Attracting New Readers: What's working?

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jacovny
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Attracting New Readers: What's working?

Post by jacovny »

SpideySavesTheDay is right, this needed a new title. I'll paste the initial posts below. What I'm interested in learning, as someone who was out of comics for over 15 years: how are modern comic book readers being drawn into the hobby? As I mention below, the "gateway" into comics for my generation (Saturday morning cartoons & heavily marketed action figures) doesn't exist anymore. Nor do I see a lot of 11-year-olds buying comics these days. If anyone has studied and researched these things, I'd be curious to know (1) the average age of the modern comic book reader, (2) at what average age one typically BECOMES a reader/collector in the modern era, and (3) by what means these folks are being lured into comic book shops?

I was pulled into comic collecting at the age of 11. I had grown up watching "Super-Friends" on television, and then playing with D.C.'s "Super Powers" line of action figures. When I saw all my favorite characters on the cover of "Legends #1" (rendered by Jon Byrne), I was hooked for life. I begged for that comic. Mom was skeptical at first, until she realized my vocabulary was soaring and started giving me monthly comic book allowance. And at 75 cents an issue, I could run down and try one anytime I had spare change.

Nothing about that scenario works today. A number of children I've spoken to at work aren't even aware that comic books are still being published. My teenage nephew has enjoyed the last 10 years of superhero films, and while he'll sometimes pick my brain for background knowledge before a movie like "Guardians of the Galaxy", he still has zero interest in reading comics -- like most other teens I've known, he considers it a bit silly. I'm wondering what the path to reading/collecting comics is like today, and a what age one typically gets hooked.


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This topic officially needs a new title but we've had this conversation before (see attracting and keeping readers). I, for one, am glad we are discussing it. When looking at free digital, Boing Boing is offering the first issue of The Bunker. I'm not familiar with Boing Boing and stumbled on the free offering by reading a comic blog. Is the average tablet owner familiar with Boing Boing? Probably not as familiar as with Comixology, yet The Bunker is $1.99 on the #1 digital comics app. Hard to imagine The Bunker's tpb jumping in sales from this marketing strategy. Unless a big name is offering a free digital comic, The Bunker and numerous other indie books will not be noticed.
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JohnMayo
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

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jacovny wrote: (1) the average age of the modern comic book reader,
(2) at what average age one typically BECOMES a reader/collector in the modern era, and
(3) by what means these folks are being lured into comic book shops?
Those are some great questions. The difference between the first two questions would also indicate the average length of time readers have been around which would be interesting to know.
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drew
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

Post by drew »

drew102e wrote:
gotta focus on digital, that's the only way to get new users in the tent...
John wrote: Digital is a great way to get new readers but it isn't the only way and it may or may not be the best way.
any other format seems like a dead end, it's like the music industry asking how can we get folks to buy more CDs, you can't, but itunes can get them buying music again...
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

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drew102e wrote:any other format seems like a dead end, it's like the music industry asking how can we get folks to buy more CDs, you can't, but itunes can get them buying music again...
I agree that the focus should be on getting people reading comics regardless of the format. However, that doesn't mean giving up on print and only focusing on digital. Certainly digital has lots of advantages and will sell well to a certain crowd. There is also a crowd that print will inherently sell better to than digital. Either way, focusing on getting people to read comics in whatever format works for them is the end goal.

As for getting people to buy CDs, I know a few who still do that because they want something tangible and they want the artwork and liner notes that come with a CD but not the digital downloads. For that matter, I know someone that last I checked was still buying vinyl records.
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

Post by drew »

JohnMayo wrote:
drew102e wrote:any other format seems like a dead end, it's like the music industry asking how can we get folks to buy more CDs, you can't, but itunes can get them buying music again...
I agree that the focus should be on getting people reading comics regardless of the format. However, that doesn't mean giving up on print and only focusing on digital. Certainly digital has lots of advantages and will sell well to a certain crowd. There is also a crowd that print will inherently sell better to than digital. Either way, focusing on getting people to read comics in whatever format works for them is the end goal.

As for getting people to buy CDs, I know a few who still do that because they want something tangible and they want the artwork and liner notes that come with a CD but not the digital downloads. For that matter, I know someone that last I checked was still buying vinyl records.
sure i would like print to still be viable; i love reading comic books after all, but i really want the stories to continue and that will take alot more people buying comics than currently do and those of us who buy print comics ain't getting any younger...BUT if there is a base of lots of digital readers, maybe that can subsidize the print side

i know a few people that still buy vhs, but that doesn't make that format worth supporting
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

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drew102e wrote:i know a few people that still buy vhs, but that doesn't make that format worth supporting
Interesting point. I get what you are saying and there is a strong chance digital might become the dominate revenue stream at some point in the future.Currently digital sales seems to be around 15% the volume of print so equating it to VHS is a bit of a stretch.

Bottom line, if you get can people to reader digitally, great. If you can get them to read print comics, which is going to be harder because of the need to get the person into a comic book store that has what they are looking for, that is great too.
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jacovny
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

Post by jacovny »

Personally, I'd be interested in hearing how some of the rest of you came into the hobby. What was your personal gateway into the comic book shop, and do you think your story is one that is typical of other readers, or one that can at least be duplicated with adequate marketing?
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

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I got into comics via the spinner rack at 7-11s and the grocery store. From there I somehow discovered there were comic book shops (probably from the house ads) and used the Yellow Pages to find out near by. I think that is a common story for people who got into comics in the late 1970s through early 1980s.

Given the lack of spinner rack, the story as such can't really be duplicated these days. Replace the spinner rack with digital comics and that path is probably even more available today than it was back then.
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Re: Attracting New Readers: What's working?

Post by SpideySavestheDay »

Maybe this generation will not see comics the way we do. Instead the digital format makes comics just one more piece of entertainment. I came across this infographic a while back. Even though it is about books, I think it has a place in this discussion. What stands out for me is most digital readers will continue to read books in print. A kid reading a comic on a tablet might be interested in visiting a local comic shop. Hopefully from there he becomes a life long reader. I do hope the digital format for comics does become insanely popular among the masses. That can only help the niche market print comics have become.

So if the question is "What is working?" perhaps the answer is or will be digital. It is the new "gateway drug" or "spinner rack" for the industry. A casual fan can simply pick up their device and access comiXology. A child can buy a $3.99 print book for $1.99 digitally. This can be the on ramp the industry needs to continue. I don't believe print media is dead but I do believe it will be complemented by the digital future.

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