Some Tips for new Webcomicers
Submitted by DanTheRobot on July 22, 2006 - 09:15
There are a few things that I've noticed since I started doing my Web Comic that I feel have helped a lot. They aren't things you have to do, but just some guidelines that I think really help a lot. If you have suggestions or alterations of what I've noticed I think you should post them, that way we all get a bit smarter ;)
- The first thing I noticed was that if you draw out on paper the basic elements of each strip in a storyline, your strip will flow more smoothly and it will make a lot more sense. You can also pick what jokes/plotlines you want to add in and avoid any serious plot holes.
- Before you tell everyone that you have the greatest Webcomic in the history of the world, make sure you have at least a few strips down there. I didn't even start to post that my strip was there except for at a few places like MySpace and to my friends before my 50th strip, Just after signing up here I went from having 80 uniques to over 600 uniques. I think it should be attributed to my having several strips and the promise for more daily
- Speaking of my update schedule, make sure you have one. I upload my comics every night between 6 and 10pm (for the next day). Since I don't have one of those automated systems it goes up right away, but most people haven't noticed that. Anyway, if you have a set time or day that you update, you will have more loyal visitors who will read your strip. I know that I go to PVPOnline every day at 7pm just to see what the daily strip is (uhh... Kurz is a hack). It's part of my routine.
Well, that's my list. It's not much but it's simple for me to follow, hope it works for you if you're just starting out.
Oh, another piece of advice. Make sure that you have a good layout for your website. Having banners that flash at you is a big no-no and making your strip unreadable is also not the best of ideas. I had to change my layout because I had done this, but the layout change was definately for the better.
- Array
Great tips! I do agree with
by thebigheads - 01/05/2007 - 20:17
Great tips! I do agree with you all...
Hard to believe, sometimes, how hard it gets to have a few more visitors...
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The Bigheads
http://thebigheads.comicgenesis.com
A family that is not like yours!
(Use firefox for better browsing)
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The Bigheads
http://the
thanks
by vrildoxdf - 08/25/2006 - 02:02
These are all some great tips that I had not thought about. Thanks for helping a newbie avoid some pitfalls.
I'll add something to the
by jfreedan - 08/22/2006 - 17:25
I'll add something to the list: don't do any paid advertising, even on webcomic oriented sites, until you've got 100 something pages of content. And even then beware; it probably only works for people that update every day.
I did paid advertising from when we had as few as 20 pages up, and again at 50, and again at 100.
Advertising, even on big sites like Megatokyo, 8-Bit Theatre, and Ghastly's, has made very little difference to our constant readership, and largely been a waste of money. Even if thousands of visitors poured in, most never even went past the front page.
My visitor tracker shows the majority of people who go beyond the front page are those who came from message forums or online comic lists.
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Henshin heroes, magical girls, giant robots bishonen vampires, and evil teletubbies-- Deathfist Ninja GKaiser will parody it all!
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I'd have to agree that you
by Gina Biggs - 08/23/2006 - 15:33
I'd have to agree that you shouldn't do advertising until you have a decent amount of pages underyour belt. You need enough to get readers into your story, enough to get them hooked on it.
However, I have to say that I have had very decent responses from advertising on the big sites even though I don't update every day. I am on a three-a-week schedule. I've had a nice amount of return readers from those sites. I've personally had less response from ads on news and top lists.
Perhaps you might consider putting your latest page on the main page of your site. The less clicks that new potential readers have to do to get to your comic, the more likely they will stay and read.
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Would if I could. My comic
by jfreedan - 08/23/2006 - 15:49
Would if I could.
My comic uses the CUSP script, the one 8 Bit Theatre uses. You can't put the latest page on the front page with it, or at least I can't figure out how to make it load on the front page.Â
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Wow, I didn't realize. Is
by Gina Biggs - 08/23/2006 - 16:17
Wow, I didn't realize. Is there a way you might be able to put up a thumbnail or teaser shot of the latest page when you update? I've found that having the comic in some form on the main page is very important for catching new readers.
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I've often heard it's
by jfreedan - 08/23/2006 - 18:04
I've often heard it's important...I have no idea how to automate any kind of teaser shot, so if I did that, I'd have to manually add it myself every time we update..
I suppose I could do that, but it would take some re-configuring of the front page. Brian Clevinger (8 Bit Theatre) told me he felt the front page was too cluttered which was part of the problem, (confuses readers unfamiliar with webcomics) so I've been thinking of how to re-do the front page anyway...teaser shot is a good idea I'll have to incorporate in there.
Thanks! :)
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Henshin heroes, magical girls, giant robots bishonen vampires, and evil teletubbies-- Deathfist Ninja GKaiser will parody it all!
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