How Not to Promote Comics

When it comes to concocting ways to promote a new project, sometimes I think I’ve seen it all.. And when these tricks work, they can be very effective – but when they don’t, they really don’t.

Here, then, are a few things NOT to do when promoting a project. This is based not just on my opinions but on conversations with retailers over many years. Let’s dive in!

DON’T GO CRAZY WITH VARIANT COVERS

I’ve written about variant covers before, but honestly, anything over a 1:50 incentive variant only works for a handful of retailers – usually, the ones who ordered an exclusive variant to the tune of several thousand copies.

DON’T GO CRAZY WITH WEAK VARIANT COVERS

Variant covers by name artists are fine. Variant covers without trade dress are okay. Variant covers in black and white are only worthwhile if the black and white art is really special, which is rare. Variant covers with the art in some alternate coloring scheme are weak sauce.

DON’T OFFER PARTIAL RETURNABILITY

Returnability is supposed to show retailers that a publisher has confidence in a new title, so if you only offer 50 percent returnability, you’re effectively saying you only have 50 percent confidence in your title. Better not to do it at all.

DON’T OFFER RETURNABILITY ON A DEBUT ISSUE WITH A DESIRABLE VARIANT COVER

I’ve seen it happen: an account orders hundreds of copies of a new, returnable #1 issue, maxes out orders on a rare variant, and then returns most of those hundreds of copies later, keeping those rare variants and sells them at a premium price. You can put guardrails in place for this kind of thing.

HOW TO HANDLE PROMO ITEMS

A.   Don’t charge retailers for them.

B.    Don’t charge retailers for shipping costs.

C.    If you must charge for the items or for shipping, allow retailers to opt out of receiving them with an opt out line on the order form.

D.   If you’re really sure fans will want your promo item – like if you’re promoting a whole line of new titles - you can offer a certain number per account free and allow retailers to order more at a minimal cost.

E.    If you’re creating an expensive item, like a floor display unit, okay, you can charge for it. Retailers who want it will buy it, and those who don’t won’t. Pro tip: make that item generic, reusable, and durable.

F.    If you create a promo item for distribution at an event like a retailer meeting or convention, make a PDF of that item available for download for retailers who couldn’t be there.

DON’T AUTOMATICALLY CAVE TO RETAILER DEMANDS

Publishers can be sensitive to the squeaky wheel, but it’s important to remember that the squeaky wheel may be an outlier. Always consider the source before changing course. Also, you can check with other sources before changing your plans.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO REVEAL SECRETS

Retailers have told me over and over that they’ve never lost a sale to a plot secret that was revealed. Yet writers and editors can be precious with the twists and turns of their stories. So, for example, if an upcoming issue includes the return of a beloved character, let retailers know, even if it’s meant to be a surprise. Fans want to see how the story unfolds. They don’t care that they know what point “A” and point “B” look like – they want to see the journey.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO STEAL AN IDEA

If you’re working for Publisher A and Publisher B does something really cool to promote their project, go ahead and steal that idea. Maybe you can make it work even better than they did.

DON’T MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN’T KEEP

For example, don’t promise signed copies, sketches, or high-grade CGC copies unless you’re absolutely sure you can deliver. I saw a test version of providing CGC 9.8 or higher copies fail dramatically more than once – fortunately, that program never moved forward. More recently, I saw someone promise original sketches for accounts ordering a fairly low number of copies of a new number one issue, basically committing the artist to drawing over 500 free sketches. They had to backpedal pretty fast on that one.

I’m sure there are more items we could put on this list, so if you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments!