Getting your comics noticed.

[DejaDoDo]

Was just wondering if anyone had any advice on how to get your comics out there on your own as apposed to going through a publisher.....

I was thinking about walking into some local family owned book stores and comic shops and seeing if they would put it on their shelf... would this be a liable solution, you think?

[eclectic rhapsody]

Makes sense to me. It seems like what you want to do is read up on self-publishing. Lots of people do it.

You can also try going to cons, "First Friday" events, festivals, workshops, etc. Having some kind of online shop probably wouldn't hurt either.

[DejaDoDo]

eclectic rhapsody

Makes sense to me. It seems like what you want to do is read up on self-publishing. Lots of people do it.

You can also try going to cons, "First Friday" events, festivals, workshops, etc. Having some kind of online shop probably wouldn't hurt either.

Yeah... we are working our way up to an online shop.... right now we are showing them for free on our website... and just trying to build a fan-base? I guess.... not that its working to well... but, I Think they are awesome.. lol...

But, we plan to eventually sell them off our website.. and shirts and signed copies of the comic... but we didnt think that people would want to buy a comic theyve never seen or heard about at the moment... u know?

[eclectic rhapsody]

Eh. I'll buy something I've never heard of if it sounds interesting or worthwhile and I have the money for it. I assumed that you were trying to sell the comics since you mentioned putting the comics in shops specifically. :v

Do you know how much it's gonna cost you to print it?

[Jackie-senpai]

This video has some pretty good marketing suggestions.

[ninitan]

You guys have a very, very long way to go before you can start selling anything at all. No offence.

[Annie Felis]

I'm sorry but ninatan is right: you need to have a product that's worth selling to actually sell it. Your comic is fine as a plain webcomic, but nobody is going to want to buy it due to the art quality.

You also may want to take that phone number off your site, for your own safety.

[Miramelle]

To be honest, writing comics is by no means a profitable venture, short of being hired on as a letterer, writer or artist at a major company. Webcomics that do sell merchandise usually follow a pattern of slowly building a fanbase and releasing small merchandise- buttons and such. Eventually, success might mean selling a limited run of books and prints. A successful comic might buy a booth at a convention and sell geegaws and prints, but that requires money upfront in hopes of attracting more attention.

As it is, almost all successful comic artists/writers have a regular job and run the comic for free or at a loss. There's not enough support unless a webcomic has been running for at least a year. (Moderately) successful artists like John Allison of Scary go Round are few and far between- the exception, not the rule. Start building a fanbase, and then find out what they would be interested in buying.

And oh, man, Annie Felis is right, don't post your number on the web like that- not enough reason and too much risk. Why? I know where you live now (thank you, google, you're freaking creepy), and if I spent five minutes, I could get a name, street map, age, bill payment type, and more. Please take that down and stick to email, for your own safety!

[Angry Yasei]

As far as starting off via webcomics and building a fanbase before going to print, I can't suggest this book enough: How to Make Webcomics by Scott Kurtz. Kurtz has been at this for a long time, and he really knows his stuff.

(Remember that print is expensive, and takes up resources--shipping, storage, manufacturing--that webcomics don't.) We've encountered a lot of similar problems with our tabletop RPG company; next time we'll go direct PDF.

[DejaDoDo]

eclectic rhapsody

Eh. I'll buy something I've never heard of if it sounds interesting or worthwhile and I have the money for it. I assumed that you were trying to sell the comics since you mentioned putting the comics in shops specifically. :v

Do you know how much it's gonna cost you to print it?

Yes... we've done all the research and found out which place we wanna go through. Found a place that would do it at about 6cents a page... With some special one-time charge.. and, it's basically cheaper if we get a bunch at a time....

Yeah, the only reason we didn't put it up online yet was because we thought people would not feel comfortable with spending money online for something they might be unsure about you know? Where as in an actual bookstore, it's there in your face for you to decide whether it's worth it. lol.. Ionno.. My logic is weird sometimes, but we do want to put a shop up on our site, we just havn't got around to that, YET. ^_^ ^_^

Thanks for talking with me btw...

[peahat]

Helloo :3

I would suggest not even thinking about selling IRL until you've built a sizeable fan base on the internet. The internet is an INCREDIBLE tool for self publishing. You can distribute your comics to a targeted audience basically for free. Giving some copies to your local bookstore or library aren't a bad idea, but your comic won't be seen as much by your target audience.

There are many webcomic artists who have become successful (moneywise and famewise, I guess) thanks to their internet fanbase. Focus all or most of your energy on improving your work and publishing on the internet. Yaayyayy internet!

If you're hellbent on selling IRL, though, I think a artist booth at a convention is the best way to get your name out. You'd just be showing them to the same people that are on the internet anyway. Nerds, lol

[916G]

well that would work too.. but, at the very least, the internet is the best way to get your comic noticed.. you may promote it by yourself through blogs or your galleries if you have any, just focus on the tags though.. be sure to use every keyword that describes your comic.. that is what we call keywording, by then, if for example 10 people saw your comic 5 of them will share to another 10 people and then repeat the whole process.. which will get your comics traffic by then it will be noticed. :3 and once you do those stuff go to social mention it's for free then you could check there the status of what you shared biggrin

[keiiii]

peahat

The internet is an INCREDIBLE tool for self publishing.

But how DO you use the internet properly for this purpose?

[DejaDoDo]

peahat

Helloo :3

I would suggest not even thinking about selling IRL until you've built a sizeable fan base on the internet. The internet is an INCREDIBLE tool for self publishing. You can distribute your comics to a targeted audience basically for free. Giving some copies to your local bookstore or library aren't a bad idea, but your comic won't be seen as much by your target audience.

There are many webcomic artists who have become successful (moneywise and famewise, I guess) thanks to their internet fanbase. Focus all or most of your energy on improving your work and publishing on the internet. Yaayyayy internet!

If you're hellbent on selling IRL, though, I think a artist booth at a convention is the best way to get your name out. You'd just be showing them to the same people that are on the internet anyway. Nerds, lol

Soo... In ur opinion then. Should we put a 'store' on our website selling teashirts with our stuff on it, or special signed edition on our comics.. and little stuff like that? Or... should we just not. My thing about it is... noones gunna wanna buy something online that doesn't mean too much... or that they dont know...

[keiiii]

DejaDoDo

noones gunna wanna buy something online that doesn't mean too much... or that they dont know...

Real life is the same thing in this regard, though. No one wants to buy stuff that doesn't mean too much, or they don't know.