25 / 26
Dec 2018

Nothing. Just cry. DX

...Seriously, though, I guess it depends on your perspective. I'm almost in the same boat as you: 2 months, 4 episodes, 66 subs. And I thought that was amazing! I've had the same comic on Tapas for the same amount of time, and it only has 10 subs.

Also, if you're in the mood for a little ego boost: I'm subscribed to a comic that's been on Webtoon twice as long as mine with over 5 times as many episodes as mine, and it only has 68 subs. In comparison, I think we're both doing pretty freakin' well~.

My point is that everyone's experience is gonna be different, and it depends on a lot of factors: luck, of course, the popular art-style/genre of the day, and your writing skill (yeah, writing is third on the list, and unfortunately it's for a reason).

You noticed that romance manga are successful, eh? Then maybe you should try doing one. I'd only recommend it if you're genuinely interested in it, though. Forcing yourself to plug away at a comic that you don't like just to become popular sounds like a recipe for disaster...

And, of course, if you don't want to follow the trends and do a romance manga, then you're just going to have to develop a thicker skin. Keep doing what you want to do and ignore the overnight success stories; they'll only bring you down. Have patience and celebrate the smaller victories. This may be pessimism talking, but "improving" your art/story/update frequency will only do so much. Plenty of geniuses go ignored.

The moral of the story is: Sometimes, all you can do is wait.

You're not attracting the 12-17year old female readers which are the majority of the audience over at line webtoon.

I actually just asked my student this. He is 14. He mentioned series like Let's Play and Lookism, both of which have quite solid art and good pacing. They aren't both romance, but their art styles are definitely more "attractive" for the average webtoon reader.

He says that the story has to be good, but the icon must first be able to attract him enough to click on it in the first place.

Maybe I did not make myself clear, I mean, I am comparing myself with it just because I want to be like those authors, not for envy or something like that, I am very happy when I see someone being successful, and I really try to help others too, is just, I wanted to know if I was making any mistake.

There are few people who really enjoy it, I mean, like 3, and I will continue there because of they, they deserve it and it worth all the work, is just, you know, I love to make my comics but sometimes (just sometimes) I get really dissapoited and I wonder if I'm really good for this.

Thanks for understanding me :confounded: I mean, is good to see that there are some other feeling just like me. I post every friday at 2:00 pm, from 15 to 30 panels taking care of the scroll format. I read a lot of tips and tutorials before trying to post my webcomic and I followed all the advices but, you know, sometimes all I want is cry hahaha

I really hope your numbers get better soon

Yeah, you are right. Romance is the best, I think. My comic is in comedy and superhero, I publish it here at tapas too.

I hope you have better luck. What's the name of your comic? Here is mine

I think here in tapas it is better because I can use the OST of my series and it's a better experience (at least in my head haha)

You really made my day with that reply. You're right. There are a lot of fators. I think, maybe I just needed some moral support from other who are in the same situation than me. My story have romance too, but also friendship, family, action and comedy, and I tried to make a mix between Manga and Comic style (at least I tried) and I love it, I love the story and I make a party everytime someone get subscribed or comment, here or there in webtoon.

Is just, you know, sometimes I fall at pieces with a little problem, and sometimes I feel I can do it against all the world. Am I the only one? haha

I want to see your story, can you give me the link please?

And again, really really thanks


It's the only comic I've got on Webtoon right now. Thanks for the interest~

The numbers, though they can feel validating are really not an accurate gauge of success. I think it is wonderful that you are happy for your fellow creators and I am very happy to hear that you do have a dedicated audience. You are not doing anything wrong, there are just a lot of factors that are out of your control when it comes to over all view/ sub count. (Trust me I felt the same way when I started)

To further illustrate my point I also have my series on both websites, but it has been on Webtoons for almost 2 months longer...

Webtoons (Launched August 1st):
Views: 5.6k
Subs: 120

VS Tapas(Launched September 25th):
Views 4.9k
Subs: 235

The reason I have done better on Tapas( at least sub wise) is primarily luck - my series was on the staff picks list for it's first two weeks so I had an immediate advantage. Now that my comic is no longer on that list I am back to about the same view/ growth rate of Webtoons.

No intention to do. I'm just tributenig to the community the best way i can.

You aren't doing anything wrong, rather your comic isn't "fitting" for the audience you're trying to attract.
Webtoon's audience is already known to be over 50% female (some estimates go as far to say 95% is female though I think it's probably more around 80%) and the age range is between 12-25 or simply teen/YA.
A lot of the readers are anime fans and kpop fans so they are very into the manga/Asian aesthetic comic art style, especially if there are handsome guys.
Taking account of this audience demographic alone, the typical popular comic on webtoon will have at least two of the following (excluding those promotions like in recommended, fresh picks, rising star etc):

  • some variation of the manga/anime style (done well, has to be very aesthetically pleasing)

  • a good thumbnail (On webtoons, people are going to judge a book by it's cover, that's just the unfortunate thing with most visual mediums, visuals got to appeal )

  • have romance of some sort, straight romances and BLs tend to do the best

  • School, high school and middle school are more common, some have college too

  • at least one extremely attractive guy. (can be for fan service, can be for plot, who knows, it brings in readers)

These are the main things I find that popular webcomics on Webtoons have. You have a product which is your comic, you are trying to attract consumers which are the readers. If your product doesn't attract a lot of readers, does not mean it is bad or you're doing something wrong. It's just that your product, your comic, isn't what the consumer, the reader, is looking for.
You are doing a lot better than you think. It's most likely just that your comic doesn't mesh with the interests with the majority webtoon readers which is unfortunately out of your control. You have already gained 16 subscribers within around 2 weeks of your first posting in an already not so popular genre of webtoons. That's something to be proud of. Don't look at the other comics for now, you don't have to be like them, your comic is your comic. Focus on your own growth, celebrate when you earned that new subscriber, comment, like etc. It will feel more rewarding in the end, even if it is baby steps.

Yup, I've noticed the manga style is quite the main thing in there since I think the people reading on LINE Webtoon are probably anime fans or manga readers. Plus, their giants (like Noblesse or God of Highschool) has anime adaptations already xD Line is obviously trying to inject some comic book style here and there on the Featured section, but they are not as popular.

I agree with what everybody has said already, but please don't worry about the target audience nor the popularity too much. Cuz I think that would really suck out the creativity and the personality of your works (that's why Shonen Jump, for me, is quite loathsome). I don't think you're making a mistake really, maybe you just lack some factors here and there. Maybe a better thumbnail would really help, or maybe that person your comparing has already a huge following on youtube or facebook or something.

Let me share a little observation I had. See, I've been analyzing some newly featured authors lately (they haven't been released yet, just the authors announcing they have been selected on their comics), and a lot of them are not in the super popular genre tropes. One was a webtoon about a military action with a LOT of gore, another was a dark psychological thriller and another was a fantasy with serious tones (sorry I don't remember the titles much) and they were mostly on the 6k to 7k sub mark. Webtoon is obviously searching for original and well written stories, the popularity is maybe a secondary thing.

Sorry I guess I've rambled a lot and didn't gave a really helpful answer. All I'm saying is I understand where your coming from and I too compare myself to MANY artists all the time, so I search desperately for any mistakes I'm doing, which is the wrong path to take. Instead, focus on your strengths! I know you've heard this a lot of times already but this is really hard to do, so never stop telling yourself that. FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS. If you find yourself comparing yourself to other artists again, tell this to yourself :smiley:

Woops I got rambly again xD That's why I tend to lurk on forums instead of talking, but I hope this helped xD

Thank you very much. Your words are really nice to read. I am so happy coz you even took the time for checking my work.

I have some of the points you said, the romance, the handsme boys (?) but I want this to be focussed in some other topics too. And now writting this, and reading your reply, I am starting to understand that I really want this story to be different, not just another one to fit in. And I am proud of it. You are so, so right. I am thankful for all the subscribers, the likes and the comments and, I am proud of my work. Even when I am shy for sharing it.

Really thank you for this.

You can always try the cross promo through to help get more exposure, I know it's helped me quite a bit.

At first glance at your comic I don't see much in terms of doing wrong, more like what others said your comic isn't the desired genre for the primary target audience of that platform. I do personally think your Thumbnail could be more eye catching and less busy... I like the concept of it, but the choice of color for the background is taking away from it when you consider it gets shrunk even more on Mobile. You want to make sure the person in the thumbnail is popping out at the readers and enticing them to click it, so having a more bland background could help? I dunno for sure, but it may be something worth experimenting with. Don't be afraid to try out new thumbnails in the beginning till you find one that brings in more views. I think I went through about 4-5 before I started to get a thumbnail I liked.

I've made a mess with my last two replies :joy::joy::joy:

Sorry guys, I hope you understand them, I'm bad at forums haha

I'm on my second try, I will try for a third one, you are right, I made that background after another 4 and even I have my doubts about it, I will change it soon.

Thank you for checking my work!:smile:

I dont know how to use this! hahahaha Sorry, I think I replied so wrong, Quotes are so confusing to me LOL

I want to say thank you for your support and advices. Your reply was very helpful, really. And I am happy knowing that I'm not the only one who compares and try to find my own mistakes.

this line was really powerful, I forge this so easily when it's about me. Thank you for all your support and sorry because of my weird replies haha

Personally, in my experience, I found that I got less views on days that many webtoons published on, like saturday and friday. But that's just my experience :wink: