ComicLab Ep 362 — Your content is not your community

ComicLab Ep 362 — Your content is not your community

When comic creators try to market their comics, they often confuse what their comic is about with who it's for....
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Remove your first panel

Remove your first panel

If you've been a reader of Webcomics.com for a while, you know how much I loathe "magic number" advice. But...
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Key dates in the upcoming holiday shopping season

Key dates in the upcoming holiday shopping season

From Black Friday to New Year's sales, here's a guide to help you prepare your online store for the holiday...
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Webcomics Confidential: How long should it take to draw a comics page?

Webcomics Confidential: How long should it take to draw a comics page?

A person starting to do comics asked a question in a forum for creators: "How long does it take you...
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Comics Consultations

Comics Consultations

Powered by I will prepare top-down analysis of your comic-based business, including: Art and writing Social media Crowdfunding Marketing/promotion Then...
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ComicLab Ep 361 — Let’s talk about your bits and pieces

ComicLab Ep 361 — Let’s talk about your bits and pieces

When a listener asks about Kickstarter strategy, the ComicLab guys are divided! Dave favors the traditional webcomics approach. Build your...
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Reddit posting strategy

Reddit posting strategy

This is an excellent time to start an account on Reddit — or to dust off a profile you haven't...
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Clip Studio tutorial: Adding highlights to black hair

Clip Studio tutorial: Adding highlights to black hair

Drawing a person with black hair can be tricky. If you're not careful, you can end up with someone who...
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Webcomics Confidential: “Don’t quit your day job!”

Webcomics Confidential: “Don’t quit your day job!”

"Don't quit your day job" is often used to insult artists and imply that they haven't become successful yet. But...
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COmicLab Ep 360 — New ways to make an old mistake

COmicLab Ep 360 — New ways to make an old mistake

After years of listening to Brad and Dave extoll the virtues of self-publishing, a ComicLab listener signed with a corporate...
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ComicLab Ep 335 — How much story is too much story?

How do you know when you’re giving your readers too many details? — or not enough? Where’s the sweet spot between action and exposition? We’re going deep on storycraft this week! PLUS: Zines, gutters, and distribution!

THIS WEEK’S SHOW

  • How much story to write
  • Should you be doing a zine?
  • Gutters
  • Borders
  • Distribution
by on May 16, 2024
Posted In: ComicLab
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Webtoons déjà vu

It’s tough to be an independent cartoonist. There’s only one place to find comic readers online. There’s only one place where you’re able to get paid for your work. And there’s only one place you can be considered a professional and have hopes of building a career. No, I’m not talking about Webtoons. I’m talking about Keenspot in the opening years of the 2000s. Everything we said then was untrue, just as it is when folks say the same things about Webtoons today.

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by on May 15, 2024
Posted In: Business
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Building an audience on a post-social-media Internet

I shared the analytics from my recent Kickstarter campaign in a recent post. And the numbers don’t lie: Social media is dead. In a campaign that topped $26k, social media posts netted me a grand total of… drum roll, please… $677. Theoretically, I could have avoided any mention of my campaign on social media, and I would have still beaten my goal by $2,300. That’s sobering news for anyone planning a crowdfunding campaign. But what does it mean for audience building? For over ten years, social media has been the answer for webcartoonists who were trying to gain notoriety. So if we’re not getting results there, where do we turn?

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by on May 14, 2024
Posted In: Uncategorized
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Kickstarter post mortem

Using a term like “post-mortem” for my recent Kickstarter is a little inappropriate. Kickstarter is still very much alive and well. In fact, it’s thriving. But there is a death to report: Social media. I’ll share some real numbers and analytics from my campaign and talk about what I think it means for the new age of webcomics we’re moving into.

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by on May 13, 2024
Posted In: Uncategorized
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A new way to change tier pricing on Patreon

Patreon has added a way to edit tier prices. This is now one of two ways that users can change a tier price. The other is “unpublishing.” From their email:

Whether you’re navigating the rising costs of business or just because the value of your offering has gone up, you deserve the flexibility to change your tier prices to best meet your needs. You can now edit the price of your tiers on Patreon, even if they have active members on them.

How it works

When you update a tier price, that new price will take effect immediately for new members joining your Patreon. However, renewals for existing members will stay at the old price for a 31-day transition period.

Handling the change

Affected members will get an email when you change a tier price. However, it’s a good idea to reach out directly to explain why the price changes.

Here is some more information.

by on May 11, 2024
Posted In: Crowdfunding
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ComicLab Ep 334 — Social media is dead … now what?

Having completed their Kickstarters, Dave and Brad review the promotional outreach that delivered the biggest results and make a shocking discovery. Traditionally, social media platforms were the biggest drivers of Kickstarter pledges. But in 2024 they barely made the top ten. That raises an important question: If we can’t rely on social media to deliver a Kickstarter pledge — and if it’s increasingly difficult to build an audience there — why are we using it?

ON TODAY’S SHOW

  • Kickstarter post mortem
  • Social media is dead… now what?
by on May 9, 2024
Posted In: ComicLab
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How to set a price for a book

I created a study guide for my Arts Entrepreneurship class, and I thought it might be helpful to post it here, too. It talks about the simple math behind correctly determining the best price for your merchandise.

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by on May 8, 2024
Posted In: Business
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Drawing with a “dead” line

The quality of your line can add intensity and energy to your art. Let’s talk about drawing with a “dead” line… and why there might be a better choice for you!

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by on May 7, 2024
Posted In: Art
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