AUDIENCE
HOW DOES A WEB COMIC CONNECT TO
AN AUDIENCE?
The web comic is a unique way to connect to an audience. In most cases its free and readily accessible from pretty much anywhere these days, with smart phones being such a large part of peoples lives now the internet is in your pocket anytime you want it. It has never been easier to receive information or keep up to date with news, or entertainment.
Anybody can have a Facebook page, or set up a artist page. Anybody can blog, anybody can set up a web comic blog. So what is the use and how can you set yourself apart in such a crowded market place, that is can you call it a market, or a free flowing stream of ideas? Or is it more like a crowded abitoire with all the cows hustling and bustling, shoving each other out of the way to try and find their little place in this sweat drenched world of online comics?
If you can find an audience how is the best way to connect with them and how can you raise the profile , is it just by putting on your best lipstick, rolling up that skirt and pulling down the little vest top you so love? Or can the corporate ladder beckon, that holy stairway with the light at the end of the tunnel. But hey we all know how you get ahead in business, so is there always that aspect looming over any wannabe comic creator online?
With the traditional web comic it's a pretty simple affair to get started. You have an idea which you then create and find a site that bests accommodates your style. This would require a bit of research, I began by trying to use a host page called ComicPress, which is an of shot from Wordpress, this came highly recommended but is extremely difficult to use. Download this, install this, I never had any luck with this. From looking around the internet this seems to be a common problem, and when the question goes out on forums people throw a lot of technical jargon at you. What are they hiding behind that Comic press facade? What strange wonders?
A bit more research now and I have found that ComicPress seems a very overly complicated way to put out your web comic, here is a short example taken from wordpress comic press manager help site.
ComicPress Manager allows you to:
- Upload individual comic files or a Zip archive of comic files directly into your comics folder and generate posts for each comic as it's uploaded with the correct go-live date and time
- To save a trip to the Edit Post page, you can use the Visual Editor right in ComicPress Manager to add styled text content to your post.
- Using this method ensures that the post has the correct date and time as it's being created, reducing mistakes in posting.
- You can also upload a single file that does not specify a date in the filename, and enter in the post date on the upload page.
- You can also replace a single existing file with any other file, preserving the original file's name after upload
- If you're using a different date naming convention, you can convert the old convention to the currently defined date naming convention
- To keep nosy readers from snooping around, you can obfuscate filenames, either by adding random characters to the end, or by replacing the title in the filename with random characters.
- Images are thoroughly checked while being uploaded and fixed when possible
- Create comic posts straight from the Edit Post screen
- Upload files, set comic metadata such as hovertext and transcripts, see if thumbnails exist, and set Storyline categories for a post right in Edit Post
- If Edit Post File Intergration is enabled, automatically rename and delete comic files when post dates are changed or when posts are deleted
- See comic post information right in the Edit Posts list
Especially for someone starting out into the dark depths of online comics, when I first encountered this it made me rethink the whole idea. I went on from this to look at other blog sites, not comic specific ones and found that a lot of these were really quite difficult to navigate. Eventually I came back to Blogger, very simple to use and set up. Templates that you can customise as much or as little as you want.
As far as a communication tool for reaching a wide Audience this isn't the best start. A difficult world to navigate into could put a lot of people off. Especially with Facebook being second nature to people now and with such ease to connect and share it would probably be easier just to set up a web comic on Facebook.
Many people have, although these web comics seem to be more strip based and not so much an ongoing narrative. Pages such as Cheer up Emo Kid, have a healthy following but for me seem to be more of a show case, with the actual website possibly being ignored by Facebook users who will only check out the Facebook page and not follow through to the website. As far as connecting to people though you can't argue with the stats 134783 likes, that is a pretty big audience, and if even a half or a quarter follow through then thats still good traffic.
The difference between the two are pretty obvious, the main site is more of a blog page, keeping up to date with comics and the movements of the author, Enzo, and the Facebook page a promotional piece. The problem I think with this is as I said before most users will keep to the Facebook page. Also with using Facebook you are essentially giving up the rights to your work it states in the Facebook terms and conditions that anything you post on Facebook is essentially owned by Facebook. The terms and conditions read as follows : You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.
Now that seems a little unfair and a bit of putting, but who really reads the terms and conditions of the sites we sign up for? I was warned of this by a few mutual friends of mine who also create comics, and they informed me that if you try and get something published after it has appeared on Facebook, it will put a lot of publishers of. For this reason I try my best not to post any of my comic work on Facebook, now of course I post the odd picture or two, but since learning of this fact I have stopped uploading pages from my comics, eventually I would like to be able to stop posting my work on Facebook and just have a direction to my website and or blogsite.
Not only can Facebook put off artists but it can have the same effect on users, I found a web comic that will only be distributed via a Facebook app, the name of the web comic is entitled Donnie Goth. From what I have seen online this seems to be a pretty successful web comic series on its own without Facebook, but as is the nature of the wide Facebook community it seems nearly essential to have some sort of online presence associated with Facebook. The nature of ownership doesn't just come from the artist side as well, the user can be put of, as an example here shows: …putting all your eggs in the Facebook basket seems to limit the potential audience somewhat. Aside from that handful of folks who aren’t on Facebook, many users (myself included) shy away from apps because they require you to turn over personal information. When I clicked on the Donnie Goth app, Facebook requested permission to share my “basic information,” which includes my name, gender, user ID, list of friends and “any other information I’ve shared with everyone.” Admittedly, all of that is already out there on my Facebook page, but the idea of handing it over in a neat package to an outside entity give me a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. On the other hand, if I could simply click over to the page, I’d do it — and maybe even “like” it.
So it is indeed a bit of a mine field, tip toe across and you might not lose a leg, but perhaps you should just go for it, run full speed and hope that the blasts stay behind you, maybe even propel you forward and get into the woods.
A tactical approach could be the answer, get on your best Napolionic hat and delve in, pincer movements, corner the market, blitzkriegs? I had this in mind when launching my web comic, contacting certain people that I felt could help widen my audience and get the message out with 21st Century accuracy. The first attempts at this were more like First World War carrier pigeons, instead of the cruise missile I had hoped for.
I was overzealous by my own admission, I wasn't ready, I wanted the world and I wanted it now. I wanted admiration and praise. Oh to be showered in acceptance, that sweet, sweet admiration pouring over me. But no, and with good reason. So what are the best ways to really find an audience, the different avenues that are available to an online comic creator?
Well aside from the Facebook campaigns we have already spoke of, there is also advertising, which can be done through Facebook pages but this is really just for likes more than anything. I have found a advertising site named Project Wonderful (instills hope doesn't it) they claim to be a whole new way of advertising, that gives you the power, not just for advertising your work but allowing others to advertise on your own page, and handing control over to you. Thanks Project Wonderful.
It all seems a little to good to be true, but after having gone through the site (I should point out I'm not using this on my web comic but I did explore what it can be used for), that in fact it sounds pretty good and seems to be getting pretty good reviews online. Here is the basic break down from the site.
Now I know that this is the blurb from the site so obviously it is going to give it in a shining light, but I have been hard pressed to find a bad review online. It isn't really geared towards big business for something small like a web comic it could be helpful just to get a few extra quid in the bank each month, this is something that I'll look into in the future.
On the other side of the web comic are those things, hmm...what do you call them, those things people used to read...oh yeah books, or in this case the printed comic. With kindles, iPads, laptops, iPhones the comic companies had to be quick and adapt to the technology, cater to the needs of this new audience. In the past a lot of these people wouldn't have dreamt of entering a comic shop, for one reason or another, I'm not here to judge, and I wouldn't care who was buying my comic as long as they are handing over their hard earned cash. But with the superhero genre taking over our cinemas people became interested in comics again. I am still to see any cash from this new market.
So is the printed comic dying out, have they killed it off? or will it make a resurrection like so many superheroes? Killed of by its own creation that has grown out its control? sounds like something from a comic book. What is the advantage to a web comic over a printed comic?
With recently having produced both of these myself I have found some interesting aspects and have had to consider the difference between these in many different areas, so once again strap yourself in. I will take you through the benefits of each.
I think one of the most obvious advangtages of a printed comic is that you have a pyhsical copy you have in your hands, this can mean so many things, this is yours to have nd to hold, to add to your collection. This can mean that perhaps in time it could increase in value, especially if you have the opportunity to have it signed by the artist, writer, or some one of significance. Variant covers for comic books, you can collect them all. What a great marketing tool, but we fall for it and enjoy it. Limited runs means that you will have something that very few have, as opposssed to having an online comic where the publisher can keep that file online for as long as they want without inquirng the charges it would cost for multiple runs, this could be seen as a positive for online comics as well.
Connecting with other comic fans, sure this can be achieved but there is something a bit more human about actually sharing your physical comic book with a friend, perhaps meeting up at your friends house with a bag full of comics and sitting going through, discussions and comparing art work, perhaps a little nostalgic but I feel this is still a positive of the printed comic.
The printed comic is something that you have in your hands, yours. With having my own comic printed it also gives you a sense of pride, the moment when you recieve the comic. Open the box and see this piece of work that you have created, you can touch it, smell it, it is real. Comic book fans are known for their tendancy to collect things and as humans we make connections to these collections these things, these inadament objects that mean so much to us, which is harder t when you have it in a digital form.
It gives you a great sense of accomplishment to have your comic book printed, self published or otherwise.
There is a certain permanency to a printed comic when its printed thats it, it can be there forever, given the right conditions of course. The digital format tends to be discarded to make room for new content online and when that happens it's gone, poof, gone into the blackest of black holes in cyber space.
The actual act of selling a comic to someone face to face is an experience in itself, the transaction, seeing the face of someone who is handing over their own money for something you created, it's not quite like christmas, but pretty close.
This isn't to say that digital comics have their place in this world, sometimes people arguing for and against the advantages of each can come across as the old versus the new, the old man waving the stick "back in my day, you young whipper snappers!". The digital comic is a very useful tool and can be used by pretty much anyone who wants to put their great idea out into the world.
Cost is a big one, digital is cheap to produce, web comics tend to be free to put up. If you are actually putting it into a format that people pay for you will need to write some code, or if you don't know anything about writing code you will more than likely need to pay someone who does know this will cost, but not nearly as much as it would to pay for a run that could potentially keep selling for as long as you want to keep it online, maximising your chance for profit.
Potential audience increases greatly with having online content, I myself have a tracker on my online comic that tells me where my web comic has been accessed all over the world. I have been viewed from one side of the world to the other, quite literally, from Brazil to Russia, now thats a good feeling, knowing that someone that far away is enjoying my comic, how they came to find my little slice of hell is unbeknownst to me but the Russians have viewed it 13 times. The stats that appear dont tell me if that is one person our if one person has shared it with his/her friends but I would like to think that they have shared it between friends. This is one of the biggest advantages of online content the mass avaialabilty, and being able to see who is viewing your content. I have over 2000 views for my comic, now if that was 2000 people who had bought the first 17 pages of Hunt: Part Two for say £3.50 each that would have netted me a healthy £7000 pounds. Would they have bought it with just a free two pages then pay for the rest, probably not, but people are viewing my content.
The immedicy of a web comic is another advantage, the speed in which you can connect to your audience, potentailly you could create a story in one day and have it uploaded for viewing that same day, it probably wouldnt be very good if you did it in a day but uou could potentailly do it. As oppossed to a printed comic, which can take maybe a month to get printed, not taking into consideration the time in which it takes to actually produce the content. The web comic can give instant gratification to the artist, also it can give instant rejection as we know people on the internet aren't afraid to tell you if the don't enjoy something, I wouldnt expect something quite as polite though if the online reader doesn't enjoy your work.
You also have the opportunity of going viral, this is strange to me, I remember when I first heard of this term it sounded like a new STD, and I thought why would people broadcast this, why would you want to be put on the six o'clock news with Jon Snow telling people you have gone Viral, strange. I soon discovered the meaning wasn't so vile, and this can actually make a pretty big change in a persons life. I haven't heard of an online comic going viral, or maybe not as wide spread, but there always has to be a first.
The leisure of being able to create what you want when you want is another advantage for the web comic, although it is advised to give yourself a dead line to have content up by, this will help your followers to keep coming back if they know something new will be up every 4 weeks or so, it can also give them something to look forward to and keep you in their mind throughout the month. You have complete control over your content, the style you want to work in, the presentation of the work, if you want to or in some cases lucky enough to have advertisers interested you can control what you want on your site, and it's up to you if you want to change whatever you want. It can be a very freeing experience.
The act of producing a web comic is almost a self indulgent process, here is my idea, the world deserves to read this, neh they must read it. As a business though can anyone make a living from this, and how much would you expect to pay for a web comic?
I guess the first place to start is with the big two, Marvel and DC, just as an example of pricing, for a single issue of an online Iron Man comic is $3.99 which is £2.57, to buy a print copy in a shop you would be expecting to pay around £3.50 so there is a saving there. For a collection of Iron Man issues 1-6 you would pay $10.99 for a digital copy, for a printed copy $18.99. So that is a saving of nearly $6 dollars, it's not a bad saving. DC comics is pretty much the same pricing, but they mix in their free comics as well, in fact they actually have a section that asks the question "new to DC comics, start here" offering free online comics to get you started, a nice little scheme to get you hooked but you feel as though they want you to become a part of DC, inviting you in with promises, making you feel all safe and warm, wrapped in the cloak of the dark knight or safely soaring through the air with Superman.
This seems to be the usual pricing structure, Image Comics follow the same pricing, the main difference seems to be the emphasis on free comics, Marvel offer free comics as well, but something about the way DC offer them is more inviting. The British publisher 2000AD digital comics range from £1.99 to £4.00 per digital copy for a single issue, with the collections ranging from £4.99 to £9.99, for a printed copy you would be looking at, surprisingly around the same price.
These are the big companies though, so is there anyone really making money from personal web comics? I had previously found a comic online named Killer Bitches of the Zombie Holocaust, great name right? when I first came across this comic it had one issue online as a web comic and subsequently got picked up, then taken down, I have been trying to find any scrap of evidence to support this claim and can't, even in the interviews with the creators they seem to brush over this fact, but this is an example of how something can get noticed. (even if I have no evidence for this).
The pay for content web comic doesn't seem to be viable, from my research online they just don't seem to last, unless you are one of the big companies offering your content, I found two sites that seemed to have longevity one running from 2003 until 2012, Modern Tales. This site doesn't exist anymore, and it seems with no explanation, when you visit the site it simply states, "Thank you to all the readers, creators and miscellaneous others who were a part of this grand experiment. We did great things, and we did stupid things, and we will do both kinds of things again and again". Ominous to say the least. They did charge for content as I understand and went for a good spell.
So it is indeed a bit of a mine field, tip toe across and you might not lose a leg, but perhaps you should just go for it, run full speed and hope that the blasts stay behind you, maybe even propel you forward and get into the woods.
A tactical approach could be the answer, get on your best Napolionic hat and delve in, pincer movements, corner the market, blitzkriegs? I had this in mind when launching my web comic, contacting certain people that I felt could help widen my audience and get the message out with 21st Century accuracy. The first attempts at this were more like First World War carrier pigeons, instead of the cruise missile I had hoped for.
I was overzealous by my own admission, I wasn't ready, I wanted the world and I wanted it now. I wanted admiration and praise. Oh to be showered in acceptance, that sweet, sweet admiration pouring over me. But no, and with good reason. So what are the best ways to really find an audience, the different avenues that are available to an online comic creator?
Well aside from the Facebook campaigns we have already spoke of, there is also advertising, which can be done through Facebook pages but this is really just for likes more than anything. I have found a advertising site named Project Wonderful (instills hope doesn't it) they claim to be a whole new way of advertising, that gives you the power, not just for advertising your work but allowing others to advertise on your own page, and handing control over to you. Thanks Project Wonderful.
It all seems a little to good to be true, but after having gone through the site (I should point out I'm not using this on my web comic but I did explore what it can be used for), that in fact it sounds pretty good and seems to be getting pretty good reviews online. Here is the basic break down from the site.
let's say you're an advertiser, and you want to put your ad on a site. To do this, you place a bid in that site's auction, which is done by telling us what you want to pay, and when you want to pay it.
Our system examines all bids, every second of every day. If you're the person willing to pay the most at that moment, your ad is displayed on the site! It's as easy as that. You're only charged for the time in which your ad is the high bidder - and all charging is done to the nearest second. On top of all that, our system ensures that you always pay only what's necessary to win the auction, and not a penny more. You're always getting advertising for the cheapest price available.
You can change your maximum bid, or cancel it entirely, at any time. And we provide full performance tracking for your bid (displays, unique viewers, clicks, effective cost-per-click and cost-per-display rates, and more). To find out how we can get your message out for the best price going, click below on Advertisers get the best deal.
On the other side of the web comic are those things, hmm...what do you call them, those things people used to read...oh yeah books, or in this case the printed comic. With kindles, iPads, laptops, iPhones the comic companies had to be quick and adapt to the technology, cater to the needs of this new audience. In the past a lot of these people wouldn't have dreamt of entering a comic shop, for one reason or another, I'm not here to judge, and I wouldn't care who was buying my comic as long as they are handing over their hard earned cash. But with the superhero genre taking over our cinemas people became interested in comics again. I am still to see any cash from this new market.
So is the printed comic dying out, have they killed it off? or will it make a resurrection like so many superheroes? Killed of by its own creation that has grown out its control? sounds like something from a comic book. What is the advantage to a web comic over a printed comic?
With recently having produced both of these myself I have found some interesting aspects and have had to consider the difference between these in many different areas, so once again strap yourself in. I will take you through the benefits of each.
I think one of the most obvious advangtages of a printed comic is that you have a pyhsical copy you have in your hands, this can mean so many things, this is yours to have nd to hold, to add to your collection. This can mean that perhaps in time it could increase in value, especially if you have the opportunity to have it signed by the artist, writer, or some one of significance. Variant covers for comic books, you can collect them all. What a great marketing tool, but we fall for it and enjoy it. Limited runs means that you will have something that very few have, as opposssed to having an online comic where the publisher can keep that file online for as long as they want without inquirng the charges it would cost for multiple runs, this could be seen as a positive for online comics as well.
Connecting with other comic fans, sure this can be achieved but there is something a bit more human about actually sharing your physical comic book with a friend, perhaps meeting up at your friends house with a bag full of comics and sitting going through, discussions and comparing art work, perhaps a little nostalgic but I feel this is still a positive of the printed comic.
The printed comic is something that you have in your hands, yours. With having my own comic printed it also gives you a sense of pride, the moment when you recieve the comic. Open the box and see this piece of work that you have created, you can touch it, smell it, it is real. Comic book fans are known for their tendancy to collect things and as humans we make connections to these collections these things, these inadament objects that mean so much to us, which is harder t when you have it in a digital form.
It gives you a great sense of accomplishment to have your comic book printed, self published or otherwise.
There is a certain permanency to a printed comic when its printed thats it, it can be there forever, given the right conditions of course. The digital format tends to be discarded to make room for new content online and when that happens it's gone, poof, gone into the blackest of black holes in cyber space.
The actual act of selling a comic to someone face to face is an experience in itself, the transaction, seeing the face of someone who is handing over their own money for something you created, it's not quite like christmas, but pretty close.
This isn't to say that digital comics have their place in this world, sometimes people arguing for and against the advantages of each can come across as the old versus the new, the old man waving the stick "back in my day, you young whipper snappers!". The digital comic is a very useful tool and can be used by pretty much anyone who wants to put their great idea out into the world.
Cost is a big one, digital is cheap to produce, web comics tend to be free to put up. If you are actually putting it into a format that people pay for you will need to write some code, or if you don't know anything about writing code you will more than likely need to pay someone who does know this will cost, but not nearly as much as it would to pay for a run that could potentially keep selling for as long as you want to keep it online, maximising your chance for profit.
Potential audience increases greatly with having online content, I myself have a tracker on my online comic that tells me where my web comic has been accessed all over the world. I have been viewed from one side of the world to the other, quite literally, from Brazil to Russia, now thats a good feeling, knowing that someone that far away is enjoying my comic, how they came to find my little slice of hell is unbeknownst to me but the Russians have viewed it 13 times. The stats that appear dont tell me if that is one person our if one person has shared it with his/her friends but I would like to think that they have shared it between friends. This is one of the biggest advantages of online content the mass avaialabilty, and being able to see who is viewing your content. I have over 2000 views for my comic, now if that was 2000 people who had bought the first 17 pages of Hunt: Part Two for say £3.50 each that would have netted me a healthy £7000 pounds. Would they have bought it with just a free two pages then pay for the rest, probably not, but people are viewing my content.
Pageviews by Countries |
The immedicy of a web comic is another advantage, the speed in which you can connect to your audience, potentailly you could create a story in one day and have it uploaded for viewing that same day, it probably wouldnt be very good if you did it in a day but uou could potentailly do it. As oppossed to a printed comic, which can take maybe a month to get printed, not taking into consideration the time in which it takes to actually produce the content. The web comic can give instant gratification to the artist, also it can give instant rejection as we know people on the internet aren't afraid to tell you if the don't enjoy something, I wouldnt expect something quite as polite though if the online reader doesn't enjoy your work.
You also have the opportunity of going viral, this is strange to me, I remember when I first heard of this term it sounded like a new STD, and I thought why would people broadcast this, why would you want to be put on the six o'clock news with Jon Snow telling people you have gone Viral, strange. I soon discovered the meaning wasn't so vile, and this can actually make a pretty big change in a persons life. I haven't heard of an online comic going viral, or maybe not as wide spread, but there always has to be a first.
The leisure of being able to create what you want when you want is another advantage for the web comic, although it is advised to give yourself a dead line to have content up by, this will help your followers to keep coming back if they know something new will be up every 4 weeks or so, it can also give them something to look forward to and keep you in their mind throughout the month. You have complete control over your content, the style you want to work in, the presentation of the work, if you want to or in some cases lucky enough to have advertisers interested you can control what you want on your site, and it's up to you if you want to change whatever you want. It can be a very freeing experience.
The act of producing a web comic is almost a self indulgent process, here is my idea, the world deserves to read this, neh they must read it. As a business though can anyone make a living from this, and how much would you expect to pay for a web comic?
I guess the first place to start is with the big two, Marvel and DC, just as an example of pricing, for a single issue of an online Iron Man comic is $3.99 which is £2.57, to buy a print copy in a shop you would be expecting to pay around £3.50 so there is a saving there. For a collection of Iron Man issues 1-6 you would pay $10.99 for a digital copy, for a printed copy $18.99. So that is a saving of nearly $6 dollars, it's not a bad saving. DC comics is pretty much the same pricing, but they mix in their free comics as well, in fact they actually have a section that asks the question "new to DC comics, start here" offering free online comics to get you started, a nice little scheme to get you hooked but you feel as though they want you to become a part of DC, inviting you in with promises, making you feel all safe and warm, wrapped in the cloak of the dark knight or safely soaring through the air with Superman.
This seems to be the usual pricing structure, Image Comics follow the same pricing, the main difference seems to be the emphasis on free comics, Marvel offer free comics as well, but something about the way DC offer them is more inviting. The British publisher 2000AD digital comics range from £1.99 to £4.00 per digital copy for a single issue, with the collections ranging from £4.99 to £9.99, for a printed copy you would be looking at, surprisingly around the same price.
These are the big companies though, so is there anyone really making money from personal web comics? I had previously found a comic online named Killer Bitches of the Zombie Holocaust, great name right? when I first came across this comic it had one issue online as a web comic and subsequently got picked up, then taken down, I have been trying to find any scrap of evidence to support this claim and can't, even in the interviews with the creators they seem to brush over this fact, but this is an example of how something can get noticed. (even if I have no evidence for this).
The pay for content web comic doesn't seem to be viable, from my research online they just don't seem to last, unless you are one of the big companies offering your content, I found two sites that seemed to have longevity one running from 2003 until 2012, Modern Tales. This site doesn't exist anymore, and it seems with no explanation, when you visit the site it simply states, "Thank you to all the readers, creators and miscellaneous others who were a part of this grand experiment. We did great things, and we did stupid things, and we will do both kinds of things again and again". Ominous to say the least. They did charge for content as I understand and went for a good spell.
web comic over a printed one? Is anyone making a living from releasing serial work on the web or do they just function as self-promotion? Self-publishing v host sites etc
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