How to record a Patreon walk-through video

How to record a Patreon walk-through video

Patreon has proven to be a game-changer for many people pursuing webcomics. However, some new patrons have difficulty navigating the Patreon...
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The best days to launch/conclude a Kickstarter

The best days to launch/conclude a Kickstarter

While recording an interview for the marvelous Story/Comic podcast, I discussed my strategy for secretly launching a Kickstarter to Patreon...
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Webcomics Confidential: ‘You have the audience you deserve’

Webcomics Confidential: ‘You have the audience you deserve’

Many of us seek a magic hashtag or "One Weird Trick" to game SEO and drive readers to our work....
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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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ComicLab Ep 24 — Starting comics later in life

Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar tackle another bushel of questions from creative professionals! FIRST, they share advice for people who are starting their first steps into cartooning later in life. How do you do comics with a spouse, kids, a mortgage and, well… a life? NEXT, what’s the best way to support a comics creator? THEN, if you came of age in a Web 2.0 environment of message boards and forums, how can you hope to build community these days? PLUS, the prevailing advice is to find your niche and stay there. It helps Amazon’s algorithm, according to conventional wisdom. So… should you? FINALLY, Are you undervaluing your Patreon pledge tiers? And, if so, what should you do?

BUT FIRST: After living out of a suitcase for a few weeks while his family moved into a new house, Dave realizes he needs just a little bit to live happily. And a little bit more. And a little bit more.

Show notes

  • 00:15 — Dave needs very little to survive… or does he?
  • 03:08 — Bonjoro update
  • 04:17 — What advice would you give to someone starting cartooning later in life?
  • 18:30 — What’s the best way to support a comic creator?
  • 28:27 — Building community on a post-Web 2.0 environment
  • 42:02 — Advice on staying focused within your chosen genre to satisfy Amazon’s algorithm.
  • 54:03 — Are you undervaluing your Patreon pledge tiers?
by on June 14, 2018
Posted In: ComicLab
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Project Wonderful to close down Aug. 1

Project Wonderful, the auction-style web-advertising broker that once thrived in the webcomics community has announced that it will close down on August first.

Even if you’re not using Project Wonderful, this news has significant relevance to you…

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by on June 11, 2018
Posted In: Advertising
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ComicLab Ep 23 — Gloria Calderón Kellett talks about writing comedy

This week on the show we’re thrilled to welcome the creative powerhouse Gloria Calderón Kellett. Well-known for the critically acclaimed relaunch of “One Day At A Time,” she is a show-runner, writer, actor and all-around force-to-be-reckoned-with. She talks with Dave and Brad about her writing process, finding new ideas, sitcom writing, writing as a collaboration, editing for humor, and much, much more. Gloria and Dave have been married for a number of years. (Which number is anybody’s guess.) So this marks the first time that one of the ComicLab hosts exchanged smooches with one of the guests.Sorry, Jake.

BUT FIRST… Speaking of humor writing, Brad’s older son, Alex, has become fascinated with writing comedy. And that has resulting in a strange combination of pride and fear for dad.

Show notes

  • 00:00 — Brad’s son wants to be a writer
  • 11:10 — Facing the blank page
  • 16:46 — What’s missing from webcomics? Craft services.
  • 19:49 — Writing an episode for TV
  • 21:19 — Accepting criticism
  • 25:00 — Do Gloria and Dave ever collaborate on each other’s projects?
  • 27:27 — “Finding your muse” in an actor
  • 34:24 — Writing as part of a team
  • 44:20 — How to see a  live taping of ODAT
  • 45:23 — The sitcom writing format
  • 55:55 — Editing for humor
  • 01:02:09 — Writing in groups vs writing solitude
by on June 7, 2018
Posted In: ComicLab
3 Comments

Patreon acquires Kit.com — for merchandise fulfillment

During the Patreon On Tour conference in New York City, representatives mentioned plans for getting Patreon more involved in helping creators ship physical merchandise. Today, the company announced it has acquired Kit.com — a start-up company that allows creators to group products into curated packages.

Here’s what that may mean to you…

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by on June 5, 2018
Posted In: Business
3 Comments

June To-Do List

It’s June. Comic Con International is only weeks away. Many of your readers are going to be out of school and enjoying summer. And maybe your own kids are, too. There’s a lot to get to, so let’s get cracking.

Comic Con Checklist

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by on June 5, 2018
Posted In: Archive Dive
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ComicLab Ep 22 — Cartooning advice for beginners, DRM-free PDF strategy, and storyline-driven comic strips

Great news! We have a DISCOUNT CODE for Bonjoro — exclusively for our $5+ Patreon backers! NEXT: Dave and Brad drill deep on the ubiquitous DRM-free PDF. We discuss what it is, why we use it, and how to best implement it. THEN: We grapple with one of the great mysteries of life — If we could time-travel back to talk to ourselves in our 20s, what advice would we give? FINALLY: If you’re doing a comic strip that incorporates a storyline, you should be doing a longform comic instead.

BUT FIRST… As the rest of his family is waiting for him to come home to start a camping trip in the Poconos, Brad makes a mistake that has him sitting in his bank’s branch office for several hours, sweating bullets.

Show notes

  • 00:00 — Brad gets phished, but good.
  • 19:05 — Bonjoro DISCOUNT CODE
  • 23:40 — DRM-free PDFs
  • 37:27 — What advice would you give to 20-year-old you?
  • 50:55 — If you’re doing a comic strip that incorporates a storyline, you should be doing a longform comic instead.

Great rewards when you support ComicLab

$2 — support the show

$5 — submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast

$10 — record an audio question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast

$50 — Sponsor the show! We’ll read a brief promo for your comic/product and read it twice during the show AND you get the exclusive ProTips podcast

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the editor of Webcomics.com

Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

by on June 1, 2018
Posted In: ComicLab
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Patreon redirects to new Membership page

Traditionally, when you posted your Patreon URL, a potential backer would arrive at a page that presented them with your introductory video, some of the recent posts, and a sidebar of membership options. It seems as if that’s about to change, and it has some Patreon users worried.

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by on May 31, 2018
Posted In: Crowdfunding
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Webcomics Confidential — Social Media Tips

Today’s post is a FREE FRIDAY post — This is an example of what my subscribers get every week at Webcomics.com!

It’s Q&A time on today’s Webcomics Confidential! A Webcomics.com member writes:

I was hoping you could talk a little social media strategy sometime. I was terrible for being that “go check out my comic” person but I get completely stumped as to what else to post. I can’t imagine anyone cares what I had for lunch as those kinds of things always make me tune-out and I’m never sure when a simple opinion like, “Tupperware is useful sometimes” is going to set off a rage response about someone’s Tupperware trauma. Do you have any go-to tricks for posting ideas? Questions you might ask yourself or techniques like the word-association thing you’ve discussed for breaking writer’s block?

So… when it comes to media, what do you say when you have nothing to say? — Plenty! That’s when you drop back to the Three Cs of social media. And then, let’s talk about the Mirror Research that brought you to the (mistaken) conclusion that “Tupperware” posts are bad!

And then, near the end of the video, we tackle a burning question for all cartoonists. And the answer just might explain why we cartoonists have such a hard time getting paid for our work!

by on May 25, 2018
Posted In: Archive Dive
1 Comment

ComicLab Ep 21 — Bonjoro, narrative clarity and the quest for a truly original idea

Today on ComicLab, Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar take a full one-eighty on Bonjoro. After trashing it last episode, they’re ready to sing its praises as a game-changer in crowdfunding and web publishing. Find out what caused this massive reconsideration. THEN the guys take an audio question from a Patreon backer who wants to know how to address concerns from readers who find a story hard to follow. And FINALLY, another backer asks how much effort should be put into making sure your idea hasn’t been done before.

BUT FIRST… Whether it’s Flash vs Reverse Flash or Green Lantern vs Sinestro, why do supervillains always have to be the exact opposite of their corresponding superheroes? Is it hack writing or is there something deeper going on?

Show Notes
  • 00:00 — Perfectly matched hero/villain pairs — hack writing or philosophical poetry?
  • 08:36 — Backerkit
  • 16:37 — Bonjoro — a game-changers for your crowdfunding and web publishing strategy
  • 42:11 — Audio Question: How do you address concerns from a reader about your story being hard to follow?
  • 01:01:16 — How much effort do you put into making sure your idea hasn’t been done before?
by on May 24, 2018
Posted In: ComicLab
1 Comment
Writing Creativity icon

Diversity and Inclusion in Comics

Two cartoonists were sitting at a car after a day tabling at a comic convention. The topic of diversity and inclusion came up. Slightly lubricated, one of them said, in a hushed whisper, “I’d write more black characters into my comic, but I’m… scared.”

“Scared?” asked his friend.

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by on May 23, 2018
Posted In: Writing
6 Comments