When people CASUALLY mention their comic

purrlpankras 2016-09-09 10:54:34 UTC #21

I'm all for promoting. I mean it's 90% of the work and other is actually making the comic.

There's a time and a place for promoting, I don't think pushing it in a conversation is one of them (maybe in the right context)
Also, people like that probably don't know the best places to promote either.

I find the most annoying people do to promote is, when they send you message to talk, and they just talk about their comic.
Hey it might be great, but I'm not invested enough in you to give a damn. Bad as it sounds.

Go where your target is man

Herofeeder 2016-09-09 11:11:41 UTC #22

i was seriously w8 for a comment like " yeah man people who promote their work like that are so lame , id never post my"insert the name of the comic" comic like that .what a bunch of weirdoos

indagold 2016-09-09 12:04:05 UTC #23

I only try to promote on a post that has to do with promoting your comic. Going on random threads is just attention seeking and really horrible. At least it isn't as bad as commenting on someone's piece of work and going "wow, nice. Here's my comic: please check it outtt!!! XD"

Greg_Dickson 2016-09-09 12:29:19 UTC #24

I may only mention something that's similar or related to my comic (without providing a link to mine), only if the other creator is a good friend of mine and we have already read each other's works (and even then, I try not to go on that long about it). If it's someone I don't really know, but there's some kind of funny similarity I may want to point out, I would PM them so it wouldn't seem like a public promotion (and for such a thing, I wouldn't be doing it to have someone read my comic in return. I've once commented in a PM to someone how eerily similar our comic themes seemed, and we had a good laugh about it).

I really find that the best place to promote is twitter though. If other people like your promotions enough, they'll respond with likes, follows, and most importantly, retweets (which really helps if they have a lot of followers). It's separate enough from tapastic, that you don't have to feel as weird or invasive about just mentioning your comic, but even still on a platform like that, you have to avoid being spammy. I just think you can be a little more open, especially when it comes to comic chats like #ComicBookHour and #WebComicChat.

spadesart 2016-09-09 13:17:28 UTC #25

THIS IS ME AAAAAAAAA

btw have u read my comic ;;;;;;;;^)

(I never really took it as sad or desperate, people just want other people to see their work since it's something they pour a lot of time and heart into. They just wanna share it with people and seeing their views spike after dropping a link is always a good feeling. tbh the only place it's REALLY not welcome is when it's promoted in someone else's comics' comment section. Other than that it's pretty useless to get mad at people promoting their comics on a comic forum.....)

kencoon7 2016-09-09 13:18:06 UTC #26

Does that mean I am not supposed to mention Ken's komics unless I want to promote Ken's komics?

Amymone 2016-09-09 13:59:42 UTC #27

I find the most annoying people do to promote is, when they send you message to talk, and they just talk about their comic. Hey it might be great, but I'm not invested enough in you to give a damn. Bad as it sounds.

^ This is one of the many reasons why I've never been able to make any close friends on this site. All of my private messages eventually morph from small conversations into advertisements and I feel like I'm being denied a normal human interaction.

At least it isn't as bad as commenting on someone's piece of work and going "wow, nice. Here's my comic: please check it outtt!!! XD"

^ THIS HAPPENS TO ME! OMFG! The worst I've ever had of this billboard behavior was when someone went into my comments and kept trying to convince my readers that his work was just like mine and to go check it out. And I'm like sitting there thinking "This is my life now? This is my ACTUAL life now?"

ptrcksnntt 2016-09-09 14:27:27 UTC #28

Ahaha! sure is a compelling thread. If you guys like meta-commentary on webcomic communities, you should totally read my webcomic! It totally has something or whatever relevant to the topic being discussed! For instance, in that it's a webcomic!

But yeah, I sort of figure there's a line of good taste? Attention on tapastic can result in ad revenue, there's money on the line, I understand that a lot of people GO to the forums specifically to promote and there's nothing wrong with that. The stuff I'm seeing about folks shamelessly stumping in comments sections is a bit more shocking though.

elixiadragmire 2016-09-09 14:31:28 UTC #29

...

Ok, I gotta say, this thread a little bitter. The tapastic community is known for being very friendly and open but lately, a fair few threads like this have been popping up that make me very uncomfortable. I can understand sometimes something grinds your gears and you need to vent, I've been guilty of that too but I can't see how this is constructive or help the community. It is rather a hostile approach to curbing activities in the community you disapprove of by making people feel uncomfortable to 'step out of line' .

MissMagicGirl 2016-09-09 14:40:59 UTC #30

All I can say is that Iwould never casually mention my comic: https://tapastic.com/series/magicadvisor like that...

sarrowsmith10 2016-09-09 14:45:50 UTC #31

@elixiadragmire

I know I'm probably stating the obvious here, but Tapastic and its forums are directly entirely at webcomics. Reading webcomics and creating webcomics and pretty much anything related to that. It's pretty much the sole purpose of this website. So yes, you are going to get people shamelessly plugging their comic and talking about their comic and bugging you about their comic and dropping links about their comic and ZOMG check out my comic!! Some etiquette might be appreciated, but name dropping their comic isn't a bad thing. If someone is sabotaging your thread or the comment section in your comic, fine call them out on it. But stop whining about something that the website encourages. If you don't want your conversation about pizza to turn into a conversation about someones pizza loving character don't post your pizza conversation on a forum about comics. =_=

Kayke 2016-09-09 14:59:45 UTC #32

You might not have said pathetic but I could see "the desperation is sad and hilarious" being interpreted as such.

It can be a problem if people are spamming links to their comics in every thread without engaging with the community, but it's healthy for people to want to share the thing they worked hard on. I know when I was in college I always felt awkward about sharing links to my comic because I thought it seemed needy, but I'm so glad I've gotten over that because it helped me gain readers and make friends in the comic community. Spam is bad, but talking about your comic on a comic forum is normal.

KSlinger 2016-09-09 15:09:09 UTC #33

I dunno, it's a webcomic forum. Kind of feels like they should be able to do that here. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

sarrowsmith10 2016-09-09 15:26:18 UTC #34

I should have posted in the previous post where I quoted you, that I was agreeing with you btw. (sorry about that)

VermillionWorks 2016-09-09 15:33:44 UTC #35

I don't usually mind this unless, yeah, they do it in a spammy fashion in every other topic or something. Otherwise meh.

Sometimes if the topic is about making comics, I might mention my comic in passing and link it...unless I'm too lazy too. XP

miseryhunting 2016-09-09 15:35:09 UTC #36

Interestingly enough, this topic reminds me of a previous one on how creators influence the perception of their comic. It is especially true in webcomics, that people follow not only the story but the creator – we want the nice people to progress! We get invested in their journey!
It’s alright to be unhappy with things or to criticize when you feel there is necessity, but this feels like pointless dashing directed to the people, not well-versed into marketing their work (which is also part of their learning experience).
I don't mind people "subtly" mentioning their comic as long as they are not rude or aggressive about it.
However, would I sub to a person who always whines? Would I even feel the urge to check their work? I’m not so sure.
Funnily enough, that’s also a very bad way to advertise your work.

shazzbaa 2016-09-09 15:42:01 UTC #37

I agree with feeling uncomfortable making jokes at others' expense here, and I definitely agree with @elixiadragmire that laughing at people for misstepping isn't as harmless as it might've been intended.

But at the same time, I feel like this general sentiment of "hey, people who want their comics to sustain them have to promote" is well-meaning but perhaps misplaced? Knowing how to promote EFFECTIVELY is what gets you more readers and more people who are invested enough in you to support your work.
If a creator has been thinking that trying to link to their comic in every single reply is necessary to promote their comic, because they need it to do well, then learning that this can turn people off from their work should be something they eagerly jot down in their notes! I don't wanna make fun of someone who's contriving a link to their comic into every single post, but I also don't wanna be like "nah, keep doing that!" when it really is a thing that I believe can hurt you in the long run.

This isn't about promotion in general, or linking to your work as often as possible (those things are good!!), it's about unnaturally cramming a promotion into a conversation where it feels off-topic. That can hurt your ability to promote your work -- if you come across as rude and self-serving, people are less likely to want to check out your comic!

Fair point! though I think there's still a time and place. One off-putting example I saw a while ago was a thread asking "does anyone else feel discouraged about their art sometimes" and kind of explaining their personal struggle and looking for advice and sympathy, and one response was essentially "nope I never get discouraged about [LINK: MY COMIC]!"
Like, yeah, you can do that..... but you're not really doing your comic any favours if you do.

Mharz 2016-09-09 16:02:07 UTC #38

I don't mean to offend but it feels to me that you're making fun and putting yourself above people even though you're not pointing at anyone. Frankly, it's making me uneasy. Sorry about that. -_-

There's nothing wrong with people talking about what they're passionate about. Sure there are some who goes over the line. If it ticks you off, just ignore it or give them advice and help them how to promote the right way. Don't make fun or laugh at it. It's not like they are shaming or harming you in anyway.

As a fellow comic creator, I understand that we as creators want people to read what we have worked so hard for so what give you the right to make fun of people who are doing the best they can?

Again, I don't mean to offend you, I just want to share my two cents about this so I'm gonna hide on my cave now.

VermillionWorks 2016-09-09 16:14:26 UTC #39

Hmmmm....we got some good food for thought out of this topic, but maybe we should quit while we're ahead now. XP

Isky 2016-09-09 16:38:22 UTC #40

Oh yeah. I see it all the time. If I were to take a shot for every casual mention of someone's comic, I'd probably wake up the next morning naked in an unfamiliar area. Doesn't really bother me, but I know exactly what you mean. However, you should probably be more tactful.