Free Comic Book DayComing soon to a comic book store near you!
Free Comic Book Day is a world-wide event where people young and old can find a variety of comics for free at local comic book stores, with no strings attached. Find out what the event is like from a retailer who has participated in the event. Free Comic Book Day is coming! This year it is May 5th. This year marks the sixth anniversary of Free Comic Book Day, a world-wide promotional event created to help bring new readers into brick and mortar comic book stores. Comic book retailer Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, CA came up with the idea for the event and worked with the main comic book distributor, Diamond Comics Distribution, to make his idea a reality. In its first five years, more than 2000 retailers in more than 25 countries have given away approximately ten million FCBD special-edition comic books. This will be the fourth Free Comic Book Day for my store, and each year it has gotten bigger and better, with more free comics available and more people turning out to enjoy them. FCBD is one of my favorite days of the year. I get to see all kinds of new people who are coming into the store for the first time and are excited to read the special comics. For our existing customers this event is kind of a thank-you for buying comics all year and a chance for them to check out comics they might not have thought about, without having to buy them. We see all ages on FCBD — from little ones that cannot even read but like the pictures and colors, to grandparents who reminisce about the comics they hid under their beds while growing up. It is a day for families to come in, because there are a wide variety of comics available for the event for just about any age and interest. The day usually flies by because we are so busy talking to and helping people. Once it is over we are all exhausted, but happy with the turnout and looking forward to the next one. Each store seems to make the event their own, so you could visit a few stores and see different things at each one. There are stores that have in-store creator signings on Free Comic Book Day. Others might host costumed characters, face painters, or even a band. Some stores incorporate a charity event. There are stores that give away not only the special comics created for the day, but also other comic book overstock. In-store sales, drawings, or special clearance items are often part of the way stores get visitors involved in more than just choosing a few free comic books. Some stores have free food or drinks or both. For many comic book stores, including mine, it is one of our best days not only based on foot traffic, but also on total daily sales. Keep in mind that Free Comic Book Day is a marketing event, a tool to bring people into comic book stores, some for the first time in years, some for the first time ever. Marketing is usually not free. The comic books that we give away do have a cost — most of them are priced between $.16 and $.25, with a few that are $.50 or more each. In order to be an official participating retailer, a store needs to purchase a $50 package of gold sponsor comics including: Archie, Legion of Super Heroes, The Lone Ranger, Mickey Mouse, Spider-Man and others. Stores that agree to this minimum can then purchase any additional quantities of the gold and silver sponsors' comics. These participating retailers are also linked to on the official FCBD website and receive free posters and other promotional materials. Just giving out free comics is not enough to really have a successful Free Comic Book Day. Being listed on the official website helps, but again, it is not really enough. Most stores that are able to generate a large turnout for the event do additional marketing. Having the event tied into a major movie, like it is with Spider-Man 3 this year, can give stores a great target market for the event. We usually put signs and coupons in the local movie theaters, letting people know they can come into our store for a free Spider-Man comic book, and then when they arrive they see that they can pick up a free Spider-Man comic book plus a few others. Many stores run TV ads for FCBD; Diamond even makes one available to retailers. Some place ads in the newspapers or put fliers in the area libraries. There are a variety of fun and creative ways that retailers market FCBD, some of which cost little or nothing and others which can be expensive. But, in order to pull in new people, it is essential that stores market the event so that the non-comic buying public knows about the event and stops in to check it out. I have heard some stores complain that the event just brings in free-loaders looking to grab up the free comic books. Others say that it is just the same as any other Saturday. This can be true — there will always be people that come in just to grab up free stuff and then leave, not to return until the next time the store is giving things away. However, if a store is successful at marketing the event, they should see plenty of people visiting who not only pick up free comics, but also spend money on other stuff. And the most successful retailers also are able to get these new visitors to return again, when the comic books aren't free. For me, Free Comic Book Day is like Christmas, and I get to be Santa. It is so fun to watch young faces light up as they pick out a comic book and page through it, showing it off to their younger brother or sister with great pride. I love to hear people admire the store and comment about how cool this or that item is. And I always hope that our event is fun and memorable for everyone that visits, and that they will not only come back again, but that they will tell a friend about this cool comic book store they visited in May.
|
|||
|
Home | Features | Columns | Culture Vultures | Report Card Tart Store | Indicia | Contact | Archives © Sequential Tart, 1998 – 2020 |
|||
