On Business: Calendaring

I think most comics retailers are aware that simply being the location people buy their regular comics from is not a sufficient business model. That they need to do and be something more if they expect to maintain a sustainable business, if not try to grow. Whether or not they have the wherewithal to act on that is another issue, of course, but I think there's at least basic acknowledgement there. So it's not uncommon any more to see shops having store signings and anniversary parties and costume contests and whatnot. Every shop is going to be unique in that regard -- they have different audiences, different resources available, different opportunities to take advantage of, etc. For example, it's easier to get Gene Ha to do signings in and around the Chicago area because he lives around there. Tony Moore, on the other hand, tends to do more signings in and around Cincinnati because that's near where he lives.

So then the next question becomes: how do you alert people to the event?

Well, in-store notices are kind of a given, but that mostly just informs the existing client-base. There's certainly the possibility that they'll tell others and convince them to attend, but there's a lot of variables involved there, not the least of which being that they'll forget as soon as they walk out the door. That's one of the benefits of social media -- someone can read about some upcoming event online, click a button and have it immediately shared with hundreds, if not thousands, of others. Even if they do forget five minutes later, they've already helped to broadcast the message.

But what format, I wonder, makes the most sense? A dedicated page on the retailer's site? A Facebook event page? A Google Calendar entry? A Tumblr post of a graphic/poster? All of the above?

Here again, I suppose that it depends somewhat on a retailer's unique audience, and which version would be most likely to be shared. Beyond that, though, I don't know. Anyone have ideas on which has seemingly worked better/worse for them?

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