How to make your story/comic popular

[MissPaige36]

I’m wondering because I’ve been posting and promoting on tapas for a while. Take my question with a grain of salt though because I’ve been on and off here and I post on a different site too. But it feels like the most thriving stories don’t need to promote on the forums or spend months or years with little engagement. Does that make sense?

I’m not really posting this or asking this to bash anyone or their genuine love and passion to want others to read their story/comic, I’m just wondering if I’m valid for thinking like this or if anyone has had the same thought?

[justanothernerdling]

It's a difficult question I'm sure many want the answer to!

Most 'thriving' stories don't need to promote anymore - but they very certainly started off by doing so! Some gained popularity via promo by tapas (kind of random and rare), others maybe participated in contests, some maybe had an external audience for, and others may have gotten lucky!

But one thing I noticed - by being an active part of the community notably on the forums, discord, and by reading and engaging with other peoples work, you get more eyes on your own work.

There's also an angle of content - Tapas really likes its (action) fantasy, BL, and romance fantasy series. Its readers even moreso. So for example a scifi book may not take off as much, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have its place and isn't appreciated!

In the end, Tapas is just another social media and needs to be treated as such - and the key to that game is interaction!

[MissPaige36]

Wow that was a great answer. And you’re right, tapas is just another social media. That puts it into perspective for me, thank you!

[justanothernerdling]

NO worries, good luck! Send the link to your story, I'll have a looksie!

[KevinReijnders]

Luck

twenty

characters

[Lensing]

Promotion just makes for me when you reach your target audience.
Are the other forum members (creators) your target audience?
What percentage of your target audience are the tapas forum
creators?

[MissPaige36]

I don’t really have much of a plan or really a targeted audience. Not sure what the percentage is, can you look it up or do you just… guess…? My whole thing is just “read my story if you like it. If you don’t, that’s fine too”. Maybe that’s why it’s not going that well for me. I mean it’s going well enough, I’m not ungrateful for what I’ve received. I just wanted to know what I should do to push it forwards more.

[MissPaige36]

Could you send me a link to yours too? I’d love to check it out if you have any

Read The Clueless Prince | Tapas Web Community

[faisalhussein394]

To be honest, Promotion doesn't give us much. Yes, we get subs but barely any comment and likes from them.

I always want more views to read my comics but this is easier said than done. What I did so far is to make the stories/comic I LOVE. A story not for readers but for Author itself. Something that keeps you motivated and would continue till you finish it.

It is up to the viewers if they are interested to take a read on our contents or not.

[justanothernerdling]

sure! here you go!

Read A Crownes Game | Tapas Web Community

and a short story

Read 3 Days 'Till Midnight | Tapas Web Community

[MissPaige36]

Oh! Really good mindset to have! That’s actually how I began writing. Writing a story where if it was me who found it, I’d love it. Of course, I love it regardless since… it’s my story but I’m writing things I know I like/want more of in other stories. It’s a lot of fun and I don’t regret it. I’ll just keep it up and whether or not people read it, I’ll at least be happy that it’s there for anyone to see

[jwabeasley]

It's a question we're all here trying to answer, my friend!

The best form of promotion is to post it to an external niche community that would like your comic. Unfortunately those are extremely difficult to find!

You can also join the discord (or some of the private discords, PM me if you'd like a link) although all of those are creator-to-creator.

If you have shortform comics, Reddit is a good place to post, too.

[kyupol]

1) Promote. Mostly off site. Try deviantart, reddit, YouTube, Instagram, etc.

2) Engage. Like, comment, subscribe to other works. Join contests, fanart exchange, etc.

3) Have an engaging plot. First page, chapter, etc. Must have the "hooks" in already. Something like a fight, argument, or anything the media can use to sensationalize the news. Riots, shooting, police, protests, etc. Cliffhangers are also good to use.

4) panel dialogue... since you're competing with ever decreasing attention span, don't put too many words in a speech baloon.

5) phone scroll format > traditional comic format (I know some of you will disagree here. I just find phone scroll format easier to follow. )

6) Art quality must be decent enough. A good benchmark for your art ability is if you've been FALSELY ACCUSED of AI use at least once.

7) Your characters have to be good looking. I'm aware of people reading your comic just because they think the ML or FL is good looking.

Just my 2 cents on the matter...

[MissPaige36]

Haha yeah, it’s one of the reasons I posted it so everyone could benefit. Okay so external promos or discord are good too, got it. I have a novel with occasional art that I’ve drawn so Reddit might not be the best. But thank you for your suggestions!

[MissPaige36]

Wow this is great advice. I’ll definitely try to implement some of them. Maybe I should’ve clarified but I have a novel, not a comic. But some of these work well with both so I’ll keep them in mind! Thanks for your answer!