How much time did it take you to reach lots of subscribers?

[DeadAccount]

It's going to be different for everyone depending on many, many circumstances:
-Comic's established fanbase prior to joining Tapastic
-Skill level
-Subject matter
-Update schedule

My comic's been going...alright. It's not BL or cute stuff which is what Tapastic audience likes, and it only updates once a week, so I'd say over 250 subs in 10 or so weeks isn't too bad. What I care about is interaction with readers and comments, and that's been going pretty well

[keac]

Oh, so I guess readers will subscribe to your comic if you let them wait for a week (Am I right?). Interesting... I post almost everyday and have lots of episodes already -_-

[joannekwan]

Like I said, DH had a tumblr but it never got as much traction as it did here. HH is a Tap exclusive, and I don't really promote either of the two other than posting the occasional sketch on my art blog.
Haha, you don't have to read them, I know they're not for everyone.

[DeadAccount]

Well technically updating more means you get to be on the "Fresh" page more often, or trending if you're doing well, so that's a good thing. I update once a week because that's how long it takes me to draw, colour and letter a page with a full-time job - i simply can't update more often than that. But I'd rather take longer than have the quality suffer.

[AnnaLandin]

ETA: Editing this and hoping it posts correctly - got a posting-error last time, and can't seem to get it to show up properly.

Grassblades is a story-based adventure/fantasy/drama, inspired by Lone Wolf and Cub and Blade of the Immortal and such.

I started posting my comic on March 2nd, and reached 100 subscribers somewhere around my birthday, on April 10th. I've been posting the comic for two months now (the 2-month anniversary is tomorrow!), and I woke up this morning to 362 subscribers.

Personally, I think that's kind of a whirlwind pace, seeing as I don't really have a huge following elsewhere (Tumblr, etc.) and I definitely don't have a Facebook page for it, as I don't have a Facebook account. My comic did appear in the Trending-category, but to my knowledge, it's only been there once.

Also, I post a lot in the forums, and post new pages twice a week - which is often enough to be visible/noticeable, but not so often that people have a hard time keeping up.

[noctuidae]

Hi! My comic has ~130 subscribers -- it took me six months to get 100 subscribers here, and on ComicFury (my first host) I still haven't reached the 100 mark. So I'm not popular, but at the same time I'll admit I don't put very much effort into getting an audience.

I owe much of my exposure to the several times my friend promo'd me; otherwise, I rarely ever advertise, I'm rather quiet when it comes to socializing/networking, I sorta popped out of nowhere with my first longform webcomic, and I've been on a few hiatuses already because of school. :B These factors are not very conductive to overnight success.

Don't be discouraged; normally, it takes time and dedication to getting your stuff out there. If I can get this far by being a recluse, then you'll surely do better by putting more effort into it than I do.

The people who seem to get a large following seemingly overnight often have a fanbase off-site or on another one of their past webcomics. There are artists who have attracted people with their portfolios, and so when they hint at an upcoming comic and begin posting the comic they've already gathered a lot of people eager to see it.

Things like "Trending" and "Popular Now" are chance encounters -- I got on Trending once simply because someone happened to "Like" all 30-40 pages of my comic so people get on it for all sorts of reasons, and then that leads to more exposure and more subscribers, especially if the comic/premise is attention-catching. It's sorta like viral videos, i guess, in that it's unpredictable what will suddenly gain a lot of attention.

[keac]

@AnnaLandin, y u so fast on getting subscribers?

[AnnaLandin]

@keac 1.) Consistent updating schedule. 2.) Obsessive posting in the forums, with links to my comic in appropriate threads. 3.) Luck!

[keac]

Seems good... I post almost everyday -_-

[studiomik]

I've been here a few months now. My comic World of DIK has some 130+ subscribers wich i think is great for a horror comic thingy. My long stories versions NIGHTMARES was published last month and allready has 301+ subscribers because it was on Tapastic Picks. So, it's a bit of luck, a bit of interaction with your readers and again, some luck.

A thing that i find very helpfull, is putting a link to your comic in your profile picture. I came across some very interessting stuff here in the forums!

[keac]

Darn it, horror are so popular these days!

I'm kinda jealous

[ToonDoctor]

I have 15 readers and am happy that they follow me. I think that you have to interact a lot with your audience when you post - which I don't do much of. You should also have something that appeals to them. I think my comic is a bit non conventional in a reverse way (it used to be pretty conventional years ago!).

Great numbers are cool but for most of us, building this audience over time does it. One thing the admins here have mentioned is that many readers - mostly non-creators access this site through the mobile app. Some comics not formatted for the preferred vertical layout may not do as well.

In any case, don't give up. The number is a mental thing. Just take care of your current readers!

[Raven_C]

I remember reaching 600+ subs in less than a month of being on Tapastic, and that was mostly due to being featured. Right now, I have 1.7K subs and the subscribers are just slowly trickling in now, but it's great (and a surprise) to even have that many people. I'm really thankful for those readers (especially regular ones). :] And my other comic has 600+ right now too, but I keep forgetting about that one. I really need to update it. Haha. Oh, my comic is long-form, comedy/adventure/a-day-in-the-life (??) I don't even know how to label it sometimes...

[keac]

That one feeling that Slice-Of-Life and Comedy comics are the most ones that are popular.

[getsuart]

Well, comedy and slice of life are the most popular, because msot of them are a short format. You don't need to follow an entire chapter to understand the purpose

It took me a lot of time to reach 100 subscribers I think (compared to now). Things started when I took part of the Christmas collab.
Now I got regular subscribes, like one or two per week and I'm really happy about it ! (though I won't say I have "a lot" of subscribers, because the comic hasn't 500 followers yet)
Oh, and Echo is a medieval fantasy comic.

[Raven_C]

@keac yeah haha true. Mine is long format, though. It doesn't consist of gag or one-offs, and has at least some semblance of a plot. So you'd have to read everything to understand. But yes, the gag comics are what will get you the most subs these days. I'm not really into those, but they are what they are. Lol

[Marvin]

It makes sense since it takes more efforts to follow a serie with a plot with a once-a-week update than just a strip that you can read whenever you want without having to re-read older pages. And they post more often too, giving them more visibilty. Plus it's easier to share than a random page from a long story with a plot. So more visibility that way too.
I don't think it's the genre that makes it popular, more the format which is more suitable for internet.
If all the series were on paper in a physical library, I don't think the comic strips kind would be the more popular.
Bleh, maybe that's because I'm not really into those either. =)

[keac]

Oh... But...

Darn! My series should be separated from strips and pages...

I think I should make a reboot?

[ratique]

My comic Devil's Acres started on April 04 and is now sitting at a little over 270 subs, which I am very happy with. All I currently have is a facebook page with 50 likes, so that did not do much to speed up the process.

In the end it comes down to: If the comic is good, people will find it.
Certain genres are more popular than others and will be more successful.

[Spinester]

Then I'm right there with you.