Project Wonderful Shutting Down

[FedoraSpooky]

That's a good idea! Conventions still seem like a good venue for comics. I've been creating pages print-ready as I go for that very reason.

In the meantime the best I can do is keep my eggs in as many baskets as I can... And I'll probably keep TopWebComic's daily sponsorship in mind, that still seems like a good option for now. Your posts have been very helpful when it comes to listing out the various options for creators to get their comics out there, so thank you for that!

It'll probably be a while before I have enough pages up anyway, so it's probably best for me to focus on making those for now... Who knows, maybe something new will come up by the time I have more of my comic finished and posted! Gotta stay positive in a field like this one. XD ;

[jimmygrist]

This is pretty sad, but it's also pretty clear why it's happening. From the official announcement:

... the internet has changed. Large sites like Facebook do all they can to keep readers on their network, rather than sending that traffic out to individual websites. As such, many readers - who used to visit dozens if not hundreds of websites a day - now visit only a few sites ...

It's kinda like Wal-Mart coming to a town full of little mom-n-pop shops, only internettier. Those "large sites" include Reddit, Instagram, Imgur, Twitter, Tumblr, Webtoon, and Tapas -- the main ways people consume webcomics now. Few people visit a webcomic's dedicated site these days, outside of established behemoths, and all those Project Wonderful ads go largely unviewed. If fewer people're seeing the ads, buyers bid less for the ad space. Revenue falls. The company loses both its lifeforce and its raison d'etre.

Project Wonderful did a really good thing for a really long time, and helped a lot of creators get off the ground. I hate to see them go, but it isn't their fault. It's the apps and startups and "walled garden" models dedicated to hogging all the traffic and ad revenue for themselves, while sorry hopefuls like us produce their content for free.

[Shanny8]

Those "large sites" include Reddit, Instagram, Imgur, Twitter, Tumblr, Webtoon, and Tapas -- the main ways people consume webcomics now.

It's true. That may be one of the reasons why I've been slow to building my site- coz getting readers to leave the "comforts" of host sites like these to support your site can be like pulling teeth in some cases. It hurts the individual creator in the long run...

[djwaglmuffin]

Twitter? Tumblr?

My numbers are abysmal on these sites and it's grating on the soul.

IG is no better to me but only slightly better than Tumblr. I need a break and I've got this feeling it isn't going to happen because of this mess unless someone here on Tapas finds merit in my work. I am so shook by this.

[Gatsumann]

Yeah, I think that's a fair statement. Based on the numbers I saw PW still could have kept going, but the fundamental reasons why they closed up shop are rational for sure. It was going to happen eventually. It's a shame because really, people, and I say this from direct experience as someone who made a living doing SEO with google adsense etc, shouldn't build their foundation on someone else's platform they don't control, these walled gardens.

I have built a modern, responsive design, mobile friendly, attractive webcomic, the likes I don't really see elsewhere. My goal is still to ultimately drive traffic to that site, and then collect the followers through email. When that list is large enough, market to them for a patreon or whatever. I still think that's the way to go. However, we are now going to have to build fandoms and communities, like on tumblr and funnel them to our sites and emails lists, if we are to build an audience big enough to sustain us.