TWCL

[JohnK]

Can anybody share some links to good resources for the business end of webcomics? I've read some articles here and there, but I'd like to find a blog that specifically talks about this written by someone with lots of experience.

I'm taking a vacation where I will have a lot of reading time and would like to use it for some research so I can come home and better my site and advertising. I've got to make a greater effort at the business end.

Thanks in advance.
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Coffee Time Comics

[ttallan]

Well, if you're willing to pay the membership fee ($30/year), webcomics.com has lots of discussions about the business side of webcomics, with the blog posts written mainly by Brad Guigar, who certainly has lots of experience. I've been a member there for a few years. There is plenty of useful advice published every weekday and also in the archives, and Brad keeps the discussions well moderated. Because Brad is at the helm the site naturally attracts (and caters to) more strip-style comic creators, but there's stuff for long-form comic creators as well.
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[MyFutprint]

Hey John--I saw the post and was busy doing stuff on my own comic but it looks like you got a good reply already so let me make a couple of points.

1. WebcomicUnderdogs.com is another fine site with what I've personally found to be a very egalitarian setup. The two founders (maybe three) have definite experience and have proven themselves to me in a short time as being honest brokers of knowledge (what they know they share and what they don't they don't). Also, there are other respected creators there who provide another set of experiences that simply--IMO give a good round of suggestion that never feels forced or top down.

2. Your strip as well as your individual creative bios--does suggest a sense of long form storytelling. My background is in product marketing and brand development (formerly in the videogame industry although I've had a hand in many projects from TCG's to toys). I think pursuing advertising strategy from resources like Projectwonderful.com will prove worthwhile (even try it as a test) to see if your work sparks any interest. I believe that the artwork is very strong for Tales of Hammerfist so a good ad and some patience could prove beneficial.

3. Since you guys are many (I have my own company and do everything---marketing, writing, PR, social media, research, convention planning and so on--while I have artists I pay to draw/ color)--you may want to consider doing a second daily or 'few times a week' release. The reason is that people tend to attract attention as either followers of a creative team and/or volume. Amazon is full of writers of varying quality who maybe had one really good self-published work out of 13 but when that one finally hit--ALL of the books rose and it gave them a following that money can't buy.

4. Webcomics hosting--seriously consider hosting atleast the first work on Tapastic or SmackJeeves (or any of the others). For little effort---you will be featured alongside of several other works that are bringing attention in left and right.

None of these are iron clad but I laid out my strategy--tested each and researched (again Webcomicunderdogs amongst others) and used my own background to analyze our efforts. Our property Massively Multiplayer World of GHOSTS has steadily been rising in online searches and our target demo--although none of us are eating steaks anymore lol.

Good luck man---those are just some thoughts but your stuff looks really good and I hope you get an audience.

Drop me a DM if you ever want to chat about anything specific--I am more than happy to share and vice versa--ask you your thoughts on successes/ failures.

[JohnK]

I just realized that I screwed up the title of this post. Anyway, thanks for the responses. I will definitely check out the sources mentioned and work with the advice given.
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Coffee Time Comics