Understanding social media

Understanding social media

Social media is among an independent artist's most frustrating elements. We struggle for engagement, wage constant battles with "The Algorithm,"...
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Writing humor

Writing humor

Writing comedy is a challenge that is made even more daunting by the fact that humor itself is completely subjective...
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CMYK vs RGB

CMYK vs RGB

If you're saving your comics in RGB mode, you may be making a potentially expensive mistake. The content you are...
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ComicLab Ep 358 — “Help! I’m not funny anymore!”

ComicLab Ep 358 — “Help! I’m not funny anymore!”

Cartoonists Dave and Brad share some thoughts with a young humor writer trying to find their Funny. Also: Is BlueSky...
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ISBN — a beginner’s guide

ISBN — a beginner’s guide

An ISBN is a 10- or 13-digit number used to identify a book from a specific publisher. Once your book...
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How to write a Halloween joke

How to write a Halloween joke

On Substack, a cartoonist was struggling with writing a Halloween joke. He was experiencing a common problem. He was stuck...
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Webcomics Confidential: Size doesn’t matter

Webcomics Confidential: Size doesn’t matter

when it comes to your audience, size doesn't matter. A small and engaged readership beats a huge, lukewarm audience every...
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ComicLab Ep 357 — Innovation fascination

ComicLab Ep 357 — Innovation fascination

Having wrapped up his 16th Kickstarter, cartoonist Dave Kellett shares some insights about setting realistic expectations, avoiding paid advertising, and...
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Adding lettering to improve original art sales

Adding lettering to improve original art sales

Selling original art is an integral part of the business model of an independent cartoonist who works with traditional media...
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Reader retention

Reader retention

Let's face it. One of the biggest hurdles in growing a webcomic is reader retention. That's why I encourage you...
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Direct More Attention to Your Blog

Your blog is the heartbeat of your community-building effort. The comic brings your readers in, but your blog makes them feel as if they belong. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly hard to jam both into the “first screen” of a typical reader.

The content you are trying to access is only available to members.

by on January 12, 2010
Posted In: Tech
2 Comments

Keep ’em Home

If you’re running ads on a CPM (cost per thousand views) basis, it’s in your best interest to generate as many pageviews as possible. Priority One, of course, is to do the best comic you possibly can. Second on the list is to engender a sense of community among your fans. Third is maximizing your archives, and last month, I discussed a few thoughts about maximizing your pageviews by finding creative ways to send your readers back through your archives.

The content you are trying to access is only available to members.

by on January 11, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
4 Comments

Longform strategy

Humor-based comic strips have an incredible power on the Web. As I’ve said before, they’re tailor-made to retain a dedicated readership — the kind a Web site needs to thrive.

Does that mean that a dramatic, longform comic can’t succeed on the Web? Of course it doesn’t. But I think that it means creators of these kinds of comics have to approach their craft somewhat differently than they would in a traditional print setting.

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by on January 7, 2010
Posted In: Art, Writing
36 Comments

Banner Ad Hot Seat: Call for Submissions

Next week, we’re going to workshop a few of your ads. So if you have an ad that you’d like some feedback on, please post it here (or post a link to it). We’re talk about what you’re doing right and discuss where improvements can be made. Submit any kind of ad — leaderboard, skyscraper, square — and try to find ways you can get the most for your ad dollar.

by on January 6, 2010
Posted In: Business
22 Comments

Mailbag: Facebook Fan Pages

I’m one of the Facebook “Evil Henchpeople”. I saw that in your right sidebar under Site Tools you have the little Facebook box there.  I’m trying to find out how you did that.  I have a Facebook page for my comic, and I have searched through all of my facebook functions to find the option but I don’t see it.  I figured it out for twitter, but could you tell me where/how you found it?

— Jules

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by on January 6, 2010
Posted In: Tech
5 Comments

Private Forums

One more site note: We’re going to separate the forum that existed before we switched to a subscription model. From here on in, please use the Private Forum. 🙂

by on January 5, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
3 Comments

Note to subscribers

Articles that had been submitted to Webcomics.com before it switched over to a subscription site have been hidden until the authors can approve of their use. If you’re looking for information that is hidden, please let me know. 🙂

by on January 4, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
 Comment 

Convention Planning

One of the new features of this site is going to be helping you plan for your next convention. You’ll be getting e-mails reminding you to make travel reservations, book hotel rooms, ship merchandise, etc. You’ll even get a handy list to help you plan your packing a couple days before you leave.

The content you are trying to access is only available to members.

by on January 4, 2010
Posted In: Uncategorized
4 Comments