Free vs Paid Content

genjiOtori 2016-06-29 10:56:39 UTC #1

I'm currently struggling the battle between free and paid content. Since I want to sell my manga as a printed version on conventions I feel like cheating the guys who buy my books when there is the full book available to read online for free.
So I came up with the idea to only publish the sketches online - the inked version is available for patrons and in the prints.
The people reading my manga got a one-shot fully inked and a teaser in color for free to see my overall drawing skills.

When I continued to upload the first chapter as pencils only I got bad ratings (not here on tapas but on other plattforms) and I fear people hate it now (well, it doesn't have the same art quality anymore, of course).

The second idea I had: I'm doing a little extract, e.g. I only publish the first XX% of story and people have to buy the book to read the rest. But this has the big disadvantage that the online story is fragmented and when starting a new chapter it's somehow spoiling the end of the previous one.

What are your opinions on paid content? How would you deal with it? Do you have any advices? Or is it better to publish everything for free and don't earn money with making comics as long as you aren't popular?

Mharz 2016-06-29 11:11:44 UTC #2

My plan on my webcomic's printed version is to have an extra chapter that I will not upload online or anywhere else. That way, those who have paid for the prints will have an extra bonus as compensation. I also edited the main pages to be different compared to what I uploaded online. That's just me anyway.

genjiOtori 2016-06-29 11:17:34 UTC #3

Thanks for sharing your experience. If it's ok I want to ask some questions about your strategy:

Is this chapter part of the story or just extending the universe?
My thoughts are: Why should they buy the book if the extra chapter isn't contributing to the story? And if it's part of the story how to deal with the gap in the online story /@_@\

So many question making me headaches that I want to quit publishing my story at all.

Mharz 2016-06-29 11:23:24 UTC #4

It's actually somewhere in the middle. Let's just say it won't affect the current plot flow of online pages but it definitely reveals something important for the future plot.

I totally feel you about this but I want to gain as many audience as I could so I have to post online. Plus your loyal fans will definitely be willing to pay.

sistalsartworkshop 2016-06-29 11:30:10 UTC #5

Well I am far from pronting mine, but in my mind the printed version you have to sell it because of the cost of printing, and the feel of reading on paper is very different than on line. But adding content in the printed version feels logical, but I wouldn't downgrade the only version, and I wouldn't block a part of the story in a paid content because it would feel cheep. But maybe adding concept art, illustration, or small episode that have no impact on the story, maybe even like an episode not cannon to the true story.
However I do understand putting a paid wall, as it is very usefull if you want to make money, and we all know it is hard to earn money.

genjiOtori 2016-06-29 11:43:21 UTC #6

I also don't like to hide part of the story online. It feels just wrong to put a wall on important plot points. But I also want a concept to balance both. And with money (not only to cover printing cost but to actually pay taxes and bills and maybe buy some food) I can spend more time on creating comics. That would be a win-win for both parties.

sistalsartworkshop 2016-06-29 11:59:19 UTC #7

Well yeah maybe by being very forward on why you sell a print version (to be able to do more comic, and maybe eat some time xD) might help

gateofselidor 2016-06-29 13:05:07 UTC #8

I think most people who buy print editions of webcomics are doing so because they love the webcomic, and they don't care that they're paying money for something available for free - they want to support it and have a copy in case it ever gets taken down. Many webcomics encourage purchases by including bonus short comics and so on, nothing vital to the plot, but extra bits of backstory and fanservice that dedicated readers might be interested in.

Posting preview chapters to webcomic communities is a risky move. People are there for free comics, and there are plenty of other things to read if they can't read all of yours. A preview likely won't draw them in enough to get them invested. When I see someone using this approach, I generally think that they're a bit naive, probably used to printed issues, and don't understand how webcomics and their readers work. That they see all the potential readers but don't really understand them. I can only think of one successful webcomic that works this way, and the author posts maybe two thirds or three quarters of each volume (so multiple chapters) online before requiring you to purchase the book. Some people complain, but enough are hooked to buy it.

69Michi 2016-06-29 13:21:20 UTC #9

Took the words right out of my mouth LMFAO.
But yes, I agree with what @gateofselidor said. I'm not big on printed version of anything but I did once spent over $100, buying the printed version of a novel that I love so much from all the way in China despite there is copy of it everywhere online for you to read. What else? The entire book is of course in Chinese, and I don't understand Chinese, not even a single bit. (The online version is alread translated to my mother language), but I still bought it because I love the series so much to not have a hard copy of it in my hand. The printed version has the author's hand signature along with extra illustration art and a few extra side chapters that was never published online (because you can never have enough of something you like). Maybe you can go somewhere along that line?

genjiOtori 2016-06-29 13:33:10 UTC #10

Thanks @gateofselidor and @69Erocento for those insights I fear that I'm far from being so popular that I have such hardcore fans ^^ It's a long and hard way to gain more readers but I think I'm on a good track. I want to spend more time on creating and I try to figure out how people like to support artists. So your opinions are really valuable for me.

But what I experienced: people are more likely to buy my books on conventions because they get to know me and it's easy to get in contact with me. I don't want to "betray" them by putting everything online for free and I don't know if the additional content is attractive enough to buy a whole book (<- maybe that's my lack of self-confidence speaking).

AnnaLandin 2016-06-29 13:40:35 UTC #11

People like having physical copies, though. I've got Grassblades available online for free - but I've also got a collected edition of the first 3 chapters in print that I've sold at cons (and will hopefully soon also sell online), and not ONE person has complained about it, or decided not to buy it once they find out it's a webcomic.

They pick up a comic they like, and decide to support the creator of it.

It's the same reason people support webcomic-Kickstarters - they've already read the thing, and know they like it, and now they want a physical copy to keep on their shelf. It's also a way to support the creator of the thing they like, even though they've got free access to the work.

I also use Patreon to support myself while I do this, and people who back me on Patreon for $3 or more get to see pages a full week before everyone else. They could just wait a week and get it for free, but they like what I do enough that they want to give me some of their money, and so I give them early access in return.

You could post a preview chapter online, and then offer the rest in print - it works for some people! - but to be able to pull that off, your preview chapter and your work would need to be fairly popular so that you could fund that printing either by Kickstarter or by pre-orders. Printing is expensive!

I printed my run without KS or pre-orders, but I did a fairly small run (100 copies) and I did it specifically for a con, and managed to sell enough to almost cover the entire printing-cost in a single weekend. Not everyone is in that situation, so how you go about it will have to be suited to your circumstances.

shazzbaa 2016-06-29 15:14:01 UTC #12

I toooootally understand this conflict -- trying to do right by the people who spend money on me is part of the reason it took me so long to put together a patreon I was proud of!

It's a lot harder to get hardcore fans when they can't read your story!

At cons, I don't hide that my book is a webcomic. The inside of the book has the website in big letters, there's a little flyer about it being a webcomic you can read online right there on my table, I call it my webcomic.

I mean, heck, most comics, you can sit in a comic shop or whatever and read before you buy them. I always would -- I'd never touch the wrapped-in-plastic ones. And if someone stood in front of my table at a con and read my entire comic, I wouldn't stop them. So letting people do the same thing online doesn't really bother me!

I put concept work in the back of my book as an extra -- it's not to make the purchase "worth it," but more as a way to thank the people who buy books from me by giving them something special. : )

Right now there are a surprisingly large number of people pledging to me on patreon every month just to see my characters answer silly side questions, like "what do you think of the other party members" and "what was it like growing up with magic" and "what are you looking for in a boyfriend." If people connect with your story and your characters, then getting the chance to see little extra moments is cool! I think stuff like that is ideal for exclusive content.

This is a very all or nothing way to look at it!!
Here's the thing -- you have to build up to it either way. You either release your work for free online, and offer people the chance to buy a physical copy or support you on patreon or whatever and wait to build up a readership that's invested enough to do that. Or you hold back part of your work so that people can't see it online, and can't invest in the same way, and wait for a few people to take a chance on it and buy it and hopefully spread the word. Either way, you don't get a lot of interest at first -- you have to build it up. It's up to you which direction you want to lean in.

Other options that might appeal -- the way Kel has run some of her shorter stories is that they go online and are available to read for free while the comic is updating. Once the comic is completed, the whole thing comes offline and is only available if you purchase it. She also did a comic where she finished the whole comic ahead of time, and had the book for sale while the comic was updating -- so you could read the comic as it slowly updated, or you could just buy it if you wanted to go ahead and read the whole thing. There are a lot of different ways to approach it!

Kayke 2016-06-29 15:23:31 UTC #13

Yeah, basically what Shazz said.

I've been publishing my whole comic online and then printing to sell at local comic shops, online, and at conventions. The people buying the print versions know that it's completely online for them to read for free, but they either just prefer print versions or like the comic enough that they want to own it in that format. I've never had anyone complain that it's the same thing they're getting online. If you're concerned about it you can put a few sketches and extras in the back of the book, maybe include stickers or a bookmark?

I feel like my audience grows more quickly online, so I'd be afraid of hurting myself by not showing them the best quality work.

PotooGryphon 2016-06-29 15:51:24 UTC #14

So this question is basically the greatest struggle that ALL content developers online deal with, from webcomics to youtube channels to Netflix.

There are many methods and options to try and I'm not going to say any one method is the correct and only way to do it. However, how I see it, posting my comic online is a way to advertise it, build a reputation, build a readership, and build revenue streams. And the best way to do that is to put my best stuff out there and get as many eyes on it as I can. The content I post isn't exactly free since I earn ad revenue off of it, so in a way, a reader pays for it by viewing ads on the website. [They also have the option of buying printed books and downloadable pdfs off my site] Also, I have a few dedicated patrons that fund my series on Patreon. Building revenue streams is an online content creator's friend.

Keeping material behind pay walls generally don't seem to work for webcomics unless they are XXX rated. Readers would truly have to be very into a series inorder to pay a subscription, however, a lot of people genuinely prefer reading printed copies so selling books along side a free posted webcomic isn't hurting from sales all that much.

Also, as far as conventions go, webcomics is still not a household term. So many people still have no idea what webcomics are. So going to conventions with printed book is fantastic and you can actually get people interested in your web series that way as well. Then they get hooked to your online series, viewing it online build ad revenue, and they purchase the books as you release them to complete their collection. Or flip side, the convention goers found your series online first and excitedly met you at conventions to buy signed copies of your books [always fantastic when this happens to us].

Think about youtube creators really. They post hundreds of hours of seemingly free content on youtube yet they're earning money... How? Ad revenue and patreon. The same tools us comic makers have. If you develop your readership [which takes time] it's possible to make a living making webcomics through ad rev, patreon, and printed book sales.

People put more value in the things they buy, it's true. So having an option to buy books and merch along side of a webcomic series, I highly recommend.

One last thing to consider, if you're ever interested in courting publishers one day with your series or joining highly regarded collectives, these companies will take your work more seriously the larger your readership is. If you can prove to them that you have a product that people want, you're less of a risk to sign on and more likely to land good deals with them. Then those publishers will take care of printing books, getting them into stores, getting you to conventions signing books, and that's when you're really start seeing bigger returns from all your hardwork.

STAFF 2016-06-29 19:38:14 UTC #15

Hi all,

Just a quick note that we are working furiously on new ways to help everyone monetize their work through Tapas...and this seemed like a good time to give a little update.

We are currently working on 3 additional monetization features for the Tapastic community that should start to roll out in the next couple of weeks.

One of them is expanding the ads revenue program to mobile. So, for those who are signed up, they will share ad revenue from a mobile ad at the end of their episode. Pretty much just like on the web.

The other 2 are actually really cool but I can't say much right now because they aren't completely designed and I don't want to mention something that might not actually see the light of day.

BUT! The main point of this reply is that we know how important monetization is to everyone and we are working on almost every conceivable way we can think of to help everyone out in this area.

Thanks!

genjiOtori 2016-06-29 19:48:48 UTC #16

Thank you @CyndiFoster, @Kaykedrawsthings, @shazzbaa and @AnnaLandin for sharing your experience and know how. I will take all your information into account. It really helps to develop a new concept for my webcomic and is wholeheartedly appreciated.

And also thanks to @STAFF for the note. That's really awesome to hear. Can't wait to see what you are currently developing. Thanks for the hard work to make tapas a better place for creators

niinasalmelin 2016-06-29 19:54:46 UTC #17

I'm planning to print first book out of my webcomic in few years. I'm going to print the first books in finnish and when the comic is finished in web, maybe on big collection in english. Anyway it'd include new cover images and maybe some other extra stuff. But mostly the comic would stay the same.

I know myself as a reader, and I want to support works I like by buying them when I have the change. I'll have similar faith in readers, who'll like my stuff enough to support it.

AnnaLandin 2016-06-29 20:14:19 UTC #18

Awesome! This is great news!

I look forward to hearing about the other things as well - I was sad to see the Support Program go, so anything that might fill that gap is going to be welcome!

Shiori_Saku 2016-06-29 21:50:43 UTC #19

I have a new series that I will be starting to release at the end of July or beginning of August BUT I currently have the WHOLE FIRST CHAPTER available in a printed version for purchase (reward on a Kickstarter) which will give anyone who purchases one a head start over online readers + its got some additional content that the online release wont have.

I understand not wanting people to feel cheated but fans of your work may also want the opportunity to own a physical copy of a project they love. That way they can share that interest with friends and family members who might not have an internet connection or maybe they just don't see web content as serious work.
There are still some out there who dont take a story seriously unless its been published. Its a sht way of thinking but the stigma is still out there*
I see physical printing as a way to approach a new audience while rewarding my current fanbase. Its a lot easier (if your going to be selling the printed works at conventions) to show new readers what they are in for and attract them to your other works or to continue to follow the story online as its published ^_^