How to Get People to Read Your Comic

This is the 2nd role of my "How to" webcomics in 2020 commodity. If you missed the first part ("Introduction") y'all can find it hither.

To epitomize:
– own your identity online on every bit many platforms as you can
– choose the all-time place where to publish your comic according to your needs and goals
– make connections in the webcomics community and encompass feedback from other creators
Fourth dimension to motion on to the adjacent level!

REACH OUT FOR YOUR FIRST READERS

This is THE big deal. Getting your first readers is past far the hardest footstep of the whole procedure.

Nowadays at that place are already so many creators out there that is really hard to make your vocalization heard.
Not simply the number of comics available online is gigantic, but the average quality is steadily growing. More than contest means that in club to be recognizable, artists have to brand an extra effort with their content.
That said, don't get discouraged. Your fine art will inevitably improve if you lot're consistent enough. In no time yous'll be able look back at your first panels and happily blench, similar nosotros all did (and then you'll keep on doing that for the residue of your life) ^_^

Where to start?

Posting on webcomics platforms.

If you're on a platform that has already its own readership you lot'll be able to become your first readers without making too much try.

Webtoon, Tapastic, SmackJeeves, Graphite and other big comic websites that allow cocky-publishing have their own ways to promote new and fresh content. Just make certain to identify your comic in the right category and that your comic is readable without effort from a mobile device. Even more importantly, make certain you have a kickass thumbnail/banner to represent it. Your new readers will only seize with teeth if the encompass of the book is worth it.

Posting on social media.

Since I first wrote this article a few years ago, many things have changed. Platforms came and went likewise equally strategies to find success on social media.

I desire to proceed it short and real: today at that place isn't whatever bulletproof strategy that volition guarantee you thousands of views online. Facebook has incorporated Facebook'due south algorithm to Instagram and de facto killed reach and engagement.

Twitter has been stagnating for years. Tumblr and Deviant art are no man'southward land.

I'yard not gonna waste material your time writing what miracle hashtags will save the day or a list of '10 things you gotta do to make 100000 followers'. Nope.

I'll tell y'all how information technology goes downwards in the shortest mode possible:

• Twitter: if you're belatedly to the party, don't even hope. Notwithstanding a good identify to brand connections and network. Defo the worst for showcasing your work and proceeds an audience
• Facebook: also dead. Facebook uses your piece of work to get people engaged and and so ask you to pay to promote information technology when no 1 comes to your page. If you wanna pay them pay them. I tried a couple of times and it kinda worked for a folio and did nothing for 2 other pages, so. It'southward simply disgusting giving them money but if your priority is to have those sugariness numbers to impress a potential customer or publisher then practise it. Merely don't expect engagement to soar even subsequently the page'due south likes do. Concluding time I checked price was 0,03/0,04 cent per like.
• IG: it used to be our last change to arrive organically. Final year Facebook got a gigantic fine for the Cambridge analytic scandal. Those five billions had to come up back home so they aggressively started implementing Facebook'due south algorithm and the facto killed the platform. You can still abound but don't ask me how. Literally the merely things that I experience like recommending are: adding at least 4/5 hashtags (making sure they're non banned by clicking on each of them, otherwise you lot'll get shadowed) and posting every unmarried day. Yes, I said every single day. They don't like information technology when you're wasting your time not doing them precious coin.

On any social platform you can still try to get seen past participating in collective challenges or trends. Here'southward the commencement ones I can remember of:

• Inktober (the whole calendar month of Oct)
• #hourlycomicday (every February 1st).
• #DTIYS (Depict This In Your Way): artists challenge other artists to draw their OCs in their style and then repost the fanarts in their own profiles
• #artistsvsart (artists postal service a motion-picture show of them sourrounded by their works)
• #meettheartist (artists post a self portrait with their likes/dislikes and a few info nigh them)

Fanarts in general are besides much appreciated, specially if the subject your brand the fanart of is currently trending.

Remember that if you lot don't have time to be on social media every single mean solar day you lot tin still use third political party apps to schedule your posts. I'thousand non even trying to make you a listing considering they come up and go so oftentimes my links would be broken in no time. But Google so you brand sure you have the most recent app on the market.

Promoting your work on groups, forums and communities in full general.

We aready talked about Facebook groups (see "Introduction").

The situation is pretty fragile: about of comics groups are invaded past spammers. And with spammers I hateful comic artists like you, with very good intentions, that basically go there to prove their work and don't care about giving annihilation back to the customs. Needless to say,not only information technology's non appreciated by the members, but it's also useless from a marketing standpoint. Remember you want to find your audience and other artists are too looking for their audition… Come across where'due south I'g going?
About of Communities all over the spider web let you to innovate yourself when you go in that location, but they don't wait y'all to use them as your personal launch pad. Ordinarily in that location are very passionate people backside those groups who invest time and free energy in order to moderate them and keeping them interesting and useful for everybody.
So you take two options: play by the rules, introduce yourself, connect, be useful to the community and eventually be noticed for your good karma, or merely go and brand your own rules by creating your ain community. I personally don't support any other option.

Although I'm being super strict here, heed that a lot of communities have specific days for promotion and most Discord servers take channels defended exclusivly to promotion. So there's still room for advertising.

I retrieve that a skilful identify where yous can start promoting your webcomic is Tapastic's forum (of grade, if you publish your comic there, otherwise there's no bespeak). Very proficient vibe, very nice people, very interesting topics and overall bully customs. As Webtoon passed on having their own forum, this has become one of the best places to discuss Webtoon matters too.
Whatever forum y'all choose to browse, always introduce yourself first and and so wait for the #showcase/#promotion department of the forum to mail service your content.
If you're ready to have a bigger psychological risk you lot can attempt to postal service on Reddit, 9gag, ifunny, Bored Panda or Imgur. They all have 'comics' dedicated sections.

Be careful though, these websites aren't just for comics and the communities there might be toxic. Make sure yous stomach is ready for whatsoever tin can happen or merely go out information technology there.

BOOST YOUR READERSHIP

Brand special comics for promotion.

Now that you have a bunch of readers/followers, you lot might wanna start reaching out to other artists in order to assistance each other grow past sharing your audience.
In that location are different ways you tin can achieve that and information technology goes according to you lot situation, your goals and your feeling.
Hither's what you tin do:

• cross-promote your comics with other artists (yous merely mention each other'due south comics in your profiles)
•  realize a fanart for an artist you like (y'all selection a character of your favourite creative person and you lot draw it in your own manner)
• collaborate to make a crossover episode (when characters from difference series run across).

How to reach for other artists.
If you haven't tried to make friends yet (similar I said in my previous article) this is a expert time to start.
Sometimes in comics'south forums there is a section dedicated to collabs where yous tin post an ad. Here are some exemples:

https://forums.tapas.io/c/collaboration
https://www.reddit.com/r/ComicBookCollabs/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Connecting.Comic.Book.Writers.and.Artists/
https://forum.deviantart.com/community/projects/
https://comicfury.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=15

In some servers defended to comics on Discord' at that place is a dedicated #collab section.
This is the almost 'formal' way to ask for collab, simply there's likewise a much more direct way: you just get and DM the artist you wanna collaborate with.
I would recommend a different blazon of arroyo according to the evolution stage of your webcomics career:
– when y'all are a beginner or when you only started publishing go for FANART and CROSS PROMOTION with artists with a similar fanbase;
– when you are at a more advanced point (y'all have hundreds if not thousands of followers and a skilful readership base) you can go and endeavour to pitch a CROSSOVER idea to another artists. Remember that this one is the most circuitous to pull off and y'all'll accept to decide who draws what and agree about the plot. Information technology's too the most rewarding in my ain feel.
Plain all these things don't matter if you know the artist already. That's why I encouraged you to bring together artists community from the outset 😉

Other types of common promotional content:

• milestone celebrations of your work (comic anniversary, your start 1k followers, etc.)
• Q&Every bit with readers
• sneak previews
• comics nearly current or seasonal trends

Make videos.

Videos are THE affair that works on social media nowadays. No matter which website your choose, videos take more chances to exist seen than pictures.
At that place is plenty of ways for a comic artists to accept advantage of videos. For exemple:

• make art tutorials (Youtube/Skillshare);
• make livestreams and videochat of your work process (Twitch, Youtube live, Instagram Alive, Facebook Live);
• brand brusk videos of y'all, if yous want to connect with your readers more personally
• make speed cartoon videos
• make reviews of other webcomics
• make gifs or short animations with your characters (more on this afterward in this article)

A good exemple of a successful Youtube aqueduct from a comic artist is Jason Brubaker'due south channel. Accept a look!

Also, at that place are more than and more comic artists running successful webcomics on Youtube thanks to nigh-animation. What do I mean with 'almost animation'? It's basically taking a comic and animating just some parts of it (the mouth or but moving the drawing around the screen) and voicing them over. Some of the most successful artists use stick figures or simplified shapes in gild to cut the production complexity, just information technology's still an impressive corporeality of work, because as well the sound and video editing effort.

I'd say the effort is 100% worth the hurting if you wait at the listen-extraordinary numbers (spoiler warning: MILLIONS of views) that these creators are able to achieve. Just on the top of my keyboard:

• the odd1s out
• jaiden animations
• allow me explain studios

Brand Podcasts.

Some comic artists brand podcasts. I'1000 a total noob about them then I won't venture into this merely if some of yous have some skilful advice to share or practiced podcasts to recommend please go ahead in the comments.

The merely podcasts I know and I recommend are:

• the fine art corner podcast (anything from making to promoting your creative work)
• the podcomic webcast (interviews with famous webcomic creators past the daneman)
• webcomicshub podcast (webcomics topics and interviews)

Make Stickers/Emojis and Gifs.

Facebook, Line (Webtoon), Whatsapp, Instagram… We all apply them to conversation, right? And what do we add to our conversations to make them more interesting? Exactly: stickers/emojis and gifs!

Many artists I know collaborated with unlike platforms to become their designs in your chats.

Here is the process for each platform: expert luck!

How to submit your gifs to Giphy

Hot to submit your stickers to Whatsapp

How to submit your stickers to Facebook

How to submit your stickers to Line (Webtoon).

I know that many artists accept started exploring TikTok's video'south potential simply I'm not at that place yet. I merely know that organic growth is nevertheless a thing at that place are december 2020 then why not giving it a try.

INVEST IN YOUR COMIC

If you are in a comfortable identify economically and you want to invest a few bucks in your comic there is plenty of ways to do it for a relatively pocket-sized amout of coin.

We already talked about this in my previous article simply here it is over again: y'all can promote your Facebook page with 0,003/0,04 cents per like. It will abound your followers number but virtually likely yous won't see your engagement growing as much.

I would not recommend IG ads as they are… I tin't discover any other words but A TOTAL WASTE OF Money.

HOW TO Make YOUR FIRST DOLLARS WITH YOUR COMIC

Commissions

The easiest way to make money with your creative skills is selling commissions.

If y'all're not confident enough to start working for clients yous can showtime with friends and family or past making fanart of famous people and characters. In this style you'll also accept an thought of how long it takes you to terminate an analogy and you'll have a solid basis to figure out your pricing.

Commissions are a huge topic and so if you want to dig dip into that you can read on my 'list of 'dos and don'ts' for art commissions' and 'How to determine the toll of art commissions' articles.

Publish on platforms that pay their authors.

Webtoon and Tapastic offer dissimilar opportunities to artists to monetize their comics. As I've said before, there are other comics platforms such as Hivework, Gocomics, Webtoon Factory, TheNib and Lezhin that pay their authors, but the difference is that yous can't self-publish your comic at that place: you have to submit a full pitch and pass a option, exactly equally you would with a traditional publisher. Instead, with Webtoon and Tapas you can start by self-publishing and try to go a featured artist from in that location.

Webtoon has 2 options:
– contract and regular payment for their featured artists
– shared revenue through their advertisement program (for artists with at least 40k monthly views) with Google Adsense rates
If you just started in the webcomic universe and landed on Webtoon you might ask yourself 'how do an artist go featured on Webtoon'?
Hither is my personal answer in order of probability (knowing that it'due south just my personal opinion):

• you win their annual contest (ah! Well… Non And then impossible plainly every bit I did it with 'The ladder', but still hard!)
• you practice exactly the type of comic that the platform crave for, aka the comics that the readers wanna read. In the case of Webtoon this ways romantic comics in a manga/manwa style (slightly more than probable to happen);
• yous are already super famous somewhere else in the web-sphere, then y'all're valuable to the platform (besides likely, but they're now implementing more and more than different partnerships as well featuring  – like boosted ways of monetizing Canva content through locked episodes and video ads – so being pop doesn't automatically mean that you'll become a total fledge featured creative person);
• you were in the Canva section and people showered your comic with so much love that they couldn't possibly ignore you (the chances are the same every bit for the comics superstart who joins Canva – aka yous could exist offered a partnership instead of a contract -);
• you are and then overwhelmingly talented equally an artist and as a writer that they tin't possibly ignore y'all (the less likely pick);
• you are blest with some sort of super power that helps y'all get in (the chances of likelyhood depend on the super ability).

Tapas also features artists, simply I don't really know much almost how they select them. They open submissions from fourth dimension to fourth dimension, and the best manner to know when submissions are open is to read your notifications. You tin can also earn coin (very piddling for the vast majority of the artists) by collecting tips from your readers and by letting Tapas evidence ads on your profile. I've been told that in order to have the 'tips' feature activated on your profile you'll need to enable the ad revenue feature kickoff (straight on your profile's dashboard) and then you take to accomplish at least 200 subscribers. Tapas regularly creates 'tipping events' during which they offer complimentary ink-coins (their currency) that the users can spend on the platform and evidently during these events the 200 subscribes threshold doesn't apply and you lot can request the tipping push to the Tapas' crew (by sending an electronic mail).

Tapas also started different types of shared Adsense Acquirement programs mainly with successful Instagram creators, but it's their staff who hand-picks the creator they collaborate with and there is no mode for you to pitch to be office of it. Same goes for their bonus program (I know because they got in touch first with me!).

Using ads monetization.

We're talking mainly about Google Adsense. I don't accept much traffic on my website and, even afterwards several months since I joined the program, I oasis't managed to make the 70 USD you need to withdraw your money notwithstanding. I can only guess that this tool becomes interesting in one case you have thousands of daily views (I'm nonetheless counting in hundreds, more often a single one).

As well, since the EU implemented the GDPR information technology has go such a hassle to maintain information technology that I'chiliad seriously considering if it'due south worth to keep information technology or not.
If yous know someone who knows how to make the best out of Adsense delight introduce them to this commodity then I tin link upward the content.

In one case upon a time there was Project Wonderful, a network of comics artists promoting each other through a bid system. The modern version of Prisoner of war is Comicad Network.

Note: I knew, used and loved PW but I'm not familiar with Comicad. Many people wrote to me proverb that the customs is growing, then I think information technology's worth a try 🙂

Sponsoring brands on social media or on your website.

Some creators use affiliate or sponsored content, but information technology would take an article just to talk near all the options available (one day, I hope). The idea with affiliate marketing is that yous become paid when someone clicks on a unique link that a brand has provided to you. Every time someone clicks on that link, the brand will know that the traffic they get comes from you and they'll pay you a certain corporeality per click.

The most famous affiliate to-get brand for artists is Skillshare.

Instagram sponsored content is past far one of the about pop and its prices are adequately standardise. Yous can expect to accuse $5/1K views and between 2 cents and $2 for clicks.

Instagram stories are by far the brands' favorite tool and in club to kickoff attracting them yous'll need to exist able to place external link, that becomes possible once you hit 10k subs on your profile.

Suggestion: make your Instagram account a business account in order to be able to collect data about impressions and clicks. Yous'll demand the stats in society to establish your price when a sponsor comes knocking at your door.

Hither is a tool y'all can use to simulate your hypotethical Instagram earnings.

If y'all abound large enough you'll start having companies knocking at your doors asking you to give them your prices for a story, a link or a post on Instagram (or whatever other social you were able to build an audition on). When this happens you might wanna apply Social BluebookInstagram social value calculators (you need to sign up in society to use this tool for free) to figure out how much yous could charge.

Another pick is to join an influencer network (there are a gazillion out at that place) and wait for them to throw sponsors your way.

When you piece of work with businesses a contract is needed. Brand sure that: 1. yous can read and fully empathise and negotiate whatever you're gonna inquire you lot to sign 2. you lot have your own that you can offering to them in case they don't offering y'all one. Y'all'll find plenty of resources about contracts at this particular address.

Crowdfunding.

There nosotros go: any artist who doesn't alive in a cavern without cyberspace has heard of these platforms at least once.
Some of them are still in beta (Tipeee, Drip) and some of them are well established (Kofi, Paypal donation buttons, Patreon, Kickstarter). Each and every platform has its ain purpose.
I would advise to start small (Kofi/Paypal) and move on to Patreon when your comic project is well defined and yous already take a piece of work routine (so you tin add some Patreon-related work to your schedule) and to Kickstarter when you are set to move to printed material or to finance bigger projects in general.

Merchandising.

Comics and merchandising beloved each other. Pins, mugs, t-shirts… Readers definitely capeesh them, then why non giving a effort, especially when today yous tin can practice that online FOR Gratuitous?

I wrote an entire article about how to create and sell trade online of your artwork, so don't hesitate and have a look (it's also free).
Finally you tin yet practice all the in person traditional marketing, who said you couldn't?
Going to comics convention and sell self-printed books, or prints or whatever merchandise you can deport it's an amazing fashion to come across your fans and create strong bonds with them, also as to network with other creators and get used to signing. If you're not confident about going past yourself you tin try to book a tabular array with someone else: one-half the price, double the fun!

If you lot don't know where to starting time with comics conventions and in person selling here the place where to start: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artistalleynetworkinternational

Comics contests and Comics challenges.

I don't accept a listing because it would be as big as Google.

My suggestion is: try to detect something local (your region or your country) and if you don't observe anything up your alley motion to the international ones. At that place are contests all through the year of any genre. A little chip of patience and you'll find something right for yous. Make sure to check the requirements carefully: sometimes the contests don't accept cloth that has already been published, fifty-fifty if information technology's self-published.

Good luck!

Livestreams.

Twitch, Youtube and Instagram permit you livestream and Twitch has a whole ready of options to permit creators make money with it (Youtube too, but information technology's still Google we are talking well-nigh… you need crazy numbers even for making a few dollars).

This is some other whole article for me that I nonetheless take to write… Possibly in 2021! Meanwhile I suggest you get familiar with OBS studio.

Magazines and Syndicates.

If you make stripcomics you can also try to work as a freelancer for a magazine. The best thing to do is to use exclusively to magazines that publish exactly the type of content you practise.

For ex. if you have relatable and light-hearted funny content you might wanna bank check out Buzzfeed. If you're into politics and social movements you might try your adventure with The Nib or a newspaper. For something in betwixt these two there's Vice.

If you lot only make stripcomics and you plan to do that for a long time you also might be interested in getting syndicated. This is so specific to the Usa market that I'm not 100% it might involvement you if yous don't live at that place, simply it might be worthy to have a look. The well-nigh famous syndicate for cartoonist that I know of is Andrews McMeel of Gocomics.

I added a few submissions links in my previous article, in case y'all missed it.

CHANCES TO Brand A LIVING OFF COMICS?

Very little.
But many people already told you so, right?
Y'all're here cause yous wanna hear a different story. You lot want to try, who cares most the issue.
Perfect!
Because making a successful comic means:

• you're gonna dedicate an enormous amount of time to it;
• you lot're gonna have to entertain your audience every single day… okay, not every single day, only at to the lowest degree every single week;
• you're gonna accept to learn how to apply new tools and bargain with new technologies all the time (making videos, changing platforms…);
• you're gonna have to abound upwardly and mature concern-wise, crusade the money in the comic industry tend to drift and you take to be ready to go out a safe nest to grab new opportunities as soon equally they arise. Sometimes you'll observe yourself spending more time taking care of the business organisation than drawing;
• yous're gonna have to be social and build a network.

And even if you do all this, yous volition even so need luck.
But hey, who said the opposite?

Thank yous for being here and coping with my bad English and this unbearabe huge amount of information. I personally wish y'all the best luck in your comics adventure and I hope to meet you lot successful one day, maybe likewise thanks to this commodity, even if merely a little fleck.
My name is Kotopopi, I brand silly comics since I was ten and I promise I'll be still making them at 100.

Resource

Stuff that you need to consider if you're an creative person, by the Oatmeal himself:

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/creativity_things

The ultimate guide to webcomics (106 pages), by a bunch of amazing professional webcomics artists:

http://sarjakuvakeskus.fi/blogi/1097-webcomics

Websites almost comics' promotion:

https://demonarchives.com/tag/tutorials/

https://www.thingsinsquares.com/weblog

Websites about general tips for comic artists:

https://nattosoup.blogspot.fr/

http://theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.fr/

https://graphicartistsguild.org

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

The author of Galebound for her amazing work: http://world wide web.galebound.com/
All the kind people who contributed to this in the Tapas forum

How to Get People to Read Your Comic

Source: https://kotopopi.com/how-to-promote-your-comics-in-2018-promotion/

Share :