Looking for webcomic marketing advice

[Lissou]

Hey everyone :) I've been working on my webcomic The Meddlers (http://themeddlers.avistew.com) for a few months and I'm ready to market it but I'm having some issues. I have no idea how to make a banner or rather what to put on it other than the title. I've told individuals (friends) about the comic but only a tiny percentage of them even checks it out, and they don't seem to read any other page, so I'm also worried it's low quality, even though I was pretty proud of it before I put it up online.

I'm hoping there are fellow webcomic creators around here who could help me with the marketing aspect. I already know I want to make a banner and put it in my signature on webcomic forums (such as this one) but I don't know where to begin I guess.
It's been suggested I change the header/logo to add the update schedule (right now, only once a week on Wednesdays) so I think I'll work on the updated logo but if nobody checks out the page in the first place, whether they come back regularly or not isn't really a concern.

I'll take every advice you have to give (preferably advice related to marketing webcomics, though :P)

Thanks a lot. I'm sure it's a subject that comes up often so I'm sorry to be "that guy" and just ask a common question, but when looking at banner-making I've only found websites that list things such as the size of the banner and not really what to put on it. Quotes? Characters? If so, how many before it's crowded? An actual scene? And the "call to action", what is that supposed to be? Just a "click here" or "read now"? That sounds obnoxious.

[Spojaz]

Right now there's not much there to market. Art style is pretty nice and distinctive, but the characters (outside of the cast page) are almost nothing beyond names and bodies yet. Neither the world nor the story are really fleshed out either. Nothing interesting has happened beyond a very simplistic "deus ex random" beginning. "Some kids get yet unidentified powers for literally no reason" is a reasonable start, but there is *no* conflict or tension or reason to come back tomorrow in the whole thing. Yet.

After a few more pages, once the comic can be identified by a "that's the one where" sentence, and there is something to remember about it, will be time for marketing or ads. Then, you take that distinctiveness and make it your ad.

You also want people's first impression of your comic to have more than 10 previous pages to back it up, to allow for them to investigate further, if the interest strikes them, rather than be kept waiting. Archive length will also establish credibility that you will continue to produce content.

The beginning is the hardest part.

[Lissou]

Thanks! You're probably right. I'm being too impatient and nothing has really happened yet. Once it does, there will be something to market. Thanks for the advice, I'll just keep working on the comic for now.

[Kaptin Keen]

Marketing?

This is a first step - posting here. Post in other places too.

Get on the various web comic lists. There are a few, and while I don't know, I guess you can go there, sign up and write your own entry.

Pick a number of popular webcomics. Join their discussion boards. Plug yourself. Be honest about it - trying to trick people just pisses them off.

If you're doing it right, possibly the artists of other comics will enjoy your work, and recommend it.

Also, not marketing? I clicked through what you have now. It's ... slightly static. It's people standing around. I'd try making the ... frames? Are they called that? ... anyways, making them more dynamic.

[Lissou]

Do you mean switching the point of view around more, making the characters do more stuff, or making the panel shapes more dynamic like in US comics and Japanese manga?

[Kaptin Keen]

Uhh ... both? Potentially. I wish I could whip out an example - and you know, in principle I could, but not one that is even remotely comparable in art style. But more action-y. Move movement, different points of view, that kind of stuff.

And you're only 5 strips or so in, so I might be speaking too soon. What do I know?! =)

[Lissou]

I'll keep that in mind, although the next 5 strips (my buffer) are similarly static I'm afraid. Thanks for the criticism either way :)

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Also, if you have a creative work you're trying to get noticed, put it in your signature! :smallsmile: That's a great passive way to advertise whenever you're a part of a community. If you have a link to the webcomic in your signature, preferably with a tagline, it generates passive traffic to a blog simply because you're posting on the forum. People see your posts, and maybe some of them think "hey! That person makes cool posts, and they have a webcomic, maybe I should check that out!" It's the #1 way to market: develop personal connections.

Heck, I do that with my blog, and that's generated a lot of traffic so far.

[Lissou]

Also, if you have a creative work you're trying to get noticed, put it in your signature! :smallsmile: That's a great passive way to advertise whenever you're a part of a community. If you have a link to the webcomic in your signature, preferably with a tagline, it generates passive traffic to a blog simply because you're posting on the forum. People see your posts, and maybe some of them think "hey! That person makes cool posts, and they have a webcomic, maybe I should check that out!" It's the #1 way to market: develop personal connections.

Heck, I do that with my blog, and that's generated a lot of traffic so far.

Thanks! I added it to my signature. I was waiting to have a banner to put there, but you're right, a text link works fine.

[ti'esar]

Right now there's not much there to market. Art style is pretty nice and distinctive, but the characters (outside of the cast page) are almost nothing beyond names and bodies yet. Neither the world nor the story are really fleshed out either. Nothing interesting has happened beyond a very simplistic "deus ex random" beginning. "Some kids get yet unidentified powers for literally no reason" is a reasonable start, but there is *no* conflict or tension or reason to come back tomorrow in the whole thing. Yet.

After a few more pages, once the comic can be identified by a "that's the one where" sentence, and there is something to remember about it, will be time for marketing or ads. Then, you take that distinctiveness and make it your ad.

You also want people's first impression of your comic to have more than 10 previous pages to back it up, to allow for them to investigate further, if the interest strikes them, rather than be kept waiting. Archive length will also establish credibility that you will continue to produce content.

The beginning is the hardest part.

So in other words, in order to actually attract any kind of an audience a webcomic needs a certain degree of developed material available?

If so, is there any reason not to just wait until you've written about 20-30 strips and put them up all at once? This is something I've occasionally considered as a possibility for my own planned project, since I've never gotten into any existing webcomic from the beginning unless the author is a known quantity, but I've never been certain if it's a good idea or not.

[Spojaz]

So in other words, in order to actually attract any kind of an audience a webcomic needs a certain degree of developed material available?

If so, is there any reason not to just wait until you've written about 20-30 strips and put them up all at once? This is something I've occasionally considered as a possibility for my own planned project, since I've never gotten into any existing webcomic from the beginning unless the author is a known quantity, but I've never been certain if it's a good idea or not.

From what I've seen in my ~10 years of finding and reading new comics as a (bizarre) hobby, it tends to work out very well when a comic starts with a bunch of content. Most of the comics created are story based, and it takes at least ten pages for any real character to develop or plot to spin up, and those are the main things that keep people coming back. I would say the comics the debut with ten or twenty pages at once have about double the chances of making it to 100 pages.

The process of building that buffer can also help you make the decision of "Is there enough potential awesomeness in this to make this worthwhile for me to make and others to read" before spending the time and money on a website.

Even if it is an unrelated joke a day like XKCD or Left Handed Toons, or even a blog, having a bunch of pages to look at at once helps people make the jump from "I like this thing" to "I like this author. I wonder what they will make next time?". It's nearly impossible to be a 'fan' of something comprised of less than 10 or 15 examples, so you won't be making many real fans until you hit that point anyway.

[Lissou]

So in other words, in order to actually attract any kind of an audience a webcomic needs a certain degree of developed material available?

If so, is there any reason not to just wait until you've written about 20-30 strips and put them up all at once? This is something I've occasionally considered as a possibility for my own planned project, since I've never gotten into any existing webcomic from the beginning unless the author is a known quantity, but I've never been certain if it's a good idea or not.

When reading up on webcomic advice, I actually did read something along those lines. The author in question said that you should start with 20 comics or so ready to put up when you start, all at once (enough to grip people and so they have enough material to tell if they like it) PLUS a buffer. Too late for me to do that, but only starting the "heavier" marketing once I reach 20-30 pages is definitely a possibility (and I've been doing fine maintaining my buffer).

[Kaptin Keen]

I'll keep that in mind, although the next 5 strips (my buffer) are similarly static I'm afraid. Thanks for the criticism either way :)

My pleasure - and best of luck with it =D