008 – Promoting Your Kickstarter at Comic Conventions

Comic book conventions are great… but are they a great place to promote Kickstarter campaigns?

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Today — Promoting your Kickstarter at Comic Conventions

Recent Kickstarter coaching call with Michael Leal of DangerEntertainment… he was planning on launching his next KS for his series Curse of the Vessel, and ask me for my thoughts on comic book conventions as vehicles for promoting KS campaigns.

1) Are conventions a good place to promote your KS?

Pros
- These are your people — highly concentrated group.
- Chance to connect, win over — know, like, trust
- People are in a good, buying mood — predisposed to say yes
Cons
- Convention are best for three things
  - Selling comics and merchandise that already exists
  - Building your network — peers, retailers
  - Rekindling your passion /Fun
- Conventions are and expensive and inefficient way to drive clicks to a website.
  - Costs — table fees, travel, parking, food, time, energy, health
  - $500 to promote on KS ads get you a TON more traffic to your site than the minimal bump you’d get promoting at cons
- Competing not just vs. all the KS, but all the stuff people could take home with them right then
- Pocket litter competition – When you get home
- Having a Con be the primary thrust of your promotional KS strategy is inadequate.

2) Why you should be careful about promoting your KS as a con attendee?

Example — NYCC Zuda Competition – gave a few to people I knew, handed out to people walking by (and felt silly) and ended up leaving a stack on a table. Metrics?
Understand, creators pay good money to attend the cons for the right to sell / solicit. You setting up shop and hustling without paying is going to get you some eyerolls.
Webcomics convention — Guitar Case
Strike up conversation with people, mention it, hand out a card, okay.
But you’re probably going to be disappointed with just standing around handing out cards as a no-man.
CounterPoint — Episode of Funding the Dream.

3) Why launching your KS at a convention is a bad idea?

The most busy time of KS is first three days, second is last three days.
When you launch, you want to be available…
- Field questions
- Clean up mistakes or issues links, you missed that backers point out.
- Potentially add rewards or make changes
- Post your first update
Yes, KS has a mobile app — it’s okay, but not ideal for making big changes. If you’re at a convention, how do you stay on top of your campaign.
Splitting your focus will hurt both campaign AND your con performance.
Bad idea to plan your LAUNCH to conincide with a big con.

4) Why promoting KS at cons in the Deadzone is a great idea?

Still, I do love the idea of incorporating live events in your KS.
Remember, one of the great things about KS is that it’s a marathon, not a sprint… most run 30 days. You have time.
The place to do that is during the Deadzone — roughly time in the middle of campaign that sees least action.
Powerful message to backers showing you’re not just “cool online” and hiding behind a virtual wall, but you’re getting out into the world and engaging with real people with your books.
Social proof.
Gives content for your updates.

5) A Killer Strategy I’ve Used for Maximizing KS Promotion at Conventions

Still, all the challenges, how do you actually get people back to your KS page at a Con.
Use the Convention as Social Proof after the fact
- Cosplayers
- Tie promotion in with talk of the show
The Raffle to collect email address, follow up after.

ComixLauncher

It’s time for today’s ComixLauncher.

A ComixLauncher is a short, actionable activity you can and should do right now, or immediately after listening to the show. They’re all activities I’ve done myself, and will get you one step closer to a successful ComixLaunch. They’ll transform this Podcast from a passive, leian back activity centered around Tyler James, into an active, lean-forward activity centered around YOU.

1) Last week’s cl had you set a Date and Time for your KS. Now consider plugging in a live event during the deadzone of your campaign.

Check conventionscene.com for conventions, talk to local retailer, bookstore, library etc.

All of us our busy, but we all can spare 5 minutes to do this. [NA — What comes out on paper may surprise you. And if you’d like to share the results of your ComixLauncher with me, I’d love to see them. Email me at [email protected], subject line: ComixLauncher #8.]

Quote

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