Column: FIVE POINTS to consider before 'purchasing a table' at a convention

We break down our thoughts on some points to ponder before throwing down that hard earned cash onto a table, for a table.

From time to time, we want to share with you our thoughts and experiences as creators, in hopes that it will spark discussion, but more so to help others who may have similar questions. Today’s column is FIVE POINTS to consider before 'purchasing a table' at a convention. Make sure you hang around until the end for an interesting development that happened just this morning, right before posting this!

You ever see someone ask an innocent enough question on social media, but you know that the simple answer they're looking for just doesn't exist? Currently, there's a post going around where this was posed: "Have you ever rented a booth/table at a comic convention to sell your comics? If so, what was your experience?"

Just showing up, slapping your products down on the table, and watching the money roll in might be the dream, but it’s not reality. What makes an event enjoyable as a fan, versus making an appropriate decision for your business, could be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Doing your research on the details about the events you're considering will play a massive role in whether or not that event has a chance to be successful.

For this article, we look at this specifically through immediate business financial eyes. We utilized the initial question as a base, meaning this is angled towards newer creators with limited experience in 'the scene', or people that are re-evaluating their place in the current economic climate. We’re also considering this primarily from a pure financial standpoint, because EVERY event you go to you can meet people, engage with fans, etc… But for a business to ultimately succeed, the numbers must make sense over the long haul.

So now we'll present to you, from our collective #TeamINSYM experiences, FIVE POINTS TO PONDER BEFORE MAKING THE DECISION WHEN AND WHERE TO 'TABLE'.

POINT #1: EVALUATE THE TYPE OF SHOW THAT IT IS

Don't be fooled by terms like comic-con, comic convention, etc... because not all events are created equally, nor do they serve the same purpose. When taking any event into consideration, we here at #TeamINSYM assign every show a sub-category, meaning - it is a true COMIC and creator centric show, is it a pop-culture event driven by celebrities, an anime event, a horror convention, cosplay centric event, etc...

Each of these subcategories, at the highest and most general level, market to very different crowds. We evaluate if we have the right kinds of products to appeal to that specific show’s expected fanbase / attendees. The VAST majority of shows do not cater to, and are not focused on, independent comic writers / producers, so you have to be very meticulous and detailed about your evaluation.

POINT #2: PAY ATTENTION TO TICKET PRICES AND CELEB SIG/SELFIE FEES

In our experience, and ESPECIALLY in the current event climate, there is a direct correlation to the attendee ticket price to get in the door + the celebrity signing / selfie / picture op cost, and the ability for creators to have a fighting chance at profitability. The higher the price is to get in the door, and the higher the celeb package price is, the less money there will be to spread around the room to everyone else. The independent creator with the lesser known / unknown IP is the literal last place that money is going to flow to.

We've lost count of the number of times that people have come up to our table at one of these events and said 'I'd love to get this (insert entry level item) from you, but I just dropped $100 on this signed pic right here.”

Nothing wrong with that industry, and if people are willing to pay $100 to $200 for signature / selfie / photo op experiences, more power to the celebs that can command that. As an independent producer, however, this is something you should take into consideration before making a decision to fork over YOUR hard-earned money on a table.

POINT #3: EVALUATE THE SIZE OF THE VENDOR / GUEST / CELEBRITY list versus the expected number of attendees

This one builds off of the point above. I had a food truck vendor tell me about an event he did one time that had an expected draw of maybe a couple thousand (in other words, modest attendance). When he got there, he found that the event had booked 32 food trucks. Repeat: THIRTY-TWO! Taking into account the number of people that normally buy food at an event of that size, and then dividing it across the number of food truck vendors, it was fairly obvious to him that some or all of them were going to leave disappointed.

In our own experience, we did a show recently that had a strong venue, a TON of guests, vendors, and independent creators. The showrunner had a great attitude. Everyone was excited. When the doors opened on the first day... barely a trickle came through. It was obvious right from the jump that, for whatever reason, the public reception just wasn't there. Just like with the food truck vendor above, there was absolutely no way that the vast majority of those in attendance were going to leave being anywhere near in the black for that event. The event was wildly overbooked with ‘talent’, and most lost money.

So, make sure that the event itself is balanced with the amount of ‘talent’ versus the anticipated attendance.

POINT #4: IF YOU BUILD IT, THE WILL (NOT) COME

In Field of Dreams, all that the farmer needed to do was build a baseball diamond in his field, and individuals would literally be coming out of the corn stalks to partake in what he'd created. This may work in the movies, but it's not like this in the real world.

Understanding the products you have and how you're going to present them is huge. The larger the event, the more competition there will be for attendee's eyes, time, and dollars, so don't think that just because you created a book, everyone is going to be clamoring to get their grubby little mitts on it.

The lesser known you are, the less products you have, and the less developed of a presence you have, the higher the chance that you’ll disappear into a massive sea of displays by more seasoned creators. Make sure to be as prepared as possible to create products and displays that will appeal to and engage your prospective supporters.

If you’re the creator with one book and a minimal display presence, it might suit you better to seek out positions at smaller shows or even comic shops so that you can be a bigger fish in a smaller pond.

POINT #5: ASSESS THE TOTAL COST OF ATTENDANCE AND WHAT YOU'D NEED TO DO SELL TO JUST 'BREAK EVEN'

The phrase 'Making table' grinds my gears like none other. To 'make table' means that the cost for you to 'rent that table at the comic convention' is covered. This is merely a minimum checkpoint, but it's NEVER your only expense. Have you accounted for travel? Lodging? Food? The cost to replace the inventory sold? All of these items come into play when calculating whether an event can truly be profitable. You also need to account for ‘time lost’ because of the show. Are you missing work so you can travel to and from the event?

You’ll also want to calculate, based on the items you're bringing to a show, the number and types of transactions you'll need to close to cover all expenses, and then get into profitability.

For example: You're a new creator. You have a couple issues of your comic, and a tchotchke or two. If someone wanted EVERYTHING you offer, it'd be $20. How many 'best case scenario' $20 transactions would have to make over the course of an event to cover your expenses? Is it even possible to do so? If you can't, maybe you need to reconsider that event.

All this said - this doesn’t take into consideration going to an event to be a part of the experience, getting face to face with other creators, learning and observing the industry trends, signing people up for your newsletter, etc... Those items all have merit and could also weigh into your decision to attend an event, regardless of the profitably prospects.

And most importantly, an event is what you make of it, no matter how it charts with the list above. You can ALWAYS find a positive in an event. We’re just trying to help you avoid massive craters that could potentially derail your journey financially. Hopefully with the information above in hand, you can better determine what events might be right for you as you start or continue your journey into the convention and live appearance world.

(THIS IS THE NOTE FROM ABOVE - HANG AROUND TIL THE END)
On the day we were going to post this (today), fellow creator JACK HOLDER posted something similar on a Facebook comic group - Indie Comic Conspiracy. Some of what we say is similar, but there are points we both cover that the other one didn’t. We wanted to share his post here as well so you can get multiple perspectives on the same topic!

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Lastly, we are in the final hours of our HEIRS OF ISILDUR: The Perilous Prospects 1-3 campaign. We’ve thankfully reached minimum funding and are now approx. $350 away from our first stretch goal! We’ve also added the MARD BANN dual language comic PDF that ALL tier backers will get for FREE, and the EXTENDED TRAILER with more of the upcoming music!

Go to the campaign page HERE and join us before TIME runs out! The campaign ends FEB 29th!

That’s all we have for now. We’d LOVE to know your thoughts on this column!

Matt & Steph
#TeamINSYM
www.linktree.com/insymmetrycreations
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