The truth about an audience

[tayo_rafferty]

I think I've been on tapastic for 2-3 years at this point (on and off). The one thing that I have seen consistently is great comics.

What I have also seen is plenty of people producing rushed work (I have done the same in the past). I think some people see those comics with massive audiences or the ones which get "featured" and they get 'stars in their eyes', so to speak.

I have also seen a few forum posts with artist complaining about the fact that they have no subscribers or not enough subscribers. A lot of these topics have people in them which seem to think that because they work hard or because they are talented that they 'deserve' subscribers and they are perplexed as to why they are not getting the attention.

Here's what I think. No one deserves an audience, no is 'owed' anything. Every single comic that you see with a large audience had to earn it through perseverance, hard work and (probably) a lot of optimism.

So if you feel unsatisfied with your comic or your subscriber count then ask yourself these questions:

Why did I start my comic?

Do I care about my comic?

If I knew that this comic would never gain attention would I continue to do it?

Would I rather have a popular comic that I hate or a comic I love with a small audience?

Another thing that creators pining for a large audience should do is actually study those comics with a massive audience. Let's take Scurry as an example

This comic has been a fantastic read for me so far and I discovered it because it was featured on tapastic last week. Let's take a look at the stats ...

Wow! Just over 600 thousand views! Around 9 thousand subscribers. That is a massive audience and a lot of attention. Here's the thing, the latest episode has this many likes...

For anyone who can't be bothered to do the math. Having around 9000 subscribers but only about 300 likes means you audience interaction is less than 5%

So what's keeping the comic alive? Why was it "featured" on tapastic?

The artist. He (I assume it's a he) cares about the comic and the story enough to keep going even though less than 5% of the audience actively engage in the comic on a regular basis. I'm sure this comic will keep going an gaining in popularity but remember something that Mac Smith already knows. It doesn't 'deserve' attention it had to earn it's attention, through consistent artwork which reflected the passion of the artist.

Finally, I want conclude by saying that you should think of creating a comic in a similar sense as the idiom "Blood will tell". That is an English idiom which means essentially that you can't escape your nature. I don't entirely agree with it but if you think about it in the context of a comic; a comic with the right "nature" and an artist with the right "nature" will eventually see some fruition from their hard work whereas someone withe the wrong "nature" will ultimately fail. The best part is you can change and control the nature of your comic and your own nature as an artist. Good luck!

I would love to know what people think. If you disagree with anything I've said please explain why and don't just say "you're wrong, stoopid".

[inbox_anime]

I would say your right tho. Besides the creators got to take part by boosting their work via other social media..

[punkarsenic]

man, ive never considered that even popular comics get such a low percentage of audience interaction. thats a real eye opener.

this is a great perspective and very well put

[zetina]

i almost never "like" pages and don't see that stat as relevant. if there's 5+ comments per update, nothing else matters.

[genjiOtori]

I think, that's the secret at all. I know a friend of mine who got featured in the daily snack. She got a lot of subscribers in a short period of time but hadn't the endurance to stay consistent with her uploads after two or three month. If you lack the passion and the will to go through hardship (and creating comics has a lot of hardships) then even a lot of subscribers won't help you continue your story. Maybe it gives a motivational boost but that only last for a few hours at last.

So here I am with around 300 subscribers and still doing my job and uploading my comic, because I love the story, because it's my passion. Even if I had like 50 subs I would still continue it.
That's also why I'm not really a huge fan of the staff pick. They pick newly created comics (who look really amazing however). But the most important thing: do they have the endurance to keep their updates is unsure. Would love to see more comics who keep consistent updates for at least a year or so.

[ReroOnyx]

Here's the thing, it needs to be kind of remembered that not everyone likes or comments a page. If anything the subs and views gives a great deal on just how popular something is. The fact that "Scurry" has 9,000+ subs already shows the testament to its popularity and the fact that it has been enjoyable or seems to be potentially enjoyable for people to post.

The truth is, your likes or comments will probably be only about 1/4 of the size of your subscription. Many people just want to sub to read a comic.

One of my favorite comics to read is "The Premise" by MGO. They have about 4.5k subs but their latest page only has around 100+ comments.

Chibi Dairy by "Chibi" has 75 subs, it's latest page only had 19 likes.

"My Dear Cold Blooded King" by my good friend Lifelight has 300+ subs but the latest page there only has 34 likes.

In the end, you really can't expect likes or comments to match the subscription because one can't expect 9,000 people to click like or comment. So it kind of make sense for something like "Scurry" to have those numbers. If a comic with 4.5k subs is earning 100+ likes. Double that and you'd get 200+ likes on average and then you have the helpful point that Scurry is on the Popular list and its getting more attention.

The idea of showing effort to your work and motivating yourself to always work had is a great thing to have. But as far as like and comments goes, that just seems to be a sense of how Tapastic works statistically and while I couldn't put an exact number. It does seem that ones likes or comments will be about 1/3 or 1/4 the size of the actual subs.

[tayo_rafferty]

@ReroOnyx
I was using Scurry to illustrate the fact that audience interaction can be very low (in this case less than 5%) for anyone, whether they are popular or not. Which is why people shouldn't worry about the number and instead worry about the work itself. Mac has now gone one to make over 45 thousand dollars through a kickstarter of his comic even though he has only a 5% audience interaction on tapastic.

The reason I am focusing on likes is because it is a more exact measurement of interaction with a piece of content then subscribers or views.

[phoenixrenaissance]

I'd say also remember that your audience are people and not just numbers.
A friend of mine put it in a cool way that I always try to remember. If you've got 100 people looking at your stuff, that's enough to fill a movie theater, and that's cool just to picture.

And a little more on topic, I live for those people who actually interact. Those are the ones who are going to share your promotions, help announce your kickstater, and leave those fun comments on your pages.

[iddqd]

I think the truth may be even more interesting than that. I have a background in statistical analysis, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that statistics can mislead even a seasoned analyst. I think it's a great observation that this huge popular featured comic has a ton of initial views and subscriptions, but so few likes. I never noticed before. I also wonder how Scurry will be doing for page views over a couple of months time, especially given how much effort the author is putting into each page.

I have been struggling gaining viewership all along, and currently sit at 88 subscribers. Good stuff, but when I look at the views per last two pages, they have 41 and 38 views, respectively - that over the course of the past two weeks. So slightly less than half of my subscribers (if I assume that all of them were my subscribers, which I really cannot) actually viewed the pages, and I have no idea if all of those views are unique, i.e. if some of the readers viewed the pages more than once. So I think what this all means is that subscriber count is at best an inaccurate measure of actual readership that overestimates it. And if you want to monetize your work, there are additional challenges to finding your "true" readership count.

So, having a small subscriber count is not so bad maybe, if you have good reader engagement and interaction. If you have a few people who actually enjoy your work, that's better than a large audience that subscribes and moves on (talking in general here). So, keep at it if you enjoy the craft but struggle with low subscriptions (but maybe consider if it's worth to invest in ads down the line).

[ReroOnyx]

I can understand that, but I also think that interaction and subs/views just don't fit equally with the likes or comments given. I believe this is the same even outside of Tapastic or even a comic hosting site. Your likes and comments will simply be lower than the subs or views. I think you can put that even on a real world setting.

You might have 10,000 potential voters but you probably aren't going to be getting 10,000 votes.

I agree with the fact that yes, you should focus on the work but when one sees 9,000+ subs and I think for a lot of people subs are a huge thing, it is kind of enticing.

[mappypaint]

I did went through that phase of being down for not having many fans/subscribers when I started uploading online. But I kept moving forward even if the subscriber base was small... and now my comic is still ongoing after 6 years. It will never go that long if I was after popularity, it was all for the love of making the comic that kept me drawing all those years. I've seen creators come and go, and comics that ran out of steam even if they have hundreds or thousands of subscribers. Some creators that I got to chat in tapastic before were too focused on getting more subs, making guest comics for popular comics in the hope that their subscribers will rub off on theirs (now their updates are inconsistent and far in between).

If subscriber numbers is my only motivation then I would've stopped my comic long ago. Getting lots of comments for the little subs base I have motivates me more.

[carloswebcomic]

I'm always amused when people figure out that readers are just that, readers. They are not artists, they are not part of a 'community', they don't care if you're passionate about your project and how life changing your art journey has been.
People read comics to read comics. They don't come over to click on a 'like' button. They subscribe so they can find your comic again and that's it.
This is not Facebook and your readers are not your friends. The vast majority will limit their interaction to visiting your site, reading your comic, then go to another comic or somewhere else, and that's the way it should be. You're making a comic, not friends.
If you want super engaged friends, go out and meet people or open some social media account.

[tayo_rafferty]

subscriber count is at best an inaccurate measure of actual readership that overestimates it.

I couldn't agree more.

[tayo_rafferty]

That is a very cynical way of thinking. Of course some readers don't care but others do and there are people who are willing to engage in a real way. Look at the countless successful projects on kickstarter.

[TACOBERTO]

Honestly after doing this for a year now as time has worn on I've started caring less and less about getting an audience. First and foremost it's about whether or not I, or you, enjoy doing what you do.

[elixiadragmire]

I've been studying this a lot myself lately too. I've mentioned it time and time again about the interactions ratio (which borders on relatability) and there are several big factors that come into play greatly to effect to warp stats and perceptive.

Interaction ratio based on comic type
A gag a day due to high relatability to multiple different readers has a WIDER demographic meaning it normally a ratio of 1:3 with a week of upload, so practically everyone who subbed it will interact by view, voting and possibly commenting eg "OMG I do that!"

Romance & slice of life, they tend to get 1:1 ratio, They even get a view at a minimum with a week of upload. That means almost everyone or subbed viewed in it in the first week, a fair few will comment or vote to balance the interact up to 1:1 for missed viewers.

Narrative long form has a ratio of 3:1, so for every 3 subs only 1 will view it in its first week (even a month!), only 10% of viewers will vote, and only 10% of voters will comment.

the difference here are due to HOW the comic engages with the audience, some are highly relatable that they cast a wide net and are easy to share and understand, while others require investment and time. each has its own way of growing and garnering an audience and continue to get exposure, some will get there faster, other will burn slowly.

Now a feature can help and hinder that.
A feature is grand! it brings tons of readers to your door! getting featured can be overwhelming, with joy and anxiety to proof oneself worthy. On an emotional scale, it's different for each. The wave of new subs is encouraging ... and bloody scary but that's not the point. It can raise your profile just a little, after all it's the COMIC that will keep people around AFTER the feature is gone.
But, and there's a but unfortunately. The downside to a feature is 'subscriber bloat' A lot of people will subscribe very quickly when the comic is featured, as a way of bookmarking, 'they'll read it later'. Or at times completely forget about it and never go back, maybe never come to the site again at all! This can throw those stats out the window. Because the growth wasn't organic and grew VERY fast, its hard to judge of whether the feature actually did bring in more readers or did it just raise the sub number? At times, long after the feature when some of the people who subbed it as a bookmark come back, read, then decide it not for them and unsub it again distorts the stats as the unsubbing can almost wipe out the comics post feature organic growth for that week. I mean I wouldn't say no to feature! Don't get me wrong, but be prepared for the stats to go crazy for the next quarter after, sometimes you just have to buckle up and take the rough with the smooth.

when it get to these levels ... its HARD to gauge the audience of a comic, there are so many factors at play! Some times, just going back to WHY you started and enjoying the work and those who enjoy it with you.

[inbox_anime]

Wat if ur the only on, like no team. U hv to script color edit. U know, can you still keep up?

[Michelle]

I'm always amused when people figure out that readers are just that, readers. They are not artists, they are not part of a 'community', they don't care if you're passionate about your project and how life changing your art journey has been. People read comics to read comics.

This, absolutely. When you get down to it, being passionate about your work isn't merit for people to flock to it. It helps a lot, yes, but it doesn't set you apart in a sea of passionate comic creators. The belief that a comic's popularity should be based on the artist's passion and drive is only going to end up in disappointment.
Like, most people wouldn't buy a bland cake over a fancy one just because the person who made the bland cake tried really, really hard and the recipe was really special to them. It's awesome when a creator is passionate about their work, but most consumers don't base their decisions off that alone. ;d

If you can eliminate "deserves" from your brain when it comes to comics, you'll be a lot happier for it.

[tayo_rafferty]

If you can eliminate "deserves" from your brain when it comes to comics, you'll be a lot happier for it.

I agree so much with that.

[WakaXO]

Here's what I think. No one deserves an audience, no is 'owed' anything. Every single comic that you see with a large audience had to earn it through perseverance, hard work and (probably) a lot of optimism.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, I have always viewed people with this attitude as odd, I don't get the sense of entitlement that goes along with the 'I deserve people's attention and time' mind frame. You don't demand respect you earn it.

I think it's good to remind yourself when you start feeling down about your stats, this is a slow process and theres no guarantee of success. It will take a while for people to find you/your comic and even then you should appreciate that total strangers took time out of their lives to read your comic.

I also have to agree with @genjiOtori your stats won't keep you going, passion and love for your comic will. And people will pick up on that passion, and slowly develop passion for your project too. I know I have subbed to a few comics becuase the author loved their work and was enthusiastic and energetic.

I think another thing to keep in mind is the fact not all people are inclined to comment on comics, etc. I'm a shy person and find it difficult to articulate my thoughts so commenting is not an easy task. But if people like your comic they might support it in different ways, like silently giving it a good rating (on sites like topwebcomics or Webtoons Line) But really it cames back to the point that your audience isn't obligated to interact with you or your comic and you should really just be thankful they are reading to begin with.