Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comics harrassment, livestream, zenescope

Comic Store In Your Future – Joining The Zenescope Retailer Livestream

Rod Lamberti of Rodman Comics did a Zenescope Livestream event for his store, over two hours and ended up making over a grand.

Zenescope has been publishing comics for years, and of all the publishers I have dealt with, Zenescope has been the one I have communicated with the most. This led me, earlier this year, to attend my first-ever VIP Zenescope Event in Las Vegas. At the Zenescope VIP Event, I was told that some comic stores have refused to do a Zenescope Retailer Livestream with them, and I was surprised.

A Zenescope Retailer Livestream is an online shopping channel-style event that people watch to buy products directly from them through social media. Zenescope shows off various products, and people purchase in the comments section what they want during the broadcast. Zenescope teams up with a comic store for a livestream by live video and presents interviews and talks with the comic store owner. Zenescope unveils new collectible covers, prints, and more to buy directly through them during the livestream. When teaming up with a comic store, the owner may give a tour of their store during the livestream and answer questions from Zenescope. Most of the livestream is Zenescope selling their goods while not even being in the same state the comic store owner is in.

I remember that I was reluctant to do the first one. I had never used my phone to record or for a livestream before. I am more of a behind-the-scenes type of person, not a person who wants to go on the internet and go hey, look at me; I am licking an airplane toilet seat to get noticed. Yes, that has happened. I have learned to try new things, push my boundaries, and do things that will help the store, but toilet licking is right out.   Half the sales go to the store when Zenescope offers to partner with a comic store by having a Zenescope Retailer Livestream. Zenescope supplies what goes for sale, and they handle the shipping, including both the cost and actual shipping of the products.

Stores that are part of the Zenescope Retailer Livestream can also get limited-edition printed posters with their store's logo on them. How did my first Livestream go? Well, I made mistakes. I watched a previous Zenescope Retailer Livestream to get a feel for what would happen, but during my first livestream, UPS delivered that week's comics right in the middle of it. I wasn't sure of myself because I had never used my phone for a livestream before. Was it correctly showing the products my store offered while walking around? When I held the phone up to talk, was it just half my face showing on the screen?

Zenescope Livestream – what will your customers say?

I was glad when it was finished, and I figured it was on during the day, so most of my customers would not have seen it. How wrong I was. An hour later, one came in and told me he had watched it and thought it was good, and then others followed suit. I have no idea if I was good; I just tried and figured that was the best I could do. After roughly two hours out of my life, I would return to my regular store routine. Months later, a check from Zenescope arrived, which shocked the heck out of me. Fifty dollars? No. Hundred? No. Hundreds? No. Four figures. I had never made so much money for roughly two hours of work that did not directly involve products from my store.

When Zenescope offered to do another Livestream with me, I was more than happy. This time, I pushed it a lot more to my customers, and I felt much more comfortable because I had an idea of what I was in store for. It also helped me do the Thursday Rrrrrodcasts we started through Facebook over a year ago. I simply sell various comics on it by letting people bid on them. Some of the comics are Zenescope because they are popular and sell for us, but I learned that a podcast is not usually live, so it was changed into the Rrrrrod Livestream. And bringing people into the store to pick up what they won has brought new customers through the doors. If Zenescope calls your store wanting to do a live stream, I strongly encourage you to do it or even reach out to them now. What have you got to lose except a couple of hours and a sliver of your dignity?

I look forward to when Zenescope wants to team up with Rodman Comics for another livestream—hint, hint.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!