[dc]L[/dc]ast weekend I attended Grand Rapids Comic Con for the first time. I only found out I would be attending about two weeks before the show, as I was on the wait list for an artist alley table.
Grand Rapids Comic Con Artist Alley
I was happy to attend Grand Rapids Comic Con, especially as a wait list entry for a show with a jury process, and I enjoyed myself. I met new artists and reconnected with old friends.
However, Grand Rapids Comic Con needs to reconsider the layout of artist alley.
Grand Rapids Comic Con tucked artist alley at the rear of the hall, and pretty far from the main vendor area.
My table on Friday. Via my Instagram.
Second, the layout of artist alley itself was odd. The rows didn’t flow at all, or connect with the vendor rows. One of my artist friends faced an empty wall until he demanded to be moved on Saturday morning.
It was the show’s first year at the DeVos Place, so there’s bound to be some bugs to work out.
The Crowd at Grand Rapids Comic Con
A lot of people attended Grand Rapids Comic Con, which is great (how many, I don’t know exactly). I managed to walk around a bit on Saturday, and the vendor rows were very packed.
My first random cartoon of Grand Rapids Comic Con. Via my Instagram.
While we didn’t see that kind of action in artist alley (for the reasons listed above), I had plenty of nice chats with the people who did manage to find their way to the rear of the hall. I even had visits from a couple of people who bought items from me at GRASP back in July, which is nice.
How Did I Do at Grand Rapids Comic Con?
Making money at a show is always nice, but a lot of things about a convention I can’t put on a spreadsheet. I make new contacts, I chat with potential fans, reconnect with artist friends I only see at shows, and get my art in front of a lot of eyeballs. Every sale, be it a sticker or a watercolor commission or a coloring book, is worth all the effort to attend a show.
Another random cartoon at Grand Rapids Comic Con. Via my Instagram.
In the end, as long as I at least covered my expenses to be at the show, it’s a success in my book, which was the case with Grand Rapids Comic Con.
However, I did some statistical work for the show, and here’s one bit of data I found interesting.
Grand Rapids Comic Con Sales Per Hour
- Fri. # of sales per hour: 1
- Sat. # of sales per hour: 0.89
- Sun. # of sales per hour: 1.29
A note: A sale for me is any amount of items, be it a single button or several different things to one guest at my table.
Based on sales per hour, Saturday was by far my lowest sales day. Even though Saturday had a higher gross amount than Friday (albeit barely), Friday had a (slightly) better sales per hour rate. Sunday is the clear winner, with the highest sales per hour rate of 1.29, and was my highest grossing day by a considerable margin.
What did I do differently on Sunday? Shower?¹
Yet another random cartoon. Via my Instagram.
One thing I did differently on Sunday was lay out a sample coloring book with a page Stephanie colored, front and center on my table. I sold several coloring books on Sunday as a result. I didn’t have this sample out on Friday or Saturday, and didn’t sell any coloring books (although I featured the books in a rack on my table).
A sample coloring book colored by Stephanie. Via my Instagram.
Looks like I have a new display strategy!
I also discounted my small watercolor cartoons (sketch card size) and sold two back to back after guests in a group heard about the discount. (I changed their price earlier in the season)
Sundays are usually the slowest day for a convention, and I have experienced this in the past. Yet, Grand Rapids Comic Con was the third show for me this season where my best day was Sunday (the others being Cherry Capital Comic Con and GRASP).
What Sold at Grand Rapids Comic Con?
Coloring books and commissions tied for the most of my higher priced items. I hoped for more commissions going into the weekend (I didn’t have any on Saturday), but some is better than none. I am thinking about overhauling my Random Cartoon system a bit after the results this weekend.²
Stickers and buttons, my lowest priced items, sold often, and the most overall. Now that I know buttons sell, I may need to add some new designs in the future. I should also draw some sticker specific designs, instead of only reusing comic strip panels.
Lessons Learned
Each show is a learning experience, and Grand Rapids Comic Con, which capped off my second convention season, was no different.
I learned most guests were not instantly aware I made a comic strip upon visiting my table.
I heard “You draw comics?” or “Ah, it’s a comic strip” often. Perhaps too often (not every artist in artist alley makes comic books or comic strips per se).
So, I need to reconsider my signage and presentation. Granted, the first thing out of my mouth to a guest almost always was “I write and draw a weekly comic strip,” but ideally they should get the idea on their own.
Next, I’m going to experiment with giving my mini-comics away with each purchase, instead of selling them on their own. Since my comics are free to read online anyway, I may as well. Stephanie suggested this approach, as a way to make sure everyone who buys something knows I make a regular comic strip too (especially the guests who only buy a funny sticker).
Last, I learned a few things about prints.
- Stephanie’s print box idea, where guests look through a box of prints, continues to work (it’s the blue box in the first photo).
- Placing my 11×17 Big Monster print in front of me on the table is a must. These prints started to sell after doing so, and really caught the eyes of passersby (this didn’t always equal a sale, but it got someone to stop long enough for me to give them a business card and chat).
- Comic con crowds like prints. That’s just a fact I learned after two seasons. I’m not crazy about making prints, as I prefer selling original art, but this season taught me prints are a must (probably because I can sell them for less than original art). Now, to come up with some funny/cute original print ideas.
What’s next? I got some work to do before next season, like new signage (maybe one of those fancy banners). I also need to decide if I’m sticking with Etsy or not to sell items outside of shows. I’m keeping my Etsy Shop open, for now, through the holidays.
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1. I showered every day, so it wasn’t this.
2. Perhaps letting a guest roll a twenty-sided die (d20) up to four times, instead of rolling four six-sided dice (d6) at once like it is currently. I get a lot of repeat words in the current system.
