Is ad revenue and ink support helpful?

[studiostepone]

Hi everyone, I am a bit Curious..
Tell me, is ad revenue and ink support really helpful and have a positive impact in your income? Tell me your experience!

[LyliClovis]

For me, it isn't. It's kinda like when you start a Youtube channel, you'll probably get a couple cents here and there, but nothing you'll be able to live off of (unless you gain 2M subs and then get tons of paid promos, etc). So you'll probably have to update your comic consistently and gain a big audience, and I think within 5 years, it can become sustainable. If you want to make an instant living with your comics, it's probably better to pitch it to a studio/publisher and have them pay you to make it instead.

This is probably not what you want to hear, but sadly, that's just how the reality of it is, but keep doing your best and one day, I'm sure it can pay off.

[studiostepone]

No problem! I do want to know all of the creators experience here...

[Jenny-Toons]

It's important to have multiple sources of income, especially in a competitive field such as comic-making.

Personally for me, Ink supporte has shown more growth than ad revenue. But even then, the money I've made so far is good enough for a lunch or so. It's nice pocket change, but it won't make a sustainable income. I don't have an audience quite big enough for that, so I'm still promoting here and there and just engaging the community.

It's why I also have a Ko-fi and a Patreon, as well an upcoming internship to earn an income. In general, it gives me a better sense of security, knowing that I have money coming from different directions. While the money I make now is more suitable for a college student than someone living on their own, it's still gone to my savings here and there.

Every little bit helps!

[yansusu]

It hasn't been long since I started uploading here on Tapas and what I earn through ad revenue and ink support is far from even 10% of the monthly income I'd need to live off writing.
I do feel that it has a positive impact though. At the very least, I can use that money and invest it in research material (I'm old school so I often buy books for this), cover art and things like that. So at the end of the day I might not have to pay for writing anymore and will break even. That's much more than I can get on other sites where I'll upload for free too and come out with new readers but nothing else while I still need to have a decent cover and do the research.

[punkarsenic]

nahhhh

ink support is more helpful than ad revenue, but for it to make a real effect on your income you need a popular series, active fanbase, and a really good strategy for incentivising tipping. i know ppl who make it work, but theyre also getting money from tapas premium, patreon, and merch sales.

ad revenue on the other hand is peanuts

[KRWright]

I use it to pay for my writing software subscription. I only make about $10 pcm from ink revenue (averaged out) and so I put it aside in my Shaxpir envelope and use it to make sure that I'm able to pay for that. It is nowhere near having an 'impact' on my income.

[Shanny8]

I agree with @Jenny-Toons assessment- ad rev & ink support alone isnt sustainable, but if you have multiple resources for earning money, then it does help to a certain extent. Aside from selling stuff at cons and an occasional online sale, I have a Patreon which helps in addition to the ad rev and ink support. Not much right now, but I have to be patient and grow my audience.

I'm not looking to totally make a living off the monies that I make doing comics alone, but I would like it to be a sizeable supplemental income.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

My ad rev keeps being zero LOL, it has been months. Ink is a better income, I want to try to optimalize it. Nothing much, I just want it to reach a number that it can be liquified which probably gonna take long.

I have a ko-fi too which is more reliable way of income, and I'm thinking about opening commission when I have free time.

I'm not good at promoting selling these kind of things unfortunately, my self doubt eventually makes me question is my skill worth money. Art and internet are still risky things to bet your income on (especially art on internet) don't expect so much from those, more importantly don't expect you'll have the same path with already successful people. That's why I'm planning a career path that is absolutely not art related.

But well, I need extra money. Dollar is expensive here.

[Wumbl]

For me, not yet. I make less than a dollar each month at the moment so I don't get to withdraw funds that often. My work gets a few hundred views a week so it's not like I'm new to the site.

Most of my art income comes from commissions still, but as I build my brand I believe I will have a decent intake from comics. It'll just take another year or two.

[Merle]

Hard no for Ad Revenue and Ink support. Just like the others I am not even able to make monthly payouts (starting at 25$) to begin with.
My Focuss is on Patreon and Webtoon. With the exact same pages through Add revenue and Patrons and webtoons Program I am able to make some, wich does help out my income a lot (this month it actually accounts for 65% of my rent payed )

[Pan]

(Tapas novelist here) I make a good $35 every six months (and only because of mass tipping events like Inksgiving). Sooooo enough for a tank of gas twice a year XD Of course the numbers change the more popular your work, and also depends entirely on luck with who your fans are. An author with more subs and consistent readers will probably make more than I do!

[Shanny8]

my self doubt eventually makes me question is my skill worth money

I'm in that same zone. It's weird coz I can get out at cons and push my books all day but I clutch my fast beating heart and hyperventilate when it comes to commissions.

@Merle trying to get to that level in Webtoons...but my hiatuses havent been helping.

[vfinnigan]

As tough as I've had things, I'll consider any amount of revenue helpful.

[joannekwan]

Anything is better than nothing!

While it's too paltry to even cover a chunk of rent (mind you I'm living in one of the most expensive places in the US), the pocket cash I do make from it (ink more than ads) is enough to treat myself to something nice every so often. It's a mood booster, so it's impactful on my mental health.

[SleepingPoppy]

Tell me, is ad revenue and ink support really helpful and have a positive impact in your income? Tell me your experience!

It's a pretty minimal impact, but I feel like as an artist, every penny I make off my art feels ten times more valuable than regular money? If I get an extra $25 once or twice a year by doing something I'd be doing anyway, I'm a pretty happy camper. But the bigger the creator, the more bang you'll get for your efforts.

And I'm just going to always link to Vincent's advice on making the best of ink, because I think it's excellent.

I posted this advice in another thread and it seemed to be largely appreciated, so I figured I would make a separate thread for it and see if I can refine the advice a bit! Since Tapas has been making a lot of efforts to improve the tipping feature and coin earning, it is high time that us creators start experimenting ways to utilize the feature in a more effective way! My suggestion is: A reward system. This is something I have been experimenting with since early this year, around the time…

[TJSchongar]

Thanks for the repost on Lord Vincent’s article! That was a GOOD read!

[Coati]

Hmmm I think the ad revenue is kinda low. For my experience you need around 150 views to get $ 0,01, so you need A LOT of views to see some money in you account.

Anyway, in comparision with other sites, like webtoon is pretty good. If I had on tapas the same views I had on webtoons, I would have some money from my webcomic. Sadly webtoons have far higger requirements to unlock ad revenue.

About ink, I think is ok, I got some on Inksgiving and I think is a good share for the creator even with the tapas fee