What do you think of "Thank You" Images?

[epiale]

Sorry if there's already a topic like this, I couldn't find one, and this is something that honestly interests me.

What do you think of the "Thank You" images a lot of people on this site use and post to new subscribers profiles? Do you use them with your own work? If you don't why not? If you're a reader what are your feelings on seeing someone has sent you one of these images?

I personally don't use them, mostly because it's always just seemed incredibly odd, and while I certainly don't mind receiving them most of the time, they don't make me any more likely to stick with a comic, or anything like that. (tho I'll admit they used to make me feel guilty enough to stick around if I accidentally sub'd something I really didn't mean to.)

[Kura]

I like them, but absolutely hate them at the same time.

It's not really the images fault (I think it's kinda neat... ), it's honestly pretty much the horrendous monstrosity of the profile wall that absolutely ruins them and make me hate getting them as much as I do.

(The wall has SLOWLY been getting better though...)

[60Six]

I think everyone will give you a slightly different answer. I peeeerrrsonally don't really like them that much on my page, but I'm 100% okay if they do get posted. When I joined, I got warned that some people do request you don't post them, so I do check to see if that's said anywhere on their page, but so far I've yet to actually stumble across anyone who actually requests you don't post thank yous? I also don't like to be the first one to post one, so I leave pages alone with no posts or if the person clearly has a lot of posts on their wall from themselves that I don't wanna bump down to post my little thank you.
That said, they're a GREAT way to advertise and I'm sure its part of the reason a lot of people do it. I've had multiple people tell me that the whole reason they checked my comic out is because they saw my thank you gif on someone else's page and it intrigued them to see what it belonged to:

For me personally though, it is a genuine thank you as well as some free advertisement. I can't express how excited and grateful I am for the readers I've gained on this website, so I mean it with sincerity every time I post that gif with my little thank you message. Some people really like receiving the thank you (and express it), others are neutral, and if there are ones out there who don't want it at all, I'm certainly keeping an eye out for them to try not to post it!

[Maffi]

I think that they can be great! I personally love thanking people so i have made multiple of those thank you images. I try to keep entertaining as well so people will like them rather than despite them.
But there is a barrier sometimes , if you post that on a creator wall you might consider to private msg him rather than posting it on his wall. For example when the creator is trying to advertise something he made on his own wall, then you should consider thanking him personally by private msg. However , if you are thanking a reader then i would say go ahead and post it on his wall ^^

Here are some of my thank you animations ^^

[jmhenry]

I guess they can be fine, but in a way, they just seem a bit impersonal. There's also the fact that readers just plain stop responding to ty-images after their 10th one pops up on the feed, I guess to a reader, they just start to feel less sincere over time.
I used to want to make one until I saw the walls of a few readers just plastered with ty-images that they didn't respond to, nowadays, I just stick to PMing them saying thanks. I don't always get an answer, but it does help put the person behind the thanks, if that makes sense...

[WintreKitty]

I love them I think it's a great way to get personal with the readers without being too personal. You can use the same image for everyone and maybe leave a little blurb along with it. Whenever I get one on my wall I like to leave a little response as well, maybe say something I like about their comic.

Thank you images aren't necessary, but I think they are a unique aspect that separates Tapastic from other sites and helps create that friendly vibe that it is known for.

[WintreKitty]

@jmhenry Ah, we have totally different perspectives!

[jmhenry]

Yeah, I just started reading yours too. I will say, the uniqueness to them is an upside since you only see this on tapastic.

[epiale]

I actually have seen people send out "Thank You" images on the other comic site I use (ComicFury), but as there aren't any walls it's all done through PM, and it's admittedly less common.

[efdvorsky]

I like them, I welcome them if I subscribed to them.

I read their story, I enjoyed it, it helps them get the word around for the comic I liked and if it's a small way I can help, then great! Let it be on my wall! When I leave them, I try to make it personal, include their name, ask if they're enjoying it or thanking them for the support. Same image, but different response!

I have to laugh because I think my "thank you" needs a little work but it's kind of cute and most of my subscribers have a lot of seriousness in their works so it's just: a lot of dark or serious "thank yous" and then there's mine all pink and cute. Even if that isn't the comic's focus. WhydidIpickBellsforthishahah

What I don't like is people posting on walls to promote comics you aren't subscribed to. You can ask the person for an opinion on private, but if it's public....eh, feels wrong.

[apocryphagraphics]

I love them. Any time someone takes the time to thank me, especially with a piece of art, I'm grateful for that effort. Also, I've found quite a few new comics to follow by looking at the thank you pics posted on others' walls. I find that resource far more valuable and diverse than any thing on Tapastics front page or the daily snack.

[Chopythes]

Last week, I had a "rant" of my own when it came to this subject, on twitter.

I personally don't send people "thank you"- pages. Mainly because I don't have the time to do that (I work full time, and have less than 4 hours to create art when I finally get home) and I'd rather focus on drawing.

I mean, why should people thank you for liking their stuff?
I've subscribed to their comic, shouldn't I be the one thanking them for creating something that I enjoy?
Even though they do it for themselves, it's still something I enjoyed reading.
And they shared something I liked too!! Like they could've kept it for themselves, but they shared it! I myself couldn't have been more happier for that!

What I mean is, I don't mind receiving thank you-posts from people, that's ok! It's also their way of promoting their stuff to people who might stumble upon my page!

And I don't know if people subscribed to my comics to just "bookmark" them and read them on the app or if they genuinely liked the comic enough?
I bookmark comics like that, because I've found out it's easier for me to read comics on the app than on the computer.
(I mostly find new comics to read via the forum, and it's just easier to subscribe to the comic and read it later on the phone when I've got the time. But I usually stick to the comics I've subscribed to)

TL;DR:
I don't mind "thank you"-images being posted, it's a great way to showcase your comic for others, but I won't do it simply because I don't have the time! D:

Edit:
Been thinking a little more about this, and I don't mind people posting to my wall, absolutely not! (which I kind of stated above?)
They've already gotten through to my page, so why shouldn't I let them post a small token of gratitude while they're still there? :D

[Kura]

I actually have seen people send out "Thank You" images on the other comic site I use (ComicFury), but as there aren't any walls it's all done through PM, and it's admittedly less common.

I would prefer them more if that was how they were done here to be honest.

[epiale]

I agree honestly.

I understand a lot of the reasoning here, but a lot of it just leaves kind of a bad taste in my mouth.

Like, the advertising side of things. While I understand that it's ultimately not hurting anything, and typically if you sib something you don't mind promoting it, posting an image of your own comic on someone elses wall to advertise seems kind of scummy. That may very well be just kind of a personal issue though.

[AnnaLandin]

I use them, posting to my subscribers' walls.

I like them, because a.) it lets me show my subscribers that I do notice them subscribing, whether they are silent readers or the type who comments frequently, b.) encourages them to interact, by reaching out to them, even if it's with a similar message/image for all of them (there are only so many hours in a day, and personalising every message would take too much time). It kinda lets them know that I'm approachable, you know? I like talking to people!

To me, it's just part of the general landscape of Tapastic, I guess? I feel like they contribute to the welcoming and friendly atmosphere. They might seem impersonal, since it's pretty much identical messages etc., but the creator still has to go through the manual act of posting them all to individual subscribers' walls, which takes time and attention at least - and I do this weird thing where I have a personal rule that I have to manually type out the name of each subscriber. The rest of the message might be copy-pasted, but the names are always manually typed out, no matter how weird the spelling.

I guess it's some kind of digital.... handwriting... thing? I don't know. >.< It's not like the subscribers will ever know, but I will, and I guess that's the point.

... speaking of which, it might be time to draw a new thank-you picture, but that might have to wait till January. I'm so busy I'm slowly going cross-eyed.

(also, this thread comes as a magnificent coincidence - I've just spent an hour thanking new subscribers! XD)

ETA Re: the PM vs wall-posts thing. When I get a subscriber who has, for some reason, chosen to hide their reading lists, I usually PM them the image out of respect for them wanting to keep their reading-list private. I don't do it 100% of the time, because sometimes I forget, but I try to.

[eschaefges]

I use them for most of the same reasons @AnnaLandin does - I type a semi-customized message to each person (it follows a general formula but is unique each time), and instead of having one image about my comic, i put up a random unrelated drawing on their wall because it's funny and my book is very silly.

However, this may change if I start getting 50 subscribers a day. Which could happen NOW. ... or NOW.

...or NOW.

[AnnaLandin]

However, this may change if I start getting 50 subscribers a day. Which could happen NOW. ... or NOW.

...or NOW.

I want to do personalised messages to everyone, but at my number of subscribers and the workload I have, it's just not feasible. : (

[AnnaLandin]

Also, I should probably add that I have considered not posting them, and just sticking to posting milestone-thank yous on my own wall, but I've had a bunch of positive reactions to it so I've just kept it going. Might stop at some point, but I haven't decided yet.

[shazzbaa]

What made me first consider making a Thank-You was how excited I was about new subscribers. Subscribing feels like more of a compliment than Following on other social media, for some reason; it's someone specifically saying "I want to read your comic now" and I wanted to express and acknowledge how cool that was!

I found and read through this older thread while I was making up my mind and saw that, while there were one or two people who didn't like them, the majority of people were really excited to get art on their walls, and that cinched it for me!

I have a note in my profile saying that "I leave thank-yous but feel free to PM me if you don't want one," and I also always check to see if there's any notes in the subscriber's profile saying they don't want/prefer thank-yous. I just want people to know that I won't be insulted if they'd rather not get it on their wall, but I also don't wanna guess and accidentally leave someone out! ;u; I also try not to respond immediately, in case they subscribed by accident or change their mind quickly. xD

I was gonna do the "add the person's name so that it's personal" thing but it's hard for me not to feel a little artificial doing that, so I left it out and just type a thank-you message along with the art!

I've never gotten one myself (my reading list is very small), but I'm definitely not opposed! And it's pretty cool to be able to find new comics on other people's walls, so I like the tradition a lot. ;u; I definitely think it would be nice if Tapastic implemented a "pinned post" like twitter has, though; I can understand being frustrated at official announcements being buried under thank-yous.

[apocryphagraphics]

I've always though that the argument that "thank you" posts are annoying because they can double as promotion for the creator is a little strange. We're always talking here about how important it is to promote and what nicer way to spread our message than thanking someone for liking our stuff enough to subscribe to it? Or even liking it enough to bookmark it with a subscription? If we enjoy someone's work enough to subscribe shouldn't we be glad to do something to promote it as passive and minimally difficult as have their "thank you" on our walls? Those of us who also have comics out there to promote should be the most understanding and tolerant of other creators' attempts to spread the word about their work, especially when it's something as innocuous as a "thank you" post.