May was an excellent example of the tremendous value offered by a subscription to Webcomics.com. My readers got early alerts on issues that would impact their businesses, helpful tutorials, insightful analysis, and meaningful feedback on their work. Here are some samples of what you may have missed…

Tips on Running a Successful Kickstarter

Having launched a few Kickstarter campaigns of my own, I’ve been doing a lot of “I make mistakes so you don’t have to” research for this site. Here’s a few things I learned — and a few tips I’ve culled from from others along the way. [Free Friday — You can read this entire piece without a subscription.]

Lettering Pro-Tip: Avoid using numbers in word balloons

I spotted an example of this one in the wild, and figured it was a good opportunity to talk about the finer points of lettering. [Subscribers can read the entire post.]

Webcomics Confidential Ep 21 — Reader Comments

I have a confession to make: I stopped allowing my readers to make comments on my public website, and I’ve never been happier. What’s more… my work has improved, too. Back in the day, reader comments were the lifeblood of a website. Today, they do more harm than good. In this episode of Webcomics Confidential I’ll talk about the new way I’m using this relationship to my advantage — and my thoughts on handling negative comments when they occur.

[Subscribers can view the entire video]

Webcomics.com Poll: What scares you most?

The most recent Webcomics.con Poll asked respondents to complete this sentence: “The thing that worries me most about 2017 is…”

The results weren’t particularly surprising. The top two answers were actually related, as a matter of fact. 23% of the people said Net Neutrality was their top concern. And 21% said that political changes were their top concerns.

But the really interesting discussion is about what fell to the bottom of the list… [Subscribers can read the entire post.]

New look, new features for Patreon

Earlier today, Patreon unveiled a new logo, a new site design, and several new features. For a crowdfunding platform that took webcomics by storm last year, there’s no signs of slowing down. Here’s a look at some of the changes. [Subscribers can read the entire post.]

New Poll: What Site Improvement is Most Important?

Let’s take another look at the bedrock of a webcomic business — its website. What are we most interested in improving? Share your thoughts!

Reinventing Webcomics

A while back, I posted 12 Ways You’re Doing Patreon Wrong. In it, I advocated moving away from an ad-supported business model, and into a subscription-supported model. After one member read the piece, they asked:

Q. I have a question about this: Do you EVER provide the paid material to the general population? For example, if Patreon subscribers get your NSFW work, will the visitors to your [public website] … see the archives one day? And if so, how?

A. A few days ago, I posted this under the Webcomics.com Twitter account:

Webcartoonists: It ain’t about the pageviews anymore. Once you let that sink in, you’ll rethink your entire publishing approach.

— Webcomics-dot-com (@Webcomicscom) June 13, 2016

…And this is a perfect example.

Why would I release that material to the general public?

[Free Friday! You can read this entire post without a subscription.]

Webcomics Confidential Ep 22 — Web hosting for a first-time cartoonist

It’s officially summer, and that means that I’m spending a lot more time working out of my home studio. The good news is that you get to see my boys’ Godzilla collection. The not-so-great news is that I’m still working out some of the technical issues associated with recording video out of the home.

Nevertheless, I came across a compelling quandary. If I were advising a first-time cartoonist on Web hosting, what would be my advice?

[Subscribers can view the entire video]

Webcomics Confidential Ep 23 — Understanding Contract Language

How are you supposed to “read the fine print” if you don’t understand half the words they use? This episode of Webcomics Confidential gives you a crash course in Legalese so you won’t be intimidated next time you’re faced with a contract.

[Subscribers can view the entire video]

Webcomics Confidential Ep 24 — Ending a Comic

We talk a lot about launching a comic — and we spend hours talking about growing a comic. But we should probably talk about the best way to end a comic. Because that’s a part of this whole thing, too.

I recorded this from my palatial hotel room in Huntsville, Ala. (my son is at Space Camp all week, and this made more sense than driving back-and-forth from Philadelphia twice). So there’s none of those ultra-slick production values that you’ve come to know and love. This one’s just me sitting in front of a camera and talking. I hope you enjoy it!

[Subscribers can view the entire video]

Webcomics Confidential Ep 25 — It’ll Just Take a Minute

Good time management isn’t only about securing hours to work on your project. Rather, it’s about guarding against the accumulation of all of those “just takes a minute” tasks.

[Subscribers can view the entire video]

Ringo Awards nominations opened

As reported here earlier, after Reed Expo bought the Harvey Awards (without having, it seems, any plans to actually do anything with the property), Baltimore Comic Con announced the launch of the Ringo Awards (honoring Mike Wieringo, a well-known Marvel/DC artist who died in 2007).

The Ringo awards are now accepting nominations.

If you’re paying attention, you can see something downright fascinating happening with the Ringo Awards process…

[Subscribers can read the entire post]

Webcomics Confidential Ep 26 — Patreon Best Practices

Here’s an actionable list of things you can start doing today to begin improving your results on Patreon.

[Subscribers can view the entire video]