Teresa Moran of Acadiana Comics & Collectibles saw the comment by David Seigler of Ground Zero Comics on keeping Free Comic Book Day fresh (see 'David Seigler of Ground Zero Comics on FCBD') and agrees:

I Just want to respond to the guy who said they did everything right and that he thinks the public is just getting used to FCBD and they are not coming out anymore.

Ours was very successful but I think that he is right about doing something to give it a new twist or offer something a little new and different.  We were afraid that it had become too commonplace also and would lose its appeal. 

We actually saw mostly new people and I am not sure why.  I think a lot of grandparents and parents saw our ads and brought their kids out.  We did advertise an 'open house' with absolutely no obligations this time, instead of a movie related theme party with limited hours.  I think it allowed more people to come through in a longer period of time at their leisure.  We made a point to really welcome and chat and make the experience a good one, and we had a few extra freebies to give out (we had advertised only one comic per person). 

We saw very few of our regular customers.  Instead, we made it quite clear to our regulars that it's to get new people in to grow the industry and keep it healthy so that they can continue to get good quality comics.  I kept having to repeat myself because they kept thinking that it was for them-Ha!  They finally got the message.

Also, you think people know about FCBD, but a lot still don't.  It takes some really good PR work to get their attention.  Fortunately for us, our local newspaper takes an interest and comes in and interviews us and does an article and then put us on the front page the Friday before.  I was disappointed at first because even though they listed us in their calendars, they had not up to that point given us anything extra.  The first six people in the door said that's how they knew. 

To me, it seemed like we had maybe about the same number of people but they were all new and they did spend money in the store so we did end up with more income than last year.

We gave out coupons for $1.00 off their next purchase with a deadline of June 1st. It remains to be seen how many actually come back and become regulars but we have seen some repeats and increase so far.

DC Comics is a great company and needs to put a little more effort into their selection.  Marvel did a great job, as well as the other publishers.

We just need to keep repeating that FCBD is now a worldwide annual event--more and more people will finally hear it.  A newscaster on a radio station we heard said that it was the first he'd heard of it and he was repeating the event on the air for the first time this time.

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