Today I’m going to give you a sneak peek into doing advance research for product selection for your Creator and Influencer social media posts, shoppable videos and livestreams. I’m giving away this idea as an example of advance level tactics for planning for the future, using a content calendar and watching for trends. None of these items are high ticket (meaning not high profit either) but I thought it would be a fun example for researching upcoming items.
We will examine doing advance research for Disney’s “Peter Pan and Wendy” film, due to be released on April 28 on Disney+.
When big new movies like this come out (whether or not they hit the theater) there is usually an uptick in Google searches for the film and related topics. Take a look at Google Trends to find trending searches.
Normally, this research would have been completed three to four months before the film comes out.
It can be difficult to source products before that time, since they haven’t been manufactured, shipped, stocked, available for purchase, etc. until real close to the film’s release date. You’d want to get your hands on the items as soon as possible, shoot your videos ahead of time, and have your posts, photos and videos ready to publish the moment the items become available on Amazon or other websites you can use affiliate links on.
(Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you)
Start by researching the film and related media tie-ins. Watch the trailer, read the Wikipedia page if any. Refresh yourself with the original plot, storyline and characters of Peter Pan (you can read the original 1911 “Peter and Wendy” at The Internet Archive and at Project Gutenberg).
I generally run over to Google News to see what recent articles have come out about the film.
Let’s look at the Official Disney+ webpage about Peter Pan & Wendy. There’s a Wikipedia page about the film too, and an IMDB. Familiarize yourself with the actors, characters and the pronunciations of their names (especially if you will be filming shoppable videos or livestreaming and talking about them out loud). The role of Captain Hook is being played by Jude Law; searches for him and his other films might spike as well this month.
We can guess ahead of time what kind of products and product tie-ins will be produced based on this movie and because of Disney’s incredible merchandising machine. Books, toys, t-shirts, caps/hats, clothing, Halloween costumes, possible cereals/candy, possible home decor, games, puzzles, calendars.
There will also be renewed interest in the author of the original book, J.M. Barrie, and his creation Peter Pan. Disney’s original Peter Pan film (1953) will get revived interest as well, and it might not hurt to link to other Disney Peter Pan related franchises (DVDs and books etc).
You might want to create shoppable videos on luxury editions of the original Peter Pan book.
There’s a gorgeous $55ish “Calla edition” of Peter Pan that doesn’t have any influencer videos.
The Minalima edition of Peter Pan is gorgeously illustrated with mechanical paper art you can pull out and interact with, including some 3-D elements. So far (as of this writing) there are no influencer videos on Amazon for this; only a merchant video.
There are lovely leatherbound editions of Peter Pan you can find at secondhand stores but film videos and sell on Amazon for more.
Look for Peter Pan graphic novels you can demonstrate on video as well (flipthroughs).
Use “Peter and Wendy Live Action movie” in your search terms to find products based on the new 2023 film as opposed to previous movie versions.
The new Tinker Bell based on the live action film is a person of color. Here’s Disney’s doll for her:
Peter Pan & Wendy Tinker Bell Doll, via Amazon. Check out this article on the actress here.
Peter Pan & Wendy Darling set of two fashion dolls, via Amazon. The dolls are also already available on eBay.
If you do the math, you’ll see you will only make a 1.5% commission on-site in the Toys category on Amazon for dolls. Assuming you bought the doll at full price, it cost you around $36, so you have to sell the dolls 76 times to break even. If you sell 2 per day, you’ll break even in 2.5 months. But you’re likely to sell more than 2 per day if the movie is hot and your videos are good. This isn’t the way to a huge profit, but it can add up. Note that there was a LEGO Easter basket product I’d done a video for but forgot to upload – that item sold over 10k times the week before Easter. (No idea how many of those people would have watched my video, but boy do I feel stupid.)
There’s a YouTube video talking about the dolls you can watch – not very well done, but informative.
There are articles on the dolls at Toy Insider, YouLoveIt, and at GeekSpin.
(Note that if you have a Disney Store affiliate relationship, via LTK or otherwise, they’ll give a higher percentage than Amazon once the dolls are available. Entertainment Earth will also likely carry her, as will possibly Target and Walmart, all who will give a higher commission for your affiliate links on social media; but they don’t have Shoppable Video capabilities yet).
The Peter Pan & Wendy Junior Novelization came out April 4, 2023. It currently has no ratings on Goodreads.
There’s a Kindle-only version (so far) of ‘Tiger Lily and the Secret Treasure to Neverland“.
There’s a LEGO set based on Peter and Wendy, with only one influencer video so far (my own).
What do people who really like movies put on their walls? Movie posters! There are already a couple on Amazon, including this one.
There are many items on Hot Topic, such as this t-shirt, based on the new Peter Pan & Wendy film. Use the search sorted by “new arrival” to distinguish the 2023 film items from regular Disney Peter Pan film merchandise.
Expect future releases from Funko Pop, LEGO, Duplo possibly, Loungefly, and Mattel. Look for more affiliate opportunities via eBay, Entertainment Earth, Hot Topic, ShopDisney, and handmade items on Etsy.
Keep an eye out for opportunities to link to and demonstrate the soundtrack, Blu-Ray and Amazon Video rentals for this 2023 film.
None of these items are high priced or going to lead you to high commissions. However, if you have a large off-site following on social media platforms you can send to your storefront and shoppable videos, you never know how much $ in passive income you might take in.
-Creator Inspiration