How do people find your comic here (questions from Tapas newbie)?

[anon79307387]

I've been reading stuff in some of the "help" posts, "engage your fans" and "update regularly" and stuff like that but how do you get people to see your stuff here in the first place?

I've put up a few comics in the few days I've been here are a couple have seen it and I have one follower already but outside that, I don't understand how more people will see it.

When you add the "tags" what does that do? How do people on tapas find your stuff and is it only people ON tapas who are finding it? I've looked through the forums for some of these answers but don't really see it so I'm sorry if I'm beating a dead horse with these questions.

Thanks.

[Jenny-Toons]

A lot of times, the tags might not help. Searching for a particular comic on TAPAS can lead to other comics, mostly those ranked highest with the same words.

I say one of the best ways people get an audience is engaging in the forums. There are a lot of topics here that show recent pages, promotions, and feedback. Lemme just show you a few:

Hey guys, I've noticed that because of the feature system on tapastic some really good comics are even way under 50 subscribers. I know there's already a thread for creators with comics under 100 subscribers but I feel as if some comics just get lost in there. So if you guys suggest comics of others or your own with under 50 subscribers that you think are promising, just reply and I'll put up the list and update it once a comic gets 50+ subscribers Here's to reaching milestones!! ;D Edit: Re…

Continuing the discussions from New Webtoons Pledge Eligibility, let this thread specifically be for Networking and finding others to Cross-Promote with, on both Tapas and LINE Webtoon. What is Cross-Promotion? Unlike sub-4-subs, cross-promotion means two creators are promoting each other's comics. It is simply a recommendation section for your readers, meaning it is up to them to check out the other comic or not. On Webtoons, the current method is to include a picture of the other comic'…

Haha Not going to lie this is actually the first time I've made a forum of my own so this should be interesting! Hello! My name is Keir and I currently only have one series running called A Rough Sketch, which is a diary/comic strip comedy series about what goes on or I'm thinking about on a weekly basis! I'm a big fan Edd Gould and Brian Lee O'Malley who are my inspiration for doing comics, despite me occasionally failing to upload regularly (Got that under control now not to worry - I think…

Since tomorrow will be a new month i decided to start the next Latest Comic Page Topic. Just post your latest page to your comic and the link to your comic :). I'll start with my latest pages from two of my comics. [image] [image]

That cover pic(the one on the series page) says a lot about a comic. So post your cover pic and a link here. http://m.tapastic.com/series/VastBlue[image]

My friend just started a webcomic, and I'm advertizing it, haha. Feel free to post your comic and we'll exchange opinions about it.

It's good to promote yourself, but also remember to get involved with the forums as a hold. Be sure to talk to others and give feedback and just engage in the random conversations. And be careful not to spam your comics too much

[SleepingPoppy]

There is a large reader base just within Tapas. One of the big ways people see your comic is from updating consistently. Each update (max once per day) puts you in the top of the "fresh" section. That combined with a fetching thumbnail gets you clicks, gets you eyeballs on your comic, and potentially gets you new followers.

But it takes time and patience.

Other things you can do are link to your comic in your forum profile. That way when you post in the forum, people here might check you out if they're curious, or as a way to get more information and better give better advice. You can also promote on social media like tumblr, twitter, etc. Then as you go, you might look into more ways to promote, cross promoting with other creators, paying for ads, etc etc.

There are lots of topics on these things, but hopefully that helps you getting started?

I don't think tagging the comic is currently very helpful, but it doesn't hurt to do so. I'm pretty sure tagging individual pages does nothing.

[jin_amber]

Or simply give people a link to your comic here?Since you've already created a new post.

[Shanny8]

Also- use your social media to spread the word on your comic; that way you get more eyes outside of Tapas to look read your comic.

[Aspie_Gamer]

I was in your situation starting out when I started Life of an Aspie here almost three years ago now. Here's what I've learned.

1. Build a buffer for your comic. That is, a large cache of already done pages/strips. This will help keep your comic(s) going at a smooth pace without you having to stop to make more constantly.

2. Connect with smaller creators. You are more likely to find your first subs and some of your most loyal long term fans by doing so. That means taking a genuine interest in their work, offering to do art trades/guest strips.

3. Be consistent. By updating your work on a regular schedule, this will make your comic more and more visible on Tapas over time. Particularly in Trending. Even if you aren't much for socializing, your work ethic will help carry you through in the end above all else.

Hope this advice helps.

[scythe]

I've consistently failed at all three of these points for going on three years now.

[GesuGesu]

My first comic was just.... found? I had pre-drawn the entire short, so I uploaded each page per day until it ended. The constant updates for a week straight helped a lot. It reached about 400 subs quite quickly, probably within a month? It also helped that the thumbnail, artwork, and story premise was easy to understand and wasn't overly complicated for people to dive into.

After that.... draw a slice of life comic LOL. Readers on Tapas seem to like this stuff. I don't update mine regularly, but I already had some readers from my first series sub me on my SOL series.

After that, I drew a BL series. Tapas readers also happen to like BL, so guess what happened.... =_= Subs came in.

After that every series I drew afterwards would have a steady sub count from whatever subscribers who already knew me from my other series. I usually didn't have to worry about getting the first 50 after that...

Basically, I somehow got to where I am by writing multiple short series, and by completing each one before uploading them at a rate of 1 page/day to ensure constant exposure on the "newly updated' list

[DV_san]

Does updating the same episode with new pages every day work? Does that make the series appear on the fresh section?

[J.Lovelace]

No, it only works with new episodes.

[DV_san]

oh, I do 15 page chapters, so It's not that easy for me to post daily, lel

[keii4ii]

A lot of people just post single page per episode for that reason, regardless of how many pages belong in each chapter.

[Wumbl]

The longer you can stay in "fresh" the better!
What I usually do is I upload one page at a time, then I condense it down once the chapter is done.
That means going back and removing a few episodes to put the files into one.

Also, for ease of reading, having your entire chapter in an episode might not be a great idea because a reader coming back might not be able to find the page they were on. It's fine to split your chapter into several episodes.

[DV_san]

Does this method work for you well?

[Wumbl]

I've been uploading one or two pages at a time, and then condensing them into clusters of 4-8 pages once the whole chapter is out (my chapters are 20-40 pages).

It works for me, because I can get more time in the "fresh" section. I also recommend uploading between 8am and 12 am. That seems to be prime viewing time during weekdays. Uploading page by page has definitely brought in more views for me. On some days I find myself bringing in hundreds of views if I play it well.

Having an intriguing thumbnail and banner is also good! The thumbnail will catch people's attention on the main site, and the banner will get people's attention in forums. I recently updated my thumbnail with some better and more intriguing art and I gained several subs overnight.

[vincentiustalbot]

I went ahead and posted my webcomic in Comics under 50 subscribers. So thanks for that, i knew about that topic, but was hesitant to post there as i have a marketing plan setup starting around June. I hope it will help as any exposure is good exposure.

On topic: Until now it has been pretty much low advertisement for my webcomic. I gained readers either through updates or meeting other creators who subscribed to my webcomic. Shared it on social media, but that has not really done anything for me as my social media is low on fans/follows.

Getting interview or review for your webcomic will definitely help with exposure, so if anyone has a chance grab that and do it, altho keep in mind reviews can be a positive and negative experience, if you can't take criticism i'd advise against it. It's a dubble edged sword really.

[DV_san]

that sounds like a good method. When it comes to time, do you talk about the US time?

[Wumbl]

Yeah. I live in a different time zone but the website works according to US time. I tend to use the "schedule" function, because morning in the US is night where I live.

[LCT_m_a_d]

I usually get subs by subbing and supporting other creators who have similar themes. If I know they are struggling for an audience and might be interested in my series I ask to exchange subs (active following) usually it works. Support each other basically.

Tags are useful for the tapas search tool but I suspect not too many users utilize it enough for creators to take advantage of it. Typically many rely on only the front page sections which aren't designed for deep discovery.

[arisu_kosuta]

Did you notice a particular time on a particular timezone that generates more views? I never thought of that and always post on British peak time >.<