The movie lied. Just because you build it, doesn't mean they will come. It takes far more than a flashy website, a slick-looking comic, and self-aggrandizing posts on your favorite message board. Sure, those things don't hurt, but if your comic is going to grab any attention, you have to try and reach the masses.

Last month we dived into the ongoing riddle that is comic book conventions. This go around, dear readers, I'll be looking into the many other ways you can fight for the short attention-spans of the reading public! Best of all, ways that won't break your pocketbook!
 

THE ROCK GROUP APPROACH!
When I first started my Halloween Man site waaaaay back in the Stone Age (AKA the 90's), I based my early promotion on a group of people who also had very little money to work with. Local rock bands! One great example was a group called "Ghoultown" who basically littered Dallas with stickers with their band's logo. Pretty soon, they were being talked up everywhere.

Well, if could work for them, it could work for me, right? And stickers aren't that expensive to print. With one month until my site went live, I had a thousand or so stickers printed up with my logo, web address, and the vague slogan "Halloween Man is coming!" Then, together with a small group of friends, plastered them all over the city. Some might call this vandalism - I call it advertising!

Another form of promotion that bands and small clubs use a lot is fliers. This is probably, the cheapest, basest, and yet most effective way to gain A LOT of people's attention. It's simple enough to make up your first flier on your computer. Then, print it out, go down to the local Kinko's, and get several hundred of them. There are many stores, nightclubs, and speciality shops that will gladly allow you to drop off a bundle of fliers if you ask.

Of course, this isn't the only way small bands promote their work. Many of them leave samples on cassette or CD as freebies for local record stores. While not as cost-effective as the other two suggestions I've made, home-printed ashcans can be left around to great effect. Hardly anyone can turn their nose up at free entertainment.
 

ON THE WEB!!
One thing today's small publishers have over indie creators in the past is the internet. While this might be a bit of a "duh" statement to a lot of you, I was a bit slow on the uptake in terms of properly using the internet to my advantage. I know what you're thinking. "But Drew, don't you publish a lot of comics via the net?" Sure I do, but that doesn't mean I can't have my moments of technophobia.

But like many good men, behind me I have a good woman. And thankfully, a fairly sexy one at that. My charming wife has run her own "adult" website for many years now. I'm so dense at times that it didn't even dawn on me to do banner trades - until I saw how many hits she made off of her own. Over the years I've observed other ways she's promoted herself successfully over the internet and used it to my own advantage.

For example Yahoo Groups, MySpace, LiveJournal, and message boards are all ways that you and your fanbase can interact online. The first three of those won't even cost you a dime, and will allow you to create a sense of community with your fans. If they feel they're getting to know you (and each other) they'll invest more emotionally in the work you're creating.

Another good (and free) idea is setting up your own Cafépress store. If done well, this helps you in three ways. Firstly, people will be buying your goods. Mostly t-shirts, which mean your concepts, will be seen around town. Getting your ideas into the heads of the masses, completely free. Secondly, it's a form of market research. You can see what designs and products sell. And which ones don't.

The best part is this: You might make a little money. Probably not a lot. But for you starving artist types, every little bit counts right?

I can hear all you cats and kittens out in webland thinking again. You're thinking "Drew, it's a lot easier to promote stuff involving a sexy, half-clothed woman than it is a comic book." Granted that's true. But the point is to get out there by any means available to you. If you do a lot of little things via the net, it'll add up to A LOT of good promotion.
 

POUNDING THE PAVEMENT!!!
Of all my little suggestions this go around, this one takes the most effort on your part. But it's 100% worth it, if you do it right. You begin by simply picking up your phone book and making note of the names and addresses of all the local comic and pop-culture shops in your area. Then put together some kind of media pack, including a sample issue of your comic. Something nice, and not half-assed. This isn't the kind of thing you want to throw together overnight. Once this is done, mail it out. While you're more than likely to not get a response, it does make the store owners aware of your work. So when you don't start to sell in the thousands, this will be in the back of their mind. They might be more inclined to order your stuff.

Another suggestion along these lines is make a strong relationship with your local retailers. Agree to help out at events. If you have a regular shop, build a positive relationship there. Then at least one store in the area will be supporting your book. A small victory sure, but one that can grow into more things.
 

GET CREATIVE!!!!
Okay I've hopefully given you a buttload of stuff to think about. But just because this stuff has worked for me, doesn't mean it will work for you. Put your noggin to work, and think of your own ways to get the word out there. Promotion is vitally important to the small press. I'd even say you your work will live or die by it. Just because you've finished getting your comic together, doesn't mean the work has stopped. In fact, your work has just begun!
 

Drew Edwards is the creator of the critically acclaimed Halloween Man comics. Because criminals are a cowardly lot, he dresses up like a writer at night and fights crime. He currently lives in Dallas, Texas.