Webcomics Confidential: Understanding Writer’s Block

Webcomics Confidential: Understanding Writer’s Block

How often are we presented with the image of tortured creative souls, staring plaintively at the tools of their craft,...
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ComicLab Ep 417 — Print on Demand… When There’s No Demand

ComicLab Ep 417 — Print on Demand… When There’s No Demand

Cartoonists Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett discuss the nuances of print-on-demand services. As Brad says, "It's a good place to start,...
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Maximizing the potential of Bluesky Starter Packs

Maximizing the potential of Bluesky Starter Packs

If you've been sharing your work on Bluesky, you're probably becoming familiar with Starter Packs. This was a significant innovation...
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Webcomics Confidential: What size should your webcomic be?

Webcomics Confidential: What size should your webcomic be?

Beginning cartoonists often ask what size they should make their comic. Many are looking for "standard" sizes. The answer is...
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Give Yourself the Gift of Time Off: Low-Impact Holiday Content Ideas for Cartoonists

Give Yourself the Gift of Time Off: Low-Impact Holiday Content Ideas for Cartoonists

The holiday season has a way of sneaking up on us — and suddenly we’re juggling year-end deadlines, family commitments,...
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ComicLab Ep 417 — Special Guest Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott from “Baby Blues”

ComicLab Ep 417 — Special Guest Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott from “Baby Blues”

Syndicated cartoonists Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman share their journey of collaboration that spans over 35 years, focusing on their...
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How Many Social-Media Posts Per Day?

How Many Social-Media Posts Per Day?

According to a Very Popular Influencer, one should post on social media six to eight times daily. I disagree, and...
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Social media and behavioral modification

Social media and behavioral modification

B.F. Skinner's research showed that rewards and punishments can alter a subject's behavior. We can use those same simple techniques...
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Webcomics Confidential: You’re wasting money on advertising

Webcomics Confidential: You’re wasting money on advertising

Unless you have a granular knowledge of advertising, demographics, and much more, you're probably wasting money on "plug-and-play" advertising and...
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ComicLab Ep 416 — What’s the Best Platform for Audience Building?

ComicLab Ep 416 — What’s the Best Platform for Audience Building?

Where should you post if you want to build an audience? Substack delivers unbeatable audience-building tools... but it has some...
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Understanding passive revenue streams — Knock-on vs Knock-out

Last year I published a post explaining why Subless was a bad business decision for creators. One of the reasons I listed was that it conflicts with a creator’s efforts to build revenue on Patreon. One of the comments I received was that incorporating Subless into their business was good because it added a passive revenue stream. And that means it’s time to take a little time to discuss that topic in greater detail.

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by on August 30, 2023
Posted In: Business
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Do milestone rewards still work?

In its early days, Patreon featured milestone rewards prominently on creators’ pages. A milestone reward was a special reward you would offer to the community if/when your Patreon campaign hit a certain milestone. This could be either a monetary goal or an expected number of overall patrons. Once that goal had been met, the reward would be released. Over the past several years, milestone rewards have been de-prioritized by Patreon — appearing in progressively harder-to-find places. But are milestone rewards still effective?

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by on August 29, 2023
Posted In: Crowdfunding
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ComicLab Ep 297 — San Diego Comic-Con recap

Dave and Brad return from Comic-Con International in San Diego, and they have much to discuss!

ON THIS WEEK‘S SHOW...

  • San Diego Comic-Con recap
  • UPDATE: Do we need to reintroduce “free?”
  • UPDATE: Musk rebrands Twitter to “X.”
  • Sticking with a failing project for too long
  • Procreate for print
by on August 24, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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hands exchanging dollars

Some brilliant marketing advice — and a warning

There’s a discussion on Reddit that I want to call your attention to for two reasons. First: It’s packed with some really good tips on writing marketing/promotional text. Second: One writer’s response to that advice is a microcosm of everything that’s wrong with many artists who find themselves trying to build a business.

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by on August 23, 2023
Posted In: Marketing / Social Media
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Webcomics Confidential: Rethink Your Schedule

Is your schedule killing you? Well, maybe killing is a bit strong, but maintaining a rigid schedule could actually hurt your webcomic more than its helping it. I’ll talk about why that is — and how to position your comic for greater success in a social-media-dominated publishing system.

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by on August 21, 2023
Posted In: Uncategorized
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ComicLab Ep 296 — “You talked me out of a mistake, and I’d like to get back to making it as soon as possible”

This week a ComicLab listener writes to thank us for talking him out of a mistake — and to say he’d like to get back to making it as soon as possible.

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…

  • Going back to making the same mistake
  • Patreon for a short-term comic
  • UPDATE: Patreon Free Trial
  • UPDATE: Jerry Garcia — “Not everybody likes licorice, but people who like licorice… REALLY like licorice!” That’s sage advice for niche publishing.
  • Particular advice for small comic conventions
  • Coming back after a break — restart the online comic or Kickstart a book with finished materials

DriveThruComics

Check out the redesigned DriveThruComics here! Their team is looking for feedback as they work on the new layout and features, so pass along your thoughts using this Google Form.

If you’re interested in setting up a publisher account, here’s some helpful information. They also have guides for creating and publishing digital and print-on-demand books!

by on August 17, 2023
Posted In: ComicLab
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