Greeter vs. Emerald City 2007
(photo by dirtylibrarian)
I can't believe I spent ten years jamming science fiction stories into envelopes, mailing them to overworked editors, and then tying a yellow ribbon around the mailbox or (occasionally) cashing a small check. This direct-to-consumers business is so much more rewarding.
Emerald City 2007 was pure awesomeness. I sold out of Greeters on the first day (out of a print run of only 15 each) and was left with only four Wedding guide out of a print run of 65. People responded very well to my "Dune in a Wal-Mart" pitch for Greeter, and everyone who heard it took away a www.greetercomics.com postcard.
First, I haven't tabulated the financials yet, but I do know that my sales paid for the printing, the table, the stunt toilet prop, and the autographed Wayne Pygram picture I bought. I don't have it scanned yet, but it's got Scorpius jogging on a beach wearing an outrageous oversized hawaiian shirt and a golden retriever grin, and he's got a bikini babe on each side of him. It's the best thing I've ever owned.
porkshanks is a wicked barker. She sold gobs and gobs of stuff. I also generated a couple leads with people who were interested in having me do weddings, which is super-encouraging. When I have a more professional approach to this biz (see Lessons) I'll definitely be cashing in on those.
Both the CG and Greeter got tons of kudos from the show crowd. I got asked for autographs and sketches! One dude high-fived me when I gave him the greeter pitch. Two kids came up on Sunday and told me the comic was awesome -- they'd read it online the prior night.
Awesomely, some of those kudos came from comics press people, and there are Greeter / CG press hits in the offing.
The first hour of the con was a nailbiter. There were tons and tons of attendees, but everyone beelined to their favorite artists. It was like throwing a party on a crowded weekend: was anyone going to come? Plus, the early crowd was very aspy and needed to have the jokes explained to them, or they were grossed out by the CG restroom humor. I was really worried that the love that the CG had gotten at Stumptown would not replicate itself at ECCC, which is much more fannish and mainstream.
Also, I was seated next to Christian Beranek of Silent Devil Comics, who is a kickass barker. I mean, who in their right mind can turn away when a guy calls "hey! Dracula vs. King Arthur!" at you? And he had a tableful of beautiful product, too. I felt like I was in over my head. But pretty soon I started barking myself, pulling people in, and making some sales, and it all went okay after then.
In the end, I'm sure I benefitted from being next to Christian. He drew lots of people to his table, and I got some spillover from that. He really demonstrated for me how to bark well. Finally, he makes cool stuff. His Dracula vs. King Arthur book is a riot. He deserves your money.
Absolutely no one gets that the Transformer gag in the CG is a cake topper, but everyone laughs at it anyway.
I sent away Lani Tupu of Farscape with a restroom guide, thus commencing my conquest of New Zealand. Wayne Pygram promised to come by the booth when he saw my exhibitors' badge, but didn't make it.
My favorite very polite I-won't-buy-your-stuff excuse, delivered by a big guy with a fanny pack: "Is any of this online? I don't like carrying stuff."
Favorite line, thought up thirty seconds too late:
Asshole Customer: Is it okay if I take a shit in your flaming toilet?
Me: That depends. Does your shit stink?
LESSONS
* Stay frikken hydrated and whatever you do, don't depend on convention center concessions.
* Flaming toilet = pure awesomeness. Many, many people came to our table saying "I just had to figure out what the hell you're doing here." Thanks gobs to porkshanks and Xander for making that happen.
* I did a two-hour experiment with $2 Comfort Guides at the end of the con. If those two hours are any indication, and they may not be, because I think there's a big impulse to spend at the end of the con, then $2 is a wayyyy better price point than $3 or 2/$5. The next challenge is to drive down the cost to print. I can do CGs for about $1 apiece if I don't mind scoring and folding them, and I can score and fold about 80 an hour if I'm really working at it. Next economization experiment is try to do a 2-up restroom guide print run, which will cut down on paper costs.
* Greeters were underpriced. With the way my pitch was being received, I think I can bump them up a notch.
* If you need full bleed art, ask the artist for full bleed art. This wasn't a disaster, as the shortened covers on the Matrimony guide actually were kind of aesthetically appealing. But still, boneheaded on my part.
* Business cards. Business cards. BUSINESS CARDS. Especially for the wedding business. Have a separate card that advertises the wedding biz, outlines the offerings, etc. Have a sample of what a custom weddingized Comfort Guide looks like.
* Children will be drawn by big flashy props, but children are usually accompanied by parents who are very skilled at deflecting spending requests. I think I sold to only two or three parents at the whole show, and there were a lot of families there. Child-friendly merch is a big opportunity; need to start marketing little t-shirts or something.
* Diversify: T-shirts, postcards, stickers, greeting cards. Individual packaging of gags will be huge for us; I was struck at how different gags affected different people.
* I laid out two copies of each CG, flat on the table, front and back, so that people can see what they're getting. Unfortunately, LOTS of people thought the two sides were separate offerings, or that I was advertising posters. So I had to amend my pitch to explain that if you bought the front, you got the back for free, and that it folded up into a handy pocket-sized reference card. As we develop other products and our tables get more crowded, the CGs will have to migrate up into standing displays.