I don't know how to advertise my webcomic...and I feel I'm terrible at it


Sasadraw's avatar
Hi,
I've been doing (writing, drawing etc...) a webcomic for the past months but I'm not getting anywhere :/ I feel like other just know what to do when I'm just left there with nothing but my will to continue... but even that doesn't stay forever...
I feel like I'm never even going to get a real chance If now one even sees or knows of the existence of my project :(
How can I get people to be interested in my comic without being to pushy? (I don't want to scare people away ^^).

...plus with all this I'm d'outang myself more and more. Maybe I'm juste really bad at this and I should just give up :/
I'm currently posting it on webtoon: www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/…
** I'm really not good at this internet-chatting thing Oo **

So, what do you guys think? Do you have some tips for me? Should I just give up? (is my comic crape ...), or do you think I have a chance at it?
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wishmak3r's avatar
Try patrion or whatever. YouTube gave me tons of advice!!:3 try getting 1000 real fan's to support your work. That's deeply important. And try making YouTube videos talking about what your doing. And spam that jass all over the net ;3 that's what all the legends did in honesty
Sasadraw's avatar
Do you o ytb videos? Do you use a special editing program? I've never done a video before :s
wishmak3r's avatar
wishmak3r's avatar
:3 be my friend
wquon's avatar
do some research on youtube & other blogs. choose 2-3 sites/social media to "build" (ie. facebook, twitter, a comic hosting site, etc.). do your research when choosing these options. join groups with similar views, interest, style of your comic & story. Network!

once you've established or learned more about these be consistant in your information & creation. (ie "I got the next story arch written" or "pg 5 million will be up on the 6th tuesday")

hope this helps
Sasadraw's avatar
hi! :D
sorry for the late reply!

Thanks, you comment helped me a lot ^^ I started a Facebook page, the only thing I'm worried about is that once my art is on fb it won't be mine anymore :/
wquon's avatar
use fb as a tool to "brand" yourself (youtube that as well), you can also use fb to network with like minded groups & post updates linking to your mainsite (DA or othewise) instead of posting art directly to fb.
dottysdrawing's avatar
Don't worry your not alone. I'm dealing with the same thing If you keep posting some will find your work and love it because they have the same interest as you. Also Don't just put your work on webtoon pot it here on DA, make a Facebook page Tumbler post it every where. JUST DONT GIVE UP!
Sasadraw's avatar
Thanks :D I SHALL NOT GIVE UP! CURSE YOU! 
you to, best of luck Love 

The only problem with the posting on DA is that my panels are super long (800x1300 sometimes)
wishmak3r's avatar
Can I see your work?:0 we should have a welcomic linking forum that could help yeah? Or a group just for webcomic artists :3
Vineris's avatar
If you want to grow your audience then people have to find out about your comic.  Put the link to it in your signature on every forum that you post.  Talk about it on social media.  Let your friends know about it.  Add it to every free comic listing you can think of.  Post pages from it in multiple places if you are not trying to channel people to your personal page for advertising.  There are some comics I read on dA and some on Tumblr and some on people's personal websites.

Story-based webcomics tend to not get reposted as often as gag comic strips because posting one page out of a story is usually not very interesting.  However a good story can develop a very loyal following of fans!  I don't read many webcomics any more but 75% of the ones I follow are long-term stories, not one-shot gags.  I want to see what happens to the characters!  So with a story comic much of your audience will be silent but they will show up week after week to see where your story is going.

As for tips -- you're good at drawing characters and making an interesting composition from the panels but I miss backgrounds.  I like to know where a comic is taking place.  Having the comic take place in whitespace makes it seem less real, and if they aren't in a real place then the danger to them isn't real either so why should I care?  It's kind of like the difference between filming a movie on location and filming it on a sound stage without any real props.  A wolf chasing a person out in the woods feels more real and scary than a wolf chasing a person around a big gray room.  I also find the text a little hard to read.  Your M looks very much like an H.

As for whether you should quit... comics are a lot of work, and the outside rewards for that work are often underwhelming.  Pretty much every comic artist I know, including me, makes comics because they love comics.  We just have to get that story or those jokes out of us.  If you don't generally like drawing comics it will become a tedious chore for you at some point.  Like... my current project will take 3-4 years to finish and it's not online so nobody is reading it currently.  If I didn't generally like drawing comics I would have quit months ago.  (It still feels like a tedious chore sometimes but then I hit the part of the work that I really enjoy or I start drawing a scene I've been looking forward to and then I get excited about it all over again.)  So if this project is rewarding for you even as it is then continue and promote it more, and if it isn't then maybe consider quitting and doing some other project that you enjoy more.
Sasadraw's avatar
woow long response ^^
So I should just keep updating my comic on a lot of sites ?

Thanks for the background tip :)
I personally love drawing comics so I'll continue ^^
Are you going to post your project one day?
Vineris's avatar
Sure.  Or post regularly on social media with some art and a link to your main site.  Many of my friends will say on Twitter or Tumblr when their comic has a new update or post once a week with a story update if they post their comic frequently.

If you love comics then you should continue!

And yes, I hope to start posting my comic within a few months, and I also hope to publish it as a physical book.
TheBlackCatMasque's avatar
Well you can add links to your comic in places like your signature, on your profile page, in a journal, and on relevant deviations. 
I guess you could also try setting up a tumblr to help promote your comic...Like if you posted wips, talked about progress, have a Q&A set up...

I'm sorry to say but you have to learn how to be sociable. :saddummy:
If you want people to know about your projects then you have to talk about them. Really as long as you know when and where it's appropriate you should be fine.
For instance, if someone makes a thread looking for web comic recommendations then it's a good idea to suggest your own.
An example of something not to do would be posting on peoples pages asking them to check out your comic.
Sasadraw's avatar
that's a good tip :D

Sociable... :scared: 
such a scary word
Yes, posting on pages to ask for attention is a horrible way to do it, I've noticed that I don't appreciate when people do that ^^
TheBlackCatMasque's avatar
Start small and it get's easier with practice. It helps to take breaks too, give yourself time to reset.
Sasadraw's avatar
thanks :) it's reassuring ^^
kyrtuck's avatar
The main way to promote a comic is to buy advertising.


Short of that, you can try going to some hosting site, make friendships and connections with other artists, do some art trades, do some fanarts, try TopWebcomics via voting group...


I know its a real pain getting noticed :(
Sasadraw's avatar
Topwebcomics ? I have a look at that, no idea what it is ^^
What I've tried is making connectons ^^ but that didn't bring a lot :/ I'm also really bad at it so that could explane it ^^'

Advertising...yeah :( but I need money for that and it feels wrong :/

Anyway,thanks, for the tips!  ;D I'll try harder to "make connections"
kyrtuck's avatar
If its any help, there's this list which is kinda saying the same things I said, but expanding on the a little.
Sasadraw's avatar
thanks! :D it looks all detailed and stuff ^^ appreciated!