The Difficulty Of Original Stuff

[Tentakustar]

I'm not too sure if this topic was covered already but I basically wanted to know what were some of your thoughts on why getting your original stuff out there is so difficult. I mean this in general as in indie games, Webcomics and of course illustrations.

what does it take to get that establishment and recognition you need for your Original Stuff?

[Kura]

Lack of funds for over-saturating the market with professional promotional content.

[keii4ii]

Getting recognition for anything is difficult -- even fan art! You may have a somewhat higher chance at getting your fanart recognized, but you still need a certain degree of skill. And even when one fanart you did goes viral? There is absolutely no guarantee that it will put YOU on the spotlight.

And as @kurapikasuki said, marketing/promotion. That is the big missing piece for most of us.

[shazzbaa]

I think it's a couple of things.

We're more interested in people we already know -- like, a friend's recommendation is gonna come more highly than a random person's, right? And fanart gives us a chance to engage with "people" we already know, while original work is asking you to invest in someone new -- in a random person who asks you to please, hear their life story and care about it. That's going to take as much time is it would take you to get to know and care about a random person in real life!

The second thing is that, well, there are a lot of indie things out there that are bad or unfinished. There are a lot of people who are sure they're going to write an epic webcomic that spans thousands of pages, but then realise they're not having fun after the first two chapters. There are indie games that are released as an alpha version and never, ever improved on when the creator doesn't feel like following through. There are a lot of people who have a promising story that they didn't really think through, so it peters out unsatisfactorily when they try to end it. Because people know this happens, when we see something original by an independent creator, we are sometimes wary and slow to invest. We want to see a certain level of professionalism, to prove it's serious, and we want it to have enough of a following, or have completed enough, that we can trust it to be worth our time and be willing to really get invested.

I think the only thing we can do as creators is to really put our all into our original stuff and be persistent!

[Pernellmatthew]

Yeah over saturation is a big thing. There are just so many things out there that it's tough to build a following. I've recently begun social media marketing and its tough now because there are already so many people doing the same thing. Many who are successful have either been at it for a long time or were early adapters of something (aka the first few people to post their art on instagram probably have tons of followers).

[AnnaLandin]

Skill, persistence and patience.

You need to have something - either a level of technical skill, or the luck to find a niche people enjoy - to get started, and after that, it's a matter of a lot of persistence in posting stuff regularly, promoting your stuff tirelessly, and not giving up.

And a whoooooole lot of patience. While some stuff has the luck of going viral and gaining a following quickly, most of us have to do the legwork of building an audience slowly, piece by piece. Overnight successes are mythologised and admired because they're rare - and anyway, those overnight successes are often cast as overnight successes, even though the creators behind it have years and years of work leading up to that point.

[PotooGryphon]

Mainstream products are known, have an established consistent product that people can rely on, and they're just all around safe.

People that pick up a super hero comic from Marvel or DC know exactly what they're getting it to when they open that comic. There's a main character that they already like, a story plot that has been around for decades, and there's a satisfying conclusion most often of the hero saving the day.

For OC comics the readers/publishers take a risk because everything about it is unknown. Who the character(s) are, what the story is about, if it'll last till the conclusion of the series.

Webcomics are easier for original content to get noticed and gain a following. With webcomics it's easier to take the risk and read something new because they're free, quick to access/read, and OC makes up the majority of webcomics out there. Webcomics are an equal playing field of experimental comics that cover a wide range of all story topics.

In order to get noticed in webcomics it just takes time, patience, persistence, and lots of learning effective promotion techniques. Promoting, Promoting, Promoting!

[starlightcityentert]

Persistence, hardwork, a positive attitude, patience, and making sure your product is the best it can be when presenting it.

Its always an uphill climb because there are a million comics out there and half the market is dominated by two companies owned by Disney and Time Warner, but being patient with yourself and your audience is key, and making sure that EVERY DAY you are doing something towards getting your product out there or working on aspects of your product (new material, promo work, networking, doing research on ways to help your situation) is key.

Its all about dedication. I have a massive mural in my apartment of pages, posters, and artwork of characters from my series that I see every day before I head out the door, just as a cognitive reminder that what I set out to do today will always be a contributing factor into the building of my series brand.

[starlightcityentert]

Cyndi hits the nail on the head (as usual).

Deciding to release my series as a webcomic was one of the best decisions ever as far as getting visibility, readership, and promotion. And...it's fun! I love making updates, interacting with people each week about it on here, and outside of here seeing that my website is now getting organic, repeat traffic each week makes me even more determined to work harder in all areas of it. It is time consuming and I find myself having late nights or waking up early to work on things but I love doing it.

[jacintawibowo]

Yeah it's easier for a causal person to like fanart because it's based on something they know they like, where if it's an original cast/story, they have to put effort into checking out what that is first.

It helps to be known that you have original content (if you draw fanart, mix it with original stuff 50/50) and network/make a lot of artist friends. Support them, and by the time you kick off your original project, they'll come and support you (if you become good friends by then)!

[Doubtcent]

Sorry I'm a bit late to the post, but I'll put in my two cents.
Making something that other people have never seen or heard before is a risk. It's easier and more profitable to make something everyone has seen and heard before because there is a definite audience there.
But only when there is something new and original will you stand out from the crowd if you work long and hard enough. If you have enough skill to present something that is new, then it could end up outliving the mass of similar and unoriginal concepts. People are always looking for new things, so once they grow tired of the same stuff, they might end up finding you.
The Nostalgia Critic talks about it all the time.

[kazukitakamura126]

I believe what makes posting Original content on the internet is getting noticed. Unlike an existing product it doesn't have a fanbase, you have to go out and network just to get noticed. However, the products that are instantly successful are usually made by people who took the time to build a fanbase and is more experience in their field. In the last 8 months I was able to gather 33 subscribers to my profile but, I had to read alot of other artists works and go to the forum and socialize.

[Tentakustar]

Thanks for sharing some of your thoughts everyone! I just wanted to make a thread that could probably not only help me but others as well since I know how frustrating it can be to get your work out there when you feel like your simply just not getting anywhere. it's rough and it can be quite a downer too. especially trying your hardest to stay positive.

you open up a livestream but no one seems to come, you decided to open up a store but no one seems interested in buying, you make a journal on DA or do a Blog on Tumblr hoping to get comments but they're aren't any. you hoping for reblogs or retweets but nope no bite..

take note too that you can have a lot of followers but your simply not even getting anything out of them. only like 1 or 2 of that following actually does something.

To add to this topic, how do you get people engaged in not only you but in what you do? be it comics, indie games, being a youtuber...