minutes. With the current rates, I make anywhere from $35 to $70 for that half hour of work – which works out to $70 to $140 per hour! Why are the per word rates so high? It’s due, in part, to writers selling all writes to the work (which means you can’t re-sell it to a competitor).
Before you write your first novelty button or bumper sticker slogan and make a decent hourly wage, however, it’s helpful to develop a plan. If you’re just starting out, try this simple plan:
Find companies. A quick web search for “novelty button makers” (or similar words) will net a decent sized handful of novelty button and bumper sticker publishers. In the mix, you’ll likely find the industry’s big names: Ephemera and Duck and Cover Productions. Luckily, you only have to do this once per year or so to stay abreast of closures and new publishers.
How they want it. Now that you’ve located some novelty button and bumper sticker publishers’ web sites, look for their writers’ guidelines. These guidelines detail the format in which the companies want their submissions. While following their guidelines does not necessarily guarantee success, they won’t even consider your submissions if you don’t.
What they want. With their format requirements in hand, scour their sites for examples of their products. This is absolutely crucial – it will give you a good idea about what they look for and the types of slogans they buy. Some companies will buy risqué material, while some will not. Generally speaking, however, they all appreciate weirdness. If you can tie in pop culture and/or politics, so much the better.
Get down to writing. As mentioned above, the key to writing novelty buttons and bumper stickers is to work fast and generate a lot of slogans. Set the timer for 20 minutes and start cranking them out. You’ll want to keep your slogans to 10 words or less. (Some publishers’ guidelines say 15 words, but considering the size of most novelty buttons, they had better be 15 really, really short words.) Once your 20 minutes are up, count the number you’ve written. Then take the next 10 minutes editing them.
Submit your work. Most novelty button and bumper sticker publishers allow submissions online or by email. This makes the submission process a snap. Don’t thin out your list the first time you submit your work – wait until your second time. This is important because you won’t necessarily know what they will and won’t like until you hear back from them. When the novelty button and bumper sticker companies respond, they’ll let you know which ones they’re considering and which they aren’t. Resubmit those out of consideration to other companies. Those that are being held for consideration are off limits until you receive official word they weren’t used. Keep in mind that when you write for the novelty button and bumper sticker market, you’re selling all rights – you can’t sell them again to another publisher.
Again, you won’t be able to live off the income from writing novelty buttons and bumper stickers. You will, however, be able to make great occasional money – just for writing weird and short slogans.
