Promoting comics on social media

[annuskabriar]

hi there! ive seen advice around to promote your comic (or story in general) on social media, but i was wondering - how exactly is the best way to go about that? ive got some art social media accounts (instagram, tumblr, bluesky, deviantart, sheezy mostly for regular posting), and i also post my comic on deviantart and tumblr and comicfury, but i dont get a ton of engagement on any of my accounts, especially instagram. i also occasionally use reddit and tiktok, and tend to avoid twitter nowadays aha. anyways, i was just wondering what strategies had worked for other people for promoting their comics on social media?

[JJay]

Sorry buddy, but I am as clueless as you are. This my first time posting my manga here. And this time I had that confidence to share my Instagram ID.

So if you know the secret, let me know too.

[GothickangelStudios]

Think its just trial and error.
I get most of my views on Comic Fury between 200 to 600 a day the odd 800. And with my epilepsy I can only do 1 page of a manga style a month. Its not even webtoon multi-strip. But it did not start out like that 5 years ago.

Meta apps like 50 views a year. Restricted to PG13 and below too. They train AI on peoples artwork too.
Tapas and Webtoon like 8,000 combined in 5 years. Their readers prefer more romance. Mines horror, fantasy and supernatural.
Deviant Art was liike 100 viesws a month but then....they chose to sneaky scrape everyones artwork for AI training a while back...so I won't post there anymore for that.
Many places dont like content US PG13 and above, so I dont post there for my 14+ (Canada) manga.

I just kept doing my hobby on Comic Fury... I noticed once my art style improved and skill and got more pages in. People wanted to read it more. Now I have some fans. Even got fan art.
I make no money on any paying platform. Cause once again its US rated PG13 only.

I am on BlueSky, but until it impliments statistics per post. I have no idea how many people have looked at it. So thats a ????? currently.
Recently started Fables and its a start up. I get about 250 a month.
Nami Comi is still in beta Ive gotten like 413 views in 2 years. Many there are rolling in high numbers. But I have to censor it again.

I started using Canva Free but now have Pro. It lets you easily set up social media ads with animations, music, graphics, etc. (I don't use the scraping AI options they have.) Its a popular app, meant for beginners to pro designers like I am. I love using it. Quicker than the Adobe programs that do much of the same for on the go stuff.

[Leyelle]

I post wips and panels without the dialog on my of as well as bonus art of my ocs

[conventurecomics]

I post on social media for my comics. It takes time to achieve any goals. I also post for fun and enjoyment I also enjoy when my work is liked out there. Just have fun while your sharing your work out there. It's also fun supporting other creators or social media users having fun out there.

[The_Chosen_Z]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

[thepenmonster]

It has always been the case that you need to post up art that panders to the audiences of each social media platform.

So on Bluesky that means furry pron and on Xitter it's underage girls.

[emedeme]

I update my comic on Mondays, so every Monday I post a panel from that page on my social media (Bluesky and Tumblr, sometimes also Instagram) to let my followers and possible new readers know. I also add links to the English and Spanish versions because I update in both languages, a link to my Patreon and some hashtags. A regular update post looks like this:

Sometimes, instead of a weekly post, I make a reminder with several scenes of panels like "hey hi I'm working on this" and write about the story so readers know what the comic is about. I've also started to make reels/videos for Instagram and Tiktok to help promote it, and I'm working on silly side comics and reels with memes. That kind of thing got me to read other people's comics, so I thought I'd try myself

In my case, my comic is a Greek mythology retelling, so being involved with the Greek myth fandom helps to find new readers. So, if possible, find a community or even other authors with similar interests or similar stories. At least to keep each others fueled!

Like @GothickangelStudios said: it's trial and error. You keep trying until you find out what works and what doesn't. Some posts might work very well and maybe you'll get a viral thing, but it's rare. I feel like promoting comics is just like endurance running - you need to keep a regular pace and persevering while you do your thing.

[The_Chosen_Z]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[annuskabriar]

i stopped using twitter bc you couldnt opt out of your images being used for AI.... didnt know meta apps do that too, if thats what you mean. ty btw!

[annuskabriar]

thank you, this is very helpful!

[annuskabriar]

aha, well there's been some good advice here so far!