Making Money at Conventions

The biggest problem authors have when it comes to making money at conventions is the lack of preparation. There’s a lot of preparation that goes into a successful convention foray, and most authors have no idea how much preparation it takes; most figure they just need the books, some way to deal with credit cards, and then show up and sell books. Yeah, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Authors need to realize that a lot of planning goes into a successful convention table, and this article should help with that planning process. Just be prepared for a lot of research and paperwork, but that’s just part of the business.

[Let’s talk costs so you can get an idea of how serious this is. Even if the table itself is cheap or even free, running a table isn’t cheap: You need to consider boxes for moving merch, tape to keep everything organized, dollies to move the boxes, and however you decide to keep your money safe. You may also need display cases or stands. If you sign things or do art on the convention floor, you need a signing pen and other materials. You may also have marketing materials specifically created, such as displays or signs. All of these materials need to be allowed for when you’re getting ready for a convention table or booth, and most of them are one-time buys, running you between $500-$1000 or so.

You also need to consider room rental, meals, snacks, and drinks, especially if the event is going to last two or more days. This easily adds another $300-$600 per day. You may also want to hire some help for the time you’re there; this is going to add another $120 per day, but allows you to concentrate on selling books and to take breaks, which can help maintain your sanity.

Then there is the cost of the books and other merch, you know, the stuff that pays for all of this. You’re going to need to pay for all of the merch you’re going to sell, as well as the shipping/transportation costs for said merch. This can add another $1000+ to the cost for the convention. You also need to allow for the cost of the table itself as well as any business licenses or additional costs. You also need to keep some money back to pay for taxes.

You obviously need to take running a booth extremely seriously, even if the convention is one of the smaller ones.]

15) Know Local Regulations

Before you can sell at a convention, you should look into local regulations. Different areas have different rules when it comes to convention tables, and some jurisdictions require convention sellers to apply for business permits even if they’re just selling at a convention center. Generally, most conventions will give sellers heads up when it comes to legal considerations, but some conventions, especially new ones, may not even be aware of these legal considerations. As usual, a little paranoia is not a bad thing, especially when it comes to your business.

14) Know the Sales Tax

While rules regarding books and other media tend to be somewhat loose, the tax rules are pretty black & white. You may also have different taxes on different goods; knowing the different rates is paramount to any business. You need to decide if the taxes are included in the price of the book (which will cut into your profits) or added to the price at cashout. Regardless of how you decide to deal with taxes, you need to keep money to pay those taxes separate.

[Speaking of taxes, keep in mind that you should also separate any money earned into a business account rather than your personal account, even if you're running a single proprietorship. You should also keep receipts for everything you spend on your business so you can claim it as a tax deduction later.]

13) Confirm the Table

Mistakes do happen and some conventions are not exactly run above board. Confirm that the table has been rented before shipping everything there to keep potential chaos down to a minimum; nothing is worse than showing up with a lot of merch to sell and nowhere to sell it.

12) Time For Some Socials

You need to ensure that people are aware of your table and where it is; this is where your social media comes into play. You should include basic booth information, such as its booth number, well as a map showing your location. If there are landmarks that would direct potential customers to your booth, such as nearby food sites, bathrooms, exits, or even more popular booths, note them. You should send out the message at least a couple of times in the weeks leading up to the convention to make sure that people know where to find you.

If you are going to show up at multiple conventions, it’s actually not much more complicated: Just list the conventions you’re going to be at with the table information for each booth. However, keep in mind that the more tables you have, the fewer landmarks you should give for each table. You should also work with anyone you are sharing a table with.

11) Have the Right Number of Books

This is something that you’re going to need to figure out on your own; this number depends on how much each book costs to print versus sale price, the flow of the convention, and how well you can convert people to buyers. However, the simplest answer is to figure out the total cost of the table (including all costs) and then figure out how many books (and other merch) you will need to break even, then up the number by at least 10%-25%.

[The obvious corollary is that you need to figure out if the convention is worth it to you, based on expected sales. If you can’t expect to make back expenses, then it may be a better idea to forego the convention, or just attend as a regular attendee if you really want to go. It just doesn’t make sense to spend money on a table if you’re not going to make back the investment.]

10) A Sharpee Pen Is Your Best Friend

While having pre-signed books, or even a stamp, would save you a lot of time while minimizing time spent interacting with the public, too many people expect to buy books and then have them signed by the author upon purchase; it’s just part of the experience. This is why a Sharpee pen is invaluable to you: You can sign books as you sell them, making your customers happy as you go.

Some tips on what to sign:

1. Any statements as well as your signature should only take about ten seconds to write.
2. If possible, work out something quick and snappy to write down by default. This should include the ability to allow for a buyer’s name (the personalization adds to the experience).
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for how the name is spelled, even if you think it’s obvious.
4. If you’re going to do a drawing, do so only if you have time. When you have a long line, it’s not the time to get creative.
5. Practice your signature ahead of time so you can write it the way you want virtually automatically.
6. Rest your wrist and hand as often as possible. If you can, invest in a warm wrap.

7) T-Shirts Are Debatable

Obviously, you’re going to want to sell some merch and T-shirts are the obvious choice. However, keep in mind that there are some serious issues you need to allow for when selling T-shirts. First, they’re usually more expensive than books, harder to ship, and displaying them can be more difficult. You also need to be a bit more clever than with most other marketing materials; just a copy of the book cover is usually not going to cut it. However, if you’re willing to wrestle all of these issues as well as come up with an interesting design, then go for it!

6) Manage Your Cash

You need to have a reasonably secure way of dealing with any cash. While it’s likely that most of your transactions will be credit cards, you’re still likely to deal with some cash. This means that you’re going to have to deal with three problems: change, booth security, and downtime security. Change is the easiest detail to deal with: Price your books so that you allow for tax and making change is easy is a solid first step. A major complication is that the more days you’ll have the table, the more change you’re going to need: It’s just going to be harder to get change the longer you’re there. A good ballpark is $50 of change per day; while pennies are debatable, make sure you have plenty of nickels ($4), dimes ($10), quarters ($10), singles ($26), and maybe fives, at least to begin with.

If you can’t make change, especially for higher denominations, do not be afraid to turn away the customer. Given that you can’t accept cash without change, it doesn’t make sense to run out of change too early. However, if you are going to accept larger denominations (starting at $20-dollar bills), make sure that you have a counterfeit-checking pen.

It goes without saying that the cashbox should be somewhere that isn’t easy to just grab, such as well behind the table. The cashbox should have a decent lock and you should trust everyone who is going to make change. Try not to take money from your cashbox for personal expenses; while you can argue that the money is yours, once you start taking from the cashbox you likely won’t stop. If you’re at a major convention, the temptation to spend your profits on collectibles is going to be pretty hard in the first place, so bring money if you intend to spend on them; otherwise, you could see your profits disappears.

[If you're running the booth with the idea of spending it all on collectibles, ignore this; it is your money, after all, but seriously debate how you spend it.]

When you close the booth down for the evening, or even temporarily, make sure that you carry the cashbox with you. You can leave it behind in the room, but make sure that at least basic security precautions are taken. You don’t want to carry with you; this represents too many potential issues. If there’s a way to make a deposit into your account and count down to the beginning change amounts, do so (there are some major advantages in having accounts in banks with a national presence).

In short, you want to run your cashbox as well organized, secure, and responsibly as possible. To do otherwise is to court disaster.

5) Have Your Marketing Signage In Order

If you use any marketing signage, make sure that it looks as good as it possibly can. This includes promotional posters, “pay here” signs, and any signs directing potential customers to any specials. Also, limit signage as well; you don’t want to confuse customers by providing too much information. You want to run a well-organized little shop; it not only looks inviting to the crowd, but it helps when you pack up as well as helping to ensure items don’t get stolen (a messy table is hard to pack up and you won’t likely catch items being stolen until well after the fact). Signage helps keep everything organized and so you keep things as simple as possible.

4) Have Your Table Supplies Ready

Obviously, you’re going to want to keep your merch available so that you can restock when needed. However, you should also keep all of your other supplies (drinks, food, tools) at hand. Food and drink should be kept off the table; it looks messy and disorganized, possibly turning away customers. You never know when your tools will be needed, and they will definitely be needed to tear things down. So make sure that they are where you can easily grab when things start closing down.

3) Be Friendly to Other Tables

Being nice to neighbors always works out. It doesn’t take much to have someone else’s back and that helps to ensure that they will have yours. You should have brought some help (or hired someone at the location) to help out at the table, but sometimes you may need an extra hand or just words of encouragement. If you get drinks and snacks for another table or two, they may reciprocate. Even if they don’t, good words can help sell books. If there’s anything you can do to make friends and allies, do it; you would be surprised how little it takes to make a decent profit.

2) You Don’t Need to Smile, But…

Being friendly is never a bad thing, especially when you’re doing customer service, and boy, are you doing customer service. Don’t be afraid to close up shop for a quick break; you will do no good to your table if you’re stressed out, so take a break every so often and enjoy your bathroom breaks. Take a few minutes too long to get a drink or something, and try to allow for some time to explore the convention or go to a few panels. This is why you should always have help: Teamwork does more than make the dream work; it gives you someone else to commiserate with if nothing else.

1) Have An Exit Strategy

You need to plan for two issues: What to do with surplus goods and tearing things down. You’re unlikely to sell everything you brought to sell, so you need to have a plan for what to do with any surplus stock. The obvious way is to slash prices drastically the last couple of hours and/or just give it away for free. This will cut into potential profits, but at least you don’t have to deal with it. The other extreme is to pack it away and figure out how to transport it home, with plans to sell it or use it for prizes or other marketing purposes.

You’re also going to need to tear the booth down and transport it home. You can always pack it up and ship it home (just like it the surplus merch) or you can just trash it and accept the loss plus deal with remaking the signage at a later date. Heck, you could also sell it with appropriate signatures.

The bottom line is that no matter how you plan to deal with the surplus merch and signage have a plan.

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Making money at a convention isn’t that hard. The biggest problem is getting some buzz going about your book; solve that problem and apply some basic planning and you should do well at any convention.