So I've been a creator here for over a year now, and as I've been creating, I've found out that there's a lot people that don't know about how to begin here on Tapastic. So I thought I'd share some answers to the most common questions:
How do you make a comic/get good at making a comic?
Simple. Get started. The hardest part of actually making a series is simply starting it. Really. You can plan all you want and promise the world, but unless you actually start the process, you'll never put yourself out there or get any better. Get working and then you'll find yourself better than you were a few weeks ago.
When should I upload?
There is no answer to this other than "consistently". Plan a day to upload, be it once a week or twice a week, or even once every two weeks. Figure out what kind of schedule works for you. As for which time of day or what days are good to upload on, nobody really knows. It's like the weather. Experiment on your own a bit and you'll find some time-frame that works. Also, planning ahead on which day to upload allows readers to have not only an expectation for your comic, but it can also start a sort of subscriber-creator loyalty. Promise to upload a certain amount of times a week, and if you don't deliver, don't worry. Just apologize and keep going. This site and its readers are very forgiving.
What do I do once I gain followers?
Tapastic encourages your involvement in your comic's comment section, and I agree. If someone comments something on your comic, reply if there is something to reply. (However, to reply to every last thing can bring the thought of desperation to the readers, and you don't want that) There's a balance of how much you should reply to comments, like towards questions or maybe with the most inventive comments. Do your best to engage with your followers, but don't be overbearing. Also, take care of them. If someone subscribes, you can say thanks on their wall. If you hit a milestone, thank your subscribers. Give them a gift as thanks. Give them a shoutout. Simply, never take your fans for granted. EVER.
What is reader burn?
Reader burn is when you upload too much all at once, like twenty episodes in one day, which can overwhelm potential readers, or even existing ones. Unless you decide to upload one page every day like some comics do, it's best to upload a few comic pages at a time every few days or every so often. Pay attention to the attention spans of your followers! If they stick around for one-page updates, see how far you can push the envelope so you can gain more of a following. Of course, it all has to do with how you want to upload or what's going on in your individual episode. What also works is that if you are ahead of schedule, or have a "buffer" of content, you can move the publishing date of your next episodes to later on, giving yourself a bit of time to keep working and the readers something to always look forward to. Also, it allows your comic to appear in the "Fresh" section more often (you can only appear there once a day).
How do I create something original?
It is said that if you take five men, have them write about the same lamp, you will get descriptions of five different lamps. Even if a joke has been done before (to death) there is always a new and creative angle that can be found about it. You just have to find something about an idea that no one may have thought about and make it your own. Also, you may notice that many strips here on Tapastic, especially the more popular ones, seem to have a similar sense of humor. But please, don't let that stop you from doing your own thing. Try to keep your jokes and story-lines original even if it starts off as a niche audience. There's no doubt that someone out there might like your comic.
How do I gain followers?
Well, I'll tell you what not to do, which is to be a beggar. Don't ask straight up for someone to subscribe to you. It can come off as rude and egotistical, even if that wasn't your intent. No one wants to help a beggar. What you can do is comment intelligent, meaningful or just funny stuff on other comics, share your comic on social media sites, and show yourself on the forums. This also means being respectful not to shamelessly plug your comic on other creator's walls or in their comment section. Just being there helps other readers to see your sense of humor or personality, and if they enjoy what you say, they just might go and see if you have your own comic strip full of it. You should have confidence in your series, and that confidence can attract followers. Also, if you want your followers to share your content or just like your content, do the same to other comics. Helping others is a two way street. You're not so much better than everyone that you don't have time to be involved with other comics or your fanbase.
How do I get more feedback?
That little description section at the bottom of your comic is a great way to get readers involved. Ask a question that adds to your comic to spark a conversation, or perhaps ask for your current subs to help share your comic on other sites. Also, you can start a Q&A session, host contests like caption contests, funniest comment contests, or fan-art contests if your subs are creators as well. Just please ask for it in a nice way, but not in a way that sounds obnoxious or desperate.
How do I find a die-hard audience?
You don't. They find you.
If you have any amount of subscribers, keep practicing with your current skills and style, and stick with it. Some might discover you and decide to be interested in where you go. Keep working hard at it so you find your spot on the shelf. Of course if you don't want to keep doing it, then do whatever you want. It's your comic in the end, although starting over can be harmful for your series (although revamps are okay if they're well executed and don't interfere with anything). So even if it's just ten subscribers, those ten might only be the beginning.
Is it okay to have mutual subscriptions?
A lot of us as creators find the sub-for-sub as being dishonest. If you like a comic, subscribe. Don't subscribe just because someone subscribed to you. It's fine to check out what they've made, but don't subscribe to their series just to be nice. If you see potential, maybe it can be worth it to stick with them, but it will outright hurt a growing creator if they got a lot of subscribers in this manner, but none of them may actually find the content to their liking.
How can I help another creator who could use more exposure?
Many new series never get out of the low tens for subscribers. If you yourself have escaped from that black hole, look out for others who might need that little bit of help. Even if you yourself have not received this kind of help, you can always do it by giving them a shoutout on the forums or on your wall. But be honest how you feel about their series as well. You're not a saint if you just promote comics all willy nilly. Be sincere about your shoutouts.
How do I gain readership on Tapastic?
One way is to make your comic more readable on a mobile device. Tapastic encourages a streamlined, infinite scrolling type of webcomic. You don't have to make your comic this way, but almost all traditional comics can be transitioned to this format with a little editing. Also, make sure your wording is legible. Making your font size bigger or clearer, cleaning up your lines, and keeping your content high-quality helps a lot. Also, if your comic reads differently, (say right to left instead of left to right) make that apparent at the beginning.
Wait, there's a community here?
A lot of creators don't know this, but there's a forum. If you're reading this, you already know. If you are involved in conversations here at the forum, you just might create some interest in your comic. To shamelessly plug your comic is fine around here. Everyone does it, but be polite when and where you do it. Make interesting posts as well. Introducing your comic or maybe just asking a question or topic is great. It'll get more people interested in you, and if they're interested in you, they might be interested in your comic. And even if you're suddenly an overnight hit, you should do your best to stay around and contribute your thoughts or advice on the forums as well. This place is for everyone, not just those who are aching to find a following.
How come I'm not popular already? I just posted all of my stuff yesterday.
If you are familiar with Tapastic, either if you're a reader or a creator, you'll notice a lot of new series suddenly appear and receive tons of praise. You may think while looking at the "Tapastic Staff Picks" section, "I could do that too" (just about everyone has). The thing is, most popular creators here on Tapastic already have a following someplace else, either from here on Tapastic, from Tumblr, or other comic sharing sites. By promoting that particular series, those fans can carry over, and for Tapastic, this is a great opportunity for more accounts, but not always for brand new creators who want to solely create on Tapastic. But give it time. Things can happen if you work hard, promote yourself, and keep moving forward.
I've been here a long time and people just haven't been subscribing. What can I do?
A lot of times you'll wonder why people have not been subscribing to you. You've been making stuff for a long time, have gotten better at art and story, but for some reason, nobody wants to join you on your venture. Why? A big reason is exposure. There are a lot of comics here on Tapastic, and they'll soon be drifting towards novels. There will be a lot of content coming in soon, and it'll continue to grow as time goes on. So what can you do to gain more subscribers? Expand your reach for exposure. Be involved on other sites and content creating areas. Grow your social media presence through posting not just links to your comic, but by posting fan art, extras, and other things that might get people steered toward your content. You can post as much as you want here, but if no one gets to see it, then what's the point? You've gotta be a little pushy and start showing yourself off a bit more.
What can I do to be different on Tapastic?
When you start a series, you'll find some fun and new ways to present your comic. These innovations can make you stick out amongst the crowd. Also, don't be afraid to experiment by drawing in a different style, coloring differently, or even changing the overall direction of your comic. If it works for you and makes it easier to produce content, go for it.
Why was this guy so mean? I just wanted a review of my comic.
For those asking for some constructive criticism, or just those who want to put their comic out there, be aware that not everyone's gonna like your comic. This is the internet after all, and Tapastic just so happens to be a on the nicer side. But give it time, and you might find someone or many out there who will give you a full analysis of your comic and say why they don't like it. Be prepared to get them now, and when you do don't become bitter or ignore everything that says your comic isn't all that great. Better yet, wonder why they didn't like it and take their opinion as something positive to improve your work. Also, grow a thick skin for the real haters, or those just there to hate something for the sake of hating. Since not everyone is going to be constructive critical to your comic, train yourself not to care if people simply say they don't like your comic because they don't like it.
This artist has really good artwork. Is there any way I can be that good? I doubt it.
A lot of us may feel this way, especially when looking at the popular section. You may feel that your comic or content is lacking in comparison, or that your art and story, or something, is inadequate for this site. We all constantly compare ourselves to other people's work, and sometimes, it feels like there's no hope or reason to even start here on Tapastic at all. However, all the greats in comics or in any other art form started somewhere. The best thing to do when comparing is wonder how they did it, and maybe try to emulate them to get better. Who knows? Maybe in a few years people might look at your stuff before long and be envious at how good you've become. We all have to start somewhere.
I've been staring at my statistics page. Why isn't it doing anything?
First of all, it takes time for the servers to catch up to the previous day's stats. Eventually it will show what activity has gone down. Second of all, if there is evidence of slowing down or certain stats not working properly, there might be a glitch in the system, so open a new forum post and ask the staff what's going on. @michaelson , @STAFF , or other moderators will do their best to answer if there's a major problem. Finally, it could just be an off day. Be patient, and use that time you're wasting on staring at your dashboard on actually creating and getting better at comics.
I just lost a subscriber. What did I do wrong?
This is a big one. First of all, some readers use the subscription button as a bookmark, just so that they can read your stuff later. If they then stumble upon your series again but decide they don't like it, they might leave due to disinterest. It's not your fault, it's just not their cup of tea. Also, try to give readers a reason why they should stay. Readers often come for the art and stay for the story. Be interesting and original, and more people will stay. Also, don't downright offend someone just because they might have said or done something wrong. That could lead to a lot of backlash.
If there are any other questions, I'll try to add them to this list.