Best way to earn subscribers and reads?

[caltravos]

Hello to all!
Since I'm still somewhat new to this platform, I figured I should ask some of the veterans here what are some of the best ways to earn subscribers and reads. I'm looking for the best possible way to get my work and name out there into the world, and I'm sure a lot of newer users are looking for the same thing as well.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Evan]

Well, general starting advice:
Set your expectaions low. You probably won't become popular anytime soon. I've been posting for about 1.75 years and I'm only at 50 subscribers.
Post often but not daily (If you can). 3 times a week is a good rate and you won't suffer from reader burnout, but once a week or even once a month is acceptable.
Post consistiently. It's better to post once a month than to post 3 times a week and then go to a 3 month hiatus.

Once you've started your comic, now you just wait (kinda).
In the meantime, look at other comics on Tapas and comment when you can (don't advertise your comic, just something witty or relating to the comic) and advertise your comics using twitter, facebook, or whatever social media the kids are using these days.

Speaking of which, my own comics:

Penciled | Tapas

Aband | Tapas

Once you get an audience, interact with them. You don't have to make your comic interactive, just respond to their comments and think about adding in their suggestions (if you want to, livestreaming is also a pretty good way to interact with your audience).

[Rhombik]

Oh just to be super patient. There's this myth that successful comic artists will get famous super quick but if you read the how-to blogs of people doing well, they'll all tell you that everybody starts off slow.

Also make sure you love what you're doing. Like choose the ideas that excite you the most and it will be easier to do them when you're suffering a burn out.

[Sanz]

"if you post it, they will come"
was the best advice I ever got from a user here.

[dawgofdawgness]

The best way to earn subs and reads is to NEVER STOP YOUR COMIC!

[dots]

Patience! Networking! Social media! Engagement! Advertisement! Consistency! I think luck has a lot to do with it too - there's really no secret formula to gaining an audience quickly. Some people are lucky and they earn new readers right away. But, that's not always the case and it might take months or years before you gain a big audience.

Also, you'll do better if you find a niche and stick with it. You'll find more luck with appealing to a specific audience than trying to market your comic to everyone. If your comic is about horror, advertise in places that are welcoming of horror. You might even want to table at a horror convention if artist alley is an option.

Also, keep in mind...some genres attract an audience faster than others! I noticed that romance comics do very well here, especially BLs (not hating - a lot of my favorite comics are BLs lol).

[Seokthih]

Oh, I've been creating some series for 6 months and got 2 subs... Just 'cause it was either simply drawn, or was a bit cliche, or I had bad luck, or all this together... Then I started new ones and deleted that one and things went better. As you can see, there must be something that attracts reader.

[Seokthih]

Yeah, BL romances are pretty popular. Personaly I'm not a hater, but I don't care. Here things go pretty tough for fantasy, as I can see... But it's pretty obvious that romances should be popular among most different reader categories. I mean, who doesn't like a love story? I don't! (joking, obviously)Hehehehe!

[Testaccount]

This truly is the best advice!

There are so many people on the interest these days. If you keep writing, you'll be sure to find your audience, even if it's just a niche readership.

[NiLukka]

Be nice to everyone. Keep your promises. Communicate. Appreciate your readers. And have fun - it'll show in everything you do.

[caltravos]

I'm getting the sense of be patient, which I now think should be the best option. However, does anyone know some good ways to advertise my novel and other works.

[Testaccount]

If you want to advertise and grow your readership fast, I don't know if Tapas is the best place for that. Compared to Wattpad, you have a chance to grow your readership way faster since there are more users on the site.

You can post your story on Wattpad and keep posting it on Tapas. Honestly, unless you already have a dedicated following somewhere, I don't know how you can advertise. Like, if you don't already have a following on Twitter, then just posting about your story may not be helpful. The best way to sell something is if you already have the product to sell.

For now, I would just post your story for a while and let some readers find you. Posting on Wattpad, though, may lead to faster results.

[Rhombik]

To just advertise and get yourself out there? I've gotten a lot out of creative writing groups / magazines. They often have monthly events where you can do readings and meet like-minded people. Often they'll publish stuff like poetry, prose, short stories, extracts from novels... You can be supported and support others.

If there's nothing like that in your area, you can probably find some online. I really lucked out because I am from a UNESCO city of literature so when you go down town, you practically fall over writing groups but I know not everywhere has this kind of scene.

If online doesn't appeal, you could always do what my friend did and just make your own writing group. So far, his is doing quite well - and he actually left town and handed over the reins to somebody else - and it's started publishing.

There's also stuff like writing workshops and short story competitions which might cost a bit of your time but if you succeed, you have immediate publicity.

These might seem enormously time consuming but I can tell you that they will help you get eyes on your writing (or ears if you're reading stuff out).