Some Forum Promo Tips For Newcomers

HGohwell 2023-06-15 15:13:20 UTC #1

So, we know a lot of you are here to promote your series, and that's great, but there's a problem. Lot of people come here just to spam their link and leave, meaning lots of people have the Promotions category muted, which isn't great for anyone trying to promote. So, how about we get some tips for effective promotions on the forum.

Leave a link! This is something that should seem obvious and yet still constantly needs to be pointed out to people. When you're promoting, unless the thread specifically asks you not to leave a link, leave a link to your work. Make it as easy as possible to find your series. Lot of people won't go searching for your series, so if you don't have a link right there, lots of people just won't come back even if you later edit it to leave a link.
Have a link in your bio! If you have a series, make sure you have a link in your bio, so if someone thinks you seem interesting, they can find your work. Never underestimate networking and connections.
Never underestimate networking! While it seems tempting to simply promote your work and leave, with the amount of people who have the promo category muted, and just as many people who're turned off by spam, you'll be missed by a decent amount of people. Joining in in converstations, which no ulterior motive like dropping your link every time, is a good way to get people to give you a chance. Imagine, if a friend asks you to look at their work after you've had long discussions with them and know them vs a stranger who only ever shoves their work in your face every time you meet and nothing else. Which are you more likely to give a chance? This is why you need the link in your bio.
Don't promote in places you shouldn't! If it is not a promotion thread, and someone hasn't asked you to link your work, don't. The forum is a community. If you get known for shoving your link places it shouldnt be, people will quickly start ignoring you. Along the same lines, if a thread asks for s specific type of series to promote, dont put your link there if it doesn't fit that series. The amount of people I see trying to force their series into a thread that their series doesn't belong in with mental gymnastics. It's not a good look. If your series isn't the genre or type the thread is asking for, don't put your link there, it's not that hard.
Spamming every promo thread isn't helpful! I see it often enough, one profile pic goes through the promo category and just spams their link in every single thread there within a few minutes. It's not effective. It turns people off. It's the sort of thing that leaves people muting the entire category. Quality over quanitity my friends.
Reivews/Feedback category is your friend! While many people have the promotions category muted, the category for Reviews/Feedback is a good place to find some readers and get some feeback. Now, obviously, you have to be willng to take feedback, don't post there if you're not willing to take some feedback and listen, but if you have a bit of your series done, sometimes posting for feedback is a good place to find some readers. Responding to feedback badly can make you look very bad, so be sure you're ready for it, but people who aren't interested in promo threads can be more willing to look at works if people are geniunely engaged in feedback.
Sub4sub is a tricky issue! So, here is the contraversial tricky one. Sub4sub has a history of people on both sides. While sub4sub can get you subs, it's promoting to the same group of people. The same say 25 people all sub to each other and you'll generally see the same people in the sub4sub threads. It seems like a quick fix, but quickly runs out of steam when all the people willing to sub4sub run out. It can get you to milestones, but know the early milestones don't actually do anything but make you feel good. Unlocking tips/ink is a long way off on sub4sub. Beyond that, the subs are often hollow. And an empty sub can actually do more damage than good. While Tapas has entire given out their exact formula, to be trending you need engagement. 1 sub who likes and comments quickly is actually better for your position on the charts than 100 subs and 1 like and comment. Empty subs lower your engagement percentage, so be aware. There are also some people who just see sub4sub as lazy and just won't look at people who partake in it. Be aware of these things when you set out on the sub4sub path.

And there you go. Some quick forum promo tips. Feel free to drop your own as well.

rosierubycardinal 2023-06-15 15:20:25 UTC #2

I think the biggest one I see is just people not paying attention to what thread they are posting on.

Follow the rules of the thread! If it asks you to post a picture of your character, do that. If it asks you to swap reviews, do that. Don't just post the same basic copypasta everywhere. Pay attention to what the thread is asking you to do!

cherrystark 2023-06-15 16:54:59 UTC #3

No One Cares as Much About Your Work as You Do.

While it's totally okay to want to talk about your series, most people haven't read your series. We have a lot of conversations about different series here, you might make a connection to your series and make a reference to it. While for some people it may make them look up your work, for people who think like me - constant references to your series without it tying back to the main idea about the thread - I won't want to read it. *This also extends to threads asking for "help". If we keep having to help you fix problems on a story, most people might not be inclined to actually read it for pleasure.

Actions Speak Louder than Words
For a lot of people, we come here to socialize. If you treat people with respect AND have your work linked in your bio, they are far more likely to check out your work organically than if you come in trying to throw your weight around as an "expert".

darthmongoose 2023-06-15 20:13:54 UTC #4

Themed Promo Threads are the Best Promo Threads:
Threads where you drop your link and run are the easiest to make, and the worst for actually getting readers. Themed threads that either collect similar works together based on the sort of thing somebody might be looking for (example: Series with a Disabled protagonist, Vampire comics, Novels by South Asian creators etc.) will tend to stand out, and the people in the thread have something in common and might check each other's stuff out too (based on actual interest, not obligation!). Threads that give a taster like "Show your latest page!", "Post your spookiest passage!", "Share your villain!" are similarly more effective because there's something to show what's cool about your series.

Change it Up:
If spamming every promo thread isn't getting you readers (or isn't getting you readers unless you sweeten the deal with a return sub), consider changing things up. Maybe your cover or banner aren't right for this platform, or your blurb? It doesn't always mean they're no good, but different platforms like different things, so try stuff out, and see what gets a good response here.

TheLemmaLlama 2023-06-17 08:58:40 UTC #5

I know the spirit of what you're saying - I just find it funny when people go 'in order to promote yourself, you should participate in conversations with no ulterior motives', or similarly 'to make friends and get people to like you, just be nice to people without having ulterior motives'

It's like ... I'm only reading this in the first place because I DO have ulterior motives! My ulterior motive is to promote myself/get people to like me/make friends; you know that, the whole point of your advice is for people with ulterior motives like mine :'D

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest XD I know you're not saying 'you're not allowed to want to promote yourself' But for people whose brains work like mine, lemme rephrase that for you:

Don't stake your interaction on people doing what you want, and thus achieving your ulterior motives. It's okay to go into a conversation in the hopes that people will notice you and check out your stuff - it's okay even if you wouldn't have joined the conversation in the first place if you estimate that you're unlikely to get noticed^ - but don't get mad or blame people if it turns out no-one ended up being interested in your stuff.
Even if you're only there to promote yourself, don't act like it; e.g. by dropping your link every time. I guess for me, the core of it is 'don't make me feel like you're expecting me to check out your stuff after reading your post, or that you'd give me a stinkeye if you could see me scrolling past without checking out your work' But generally, people just find it annoying for whatever reason, even if it might be different from mine

^ Full disclosure, sometimes I'd see one of those 'show/tell me X about your story' threads and I'll deliberately wait for other people to post first in order to gather data on how often people get replies, and decide whether to engage based on that (e.g. If the OP comments on every reply, I'm more likely to post than if the whole thread was just people posting about X in their story with no engagement except likes)

I mean sometimes I'll post anyway if it doesn't take long (e.g. I don't have to hunt through my comic and crop out like 5 different images) and/or if I wanted to respond to someone else anyway. But often it's all very calculated. Does anyone else do this? I feel like a sociopath sometimes XD

darthmongoose 2023-06-17 09:58:36 UTC #6

I consider posting in threads, while it is something I enjoy doing, part of my "personal brand", so you're not alone here, and I get where you're coming from. I don't think it's necessarily sociopathic behaviour to think about how what you post reflects on how people perceive you and your work, or posting while thinking "I hope people read my thoughts on approaching this theme and think my storytelling philosophy sounds interesting and check out my work".

After all, I don't do private reviews or critiques, and that's partially because I think other people can get a lot out of seeing critiques of similar works, but it's at least partially because reviewing in public gets me a lot more in return for my hard work than reviewing in private. Reviewing in public allows me to demonstrate expertise in comics, and expertise is an important part of my brand. I don't have a comic with a super flashy art style or a big elevator pitch concept, so I rely on people reading my work for my attention to detail, and passion for the craft of sequential art and storytelling.
So while I love giving out advice and critiques because I like to help people and see them achieve their goals with their work... there's an aspect where it helps me too. This is common in the industry. Scott McCloud has the same deal going; his comics aren't in popular genres or a pretty style, and must be marketed on his mastery of the graphic novel as a medium on a fundamental level, so selling himself as an "expert" by doing books and talks markets his work better than just...showing people panels from it or telling them the concept.

So I think that's a valid angle, and perhaps it's less "don't have ulterior motives" and more, "don't make every post you make obviously all about you or your work; be a bit more clever. Sometimes what you say about a subject, or somebody else's work advertises yours, and sometimes a discreet link in your profile is stronger than always dropping your link at the end of everything you post because it looks more confident."