Planning out the new year

Planning out the new year

This is a time when many of us start daydreaming about the coming year. We have hopes, plans, goals, and...
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Should you do a 2025 calendar?

Should you do a 2025 calendar?

As we head into December, you may be considering a 2025 calendar to sell to your audience. We'll talk about...
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Webcomics Confidential: Understanding Writer’s Block

Webcomics Confidential: Understanding Writer’s Block

How often are we presented with the image of tortured creative souls, staring plaintively at the tools of their craft,...
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ComicLab Ep 365 — Maybe You’re Not Funny

ComicLab Ep 365 — Maybe You’re Not Funny

In this episode, Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett share insights on the creative process of writing humor, emphasizing that humor...
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Something worth sharing

Something worth sharing

With Twitter going down the tubes, I decided to re-focus my efforts on social media. I wanted to see if...
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Maximizing the potential of Bluesky Starter Packs

Maximizing the potential of Bluesky Starter Packs

If you're one of the millions of new users on Bluesky, you're probably becoming familiar with Starter Packs. This was...
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Webcomics Confidential: What size should your webcomic be?

Webcomics Confidential: What size should your webcomic be?

Beginning cartoonists often ask what size they should make their comic. Many are looking for "standard" sizes. The answer is...
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ComicLab Ep 346 — In Over My Head

ComicLab Ep 346 — In Over My Head

What happens when your story gets too big for you to handle? Are you the right person for the job?...
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How many social-media posts per day?

How many social-media posts per day?

According to a Very Popular Influencer, one should post on social media six to eight times daily. I disagree, and...
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Detritus — What it is and why your comic needs it

Detritus — What it is and why your comic needs it

Let's discuss one of those savvy touches that can help take your art to the next level. And ironically enough,...
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E-mail newsletters — Best Practices

Email outreach is hot again — and many independent creators are leaping to it as a way to escape social media. But in so doing, many of us are running afoul of long-standing FTC regulations which could hamper our ability to reach those readers over the long term. So let’s talk best practices.

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by on August 2, 2023
Posted In: Marketing / Social Media
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August To-Do List

It’s the first month of the second half of the year! Let’s get a plan in place to finish 2023 strong!

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by on August 1, 2023
Posted In: To-Do List
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A Comic-Con about… comics?!?

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

With Marvel, Netflix, Sony, HBO, and Universal pulling out of Hall H, what will San Diego Comic-Con be like? Some say that removing the Hollywood sightings and signings will allow the attendees to return their focus to the comics creators the show was initially founded to celebrate. Others fear a floor full of angry fans who spent hundreds on a show that isn’t there.

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

  • With Marvel, Netflix, Sony, HBO, and Universal pulling out of Hall H, what will SDCC be like?
  • UPDATE: Mastodon still ain’t it
  • UPDATE: BlueSky
  • UPDATE: Patreon video extended to Founder’s level

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 July 27, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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ComicLab Ep 292 — Special Guest Phil Foglio

Today’s show is sponsored by Dreamhost! If you want to own and control your own work with a website, Dreamhost can help you get started.

Phil Foglio joins us to discuss his long and storied career as an independent cartoonist! Best known for co-creating “Girl Genius”  with his wife Kaja, Phil talks about his breakout hit, “What’s New with Phil and Dixie,” his milestone NSFW series, “XXXenophile,” developing the Gaslamp Fantasy genre, and the philosophies that have helped him navigate several decades as an independent comics creator.

Fun Fact! Phil, Dave, and Brad are all nominated for the National Cartoonist Society’s Silver Reuben Award for Best Online Longform Comic!

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

  • Special Guest Phil Foglio
  • ComicLab LIVE at San Diego Comic Con
  • UPDATE: Google Domains

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

by on July 20, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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How to do a reader survey

Reader surveys are an excellent way to get a better feel for your audience. Does your comic skew toward female readers? Do they tend to be younger or older? What are their other interests? Would they support a Kickstarter for a new book? What rewards would make them Patreon backers?

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by on July 19, 2023
Posted In: Community
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Rethink the landing page

Many of us recognize that readership on the Web has shifted. Our audience spends most of their online time on social media and apps. However, we know it’s important to have our own website where we can own and control our own work. But that website? It’s straight out of 2005.

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by on July 18, 2023
Posted In: Web site
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