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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Webcomics Confidential: Rethink Your Schedule

Is your schedule killing you? Well, maybe killing is a bit strong, but maintaining a rigid schedule could actually hurt your webcomic more than its helping it. I’ll talk about why that is — and how to position your comic for greater success in a social-media-dominated publishing system.

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by on August 21, 2023
Posted In: Uncategorized
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ComicLab Ep 296 — “You talked me out of a mistake, and I’d like to get back to making it as soon as possible”

This week a ComicLab listener writes to thank us for talking him out of a mistake — and to say he’d like to get back to making it as soon as possible.

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

  • Going back to making the same mistake
  • Patreon for a short-term comic
  • UPDATE: Patreon Free Trial
  • UPDATE: Jerry Garcia — “Not everybody likes licorice, but people who like licorice… REALLY like licorice!” That’s sage advice for niche publishing.
  • Particular advice for small comic conventions
  • Coming back after a break — restart the online comic or Kickstart a book with finished materials

DriveThruComics

Check out the redesigned DriveThruComics here! Their team is looking for feedback as they work on the new layout and features, so pass along your thoughts using this Google Form.

If you’re interested in setting up a publisher account, here’s some helpful information. They also have guides for creating and publishing digital and print-on-demand books!

by on August 17, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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woman doing a hush hand gesture

When a content scraper steals your Patreon-exclusives

It happens from time to time — especially if you’re offering exclusive content on Patreon. Criminals (there’s no other word) access your site and use various means to scrape the content and post it in places people can access it for free. As long as we, as artists, allow ourselves to be undervalued, there will always be people comfortable doing this. So, what can you do to stop it?

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by on August 15, 2023
Posted In: Business, Crowdfunding
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ComicLab Ep 295: Too many SHOULDs

Today’s show is sponsored by DriveThruComics.com! It’s the first download comic shop — and we think it’s the best!

You should build a following on social media. You should launch a website. You should focus on the quality of your comic. How do you manage all of these “SHOULDs?!” 

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

DriveThruComics

Check out the redesigned DriveThruComics here! Their team is looking for feedback as they work on the new layout and features, so pass along your thoughts using this Google Form.

If you’re interested in setting up a publisher account, here’s some helpful information. They also have guides for creating and publishing digital and print-on-demand books!

by on August 10, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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The Kickstarter bathtub curve

It’s not uncommon to panic in the early days of a Kickstarter campaign. After that initial shower of pledges, the activity often drains out — leaving the creator wondering if they’re going to be left all wet. That’s when it’s time to get into the “tub.”

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by on August 9, 2023
Posted In: Crowdfunding
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Finding your unique drawing style

Finding a unique and identifiable drawing style is one of the first obsessions a beginner artist has. How is this accomplished? It’s all about the rearview mirror.

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by on August 8, 2023
Posted In: Art
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Livestream Chat: Doing a quiet voice in comics lettering

How do you represent someone whispering in a comic? If you choose to make the lettering itself smaller, you’re sacrificing legibility — and that’s dangerous. After all, that’s Guigar’s Law of Lettering: “nobody’s gonna read your comic if they can’t read your comic.” In this Livestream Chat, let’s talk about different approaches to getting it done… quietly.

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by on August 7, 2023
Posted In: Webcomics Confidential
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ComicLab Ep 294 — Pulling at Threads

Today’s show is sponsored by DriveThruComics.com! It’s the first download comic shop — and we think it’s the best!

Social media giant Meta launched Threads and acquired over 40,000 users within the first 24 hours. Will this be the death knell for Twitter? And if it is, will that be good news for comic creators?

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

DriveThruComics

Check out the redesigned DriveThruComics here! Their team is looking for feedback as they work on the new layout and features, so pass along your thoughts using this Google Form.

If you’re interested in setting up a publisher account, here’s some helpful information. They also have guides for creating and publishing digital and print-on-demand books!

by on August 3, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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