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Aug 2020
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montrasimartina
Aug '20

Hi guys, can You give me some advices?
I'm a little down in the dumps.. I'm publishing a webcomic, but I can't reach people. I Think the story has a potential, but I'm not very good to promote it... Which are the best methods?
Thanks for your answers :heart:

  • created

    Aug '20

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    Aug '20
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jcmraz
Aug '20

I understand that feeling lol You have more subs than me so dunno how much I can add. posting here helps though. I'll hang around your thread and see if I can learn something new myself :stuck_out_tongue:

Crusoe
Aug '20

For a webcomic, you can make an artinstagram page or Twitter and post WIP's and bonuses there so people get interested in your story! Participating in the various threads here on tapas forums has gotten me some new subs as well. It's all about engagement with your audience/potential audience.

cleo_san
Aug '20

I'll be lurking around reading the answers here, too, okay? XD

I'm not too successful myself, however there are a few things I have noticed:

  • be consistent in your uploads (I had to take some unplanned hiatuses and I'm basically back to zero with subscriber increase)
  • the tapas forum is the best place if you are a small creator. Read, interact with others and drop your own comic with link (e.g. you could have added the link to your comic in your first posting and I could have clicked on it right away :wink: ), always a good place to promote is the "Post your last page - current month" which gets opened anew every month: https://forums.tapas.io/t/post-your-latest-page-august-2020/46860/271
  • put links to your webcomic, patreon and ko-fi in your Social Media profiles!!! If you post an interesting WIP on twitter, people will want to check your comic out and not sift through 1k postings for a link :wink:
  • when you are using twittter, it's most important you use @ as often as possible. But you have to know the right ones to track. Here's my recommendation: @ ComicSolidarity, when you are in the German Comic Scene, aside from that, WebComicChat, WebComicAvenue, ArtOfWebcomics, WebComicNetwork, topwebcomics, WebcomicNetwork, DiscoverComics, WebcomicsMojo etc are good. Spice up with hashtags like # indiecomics, if applicable: visiblewomen, artistsontwitter or smallartistclub and keep an eye out for what is trending. =)
  • Use WIPs and Sneak peeks to lure people to your patreon or ko-fi if possible. This might look like this:

WIP Fara.JPG1143x1297 349 KB

Have a Sneak peek! Nothing good ever comes when this Mage is smiling - find out what he is plotting by getting early access to the newest page of Remember on my patreon:

....just as an example XD Post much, post interesting snippets of your comic, and you'll notice an increase of subscribers :wink: At least this is how it works for me - slowly but steadily :heart:

All the best of luck to you, and never forget: Networking is everything :wink: It's a give and take though =) Interaction and communication is the key =) Show interest in other people's stuff and they will show interest in yours! :slight_smile:

jcmraz
Aug '20

Internet famous here we come! :slight_smile: I'll give yours a look soon. I took a peek at the cover. good artwork :slight_smile: I'll look through some more

montrasimartina
Aug '20
Crusoe

Thank You for your advices! ^^ I've an Istagram account, but I manage to reach LITERALLY 4-5 people with the hashtags.. I don't know why, I use all the adviced hashtag but It's not working :') Maybe I should try Twitter? I've never use it before :')

montrasimartina
Aug '20
cleo_san

Thank You very much! <3 This is very usefull!
I haven't a Twitter account, but I think I'll start with it.. a lot of people are reccomanding me this social media!

CommanderMarty
Aug '20

I would recommend interacting with the forums and your readers, post your link in self promotion threads with a summary of the plot. Make friends too.

jcmraz
Aug '20
cleo_san

Cool artwork :slight_smile: I post teasers and early access mostly about once a week to my patreon rn (only have 1 patron at the 1$ level). There are more things I have for higher levels but working full time, a part time side job, exercising and having a baby and girlfriend and household chores seriously limits my ability to spend art time on much of anything outside of actually making the comic right now (I would absolutely find the time for some of the extras at higher tiers if/when people join them). I plan to get an ipad pro so I can do some extras and comic work while on breaks at work but that's likely going to be a christmas gift to me so I'll be patient. I sketch on paper some in free time at work as well btw. Mostly just practice and random stuff. Like practicing creatures for the comic, or hands, or action posing etc. Any advice on my situation?

edit: btw here is my patreon so you can check out my tiers and such:

cleo_san
Aug '20

Thank you! =)

hah, your edit just popped up when I wanted to ask for a link XD
I just had a look at your patreon, it looks solid, however there might be a few things you might want to consider:

  • adding images to your tiers helps a lot - people love visualizing. Maybe if you get your hands on the planned ipad, you could draw those tier medals? =) Maybe even offer a downloadable icon to put into someone's profile, like "[COFFEE MEDAL] - I support @jcmraz on patreon"?
  • I personally would raise some of the tier prices, those numbers are very close together - maybe spread the tiers you have right now to at least $10 (or even more) for the highest tier? I mean, you ARE offering individualized artwork, after all :wink: I suggest 1-3-5-10 $ tiers =)
  • a word of advice on offering monthly individual sketches, since I have made that experience: Limit those tiers!
    I have a tier where I offer monthly sketches myself and I had to limit it to 5 patrons, or else I would not have been able to keep up the work on my comic, which is - after all - the main reason you are doing a patreon, right?
    People love personalized art. I love personalized art, however keep in mind that your day has only 24 hours and your time is limited since you have to care for yourself and your family as well. It is not easy, but you have to find a healthy balance there - I'd highly recommend limiting personalized sketches etc to a maximum of 5 patrons for a start. If everything works out well, you can always offer more slots on that particular tier. :wink:
  • One thing you could do to give your tiers more structure is writing "all of the above" instead of copypasting everything from the lower tier - it makes people browse through all of the tiers instead of just focusing on one =)
  • maybe make the occasional teaser or sneak peek to a comic page/special project accesible for all, not patron-only? So Non-patrons can see what they are missing out?
  • Also, phrases like "patron only sketches" etc add a flair of exclusivity to your stuff - after all, your patrons are the ones who support you and they have every right to feel like the special and wonderful people they are :wink:

Aside from these details, I like your patreon - your offer of rewards is very generous and interesting. You have the right amount of tiers (recommended are 3-5), your rewards are solid... so actually it is only a matter of visibility now.

I have checked out your comic on tapas, as well - one more advice I can give you is to use the banner under each episode with a special patreon-link - so far you are linking to your webcomic itself. I highly recommend setting that link to your patreon instead =)
I love the information illustration under your newest comic pages though - all the necessary information in one place, well done! :heart:

Aaaand finally regarding your twitter: You update and inform regularly, however due to the algorithm you won't be getting far with your postings without tagging anyone!
I suggest you @ ComicSolidarity, when you are in the German Comic Scene, aside from that, WebComicChat, WebComicAvenue, ArtOfWebcomics, WebComicNetwork, topwebcomics, WebcomicNetwork, DiscoverComics, WebcomicsMojo etc are good.
Spice up with hashtags like # indiecomics, if applicable: visiblewomen, artistsontwitter or smallartistclub and keep an eye out for what is trending. =)

I hope I was able to provide something useful that helps your webcomic to grow! Please let me know if you have any more questions, or write me a DM.

All the best of luck! :heart:

cleo_san
Aug '20
montrasimartina

I definitely would recommend a twitter account, with above said hashtags and @ you might reach a wider variety than on instagram etc. =) It's all about the hashtags on twitter!

Be warned tough: Twitter is one big drama queen from time to time, and it has become a bit toxic in the last year or so, I highly recommend to stay focused on the art community and not the rest of the world's problems, which can be overwhelming from time to time ^^"

domisotto
Aug '20

Good advice! Twitter has nice mute and block features, so use them a lot to avoid politics and people who’d irritate you and steal your time from popping up on your feed.

I prefer twitter to Instagram, though neither gave me audience. Well, I don’t really use Instagram, tbh, because it takes so much time to produce images and nothing ever comes out of it

cleo_san
Aug '20

Ooh yes, filters are your best friends!

The downside on instagram for me is: You HAVE to use it via smartphone to upload anything and since most of my work is on my computer, I have to transfer it first to my mobile and then painstakingly type everything on that teeensy weensy little screen x_x

jcmraz
Aug '20
cleo_san

Very helpful :slight_smile: I will look through this more thoroughly later tonight or tomorrow and maybe start looking into putting some changes in. I actually lowered the price from what you suggested because no one was joining so I figured making it cheaper might help but since that's not doing anything to help I may as well go back to 1, 3, 5 and 10. or maybe 1, 2, 5 and 10 or something. I'll think it over :slight_smile: And thanks for the info about twitter. I didn't ever consider @-ing accounts promoting my stuff, just hastagging. I'm kinda new to twitter. I don't really use the format much outside of this lol

byelacey
Aug '20
cleo_san

There is a chrome plug-in called Desktopify that lets you post to instagram from your PC! There's also Later, which lets you upload and schedule stuff to IG from your PC!

domisotto
Aug '20
cleo_san

Same, and I don't have a smartphone, I have a tablet, and the interface is terrible, just terrible. Canva supposedly directly loads to Instagram, but I can't figure out the app version. App versions are just always so inconvenient vs desktop.