Today, on the chopping block: Convention Collective and Conventions in general...

[ellenmillion]

I'm not sure if the Convention Collective really deserves a chopping block post, because it was more like a one-shot deal, but it's worth a mention, since I'm being thorough, and I can throw in conventions in general.

The short version of the story is that a bunch of us - 22, to be exact - got together and pooled our assets to get EMG to ComicCon in 2008. We figured the split cost of 3 booths together, and airfare and hotel for me to go down and represent us. It was a good chunk of money, but divided between us, something we could manage. We faxed in our application within hours of the forms being posted on the ComicCon site - and received confirmation some months later that it had been received.

In December - FIVE months after that, after the hotel had been reserved and airline tickets purchased, they finally got around to telling me we were waitlisted. Oh? I prodded (and prodded and prodded) for information about where on the list we were, and how likely it was that we would get in. Almost 5 weeks and a dozen emails later, I finally got a reply: we were 88th on the waiting list.

*blinks*

88th.

Yeeeeaaaah.

I canceled my hotel, switched my plane tickets, and refunded everyone their initial payments. Total gain? Lost change fees and dozens of hours of work.

It was a great idea, and if we'd gotten in, it could have been an awesome opportunity. Someday in the far future, I might consider organizing something like this again, but for now... not interested in the amount of work, the economy sucks, and did I mention that it was a LOT of work?

Conventions in general have not been runaway successes. I went to DragonCon four years, and had a proxy booth for two others in the middle. Things I learned:

I do not sell as much if I am not there. By an order of magnitude (literally, x10!).

Hotels are expensive.

Conventions are expensive.

Conventions are a whole lotta work.

While the audience is larger, yes, and the sales are greater, yes, they are pretty much proportional with effort and investment.

Alaska is too far away from everything. Between shipping product and airfare, I effectively kill any benefits of being at the convention. With the recent increases in costs of both, and the costs of checking luggage, this is not something that is getting better, either.

I always felt like I could have done it better, if I'd had more time and budget, and made a better showing, but after a while, you have to question how much you can put into any four day event. Since I don't really have a merchandise end of the business like I used to, there's a limit to how much being at a convention would help me in the future, anyway.

Conventions, you are out of here!

See the Chopping Block Master Overview here: http://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1143338.html

Comments

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I always think of conventions as advertising expenses, not profit-making events. Years after I did my first big push mailing art to conventions, I had people coming back to me saying they found me by picking up a card at an art show. Did I make any money at those cons? Absolutely not. Usually I made negative numbers (the spreadsheet was a row of red: -$18, -$22, -$5). But some of the people who found me that way have become pretty significant patrons, which is why I'm thinking it's time to send out a new round, see if I can pick up some new fans.

I sympathize, though. Alaska's farther away than Florida, but like you I'm in the very distant corner of the country, basically as far from everyone else as I can get and still be part of the US. :,

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Art shows were never an option for what I was trying to do, because I wasn't looking to market my own work. (That's something I might revisit with a look at my plans for my own artwork - which probably deserves it's own chopping block post.)

I did give away probably 15k business cards, between all the years at conventions, but I have a field in my shopping cart asking where a customer found me, and only once have they said from DragonCon/business card! Usually it's from an artist or specific person or a google search. I wonder if the connections made at art shows are significantly different from those made at merchandise booths?

You and I couldn't live further apart in the country without trying. :P

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Wow, 15K business cards. O_O Amazing.

I don't know. I keep looking for new avenues for outreach. I wonder if there are some other ways to reach people in realspace, or if it's just smarter to go all internet-advertising. Project Wonderful has done pretty well for me, but it's not cheap.

And yes, I think the only way we could get farther apart is if I moved six hours south to the Keys. >.>

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I am a business card ninja. *cracks knuckles*

I've done some magazine advertising, as well. It used to be that inexpensive text ads in small press paid off well, but they've dribbled to nothing, and the larger press ads I've purchased have NOT been worth what I paid for them.

I could move to Nome, too, but I REALLY wouldn't want to. :)

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

Hah! Take THAT, conventions! (I don't like conventions in general.)