Subscribers: Are we satisfied?

[heterodont]

i honestly forget about my subscriber number until i accidentally glance at the counter and its like "oh? that many people are following this? thats neat."

then other times I just see how other people get bursts of subscribers in a short amount of time because they were featured in daily/staff picks, spotlight, etc etc and get really depressed because I feel like I'm doing something wrong and wasting my time before I remember it's only because I'm constantly looking for validation from someone I perceive to be 'above' me.

[shazzbaa]

I don't know where this idea that getting more subscribers leads to some sort of subscriber-mania that you can "get caught up in" comes from. I don't think I've ever seen it happen?

I've seen creators get terrified by the sudden pressure if they get famous quickly, and I've seen creators end comics when they felt that the pressure from a fast-growing audience was too strong. I've seen creators who couldn't keep up with the pressure of a large audience, because they just wanted to tell their story, not manage that kind of crowd. But I don't think I've ever seen a creator that started with a love of comicking but lost sight of that love in the blind pursuit of a larger audience.

So I don't know if this is just what you imagine it must be like for creators with large audiences, but I don't see what you're describing in reality. I see cartoonists with 9k and 10k subscribers continuing to care deeply about their readers and continuing to be grateful for every one that reaches out to them. I see creators with huge audiences managing to create the things that excite them, things they love, despite the huge and vocal pressure that surrounds them. The idea that, as soon as you don't notice each new single subscriber, you must become less genuine somehow? That just doesn't hold up when you look at the creators who got those large numbers through work they care about.

Not every comic started with that goal, so that's not to say there aren't comics out there that pander -- there certainly are! But to see popular comics that pander and think "becoming popular must turn comics into panderers" is an illusory correlation.

[AnnaLandin]

Whether you have 3 or 3000 subscribers, will we ever be satisfied with the amount we have? We can say we are but there is always that little voice in our head that says that we wouldn't mind just one more and then one more after that.

Well, I want people to read my comic - if there's nobody reading, I'm just shouting into the void - and the more people the better, you know?

And then the more subscribers you get, the more likely you are to dismiss 1 person subscribing compared to someone who hasn't broken out of the single-digits yet.

I'm closing in on 4000 subscribers, and I value every single one of them. I realise that not all of them are actively reading my comic, I realise a bunch of them will eventually wander off and unsubscribe, and I know that not all 4000 of them have my comic as their very favourite comic - but I appreciate every single one of them. I will never NOT be overjoyed to know that one more person is enjoying what I do.

Before you know it the only reason you're doing the comic is to gain subscribers - not because you love creating comics.

Yeah, I haven't hit this point, and I doubt I ever will. I've spent over a decade on the internet, posting my art and getting hardly anything but crickets chirping in return - I kept going then, for the love of storytelling, and I am definitely going to keep going now, for the same reason.

One reason so many of us are focused on subscribers is because a lot of us are signed up to the ad revenue program, and more subscribers means we earn more money - an in webcomics, every cent counts. Not every subscriber will be contributing towards that - some of them read with ad-block on - but every little bit helps.

But like @shazzbaa said - I don't think I've ever seen the whole popularity-will-breed-subscriber-obsession thing you're talking about. I've seen a couple of creators get stressed by having so many readers, and feeling the urge to work faster and thus burn themselves out, but that's never been about gaining more subscribers - it's always been about living up to the expectations/demands from the audience you already have. But that's a whole separate issue, you know?

[alaingrey]

If you mean that the more people you have reading your comic, the less likely you are to intimately know each one, that's fair, but it's not that different when you don't have many. Not a fan of the accusation that the more popular a comic is the more shallow the writer is. Most popular comics are popular because the writer does care about their craft- a lot. Like a lot a lot.
People subscribing means you're doing something right, which shouldn't be greeted with disdain from other creators. This isn't a contest, and there's no need to put down people who have an audience by claiming them to be shallow. No ones not more deep and thoughtful than someone else just for having a smaller audience. Bleh!

[Michelle]

I think the main difference between having 10 subscribers vs 1,000 is that you might lose the ability to respond to every single comment and have to be more general with your thanks, but that doesn't mean you're dismissing the new guys when they subscribe.

I'm always excited when a new person subs to my comic, because I want to entertain people and make em happy. :> It also helps hold me to a quality standard when there's more eyes on my comic.

[69Michi]

Whether you have 3 or 3000 subscribers, will we ever be satisfied with the amount we have? We can say we are but there is always that little voice in our head that says that we wouldn't mind just one more and then one more after that.

People post thing online to gain other's recognition. The more subscriber you have, the more people you know that had laid their eyes on your comics. Truthfully I believe no one would be happy working hard on something, spending all your time on something, without receiving any sort of feedback or recognition. Such an activity will become boring very quick.

And then the more subscribers you get, the more likely you are to dismiss 1 person subscribing compared to someone who hasn't broken out of the single-digits yet. Before you know it the only reason you're doing the comic is to gain subscribers - not because you love creating comics.

I agree and disagree. Not all comic creators are like this. And I believe that most popular author out there doesn't possess such subscribers-crave. Not everything is black and white. If you have small audience = you do your comic for the love of it | you have large audience = you no longer love your comic and only care for subscribers. There is also the inbetween ground for someone who loves making their comics and also loves having the attention of a large group of audience.

Sure when you get big it's hard to personally reply to every single comment you get, but the love you put into the comic, the author's note you wrote in your description thanking people for supporting you, ... there is nothing wrong with making a big post to thank a group of people together instead of thanking them personally 1 by 1.If you are honestly sincere, then the post you made will be sincere. Also, you are here to tell a story, to entertain your readers, not to become BFF with them and chat with them back and forth for over 32930123 conversations.

[SirGutsalot]

Uh yeah sorry... I re-read what I wrote and I 100% agree with you. I've just started on tapastic and am only beginning to understand the world of webcomics. I was thinking more or less conceptually, just to put the idea out there, but by doing so forgot about the people who are in the scenario which I described.
:/
But a part from that, I am learning a lot from the views people are giving who have been here a lot longer than I, which is why I challenged the idea.

[Gaspode12]

I know for me, who still has a very low number of subscribers, the idea of gaining more is a big incentive. But it's not so much the actual end number as it is just the validation that what I'm doing is entertaining to more than just the odd one or two people. As someone has already said though likes and comments mean a lot too. I guess we all just want that feedback and boost in the confidence we have in our work.

[infectedbloodcomics]

Well, I only have 67 subscribers (just lost one yesterday), but I am honestly more interested in making comics that I truly enjoy and getting comments than having millions of subscribers who never say anything at all. I used to get more comments on Tapastic when I was more active, and I'm trying to get back into that. And then again, my story is likely not among the most attention-grabber, given that it's not a manga, it has no furries or vampires/zombies/werewolves and in general it just isn't aimed at the vast majority of webcomic readers, so I'm not fretting it at all

[alaingrey]

Hey, no problem. I think that comment right there shows a lot of self awareness. It seems when people start making their comic they expect a lot of vitality and that they're making a big hit, but the truth I its mostly hard work and persistence. The people with the big numbers have been persistent- either with their comics or by building up a large web presence elsewhere. It's easy to be bitter, but those are real people, and no ones pouring hours into a comic because they don't care and only want fame.
Instead of calling independent comic artists shallow and fame focused, you can watch an episode of reality tv and get a reality check about people who are in something for numbers haha.

[Kura]

I don't know where this idea that getting more subscribers leads to some sort of subscriber-mania that you can "get caught up in" comes from. I don't think I've ever seen it happen?

I've seen creators get terrified by the sudden pressure if they get famous quickly, and I've seen creators end comics when they felt that the pressure from a fast-growing audience was too strong. I've seen creators who couldn't keep up with the pressure of a large audience, because they just wanted to tell their story, not manage that kind of crowd. But I don't think I've ever seen a creator that started with a love of comicking but lost sight of that love in the blind pursuit of a larger audience.

So I don't know if this is just what you imagine it must be like for creators with large audiences, but I don't see what you're describing in reality. I see cartoonists with 9k and 10k subscribers continuing to care deeply about their readers and continuing to be grateful for every one that reaches out to them. I see creators with huge audiences managing to create the things that excite them, things they love, despite the huge and vocal pressure that surrounds them. The idea that, as soon as you don't notice each new single subscriber, you must become less genuine somehow? That just doesn't hold up when you look at the creators who got those large numbers through work they care about.

Not every comic started with that goal, so that's not to say there aren't comics out there that pander -- there certainly are! But to see popular comics that pander and think "becoming popular must turn comics into panderers" is an illusory correlation.

THIS so ****ing much.

[Dingbat1991]

It's one thing thinking that a webcomic is going to be your ticket set for life, but it's also another thing that you truly do put heart into the comic that you do and you end up feeling like nobody actually cares about it. When you release a continuous stream of comics and you go without a comment for weeks, perhaps months on end, you wonder what are you doing wrong and why you are releasing this story to the public.

Anybody can click a subscribe button and anybody can click a like button, but commenting shows that they bothered to read the comic.

[shaneoid77]

@shazzbaa your words are like literary ambrosia

[elixiadragmire]

I'm closing in on 4000 subscribers, and I value every single one of them. I realise that not all of them are actively reading my comic, I realise a bunch of them will eventually wander off and unsubscribe, and I know that not all 4000 of them have my comic as their very favourite comic - but I appreciate every single one of them. I will never NOT be overjoyed to know that one more person is enjoying what I do.

This. I'm 7000+ now and when ever I get ONE unsub I'm disheartened, question what I did wrong like a committed relationship.

But like @shazzbaa said - I don't think I've ever seen the whole popularity-will-breed-subscriber-obsession thing you're talking about. I've seen a couple of creators get stressed by having so many readers, and feeling the urge to work faster and thus burn themselves out, but that's never been about gaining more subscribers - it's always been about living up to the expectations/demands from the audience you already have. But that's a whole separate issue, you know?

Yup. It fills me with anxiety. Am I doing a good job? What if they dont like the way the story will go? I need to work faster! Why are people reading this? I dont deserve the praise.
I think like any business its not the big number, much like a prize I wanna boost about that stresses me out, but the care for the consumers of my product that stresses me out. I wanna catered to everyone and the more that come and sub means I'm doing a good job at that BUT the double edged or that means more people to care for and off we go around the merry go round of excitement and stress!

[GesuGesu]

I've seen creators get terrified by the sudden pressure if they get famous quickly, and I've seen creators end comics when they felt that the pressure from a fast-growing audience was too strong. I've seen creators who couldn't keep up with the pressure of a large audience, because they just wanted to tell their story, not manage that kind of crowd.

That definitely happened to me. Although I'm not over 1000 subs famous yet, when I posted my first comic, I jumped from 0 subscribers to 400+ in a week. I didn't really know how to deal with subscribers since I was really just posting my schoolwork someplace accessible.

To this point, I've seen authors make celebratory posts for every 100+ new subs, or visit each subscriber's page and post a "thanks for subbing!" message, but I couldn't do that for 400 sudden subscribers. So far, I haven't done anything to recognize the subscribers.

Even more, my most populat comic is "completed", yet people keep subbing and wishing it continued. There's a pressure that comes with being someone who posted their first comic short and planned it to end at <10 pages, then 500 readers suddenly request "MAN I WISH THERE WERE MORE!!!"

[joannekwan]

I think people would always like to have more subs, regardless of how many they have already.

The important thing is to not focus on the numbers, rather the quality and consistency of your work. However, numbers can definitely indicate if there is an issue with your work. If you feel like you don't have as many subs as you think you should, then I suggest seeking out critiques (but please only do so when you have a bare minimum of 5 pages of work with significant art and dialogue).

It's always good to see creators caring about their readers. However I know it can vary greatly depending on their schedules if they can actually express their appreciation whether by replying to comments or doing things to thank readers.

[MissMagicGirl]

My little comic has 8 subscribers now https://tapastic.com/series/magicadvisor which makes me happy since I am pretty new. But of course I want more. I don't think it is wrong to want subscribers but you have to make the comic for you in the end of the day. Not stress to update if you don't feel like drawing at all. Then the comic won't be as good anyway. But of course it makes me super happy the more followers i have since I want to share my story with the world. I think even if I had a million subscribers I would get just as happy every time there was a new one

[NickRowler]

If I was making comics solely to gain subscribers, then I would make the most pandering shit out there...like a pretty boy BL series with all the kissing and kawaii-ness or whatever...

But no, I would rather write something I like. I know not everyone is going to like it or care and that's fine. I sort of prefer having a small set of followers because "large groups make me nervous". I came to this site to expand my followers, which may mean going from 5 people who I am 100% sure are reading this to 10 people I am 100% sure are reading this.

[sebastien181]

I started recently creating and uploading my comic here and have 2 subscribers. It wouldn't mind having a few more views/subscribers haha. Like lots of people have said it's nice to know people are enjoying what you are creating and want more. I believe my comic RGB Comics has potential so I'm going to keep working hard on it.

[sebastien181]

Completely agree, nicely put!