Tips to help Long form comics gain a audience?

[Bokyongyo]

So had a question,

With new creators I’ve seen that a lot of gag-a-day and one shot stories have a easier time gauging an audience rather than a long form story,

Is the reason for this readers not wanting to jump into something that’s a commitment or is it that they fear the creator won’t finish the work.

And if so how can new creators who make long form comics adapt to gain a audience on the platform?

See a lot of great long form comics whom some I have sub have yet to get pass that even 25 subscriber hump despite having posted for awhile

[tiredpigeon]

Youtube is really helpful. That's what Haley (Lavendertowne) did. She started her comic when she was in college and then started an art-based youtube channel. It's not the easiest thing to get into from what YouTubers have said, but starting a channel to promote your comic can really help.

[FritzC]

Update it regularly! I have a long format comic running right now and the most important thing is posting every week/every other week/whatever suits you, as long as you do it consistently.

[darthmongoose]

It's not that long-form comics people worry about the person giving up so much as it can be harder to hook readers. All you need to get somebody hooked on a gag comic is potentially 1-2 really strong and/or shareable gags in the first few pages. With a story-focused comic though, you have the harder task of establishing a really compelling story and/or characters within the first few pages.

Regular updates, posting in threads like "share your latest page" or ones where you talk about your process, and also in the milestone thread are all good ways to get noticed and build a readership of people invested in your story.

[IndigoShirtProd]

The advice given to new creators is that they should start with a smaller project. It's good advice to follow since a short project allows a creator to gauge how willing they are to do comic creation and it's a good learning experience.

The thing is about new comic creators is that often times they are also new to creating art in general. Maybe they've been drawing for a year or two prior, maybe even less (plus comics aren't just about making a nice illustration). They're also new to writing stories and characters. And all that ignorance and inexperience related to the art form bleeds into the work.

The average reader is likely looking for a polished project to get into without having to worry about experience level of the creator. Usually it's other creators that are more forgiving when it comes to reading new work made by a new creator.

Is the reason for this readers not wanting to jump into something that’s a commitment or is it that they fear the creator won’t finish the work.

It could be that, especially if specific readers have been burned by a new creator in the past that didn't complete their comic.

And if so how can new creators who make long form comics adapt to gain a audience on the platform?

Honestly, it's just patience. Work on bettering the quality of the comic whether that be in art work or writing (referring to creators who write and draw their comics).

Youtube is really helpful. That's what Haley (Lavendertowne) did. She started her comic when she was in college and then started an art-based youtube channel

I think you're right about how having other platforms to show off your work is very useful, though I don't know if Lavendertowne is the fairest comparison for the newest of comic creators since she had been drawing almost all her life and she was going to art school at the time of starting Unfamiliar.

[AmazementComics]

Honestly, everything that everyone's said so far is really useful to you. A lot of people like long form comics, but one reason I know why they aren't as popular as gags or slice of life is because it's more of a huge investment to get people engaged due to attention span. This isn't to say that people who read gag or slice of life comics have short attention spans, but the fact of the matter is this. In the time it takes you to create one episode of a long form story driven comic, someone else could easily knock out reading 5-6 episodes of a slice of life comic. So you really have to put forth the time to make sure that you can manage such a series. The key again is consistency:

Take two of my series for example. The first one "Amazement Originals" has as many followers as it does as it was made for those who like Gag/Slice of Life comics. Believe it or not, the second one "The Action Fruit Society" has as many followers as it does because not only did I invest precious time developing it, when it finally came out, I was consistent, and the comics series is very much an action oriented series.

The point is, don't think because your comic is long form that it can't obtain an audience. I hope my example shows that it's possible. Cheers!

[kaetana]

Lots of great advice already here, and I just want to add - keep an eye on the pacing of your individual updates. One of the benefits a gag-a-day comic has is that the reader is guaranteed they will get a payoff in the punchline of the joke with every new episode. A long-form comic obviously won't be having a joke every update, but it's important to make sure that there is something significant happening in every update that will leave an impression on the reader. With that in mind, it may be helpful to update slightly less often in exchange for having more pages/panels in each update (two page updates seems to be the sweet spot for a lot of comics and it's what I do personally). This can also have the side benefit of keeping your episode count to a number that's a little less overwhelming for new readers to dive into.

Best of luck to you with your work! ^_^

[Kaydreamer]

Mine is coming on 25 subs, and it's definitely a long-form story. (It only has five pages so far, it's two weeks old.) I've been doing the following:

• I've been active on the forums here.
• I've been posting about it on my Twitter/Instagram.
• I've been sharing it on Reddit.
• I've made sure the art is as solid as I can make it. (Without spending an unrealistic amount of time on each page.)
• I think the synopsis sparks people's curiosity, so the slow pace isn't turning them off - they're excited to see what develops.

That's about it, really. Most of my subs on Tapas are people from the forums. I don't know who the subs on WEBTOON are, but there's a bigger audience on that website in general.

[dsptss78]

I'm currently working on a long term comic series and I managed to get a decent following. Having a good hook and driving narrative for your webcomic is what will make readers invested in the long run. The readers should be curious enough to continue reading in order to see the final outcome. The way you can accomplish that is by having mysterious or unknown elements in your story. You also want to have an unpredictable plot with many twists and turns to keep the reader wondering what will happen next. Once you accomplish that I suggest teasing the readers a bit with some cliffhangers. That way they are eager to see the next episode.
However, my advice may or may not be applicable depending on the type of story you're doing. Despite that, I feel like you can still apply these techniques to most genres. Lastly, I recommend promoting your stuff like the others above me stated.