ComicLab Ep 359 — Should your readers be your writers?

ComicLab Ep 359 — Should your readers be your writers?

BlueSky is beginning to feel like Twitter did ten years ago! Engagement is up, conversations are genuine, and follower counts...
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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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ComicLab Ep 215 — Is fanart legal?

Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar tackle one of the great debates in comics — Is fanart legal? Today’s show is brought to you by Wacom! Wacom is the maker of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One! 

Questions asked and topics covered…

  • Is fan art legal?
  • Should you allow others to do fan art of your characters?
  • Is posting on Reddit worth the effort?
  • Distributing PDFs
  • Should I leave Tumblr?
  • Studio snacks! What are the best comics-friendly refreshments?

Today is a great time to bump up your ComicLab membership to the $10 tier! Patreon backers at that level will get exclusive access to livestream recording sessions — as well as an archive of previous livestreams!

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon

  • $2 — Early access to episodes
  • $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
  • $10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the editor of Webcomics.com Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on…

ComicLab is hosted on Simplecast, helping podcasters since 2013. with industry-leading publishing, distribution, and sharing tools.

by on February 3, 2022
Posted In: ComicLab
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Using a URL Redirect to Promote on Social Media

It’s one of the most frustrating parts of promoting a Kickstarter — communicating that long URL. Sure, you’re provided a truncated version. But have you ever tried to point podcast listeners to http://kck.st/2HQTXbr? Luckily, there’s a better way.

URL redirect

When I launched my Kickstarter, I bought the domain newevilbook.com. It’s short, it’s descriptive, and it’s easy to remember. Most domain registrars offer free redirects, so it was quite simple to redirect the domain to my Kickstarter page.

Then, whenever I promoted my Kickstarter campaign on social media, I used that URL. I used it on my website. And I used it on podcast appearances.

As an added benefit, when this campaign closes and the next one launches, I’ll update the redirect, and any old promotion that someone stumbles across will lead them to the new project.

by on January 28, 2022
Posted In: Marketing / Social Media
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ComicLab Ep 214 — Predictions for 2022

Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar share their predictions for the new year! How will Kickstarter, Patreon, Cryptocurrency, NFTs and Substack fare in 2022? Today’s show is brought to you by Wacom! Wacom is the maker of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One! 

Questions asked and topics covered…

  • Prediction: Kickstarter
  • Prediction: Patreon will launch a Kickstarter competitor
  • Prediction: Cryptocurrency and NFTs will recede… for different reasons!
  • Prediction: Substack creators who took the signing deal in 2021 will grapple with their “Day 366”
  • Prediction: Comic conventions will attempt a comeback… and have disappointing results
  • Prediction: Paper shortages and shipping delays will
  • Prediction: Patreon’s base of creators will take another big jump — due to the additional problems with physical goods caused by the pandemic
  • In a couple years, “Sheldon” will turn 25 — does Dave Kellett have any special plans?
  • What would your character actually *do*?

Today is a great time to bump up your ComicLab membership to the $10 tier! Patreon backers at that level will get exclusive access to livestream recording sessions — as well as an archive of previous livestreams!

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon

  • $2 — Early access to episodes
  • $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
  • $10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the editor of Webcomics.com Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on…

ComicLab is hosted on Simplecast, helping podcasters since 2013. with industry-leading publishing, distribution, and sharing tools.

by on January 27, 2022
Posted In: Uncategorized
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Predictions for 2022

What’s in store for 2022? Will we all turn to crytpocurrency? Will crowdfunding continue to be the primary source of webcomics revenue? And what about those newsletters that were supposed to replace social media? Here are my prognostications.

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by on January 26, 2022
Posted In: Business
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Accepting tips on Twitter

You can now accept tips for your tweets. You probably just rolled your eyes are hard as I did when I first heard the news. But surprisingly, I found something useful there, and you should know about it.

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by on January 25, 2022
Posted In: Marketing / Social Media
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NFT strategy

A lot of artists are grappling with the issue of selling NFTs. If this includes you, I have a simple strategy for you to employ.

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by on January 24, 2022
Posted In: Business
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