[dc]Y[/dc]esterday, I went into detail about what I learned during my first year of selling comics at conventions. Today is more skimmer friendly, with lists of random artist alley tips, advice, and thoughts.
Watercolor commission at GrandCon.
Random Business-y stuff I Learned at Conventions
- Offer items with different prices. $1, $5, $20, whatever. Just offer a variety. I sell a lot of stickers—they are 4 for $1. I’m not making much on them, but each features my artwork, my site url, and my signature (plus the stickers are easy/cheap to make at home).
- Offer combo deals if you can.
- Be willing to bargain.
- Take into account how much it costs to make an item when setting the price–and consider your time too. Sell stuff which is easy to make for less, and stuff which is more work for more (if you can). Ex: my 4 for $1 stickers I print out, versus my watercolor sketch cards I make by hand for $5 each.
- Some people consider $5 cheaper than $3. Why? One bill versus three bills. Likewise, an item might sell better at $10 than $12 fro the same reason.
- Experiment with new items in small batches (if you can). I learned this the hard way.
- Get a Square Reader (or something similar) for credit cards–it is free. Sure, Square takes about 3% of any sale, but $9.70 of a $10 item is better than zero dollars because you couldn’t take credit cards (and they pay you fast).
- Track your sales. I highly recommend the Square Reader Register App. You need it to use the Square Reader anyway, but I use it for cash sales too. I enter each item I sell into my Library (sketchcards, mini-comic, etc) and just tap the item for each sale—even cash sales. Then, I have a record of the day. I can easily see what sold and when.
- Some conventions are worth ‘losing’ money. You cannot beat a convention for exposure to potential fans and networking. You may not sell a lot, but getting in front of people is worth the price (think of it as advertising).
Other Artist Alley Advice
- Bring change. Ones and fives, bring as many as you can. I don’t sell anything which requires coins either.
- Invest in a money envelope/wallet thing. I bought a coupon organizer which works great for storing my cash at conventions. I have my change in one part and my ‘take in’ in another. You could also get a lock box. Speaking of:
- Keep your take in cash separate from your change. It helps with keeping tabs on your money. Speaking from experience.This helps cut down on the ‘where’s my money?!’ panic.
- Write down how much change you brought to the show. If you started the weekend with $200 in change, make yourself a note in your cash box/folder/whatever (I do this each time).
- Bring paper, pens, markers, pencils, and any other art supplies you might need. I’ve had to whip up signs at a moment’s notice more than once.
- Invest in a cloth tablecloth—not a plastic one. I got a nice bright green tablecloth at Party City for pretty cheap. The plastic tablecloths rip and tear too easily. A cloth tablecloth is worth the money, as it will take a lot of beatings.
- Bring a second tablecloth to cover your table when you leave or shutdown for the night.
- Tape: bring duct tape, masking tape, clear tape. You will need it.
- If you can, bring protective sleeves for prints and sketchcards.
- Paper towel, wet wipes, hand sanitizer are all good things to have on hand (especially if you are using paint for commissions)
- I bring a couple small plastic containers to use for my brush water when using my watercolor paints.
- Speaking of water, bring your own water bottle. Stay hydrated.
- Bring snacks, like trail mix, jerky, and the like. You might not get to eat a real lunch, so this will help–so will a big breakfast.
- Get vertical. I bought one of those wire-cube sets and use it at every show. I can make stuff eye-level, which helps grab attention. TIP: I use plastic zip ties to keep my tower from coming apart.
- Buy some ceramic disk magnets to use with your wire-cube set and/or to attach a sign to the front of your tablecloth.
- Invest in good signage. This took me a while, but getting professional looking signage is one of the best things you can do.
- If you are comfortable with commissions, DO THEM. A commission is a drawing someone hired you to make at the convention. Commissions can really help you have a successful convention.
- Simple is good. It is easy to overdo one’s table set-up (I’m still figuring out what works best for mine). When it doubt, go for simple.
Feel free to read my other convention and artist alley blog posts.
