This episode of ComicLab is sponsored by Wacom! On this week’s show, the ComicLab guys discuss the strategy behind creating a comic solely for the film rights. Is this really a good idea?
But first, could Brad win in a fight with a hamster?
This episode of ComicLab is sponsored by Wacom! On this week’s show, the ComicLab guys talk about hiring an editor. It’s more than catching spelling errors. A good editor can help craft your story and improve your plot.
But first, Dave remembers listening to Gloria’s pregnancy meditation tapes during her first pregnancy.
Questions asked and topics covered…
What is the best way to ensure you do not inadvertently plagiarize other works?
Please never use the word “doodling”
How does an editor compare to having beta readers? Is it worth it?
In offering exclusive content, do you risk alienating your fan base who have followed you on social media over the years?
This episode of ComicLab is sponsored by Wacom! On this week’s show, the ComicLab guys discuss unexpected outcomes of webcomics success. Plus, Beth Reidmiller, the talented force behind the coloring of Sheldon and Drive, joins the guys to talk about collaboration and more!
But first, writing tips for the sleep-deprived.
NOTE: Dave’s audio quality suffered a slight decline during this episode — which was recorded during the same recording session as last week’s show. We apologize for the momentary lapse in sound quality. Next week’s show will return to the full-throated audio excellence you’ve come to expect!
Questions asked…
What has been the most surprising positive or negative outcome of your success that you never expected?
What are the best ways to collaborate with an artist?
This episode of ComicLab is sponsored by Wacom! On this week’s show, the ComicLab guys discuss Patreon Assembly. Did it live up to the hype — or have they missed an opportunity to foster creator growth?
But first, how to navigate Thanksgiving — and dairy farms — as a professional cartoonist.
Questions asked…
Patreon Assembly replaced last year’s PatreCon, and it wasn’t an improvement
Special Offer! If you become a Patreon backer at the $5 level or higher before Thanksgiving, you’ll get both “How To Make Webcomics” and “The Webcomics Handbook” as easily downloaded eBooks! Plus, you’ll get a new episode of Drunk ComicLab — which will be available only on Patreon!
This episode of ComicLab is sponsored by Wacom! On this week’s show, the ComicLab guys discuss the importance of allowing a failing Kickstarter to come to its natural end.
But first, Dave learns the saga of Jim Hanks.
Listener questions…
Should you “save” a failing Kickstarter?
How do you convert Patreon followers into backers?
Should you use Myers-Briggs personality tests to help define characters
Should you do Charge Upfront on Patreon?
Drawing smoother lines with shaky hands
Special Offer! If you become a Patreon backer at the $5 level or higher before Thanksgiving, you’ll get both “How To Make Webcomics” and “The Webcomics Handbook” as easily downloaded eBooks! Plus, you’ll get a new episode of Drunk ComicLab — which will be available only on Patreon!
When I worked in newspapers, December always meant end-of-the-year lists. Every writer in every department would file one. Why? Well, I guess they can be pretty interesting. But more importantly, they’re easy content to churn out during the busy holiday season.
So let’s discuss a quick-and-easy way to generate a top-10 list for your comic.
Google Analytics — Pageviews
First, we’re going to use Google Analytics to discover the top 10 most popular comics in our archive.
Click on Behavior in the left-hand column
Now click Site Content, and then All Pages
Change the time frame to Jan. 1, 2019 through today’s date.
This will generate a list of the most popular pages in your archive, by pageviews.
Your home page, obviously, is going to be the most popular, but let’s leave that out of it. The next page down will be the most popular archive page, and then the one after that will be second-most popular, and so forth.
Google Analytics — Organic Search
Alternately, you can build your list based on organic search results.
Change the time frame to Jan. 1, 2016 – (today’s date)
Under Audience / Overview, click Add Segment (at the top)
Select Organic Traffic from the list and click Apply
Go back to the top of the page, Select All Users (by clicking the downward-facing arrow) and click Remove.
Go to the left-hand column and open Behavior
Under Site Content, click Landing Pages
Now you have this year’s most popular pages, in terms of search results.
Build your list — quick
Remember… the name of the game is to get this done quick so you can get back to spending time with your family over the holidays. If you’re using ComicPress or Comic Easel, it’s gonna be a snap with shortcodes.
In this case, the shortcode you’re looking for is [[randcomic slug=SLUG]]
Just replace “SLUG” with the slug of the post — which is that hyphenated phrase after /comic/ in your Analytics list! So, using the example above, my #1 comic is short-coded as [[randcomic slug=ruin-a-moment]]
Top 10
My preference is to start with the tenth-most-popular comic and work my way backwards to the most popular. (You’ll have to load the next ten results to see the actual #10 — since you won’t be including your home page).
I assemble them into a list, making a brief comment about each, and — presto! — I have a quick-and-easy Year-End Top 10 list!
YouTube’s new policy regarding Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) has thrown creators into a morass. Starting in January 2020, if creators mark a video as directed at kids, data collection will be blocked for all viewers, resulting in lower ad revenue, and those videos will lose some of the platform’s most popular features, including comments and end screens, according to The Verge. Meanwhile, comics-hosting site SmackJeeves made drastic alterations including removing the forums, removing private messaging, removing custom site designs, replacing “fans” with “support” (which are kind of like ‘likes,’ I think?) and starting their own app and currency system. And it was only two years ago that Tapastic unilaterally granted itself the right of first refusal in the intellectual property of creators using their platform. All of these actions have resulted in an outcry from creators whose expectations for those platforms had been shattered.
What can we as creators do about this?
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This episode of ComicLab is sponsored by Wacom! On this week’s show, the ComicLab guys are joined by MAD magazine’s Tom Richmond to talk about caricature. They talk about…
Has the homogenization of Hollywood hurt caricature?
How to improve your caricatures
Listener questions…
When your imagination exceeds your abilities
How to avoid zooming in too closely on digital art
How to you encourage people to create comics?
BUT FIRST… Dave tells a story about picnicking in Ireland
Special Offer! If you become a Patreon backer at the $5 level or higher before Thanksgiving, you’ll get both “How To Make Webcomics” and “The Webcomics Handbook” as easily downloaded eBooks! Plus, you’ll get a new episode of Drunk ComicLab — which will be available only on Patreon!
This episode of ComicLab is sponsored by Wacom! In this week’s show, the ComicLab guys ponder George R.R. Martin’s assertion that writers are either garderers or architects. Also, they talk about commissions. What are some best practices — and how can you avoid common mistakes? Then a question-asker asks how much time Dave and Brad spend trying to get their comics reviewed by comics journalists and websites. Next, can a sale or discount actually act as a dis-incentive for sales? And finally, how can you stop someone from stealing your art for a T-shirt?
BUT FIRST… a real-estate ad by the side of the road written in Sharpie marker gets Dave’s attention.
Special Offer! If you become a Patreon backer at the $5 level or higher before Thanksgiving, you’ll get both “How To Make Webcomics” and “The Webcomics Handbook” as easily downloaded eBooks! Plus, you’ll get a new episode of Drunk ComicLab — which will be available only on Patreon!
QUESTIONS ASKED…
When you’re writing, are you a gardener or an architect?
A couple of years ago, I posted a few thoughts on the idea of taking a weeklong hiatus for the Christmas holiday. It featured a guest post from “How To Make Webcomics” co-author Dave Kellett on the topic. The entire thing is worth a read, but I’ll paraphrase:
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