If you don't like my conclusion, do your own research. It's the only way you'll really know.
I like to get them. They make me feel appreciated, and there's a chance that the creator would check my work and suscribe too.
So... despite your current situation, and the struggles I'm sure you face by keeping that schedule, you don't have empathy for people who aren't able to make a thank you image for a webcomic due to their own life obligations? Seems like something rather trite to be judgmental about. It's one thing to hold yourself to that standard, but to impose it on other people or think less of them for not doing it is pretty bad.
The thing I find most hilarious about all this is that you have no wiggle room in your opinion, you mention data as a form of objective proof, and when asked about said data you dodge the question and say "do it yourself"! Sorry, but you can't use your opinion as fact unless you back it up, and for that you need a source or to have collected concrete data yourself--and it has to be provided by you because you made the statement in the first place.
I'd recommend opening your mind a little to other possibilities but from your current replies I don't see that happening. Oh well. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I'm over 30 pages behind on thanking people for the sub because I got a feature and got a ton of subs over night... I've tried to tackle it, but holy shit dude, it takes time. Time that I could be using spending on my comic that I'm kind of behind on right now.
And the sub count I got over night wasn't even that big to what other people have gotten... I know people that get over 5k (or more) subs in just a week or two. I know one person in particular who was an over night hit, and she's the sweetest thing ever and VERY appreciative to her fan base, but... She doesn't exactly have the hours to thank the 5k+ people she got in the span of a week or two...
First of all, my judgement is clearly an opinion, as noted by the phrase, "I think" that you'll note I used. Secondly, you're never going to believe a word I say, no matter what evidence I provide., whether graphed, or scatter plot, or pie chart with pretty colors. It's called confirmation bias. Your core beliefs are being questioned. The best I can do is walk away and allow you to find out for yourself. Thirdly, never mind. What do you care what I think? You're obviously too important to deal with the plebes. And lastly, it took me about an hour to make my thank you pic, and takes even less time to do what I think is a courtesy that lets my reader know that I'm aware of them and appreciate their support.
I don't think I'll have another statement on this matter. I can't believe I was suckered into a flame war about saying "thank you." I have no idea why this subject is at all controversial. When I started out, the first time I received a "thanks for the sub" I knew what was socially expected right away. It never occurred to me to rebel against what I saw as prosocial and good marketing.
I don't say anything to subscribers. I feel like posting my comics online for free is more than enough thanks. I know this probably makes me sound like a jerk but also I don't want to send a thank you for subscribing, half-assed pic that I send to everybody that subscribes. It's not something that feels genuine to me.
I don't do thank you pic to send to each and every of my subscriber because i feel like I'm playing a sort of favoring game when I have two different groups of audience on two different sites that I'm posting my comic on. (Tapastic and LINE Webtoon). So I figure a thank you picture at the end of the update should be more than enough.
P/s: Also I feel like I'm spamming people if I mass sending out thank you note like that. It's just not my thing even when people say they like receiving it.
i like them! i actually dont get a lot when i subscribe to peeps so its really nice when they do send me one. i feel spesh. so whenever i send them i try writin somethin with it too even if its just "hi (name)" cuz i want them to feel spesh too. i do really gotta make a new thank you pic tho cuz mines hecka old
I love those messages, both recieving and giving them. Especially when it's from creators with a lot of subscribers!!! (Really, I respect you if you have sent over 2k messages, these things take a lot of time wth)
Too bad most readers are app users and won't see the message...
So because it's very time consuming and hard to keep up doing at least weekly, I stopped sending them when my comic reached 1.5k.
It's a lot of work sending those, and it never ends with my weekly gain of almost 100 subs... I rather spend those hours on my comic pages, because that's what the people subscribe for in the first place 😂
I liked sending them, because I got to read the readers description and see if they had comics themselves too. Also, it's fun to see what kind of comics my readers usually read too. Gives me an idea of what they like.
I think maybe some certain people in this thread might need to calm their respective tatas, just sayin'.
That said, I quite like the thank-you posts, though they're by no means required for anyone. We're here to do comics, and that's great! So people subscribe because they like what we do. I've never been at another site where this was something anyone really did. It's pretty much unique to Tapastic, and there's nothing wrong with not doing it, especially if you have a huge inrush or the site (as it tends to do) freaks out and won't let you post.
I enjoy doing it, though, and it's something nice I can do, that sometimes means a lot to people, when I have the time and I'm not working on my comics or other work. As long as it doesn't take you away from the reason you're here, I don't think it has to be this histrionic, polarizing issue. It's a nice gesture, and like most nice gestures, it's not necessary and is typically done because someone is being kind and friendly.
I see it as getting an exclusive collectible for showing your support! And it does tend to bring eyes to what you do that an icon for your series can't do. So it also may benefit creators, which is always a pleasant bonus.
It's a cute gesture, and I love getting those on my wall <3 Sometimes I get them quite a while after I subscribed, but if the creators get a ton of new subs I totally understand it'll take a while to post to everyone (that happens to me too, I don't have THAT many subs, but work and life usually causes trouble for me instead haha).
I've made one for my comic too. It's pretty simple, but I rather post that one and say I appreciate the sub than not post at all :3
I was doing them, but they were taking up a lot of time. Also stopped doing them because a few years back someone made this same post and everyone was complain about the "wall Spam" So I felt, why bother if people don't like it. Seems like that's turned around now. lol
I would like to do them again, but I am in a spot for time.
I really like them, both receiving them and sending them!! It is a good place to say hello to the creator— I've had a lot of readers respond to the thank-yous I've sent by asking questions or striking up conversations, which I really enjoy. I love knowing my readers. I also feel more comfortable when creators I subscribe to leave thank-yous… it's a comfortable place for me to say "thank YOU for sharing your comic with me, it's really funny!!" or whatever, which is something I tend to be a little more anxious and shy about on the actual comic pages.
Also, just wanna say that I've found loads of the comics in my reading list by clicking on interesting-looking thank-yous that I saw on other people's walls.
i don't, as subs come and go like the wind - i find that tapastic, for all its reader interraction, still feels like a fairly impersonal place and people will subscribe on a whim if they're interested, and unsub a day later if they find the said comic isn't for them, which is ok! it's the way things go. Additionally, I don't want to force a conversation with people - this doesn't apply to anyone else, just my own awkward social habits - and for me, it'd feel a little like that if i was posting on their wall. (however, i don't mind when someone posts on mine! guess it's as haven't initiated it)
also, it's also particularly hard when you get featured, or trend, and get a sudden windfall. no way would I have been able to keep up when I was in the spotlight, for example.
tldr; i don't mind other people's thank you images! some of them are really sweet. i just tend to personally avoid using them due to time constraints, and the transient nature of subscriptions, which means people could feel an obligation to read my comic, even if they find it isn't for them.
Listen, I just want to say that I'm sorry for getting so riled up about it. I was angry at the implication and was taking it personally--I know that. Maybe it is confirmation bias, but I think that can honestly go for both of us here. And really, it wouldn't surprise me that doing a thank you image has more benefits than not on a whole. If I had more time I actually would do it myself. I like the idea and considered it for a long time before deciding not to. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind sometime in the future.
I cared about your opinion because it struck me as deeply unfair, and as an insult to people like me. I'm not sure where your comic is at length or quality wise, but my webcomic is like a second (unpaid) full time job for me that I've been doing for five years. The scale of my project is huge, and it goes beyond just posting a page a week--I print it, sell at conventions, keep up on social media and marketing, manage my team, write the story, edit the story--the roles are endless.
For you it may take an hour to make a thank you pic, but for me it would take at least 4. And it may take only a minute to copy and paste a subscriber name and post it on their wall. But unless I keep up with it literally every day, which is really hard with my work schedule, I would get drastically behind and end up wasting more time on it than I gain.
This is definitely not a situation of me viewing my subscribers as anything less than me (definitely not "plebes"!), and that's what I'm trying to get you to understand. That's really all the core of the issue is for me: you're assuming that I, and people like me, look down on readers or care less, when it's simply not true.
You don't have to respond of course, but I hope you still took some time to read it. I'm sorry again for getting my panties in a twist over it.
I love receiving them and for sending them, I have to be in a specific mood. No one's fault but my own |"D mainly because I take my time to look at the person's comic and although the comment message on top of the animation is repetitive (mainly a thank you, hope they like the story, and that they have a good day), I make sure it suits the person's apparent tastes and keep the greeting genuine and different.
I think their fun! Though I don't participate in posting them on walls anymore @_@ it got a little hard for me to keep up plus I'm trying to stay focused working on pages.
I feel nothing when i receive them. I perceive them as ads and use them as such. An interesting or appealing "thank you" pic on someone's wall might entice me to check out the comic (usually seen while I'm in the process of leaving such pics myself). So I try to make mine reflect the tone of my comic and its characters.
My brain needed to twist things this way, otherwise I felt weird thanking ppl for subbing for some reason... like "oh, please, they're not THAT interested in your comic anyway"??? I'm projecting my own lack of care for receiving them unto others, I guess.
