Well it has been about seven months since my last post about promoting and studying analytics for my self published series RELIVE.
The tactics I had implementedafter the launch of the first issue at the end of February 2016 were as follows:
- Facebook & Twitter posts
- Blog posts
- Handed out 300 promo cards to local comic book shops
- Word of mouth advertising
- Local newspaper interview
I felt like this was a good start to get the word out. The reality though would be seen through the sales, which were not many. I did increase a Twitter following over those seven months and did gain some additional views on my website and blog. One copy of the book was bought in England, so I take that as a small victory that someone other than direct word of mouth took a shot on the series.
REFLECTIONS
Looking back there are a few areas I think I could continue to improve upon. One being momentum. The second issue is written and done, however, it's production has been slowed and more than likely won't be released until a year after the first issue came out. Going forward for a new series I would try and have at least two issues completed before launching it. This comes down to your artists abilities and being able to roll with unforeseen life problems that arise. It would also create flexibility to stagger the second issues release to buy more time for the completion of subsequent artwork and production.
Conventions are another area I need to make more of effort to commit to in order to spread the word about the series. Conventions are a solid resource in the fact that you are reaching the audience that you would like to be reading the book. So that will be a 2017 goal once issue two is released.
After the release of issue two, I will also begin to try emailing local comic book shops as well as reaching out to online reviewers to spread the word about the series. I know email can be a bit of an annoyance to most people, but at least this has the potential for a more national reach at a no cost effort.
I'll be honest, there have been quite a few disheartening experiences in this first issue launch and trying to build a following, however, my resolve is still there to keep creating comic books. I went into this entire endeavor with the mindset of being dedicated to crafting something I could be proud of, despite any setbacks. And I still aim to do so.
As the production of issue two continues, I will send updates through Twitter and Facebook. And once it is completed, I'll do another post to study the results and see what impact it had on sales of issue one.
Until then, keep creating.