How Common is it For People to Push Their Comic?

[ericsalinas149]

I only share a comic with another creator if we had done something similar themed. Even then, I ask if they want to see the link. I hate when strangers ask me to look at their page so I try not to be as annoying as possible when I reach out to other cartoonists.

[Rhombik]

It's funny this thread is up because I just saw (not here but somewhere else) somebody push their comic where they shouldn't have and somebody else reject it rather brutally.

Not a good look for either of them.

If you do get spammed, it's probably better to ignore it then reject the person, especially if it's in public.

[ISNEKO]

It annoys me completely to get a PM asking to check out a comic out of the blue by someone I've never seen before, presumably because I've just updated and they're spamming everyone in the Fresh list.

I block them. Like useless email spam.

[indagold]

It makes you look like a full fledged attention seeking asshole...I can't sugar coat spammers. Its a terrible tactic, no one is going to read your comic like that. It just makes people upset and will likely flag your comments as spam or at most block you.

[Lennart]

Well, i've begun to do it when i realized several people contacting me this way had an exponential growth doing so, but i quickly stopped after a first few days, it was really tiring (it's just fucking mind crushing for me to get from people to people and with my health issues i don't know why i would tire after an hour doing it, my eyes would close and i had to resort to have a fan blowing cold air on my face to keep being awake, it's a very very tedious thing and it's like, draining energy from your soul x) or it might be that i was in a very low depressive state at that time because i have those kind of health / mental issues and it can happen that i sleep for 12 hours sometimes.) and a really, really huge waste of time when i could be drawing instead or make blog posts pertaining to things i am really interested into, interact on other social medias.

So i am guilty to have done it out of experiment, it's true that you get a whole lot more readers this way as you are not being shown on front pages or any other ways than updating your webcomic, wich i do maybe once or twice per month in bulk of a lot of pages. You could say i could just upload one page from time to time to get more exposure, but people like it when i give them at least 4 / 5 pages to read at a time, or more, it kills the growth taking this much time between updates, health and psychological / anxiety and maniaco - depression issues doesn't help much either.

I also think it's about "how" you contact people, when i've done it, i asked politely, it was a question, if i could invite them to try it out without forcing the manoeuver or seem harrassing, unpolite, you have to at least put the manners and the correctness while doing so. Some people don't even ask a question doing it, they almost urge or rush you to check it out, wich is not how you invite people to 'try' it to see if they like it.

[FatedComics]

I find this really kind of annoying as well because I don't know how to respond, I don't want to offend them or anything so I take a look at their comic. Sometimes there'll be great ones that you're interested in and are happy that the creator told you about their work (for example Lennart above sent me a request to take a look at their comic and I absolutely love it) but others I subscribe so that I don't offend the artist, and I know it sounds stupid but I'm really afraid of that.

It gets to a point where I dismiss their updates so that I can work on my own comic so it's not really that beneficial for the creator or the person they're advertising too. It's a good thing the forums exist because you can shamelessly self-promote your work in a place that doesn't seem so intrusive.

[gh0stcr33p]

idk it doesn't seem that common but someone kinda advertised their comic in the comment section of one of my chapters..

[Rhombik]

This is beautiful because at least some people who think this is a great tactic will see this thread and hopefully change their minds.

The other danger with the spam method is that people might get the idea that you'll sub back if you're into getting followers that kind of way and un-sub if you don't.

[MGComics]

I don't like it. Specially because even If the comic is good it may be a genre or art style I'm not interested about.

I prefer letting people have a more organic choice. Like the shoutout in Tapastic doesn't put you as a reader or fellow creator in evidence, people can check it out but unless they tell you, you wouldn't know who viewed.

And If they don't like what they see they just don't suscribe.

People writing "check out my comic" on a wall puts you in evidence, and If you care enough, now that comic creator knows you didn't like their work.

I don't care much and ignore them, but I do feel a bit guilty sometimes which causes me to be anoyed in general about that way of promoting.

I have stopped suscribing to comics I don't like. I barely have time to check comics I like so... yeah. There are even a couple of comics waiting in my library and I haven't had time to read them well, even though the art and story seem gorgeous.

[DiegoPalacios]

I think pushing someone`s comic in the wall of someone is counterproductive, It makes people seem desperate and is invasive and anoying. No one likes someone who enters unanounced or a door to door salesman.

The key of succesfull marketing is making it feel organic. You dont want to look like an ad. People skip ads.

[KoreanTacos]

yeesh I was bitching about this a month ago in the Bitching thread (I'm not looking for it again). All I have to say is the people who spam their work are essentially saying: "I don't know who my demographic is and I don't care." and "My comic isn't strong enough to stand out on its own." I get that these people want their work to be appreciated, but it's hard to appreciate something if the creator is choosing such an ass hat way to advertise their work.

[Benetnasch]

It's only happened to me once so far, and it really caught me off guard because I have no idea how they stumbled upon me in the first place. I was more annoyed by someone who I've also not had any prior contact with messaging and talking to me as if I were an old friend. That confused me more, as there was no clear goal, and I am...not a very social person.

[LyliClovis]

So far, I haven't had anyone push their comic on me.
It would make me less likely to check it out if they're trying to push me to do something (such as read their comic).
If I like an artist or if they bring it up casually in a conversation, such as, "Man I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten all day because I've been focusing too much on my comic OTL"

If I'm curious, I would probably ask "Oh, what is it about?"
Since I'm the one asking, then I'm actually interested in hearing about their work and I think this is a good way to go about it.

However, please don't spend 40 minutes talking to me about the plot, characters, etc. I've had one of my friends do this and it was a little annoying. Just give a quick summary about it, and move onto the next conversation topic. If I like the summary enough, I'll definitely be sure to check it out on my own time.

I hope this didn't sound mean, but these are just my thoughts ^ q ^;;

[IdiotWithPencil]

And I mean pushing it on other people's walls or in a PM.

never do this, it's annoying and opportunist -_-, at most usually we go to subscribers wall and put a "thank you for subing to comic X" and a picture, but just PMing or saying you could be interested in X is to spammie and will damage your comic more than help =/

[SpavVy]

It's only happened to me a couple of times like two or three and I've been using this site for a few years. Even though it rarely happens to me I will admit it's annoying as hell! One time I even saw a guy plug in his own comic on someone else's work. Not sure if the artist ever ended up ripping him a new one or not.

[Heliox14]

So here's the million-dollar question.

How would you push your comic without looking like an ad? Or a jackass?

I'm legitimately curious at this point.

[KoreanTacos]

How would you push your comic without looking like an ad? Or a jackass?

First off, research and understand your target audience. Not everyone is wanting to read your work just as not everyone would want to read mine.

Instead of just personally messaging "anybody" and distracting them from their own personal life for a few seconds perhaps find people who are already subbed to similar work as your own. Instead of just saying something vague like "HEY! Like your work check out mine!" Perhaps asking them "Sorry to bother you, but why do you like _______" Get into a conversation with the person instead of coming off like some door to door salesman. If the conversation goes well and comfortably perhaps you should check out their work and suggest they check out yours too as a form of mutual respect and an attempt to understand your potential audience. It doesn't come off as aggressive and perhaps you can build a deeper connection while also potentially gaining a new follower.

Join communities that specialize in advertising work or if you're that concerned make one yourself. Start a twitter community similar to @Comicbookhour and start to build a community of like minded people to advertise your work.

There's always someone posting a "Post your comics below" forum post. Advertise there, maybe someone will check it out there.

Suggest your already established audience to share your work with their friends/family, maybe they know people who might like to read your work as they are more likely to be close friends with people who are like minded.

The whole comic/novel making in a large community such as Tapas is like anyone will tell you, "A game of patience." When you get impatient then the chances of mess ups are more likely to occur. Got to respect others before they can respect you and your work.

I hope this helps give you an idea. Sorry if it is not the answer you are seeking.

[Heliox14]

Thanks!
I'll try to incorporate these soon enough.
(If I have time ... )

But still, nothing beats surprising random passers-by, giving them a copy of your works, and tell them to read it.
READ IT.

[DiegoPalacios]

Aha!!!!, somebody called an advertising student???
(sorry, got excited)

There are many tricks to do that.

I will asume we don`t have money to advertise in this scenario in case budget is a problem.

Before advertising/marketing make sure your content can give a good first impression.

1-Viral Marketing: to get people to talk about your comic and share it. Which kind of viralization works depends of your content. For example, "Leaking" some fake spoiler about your comic on social media, or an image that calls atention without context may cause people to share it.

2-As KoreanTacos said, encouraging viewers to share your comic can work wonders. If they love your work they will not have problem sharing it, and the credibility of a friend/ family/ a person you trust is stronger than any ad.

3-Memes: well, you cant force memes, but you can encourage them with your content. For example, a memorable quote, memorable scene, an epic facial/body expression can do wonders. Even a scene that break people`s hearts can become iconic. As long as it is memorable.

I admit i am trying to make my comic as memorable as possible with this as one of the reasons. How well/bad this works the future will tell. Even in the scenario it doesnt work, this will be usefull to help me write better.

4-And of course you have forum marketing:

Share your comic in apropiate topics. For example, one about describing your OC`s. If you have good knowledge about an aspect of making comics, like art, composition, writing, characterization, etc.. you can give feedback when it comes to the aspects you know well.
At least two of my readers got interested in reading my comic for the feedback/opinion i shared.

Also, the description. Choose your words so your comic wakes the curiosity and interest of people, but your description must tell the truth.

Hope this helps!

[tsukasafantc]

wow! I leave for a day and a full on conversation started!
I'm not used to my threads getting any attention!

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and views on the matter!

I wasn't really worried about pushing my comics this way, I was just curious if the "culture" on this website viewed this as a positive thing or a negative thing. I was curious if I was alone in feeling annoyed, or if others were with me on the feeling.