Shoutout exchanges or the lack thereof (ie...why don't artists want to help each other out and get famous at the same time?)

stevemyers773 2015-09-15 20:30:32 UTC #1

So i've posted in several facebook groups about doing Shoutout for Shoutouts on my instagram or Tapastic. Out of possibly thousands of artists, at the least, hundreds, 4 people...yes...4 people have replied to exchange in this manner. Now I know not everyone has a Tapastic, but in many of these groups, there are IG accounts, and still nothing. So is this just an artist thing? What is it about this idea that seems so off putting? To me...it just makes sense...you tap into another artists fan base and they tap into yours. Are we THAT afraid of competition we're unwilling to help each other out?

Curious as to your thoughts...

(and yes...if anyone wants to exchange/cross promote each other, drop me a line and I'm down as long as it's art related.)

Doubtcent 2015-09-15 20:38:48 UTC #2

I've done it before, but it takes time out of promoting your own comic or making it, so sometimes it means laziness, or sometimes it means business.

PotooGryphon 2015-09-15 20:38:52 UTC #3

Not sure I know what you're talking about. Several artists I know promote each others comics however most of the time they do so willingly and unasked (just because they love the series)

Also on twitter, SO MANY awesome loving creator RT other creator's update posts, WIP sketches, and promotional artwork.

I'm sorry to read you've had a tough go at it but perhaps your approach is off?
Maybe focus on joining a community and forming bonds with other creators before asking for "shoutout exchanges". I find that shoutouts are more genuine when both are familiar with each others work.

elixiadragmire 2015-09-15 20:44:52 UTC #4

yup, all of this, I do it a fair amount. I haven't seen your shoutouts to be fair thou I dont hangout on instagram (hubby says i should go there)

Luminosophy 2015-09-15 20:46:16 UTC #5

I think there is really a line to be drawn though. I think shoutouts only work when both creators are genuinely interested in each other's content, because by extension the fans (whom follow these creators out of the same interests) are highly likely to like the content as well. I think fans would get pretty annoyed at having random series pushed in their faces that has little or no similarity to the content they follow, as well as can tell it's just an obvious promo for promo. I think if you go out of your way to promote people's comics, do it because you want to and do it because you actually like the comic.

keii4ii 2015-09-15 20:47:59 UTC #6

I wish I could like this post OVER NINE THOUSAAAAND times.

jonufele 2015-09-15 21:00:21 UTC #7

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Silerna 2015-09-15 21:05:41 UTC #8

It takes ALOT patience I guess. Promoting my comic never really worked out for me so far.

Kayke 2015-09-15 21:37:36 UTC #9

I think it has to come from a place of genuinely wanting to share someone else's work. Like I have people on twitter/tumblr who will retweet/reblog my work and I retweet/reblog other people's work all the time... but I have never seen a 'let's all shout out each other' thing working.

It's been my experience that if you just keep putting your work out there on social media, people will share it. Being friendly helps too, of course.

(also, instagram doesn't really feel like a good place for shout outs and stuff since you can't post links)

chacsan 2015-09-15 21:47:08 UTC #10

It feels wrong to promote a comic just because the creator promoted yours, and likewise you shouldn't promote someone and expect them to promote you in return. You promote something because you like it. I think it's very important for creators to support each other, and I feel like we are doing that already, at least in my circle.

You just gotta find people with kind of a similar comic to yours (in style, theme, genre), read their comic, promote their comic, and be nice to the creator, and then if you're lucky they might have a look at your comic and if they like it they might promote it. If not? Well at least you found a new comic you like and I'm sure you've made the creator very happy with your support! : D But don't ask a 'popular' artist to promote you when you've barely (or never) talked.

Spreading negativity by saying things like "why doesn't anyone promote my comic?" is actually one of the worst things you can do; it only brews more negativity. But if you're positive and supportive people will like you and want to help you! c:

Dranif 2015-09-15 22:10:39 UTC #11

Pretty much what @CyndiFoster and @spudfuzz said.
Artists (readers even) would only really want to share if they like what they see, and really only are willing to do shoutout exchanges if they know the other creator well enough. Also, there are plenty of artists on Twitter (myself included) who often share/RT the comic updates of other creators they like.

So it's not a fear of competing, or a fear of getting your fans stolen by someone with better or less talent than you. If things were like that, why would anyone bother uploading webcomics (and any form of media, really) ?

Yeah sure, I haven't had much luck at promoting myself yet, but that's only because I'm still relatively new to this in comparison to those who took years to build a community.

Patience, buddy. Patience is essential to the path towards greatness.

stevemyers773 2015-09-15 22:23:41 UTC #12

Actually I've done all of this...and it still falters. I've promoted other artists every chance I can, try to do a regular Shoutout Saturday feature on my IG for other people trying to make it. The shoutout never really comes back unless it's agreed upon before hand, and like I said, that's been very very rare... which is all fine, and not why I do the shoutouts. But the mindset of it all got me wondering...'why? Why won't artists shake hands with each other more often and say, yeah, I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine!'

stevemyers773 2015-09-15 22:24:27 UTC #13

Self promotion is very very exhausting...I feel like I spend maybe 30 mins to an hour minimum on it every day when i should be drawing/getting better.

stevemyers773 2015-09-15 22:31:25 UTC #14

I've also had success more on IG than anywhere as far as my own promotion....when i promote someone I like I usually just screen shot their page w/ their username and then tag them in the post so people can click straight to it..wont work for web pages, I wish it did though, but works for IG accounts.

Also, to be clear, although it IS very frustrating trying to get my own stuff out there, i'm not trying to be negative or bag on artists for not sharing my stuff...I'm more curious why this isn't more of a thing and why people don't want to cross promote more often with each other. So I don't want it to seem like I'm expecting the world on a platter and anyone who doesn't deliver is dead to me or something

keii4ii 2015-09-15 22:36:59 UTC #15

To be honest, if anyone offered to promote my comic under the condition that I promote them back, that would make me feel used and devalued. I wouldn't want anyone to promote my work for any reason other than "I really like this, and it deserves more exposure." Between two extremes, A) getting no shoutouts and B) only getting 'agreed upon' shoutouts, I would choose A).

And even as a reader, if a creator I follow keeps spamming cross promo, I might stop following them out of annoyance. I want to see creators helping each other with no strings attached. And we DO have that going on around the community!

stevemyers773 2015-09-15 23:48:07 UTC #16

I'm not sure I understand how this works, could you elaborate?

sophiekaldinski 2015-09-16 09:28:32 UTC #17

Kinda my thoughts. I would not want to promote an artists work unless I like it personally. It would feel wrong for me to promote a comic that isn´t up my lane.
So promote me, I promote you feels kind of weird, especially when artists already promote things they like by drawing fan-art for example.

jonufele 2015-09-16 09:31:56 UTC #18

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elixiadragmire 2015-09-16 13:05:00 UTC #19

the thing is I do this and see this done .... everywhere. People will seek to find others who like the same things they do, so if they like something they tend to share it. Mechanically harvesting that thou comes off as false and sterile and people dont like being sold to, so they avoid such attempts. Its common human behaviour

PotooGryphon 2015-09-16 13:44:23 UTC #20

Yes, exactly. I see this everywhere too.

@stevemyers773, I think your approach is just off, and I think everyone else is basically saying that too. It's more important to join a community and build friendships rather than try to ask as many of them as possible to help promote. It'll happen naturally once friendships are made and you enjoy each others series.

"Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" is awkward to ask of a practical stranger. Think about approach a random people on the street and asking, "Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". You'll probably get the same odds that you mentioned in your original post.

In fact, you could start right now, by introducing yourself to this community and participating in some thread topics, maybe try a couple of the art event threads. Just have fun and meet people.