How to Promote an Online Comic

Once you have a comic online, the next step is to build your readership. Online marketers know that getting someone to come to your site is the easy part, it's getting them to come back that's hard. This is true for most websites. What is somewhat unique to online comics is that while unique page views are still important, what you really want is someone to come back, day after day, update after update, not only for the new content but for the archives because they love it just that much. That is the goal, and this is how to get there.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with internet access
• Image manipulation software
• Access to a copy machine

1. Timing is everything. When you've uploaded your first comic, it's not necessarily the best time to send hoards of traffic to your site. Wait until you have 10 or 20 installments in the archives so that new readers have a way to get a feel for your work and make them want to come back for more. The other must-haves are quality content, an easy to navigate web page and an email link so those new readers can contact you.
2. Create banners in a variety of sizes. Keep the file sizes down to 10 to 15 kb for quick loading. Make sure to have the name of the comic, the URL and the update schedule clearly legible. A catchy phrase is great for the larger banners, but also make some button-sized ones.
3. List your site at the various web comic directories available. Fill out as many fields as possible, check each box that is reasonable for your category and style, and upload one of your spiffy banners if the option is available (at least one list I know of requires a banner).
4. Give your comic or main character a page on any (or all) of the social networking sites out there. Make sure to link back to your main comic and use the bulletin or newscast feature to make periodic announcements about the strip: hitting a nice round number of strips, a new storyline, an new update schedule; you get the picture.
5. Join a web ring. Not only are there all-purpose web rings for web comics, many genres have their own specific webrings as well.
6. Ask if you can leave small (1/4 page) flyers or business cards at your local comics shop or bookstore. Even better are mini-comics that can introduce the average print-comics reader to your characters and style at very little cost to you (remember to include your URL!).
7. Become a frequent commenter on comics message boards and have your uRL or banner as part of your signature. Remember that when you comment on others comics or open message boards you are advertising your online comic each and every time: be courteous, follow the rules of the board, and genuinely participate. If the board allows plugs for other comics, by all means list yours but don't let that be the only contribution to the forum that you make.
8. Practice guerrilla marketing. If you find yourself in your local electronic store with internet-equipped computers, set the browsers to your latest comic (make sure the content is family friendly if you do this). Maybe even set a row of them up to show the last however many strips in order. Enclose flyers and business cards with your bills--you never know when the last time the accounts payable person got a good chuckle. Leave those same flyers or cards with your tips (but not in place of) to your bartender, waitstaff or barrista.
9. Help with the word-of-mouth advertising. Once you have fans, they will tell others about you. Make it easy on them by providing those banners you made in Step 1 on a page for them to add to forum signatures and link pages. If you have sufficient bandwidth, consider providing html code to have your banners directly link to your page.

Tips & Warnings

• Notice, too, that all of the suggestions that follow are free or nearly so. There is a reason for this: most online comics are started on a shoe-string or less budget and stay that way for a long time.
• One way to keep from burning out is to not put yourself in debt to promote something that may never make you money, but hopefully makes you happy.

Who Can Help:

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