Do readers get annoyed by daily/frequent updates?

[CaptainUfo]

I'm doing the same thing (daily updates - sorta: I don't release anything during the weekends) for the same reason (huge backlog, 84 pages now, an counting), and it's somewhat working for me; however I must say that I explained my update schedule in the description so that people know what to expect, and that I have a lower amount of subscribers compared to other series that started around the same time (seriously, I've seen series by new authors with 50+ subscribers after just a week, ho do they do that?. Do they bring their own public from home?)

I'm planning to slow down to twice a week by the end of Season one (which will happen in a month or so), and then slow down again to once a week when I get closer to my original release.

[lizm]

I've been updating daily for a while now and all comments I receive about the update schedule are positive. Some people actually check the comic daily and enjoy the frequent updates while others catch up on multiple updates a few days later. From a reader's point of view, personally, I love frequent updates--I subscribe to comics because I want to read more of them after all! And if I'm too busy to read them the day they're published, I'll just catch up whenever I can. No big deal, really.

Don't freak out over watching the subscriber count--it's tempting, but don't. There was a time where I lost more subscribers than I gained and it was really disheartening until I realized some of what's been said before here--e.g. people just bookmarking it and then figuring out it was not their thing, or bots being deleted--and simply stopped watching the counter go up and down. Instead of focusing on the numbers, focus on interacting with your readers and really getting them hooked.

[galebourn]

Hey, thanks for all the posts. I think I'll do bi-weekly updates now and will instead focus on interaction with my readers. I'm just not very good at human interaction in general, but I'll try.

[mariusthered]

I post my comic TalesfromswipecityDaily because it's meant to be that way, like a tv soap. I am slowly getting subs, but I am getting people reading it. (the silent partners lol)

personally i enjoy reading comics with more updates, if they update too slow i grow kinda weary and sometimes loose the plot ( but i have been told i did that years ago)

I would say that it's your buffer that counts, if you have that in place you can speed up postings and slow down as you see fit.

[nathankschulz]

We might be coming down to the difference between posting a page, and wall posts. Post a page and hey its no real problem. That is what this site is for.
Post a ton of wall posts and it feels like things get a little clogged up. I don't know.
I personally don't mind a lot of comic posts.

[galebourn]

I think I've never made a wall-post on my own, only replies. Writing other people without any reason isn't something I can do.

[zerofruits]

I don't mind daily updates - though I might not read the update every time it pops up on my dash (I like binge-reading things). But I think that daily updates can definitely help you to gain more audience - since you will be present on the "fresh" or even "trending" and "popular" section more often (or at least have a higher chance of getting there?). And it's also always good for potential readers that you are still active and they won't have to fear long gaps of not having any new reading material.

I'd say, if you have the time and energy to do daily updates - why not? I would love to update my own series - SHEEP + WOLF more frequently, but due to not having so much time to draw, I have to settle with my current schedule.

What bugs me though are constant wall-posts and such - especially when they don't really have anything to do with the comic or are just random blabbering.

[ToonDoctor]

Daily updates are just fine. Now worries pal.

[efdvorsky]

You might not get an immediate response since some people will then give it a few days to read the bundle, but yeah, there's no problem there far as I know!

[eschaefges]

yeah i have updated 155 days straight and have gained subscribers and viewers steadily - i MAY have gained more if i spaced it out but then again I may not have - many of them have commented how much they love the daily updates!

[Tindabox]

As a personal preference, I like when comics are spaced out a bit so I can have something to look forward to, BUT if I'm caught up in the story I get really frustrated because I just have to know what happens next. If I were you I'd post either 2 or 3 times a week to give yourself a lot of time to work on more.

[DeadAccount]

My main comic updates once a week, but with my side comics/strips, at some point I've been doing daily uploads of the archives and honestly, it worked pretty well and there was a steady growth of subs over those days. Definitely beats uploading the whole thing in one go, anyway.

[MannyMelancholy]

I agree, sporadic wall posts are important because they can let an audience know what major announcements need to be made in regards to the series. It can just feel annoying when wall posts become the substitute to what a twitter or tumblr account should be and I think often times most artist here have such accounts available to their fans. Wall posts can feel like overkill because a creator can also interact with their fans on the comic pages themselves too without any notifications going off like a wall post would do. when it comes to Page posts daily, they are good as long as the content being pumped out is quality.

[nathankschulz]

I knew you'd understand me, Manny!

[Gagovi]

i think tha daily updates are good, then you can read them all at once on weekend.

[Mharz]

I don't think the readers would mind if you do daily updates. Most people prefer to read in batches like I do. I'd totally shoot for daily updates if I had tons of buffer. If I get successful in patreon I might but chances of that happening are zero.

[galebourn]

Lol, I posted an update yesterday and two subscribers left. Pretty weird. Might be really coincidence, but the count always stays the same, as long as I don't do anything.

[Kura]

Logically it should be a good thing, but yeah, some readers WILL drop a series if it updates too frequently, and it's more a tecnical issue with the site than them not liking updates (as in a page everyday, or 2 pages every day) mostly because they have e-mail notifications turned on (so they know when other series they like update), which can really lead to spamage if you follow a daily update series.

There are also some readers who just don't like not being able to stay caught up and will drop a series that updates too often. (again, we're talking daily and daily+ updates here, not once or a few times a week)

Overall though most people like updates, even more points if you're consistent in your schedule.

[galebourn]

Yeah, those emails can be a bit annoying. I'm subscribed to my own comic, so I can use the drop-down-list to quickly go there and edit it and I have the email notification activated. What I noticed is that Tapastic sends me random mails, even if I don't update a page. I often get new emails, at the weirdest times, saying the comics just updated, even when I did absolutely nothing. The mails always link to older pages, not really sure what's going on there.

[Doubtcent]

It all depends. Based on how Tapastic works, you want to update frequently so that your comic shows up in the Fresh category more often. But it also depends on the time of day, on your exposure, and on your initial popularity.
I personally create 4 different comics, each updating once a week, (Well, I'm on hiatus for health issues right now) and I got a pretty decent response in subscribers and in feedback because my subscribers can look at what they want at their own pace. It all depends on what's comfortable for you.
There are actually a lot of comics out there that update daily, and they get tons of views and responses. It's all pretty random, so you gotta find your spot and hopefully find that it works.
For your type of comic, I'd put it maybe around twice a week rather than every day.
I've also noticed that if you promise to upload on certain days, there's a sort of Reader-Creator loyalty that starts to happen. I promised to upload once a week on Mondays for my main running series, and it works pretty well. I also try to update earlier in the day, that way if I get more likes, I'm more likely to show up on the trending or popular tab by the end of the day.
You've just gotta experiment with your update days and times.