Wecomic Promotion Website

[Saradoc]

Hi,

I've been around a couple of communities and have run into various posts, links, interviews, and blog entries about how to promote a webcomic. I decided to make a website to put all of these ideas in one place. This is the result: http://www.webcomicpromotion.com

I'm hoping I can keep adding to it and updating it. If anybody has additional ideas they think should be up there, I would love to hear them.

I would appreciate any feedback, too. I'm especially interested in these aspects:

Writing Style - Is the writing clear, easy to understand, and grammatically correct. I haven't written anything in a while, so I'm a bit worried about this (I was a math major).

Site Design - Is the layout good? Is it easy to navigate? Are the pages too cluttered? Are the colors ok?

Content - is the content useful? Do you have any additional information/links that you think I should include?

Thanks for your help guys. I hope the site is useful.

P.S. If you like the site, feel free to "Like" it on StumbleUpon, or bookmark it with whatever social bookmarking service you use. Thanks.

[Rhys]

That was a great site, Saradoc. Very clear and concise, not overly flashy and distracting, and packed with useful information. Thank you for providing it!

I looked all over, and about the only change I could possible think of is in your "Other Ideas" section, under the heading for "Link Exchanges," you might want to gently mention to people that they should be polite when asking for a link exchange, especially if they're a brand new webcomic asking for an exchange with a big, established one that gets tons of readers. And even if the answer is no, they should thank them politely for their time; they just might end up reading the comic anyway and decide to link it after all if you're polite. Just as a reminder, because it's the internet, and people have a tendency to be rude, and ticking off the person you want a link-exchange with is never a good idea, and that's an easy way to do it. And the more often people are warned to use their manners, the better!

Another possible idea is, if you're on good terms with your local comic book store, instead of just fliers, you can print out little mini-comics with a few of your pages or strips. This is especially a good idea around Free Comic Book Day, which is early May of every year. It'll cost more than fliers, of course, but even a three or four page "comic book" is going to be more interesting to someone than a single strip of paper. And most comic shops will be more than happy to put a pile out for you year-round, Free Comic Book Day is just the best time to get readers who'd be interested in picking it up, since it's such a big event.

Again, it's a great website! (I think I'll pass it on to the professor at my school in charge of the webcomic class, if you don't object.) Thank you!

[EmergencyExit]

Yeah generally unless you are friends with the author of the comic it tends not to be a very good idea to request link exchange, it can, even if you're doing it politely, annoy some artists especially those who get asked constantly. It could still work though and should still be a option, as ya never know, just along with being polite warn the people about being smart on who they ask, and don't be surprised if they never get a response. Also just linking to a comic you like from the get go could get them to notice you and maybe get you a link in return. I know it has happened to me, and I have also picked up some comics that linked me first just cause of being exposed to them via stats.

And you already know I approve of the site as I have emailed in plenty of suggestions already, keep it up!

[Redtech]

Clear conscise and to the point. Only skimmed but I've found the information, if not useful to my exact needs, than at least worthy of interest.

[Jekkal]

Honestly? The site feels very... prefab. There is no special design to the site, and not even any images -- which is rather telling as this is supposed to be a webcomics resource.

None of the information I've come across so far feels like anything really "new", in that it's necessary but not sufficient to make your site useful to others. (also of issue is the static nature of the site - ideally you should have something bloglike to make it more appealing and increase visitor return.) A lot of it feels like common sense details, and very little is available here for a savvier comic creator.

Consider investing some time into creating at least a custom background / title logo, and perhaps redesigning the site to be a little roomier and have more content. Also, there are several other resources I think you need to consider linking to and/or working with, such as Joel's tutorials or my own Blog of Last Resort (admittedly, I've been focusing on the comic lately, with less tutorial-ness)

Finally, get a blog! You've already pointed out by your own admission that there aren't enough webcomic review sites out there, so... why not build one into the site? You can even take the "fresh" angle of checking out the promotional efforts each comic reviewed does, giving you a new spin on things.

Good luck to you, but you're not there yet.

[EmergencyExit]

None of the information I've come across so far feels like anything really "new", in that it's necessary but not sufficient to make your site useful to others. (also of issue is the static nature of the site - ideally you should have something bloglike to make it more appealing and increase visitor return.) A lot of it feels like common sense details, and very little is available here for a savvier comic creator.

I was under the impression the site was a bit more for newer and naive webcomicers. You've be surprised how naive people can be sometimes. It may be a lot of common sense or uninteresting information most of us experienced webcomicers know but the idea is that it's collected in one spot and can be enjoyed by the less experienced. And the basics can still be helpful even to established comics, there is only so much you can do to try to expose yourself. If you want him to list more maybe you should recommend new methods.

As for the site design, I don't really think it needs to be all that flashy, it serves as a collection of information, and it presents itself fine with that, as more information is gathered there may be more that can be done with it.

Not saying there isn't plenty more that can be built upon the site, but then it is still new and that is the purpose of asking for advice. But everything he has so far is perfectly valid information and will just expand with time. Though I do encourage the suggestion of making more obvious links to other helpful sites like Joel's, I've seen them sprinkled throughout the site but having them in one spot would be easier to find.

[McDuffies]

At least now whenever someone comes with a "how to promote my comic" question, we can just link it and spare the typing.

[Redtech]

Well at least until the wiki comes out, then the spin off blog, the Myspace and Facebook profiles and the Comicspace and Bebo profiles...

[Saradoc]

There is no special design to the site, and not even any images -- which is rather telling as this is supposed to be a webcomics resource.

I was actually using Joel's tutorials as my influence. I like his site. His site design is very simple, and the information is very clearly presented. I don't want it to be real flashy. I've been worried about the lack of images (when people see a large block of text, they tend not to read it), but I only want to put pictures in it if they illustrate a point. I don't want images just for the sake of images. Do you have any ideas where a certain image would help clarify or enhance a specific point? I've been thinking about asking comic artist to draw comics with advice in them, Scott McCloud style.

ideally you should have something bloglike to make it more appealing and increase visitor return.

Are blogs more appealing? I was considering this format, but while I think I might like a blog or newsletter in addition to the main site, I wouldn't want the main site to be in blog format. I've been reading ProBlogger, a blog about blog promotion/monetization. It's nice to read a new article everyday, but all of the information is scattered, repetitive, and organized by the date it was published. I wanted this information to be more straightforward and easy to access.

I think you need to consider linking to and/or working with, such as Joel's tutorials

I emailed him a while ago and haven't gotten a response. I think it's time to try again.

your own admission that there aren't enough webcomic review sites out there, so... why not build one into the site

I'm considering interviewing successful comic artists about how they promote their site, but I think a review site might be off topic. Would reading interviews about what other artist have done be interesting?

perhaps redesigning the site to be a little roomier and have more content.

I'm really interested in your ideas on this point. As I put more in there, I'm worrying that things are getting too crowded and stuffy. What suggestions do you have to make things roomier? A wider layout? Different font size, different line spacing? Bigger margins/padding? Fewer topic categories? Things are starting to seem crowded, but I'm not sure how to go about fixing it.

I hope this response doesn't come of as being pissy or anything. I really enjoy getting this kind of feedback, and I would really enjoy any more ideas you have about improvement.

[Saradoc]

Though I do encourage the suggestion of making more obvious links to other helpful sites like Joel's, I've seen them sprinkled throughout the site but having them in one spot would be easier to find.

Which do you think would be more helpful: One page with a lot of links, or a link section at the bottom of each page with links for that category?

[Rhys]

I would think a page with links would be best. Just add it to the navigation sidebar.

And to respectfully disagree and agree with Jekkal, I think non-flashy is best for a site like this. You're providing an informational resource, not an entertainment website. Flashy would just get in the way and overshadow what you were really doing. That said, some kind of fancy title design for your header would look nice, I agree. It might look a bit too professional right now, and intimidate some shyer webcomic newbies. After all, this is comics, so a funky font for the title wouldn't be out of place at all. I like that the site does look very professional, though, so don't go overboard on that.

And getting some comicers to draw Scott McCloud-like advice strips would be awesome...but what would they be? Certainly I don't think they'd be good in place of the text (anyone who's going to be scared away by big blocks of text isn't going to be willing to put in the effort to follow the advice and promote their comic anyway), because the clear and concise nature of the site is a big plus. But a few fun little strips--say, in between sections or at the bottom or top of each page?--that would look really cool...but I can't think what to draw for one, personally. Any ideas? (Addendum: I would say black and white lineart for said strips, so they don't overpower the textual information. Simple, in this case, is definitely best as far as artwork goes.)

Also, I like that the site isn't a blog, but is a more static, easily navigated site. If you wanted to add some kind of a blog, though, as another link in the sidebar, that would be cool. I don't know how much new information about webcomic promotion you could come up with--there really are only so many things a person can realistically do, after all--but if you wanted to do a comic review blog and have it link to your webcomic promotion site, and have the promotion site link back to the blog, that would be a clever overlap.

EDIT: Bah, stupid instinctive typing of html...stupid italics...

[Moder]

Didnt look at the content yet, but I definetly will, since I suck at promoting my comic!
I`ll post here after I`ve checked It out!
Thanks1
DF

[Td501]

Didn't know about Belfry.com before checking out your website - now it's one of my top referers. Thanks! Excellent compilation!