Joining The Tapas Community?

[peachiestleaf]

ahh so I'm not 100% certain how to phrase this, but I guess I'm asking how to engage more with the Tapas community? I've been subscribing to comics and all that on here for quite a while, but I just started posting my first webcomic (Fae Crossing!) today, and this is honestly the first time I've ever seriously interacted with the forums! so like... how do you really get involved? subbing to smaller comics, doing art trades, answering questions in the forums, etc...? are there any tips for gaining more subscribers while you're still starting out as well? I'm just a bit anxious about this whole process, and I'd really appreciate any advice !! thanks a million in advance !!! <3

[onyefrankie]

Hey there!

I'm sorta (maybe?) new to this whole thing myself and more of a writer than anything (though I am practicing with my art skills or lack of) so I'm not totally sure what to tell you, mate.

One thing that gets people interested in your work though? Let them get interested with you as a person. I'd say talk around, make friends, obviously not cause you wanna get subs as that's kinda cruddy, but go out there genuinely? If that makes sense? XD

[Zugaikotsu]

commenting around is always nice, being supportive... you can engage on discussions, here, divide your creative proccesses, and, of course, to joing the crosspromo thread! ^-^

[punkarsenic]

honestly, just be active! verbal and active.

in the forums, this looks like making contributions to topics with comments that push the conversation forward - advice, anecdotes, jokes, whatever the topic suits. its also good to start your own threads, like this one, to ask questions you want answered or discuss elements of comics / wider storytelling and art that youre interesting in.

on tapas, that looks like posting consistently, and commenting on other people's comics. i dont mean 'looks great, sub to mine!' (do not do this it looks bad), but just openly engage with and be passionate about the comics youre passionate about. and yeah, definitely search out smaller comics you love, because thats where being a good reader turns into networking. i also find that giving tidbits of feedback helps build bonds between creators - but be tactful there. similarly, asking questions about a creators process is a great way to build connections.

also, promote other people's comics. gush about them in the description of your own comic or on your wall, or in certain threads on the forums. this is particularly effective during tipping events - youll find a lot of creators share links to all their favourite comics as tipping events come around, to share around the seasonal joy.

[peachiestleaf]

yess, that definitely makes sense!! and I totally agree-- if someone's nice/helpfu/genuine, it always makes me really excited to go check out their work as well, and besides that you get to make new friends and discover new content, so it's a win-win ! thank you for the advice !! ^^

[peachiestleaf]

that sounds perfect!! I'd love to help support others and give advice (where I can) anyway, and I'll definitely be looking more into the crosspromo thread then! Thank you!!! <3

[peachiestleaf]

ahhHH thank you so so much!!!! I really, really appreciate the all the tips, and I'll start working on them asap! I already try to be an engaged reader on Tapas, so I'll continue to do that and hopefully be even better now, and I'll definitely keep your advice in mind when using the forum as well! You've been a huge help, and again, thanks a million!!

[liquidlilium]

Sounds like you got a pretty good idea how to get involved already
Not that I'm the best person to give socialising advice^^;

And don't worry too much about a slow sub growth! As great as this site is in many ways it's not really built to help small comics grow so be prepared to work for that sub count. Especially since you picked a genre (GL) that is relatively difficult to grow here. (But please don't abandon the genre! we need more adorable GL )

My main advice would be:
Stick with it! Keep up your regular updates even if there might be uploads when you only get 1, 2 or even 0 subs/likes/comments. (tho make sure to adapt you update schedule if you notice your comic gets 0 attention a specific weekday/time)
Small but frequent updates, unless it's essential that 2 pages are read together I'd recommend 1-page updates to start with tbh^^ Don't be afraid to build up a page buffer, it's super nice to have
Promote you comic! Try to set aside at least 15 min - 1 h every week specifically for some kind of promotion, wether it's the forums, social media or even handing out fanzines irl
Have fun! make sure you still have fun drawing your comic, talking in the forum etc. even if it means ignoring all previous advice from me and others!

I also draw GL btw^^ my comic isn't quite as cute but feel free to check it out !

[ISNEKO]

Just don't get Joe riled up.

Whenever he's unbanned, lmao.

[onyefrankie]

Who's Joe? If that's okay to ask?

[liquidlilium]

Sorry for OT but do you know what he got banned for?
He didn't seem like a troll or anything in threads is saw.

@onyefrankie (I don't really know who he is but he liked a bunch of my posts so I can see he's banned)

[ISNEKO]

Joe is a fellow independent author here on Tapas. He likes to push buttons and debate. Most users think he's an asshole but he's just very blunt and doesn't shy awake from discussion, no matter the subject. He and myself and a few others I can think of are some of the more difficult users to get along with, but we're not trying to hurt anyone's feelings.

We're just kinda... not bubbly.

I'm not sure the exact reason he was temp-banned but I think he was arguing about existence and meaning or something like that like he does and his responses were seen as hostile.

[onyefrankie]

Ahhhhh. That makes sense. Some people can't handle bluntness.

[beta1042]

Welcome to the community! Yeah you pretty much need to post and talk and comment to get noticed. You can also join some discords. Here's one if you're interested:

Discord - Free voice and text chat for gamers

As for Joe. I miss Joe and this forum needs him, it's way to boring on here without him. The countdown till he is unbanned in May is brutal.

Wish we could bring him back.

[jpnakashima]

First of all, welcome to the forums (:
As you may see, things around here are pretty chill and cool. Hope we'll see more of you around!
People above said everything, but I wanted to say that your comic is just soooo adorable!! I'm a little stunted by so much cuteness haha

Also, I miss Joe too. I was missing him here like last week and found out he was banned, it was kind of chocking. I never saw his confrontations as mean spirited. They sure brought depth from time to time.

[Jenny-Toons]

Hey there! Welcome to the forums! Glad to see some new faces around here!

how do you really get involved? subbing to smaller comics, doing art trades, answering questions in the forums, etc...? are there any tips for gaining more subscribers while you're still starting out as well?

Now, as for this, I'd say yes to all of these! It's always good to engage the community and make the forums a great place to interact. Give to the forums what you expect out of it, and don't shy away from talking with others (whether that's with comics, advice, whatever!).

As for gaining subs, I honestly believe the same applies here. When you engage the community, it's highly possibly people will sub to your work. I know I've subbed to a few comics already because of interacting with people here

I also say yes to making a buffer! I'm currently building up my own, so my comic hasn't been released just yet. But I'm doing my best and getting more and more pages ready!

[peachiestleaf]

@liquidlilium thank you so much for the advice!! I especially appreciate putting aside specific time in a week to promote your comic— I hadn’t thought much about that before! and yess, I’ve also noticed a disappointing lack of gl comics on here, and I totally agree we need more cute gl content!! and your comic looks so good!! I read everything and subbed immediately! Can’t wait to see more!! <3

@beta1042 ooohh, thank you !! I’ll definitely keep Discords in mind, and I’ll take a look at that one as soon as possible !!

@jpnakashima omg, thank you so so much!!!! that means so much to me, and I’m glad it gives off the cute vibe I was going for !! I hope to see you around the forums as well ! ^^

@Jenny-Toons ahh, thank you!! I’ll definitely keep your advice in mind, and I totally agree! I’m actually working on building up my buffer as well, hopefully enough so that I won’t have to miss any updates when I go on vacation in a month! haha, wish me luck! ^^’

[liquidlilium]

I'm happy you like it^^ I'll make sure to keep up yours as well! I might prefer to write slightly darker stories, but I love reading cute and uplifting stuff

I've seen GL or lesbian comics appear on the front page more lately so maybe more artist will dare to bet on the genre^^ tapas still feel like 99% BL and Het tho so not getting my hopes up too much^^;

[joe_galindez]

Late to the party, but welcome!

[off_brand_barbie]

stay on the forums!! review work, comment on others work (if you want others to read yours you need to read there's)
create topics.
basically talk your ass off on here.