So....how do you get and keep fans?

Mvmarcz · Post by **Mvmarcz** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 4:42 pm

mimo wrote:Slutty characters

I second that

cheesecake cheesecake cheesecake

Steverules · Post by **Steverules** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 4:47 pm

That is a question that no one can answer. I've stumbled across comics I've never heard of (and I actively search out new comics) that are amazing. Comics that have low readership. When I go to their archives and see they've been around three or four years I'm amazed.
Others like Beaver and Steve just seem to come out of nowhere and hit it big quick.
Talent and regular updates will get you an audience but it won't guarentee a big audience, it will give you a loyal audience.

Anywherebuthere · Post by **Anywherebuthere** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 4:49 pm

I hear ya, there are comics I just don't get that have become "the next big thing" and I just kinda sit there agape trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing wrong and what they're doing right.

I'm sure it's just jealousy. I'ld like to think it's not, but that's probibly all it is.

Uncaringmachine · Post by **Uncaringmachine** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:05 pm

Well, I just read Anywhere But Here for the first time, and I just bookmarked it. Fan? We Shall see.....
And I just hope my comic finds an audience. I think it's just starting to get in a zone and I enjoy drawing and writing it, so I hope others enjoy reading it. But that's what we all want right? Keep hope alive!

http://gothymcgee.keenspace.com

Gengar003 · Post by **Gengar003** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:24 pm

anywherebuthere wrote:I'm not sure what to tell you, I've been trying to figure out how to lure them in myself.

Advertising on the webcomic list helped me boost from around 100 to 150 daily hits. Some decent word of mouth advertising knocked me up to about 250. But I seem to be leveling off at 230-250 hits a day.

How to get above that? No idea. Fan art helps, collaborations help, prostitution helps...what it does. It gives me cash on the side to focus on doing the strip.

I'm thinking of doing some gurrilla marketing in my community.

Aside from that, just keep working it. Tighten up your writing, create stuff that makes you laug, makes other people laugh, and makes them want to pass it along to friends. That's probibly the best way.

Stick to your schedule too...nothing loses fan base like neging on your promise to produce a strip X times a week.

I found ya through the "comic pitching" forum right here on keenspace

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:31 pm

anywherebuthere wrote:
mimo wrote:Slutty characters
And let's not forget fanservice.

Yeah, but I view that as just a cop out. Put some thought into what you're doing and maybe I'll come back again. I'm not a fan of the lowest common denominator...

Mimo · Post by **Mimo** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:33 pm

Dutch! wrote:
anywherebuthere wrote:
mimo wrote:Slutty characters
And let's not forget fanservice.
Yeah, but I view that as just a cop out. Put some thought into what you're doing and maybe I'll come back again. I'm not a fan of the lowest common denominator...

It's not fanservice- my comic is pornokitsch

Also I find it a bit insulting that you asume people who create adult comics don't put thought into their work.

Sortelli · Post by **Sortelli** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:39 pm

Dutch! wrote:I'm not a fan of the lowest common denominator...

I, however, am!

Jim North · Post by **Jim North** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:41 pm

Follow ye the Ten Commandments of Webcomicking!

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 6:36 pm

mimo wrote:Also I find it a bit insulting that you asume people who create adult comics don't put thought into their work.

Whoa, don't get me wrong. I've nothing hard against adult comics. It's generic fanservice I see as a cheap cop out. If it fits the genre, then that's a legitimate part of the package. It's fanservice for the sake of sticking up a scantily clad character that I see as tacky and unneccesary. That's what I mean by fanservice being a cop out.

I suppose it comes down to your definition of the term, eh?

Leko · Post by **Leko** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 6:59 pm

Whoring. You have to be willing to get out there and move the word around. Back in the days when there were only three webcomics on the net, they didn't need clever publicizing strategies, but now in the days of seven thousand artists on Keenspace ALONE, and thousands more everywhere else, one needs to grab the reader's attention and drag them away from the five hundred or so comics they may already be reading.

Put ads up and stuff, essentially. If you want lots of fans, it's probably a good idea to shell out a few bucks for an ad on a popular website.

Not that I really would know anything about this, as I'm far to lazy to put up a link to Thespiphobia anywhere but my sig. This is just what I've heard from various sources.

The Neko · Post by **The Neko** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 7:50 pm

No matter what tactics you may use to draw an audience to your webcomic/website/purple, nobody will stay if your product is shitty. There's no other sure-fire way to get people to like your work than making a comic of good quality. You could put up ads all you like, you can involve yourself in the community all you want, but it doesn't matter if people are repulsed by the garbage on your site.

So, I guess all that can be said is concentrate on getting a large volume of decent material first, and then focus on bringing in people. If it's good, word of mouth is usually good enough. I've done just fine so far without having bought any advertising space.

As far as the "lowest common denominator" discussion: everything is a common denominator below something. So no matter how hard you may try, someone's always going to be cleaner.

MixedMyth · Post by **MixedMyth** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 8:16 pm

To tell the truth, what I really hate is when people I know pretend to take an interest in my comic when I know they aren't. You know...to humor you, because they feel obligated to like it even though I'm dead certain it's not to their taste. It's one of my utmost pet peeves. I don't want people reading the thing unless they really like it, and I don't want them pretending to read it.

Pillywiggin · Post by **Pillywiggin** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 8:57 pm

mimo wrote:Slutty characters

Don't forget to include lots and lots of mansex in there!!! 8)

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 8:58 pm

I update every day myself. Why? Because the one thing I hate the most about comics is waiting for them to update. I dunno if anyone appreciates it, but still.... >_>

Jackhass · Post by **Jackhass** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 11:26 pm

I use threats and intimidation to keep people reading my comic...[brandishes tire-iron in menacing manner].

Ida · Post by **Ida** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 2:36 am

The Neko wrote:No matter what tactics you may use to draw an audience to your webcomic/website/purple, nobody will stay if your product is shitty. There's no other sure-fire way to get people to like your work than making a comic of good quality. You could put up ads all you like, you can involve yourself in the community all you want, but it doesn't matter if people are repulsed by the garbage on your site.

Exactly! The essential way of keeping readers is to make a good comic. Just look at PowerPuff Doujin - it's not advertised anywhere, the artist does not take part in any community and the updates are irregular - and yet it's pretty popular because the comic is just damn good. Of course, advertising doesn't hurt, and is definately needed to attract readers (unless you're so amazing that you get readers by word of mouth, of course), but keeping the readers ultimately depend on whether or not they enjoy your comic enough to keep reading it.

Bekka · Post by **Bekka** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 3:34 am

How to keep fans? Ummm, you need a cellar, lots of chains...

Axonite · Post by **Axonite** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 7:12 am

I keep fans in my cellar, and I don't need chains. Extension cords work just fine. They're pretty well behaved... though the oldest one will try to take your fingers off if you get too close.

As for getting and keeping webcomic fans... I've been updating daily for about two years, I've worked on improving the comic, I've signed up for voting lists and comic directories, I've put links to my comics in my signature on various forums, I've told friends online and off about the comics, I put up a KeenSpace newsbox image, I signed up for a comic banner exchange, I had a page in the 2004 "From Pixels To Paper" book, I've done guest strips for other comics, and I've run some ads.

With all that, Station V3 has been averaging 300+ visits a day the past few months, and on its best day, Z7 (the 3x/wk spinoff which I've given less promotion) might get around 100 visits. Not the biggest numbers out there, but they've generally been going up instead of down, and I'm happy people are reading.

Ryuko · Post by **Ryuko** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 7:20 am

First, and this is the most important part, you have to draw a pentagram on the floor, preferrably with goat's blood. If you don't, there's a good chance your fan could escape to maul you and your family, and kill people around town. BAD IDEA.. Don't mess up the runes.

Then you chant the summoning charm, again, DO NOT MISPRONOUNCE! This could bring more dangerous and disgusting things to you, and make some powerful people angry. I was so humiliated when I mispronounced the charm and summoned Jerry Holkins. THAT IS A BIG NO NO.

After that, make sure you have a computer that is cleansed by voodoo doctors with an individual IP. And make sure that they vote. That's all, really. Simple.