Matt
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Matt
ParticipantFiling this for the next KS. I love the idea of approaching podcasters, however, it might be too late for this particular KickStarter (We end in a little over 2 weeks, probably not enough time to get an interview scheduled, recorded, edited AND released.)
I’m definitely putting a pin in it for the future tho.
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden FilesMatt
ParticipantOkay, so, after some crunching of numbers, I realized that most of our bathtub curve was in my head. Math trumps psychology again!
So, this chart shows the Backers over the course of the KS. The blue line is the total, where the red is the change per day. We only had a couple of spots where the delta was 0 for more than 48 hours.
Likewise with our pledges. The charts, understandably, mirror each other, meaning that the majority of the backers after that initial rush were pledging to the same tier.
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden FilesMatt
ParticipantHaving just caught up on the webcomics.com posts, I think Brad might be right about needing to court the orbital reader at least for us. That doesn’t mean we’re going to stop doing the weekly page update (As it provides incentive to do the work) but it will give us another tact that we haven’t tried yet. Maybe a hybrid model will work…
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden FilesMatt
ParticipantI’d like to explore that a little deeper.
Do this: Go to your Google Analytics and see what your “New User” percentage was for April.
Now… How many visitors did you have in April.
Brad, I think you’re either missing, or outright dismissing, the point of this post.
This particular post is not asking how do we turn new viewers into recurring readers. That’s an important step two. As step two, it’s predicated on the fact that we have brought people to our comics in the first place. Story comic, joke comic, superhero, horror, graphic novel or daily strip, it doesn’t matter your content or format until the readers are at the web site and have a chance to see what your content is. It’s only after that we need to talk about conversion.
Step one is reaching potential readers in the first place, and that’s what my original questions revolve around.
I’m sure that everyone can agree that in order for us to attempt to win the hearts and minds of a readership, they need to find our comics first. Now, for us, specifically, I’ve already put in some of Brad’s suggestions from his first post. I’ve got the social media links in place (Thank you AddThis) and started publishing issues for free on DTC in the hope that I’ll see some traffic. The social media links may be marginally effective, since they mean getting the current readers to use them (reader participation is step three). I have some hopes, but we’ll see after a few months when I’ve got some better data. The DriveThruComics might have a better impact for me (being a long form issue based comic) but that’s still too early to tell. Again, in a few months, I’ll have the data to determine how effective it is.
Now, that being said. I feel the need to give more context. I do run ads on PW during update days (Thurs/Fri). Prior to starting the ads, the typical visiting traffic was fairly flat, same with the pageviews. Since running PW ads, I’ve seen approximately a visit increase from about 1100 to 1500 (unique) and pageview increase from around 3500 to 10000-12000 for those days.
This tells me I’m reaching new people and they like our comic. They come in, check it out, and then a few of them go and read the archive. (Stats show consistent archive binges on those days for a small number of people. Those, I figure, are going to be the most likely conversions from curious bystander to regular reader.)
A few years ago those numbers would have been even higher due to the larger advert platform available to all of us, reaching more potential viewers at the same time. So that being said, I’m still interested in picking brains for new ideas on how to reach a wider audience, and am open for suggestions.
There are roughly 600+ pages across 23 issues (not counting the mini half issues). Do I have to read all of them to read the current issue?
Thinking about what D Larson has said, I still have a number of things to do to make converting a first time curious viewer into an active reader. A “New to the Comic” page would be a decent start. Something to give someone a chance of getting into the series without needing to go back 700 pages.
(Side note) I still do need to put some of Brad’s original suggestions in place. I’m checking my options to do some more targeted advertising on some niche sites, I just haven’t gotten that far along yet.
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden FilesMatt
ParticipantYes, Brad, in a way, you’re right. But the question isn’t “what’s one weird trick to generate readers”
It’s how do I find new readers when:
1) Word of mouth isn’t working (Because people have stopped talking to each other about the comics they like)
2) Social media flies by too fast to get people to see, or is just plain ineffective (Twitter and Tumblr feeds, and the Facebook algorithm)
3) Ads no longer have the punch they used to because AdBlockers have pretty much killed the ability to have cost effective ads.Speaking for myself, I don’t have any problem getting people to start reading through our archive once they get to the site. The current ad campaign proves that. (I have a snapshot of our live traffic that has users spiking through the archives), The problem is “how do we reach new readers when the old systems have failed”
Hate to say this, but it’s not enough to just make good comics. It really isn’t. We broke our backs on the premise that “If you do a good job and make a great comic, people will find you”, because these days, people won’t find you. There’s a million and one comics out there and everyone is making noise to attract attention. You blend into the masses. Yes, without a good comic you’re screwed, but having a good comic is no guarantee that people will see you.
I don’t think anyone here is expecting a miracle cure, a shortcut, an excuse, or even one weird trick (I know I’m not). But we are looking for ideas on how to drive traffic that won’t break either our wallet, or our time.
Now, I am going to start following up on some of Brad’s recommendations. We’ve got 4 collected volumes that can go up on Comixology and DTC that, in theory, could start generating some interest. I’m also looking into re-designing the site a bit to get the downloads right in front of people. As for the furries, we’ve not been courting them directly. Yes, they can be very supportive, but for the most part they’ve classed Code Name: Hunter as “not furry enough” for them (for various reasons, I won’t really get into here). We’re gonna look into some things we can do to generate some interest there again.
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden FilesMatt
ParticipantBack when we were still doing conventions (and we were still printing books), we noticed a trend with our books. Which was, that once the early volumes/issues had sold out, we pretty much stopped doing book sales for the convention. Which means that your old customers would purchase the new book since they had the previous one already, but unless you had all of your books, new customers would skip your table.
Kickstarter, fortunately, has made this a little easier (and less prone to screaming frustrated fits as people walk off after hearing that “No, sorry, we’re out of issue 1, but we can get it back in after 2 weeks…”)
I think a lot depends on what your plans for the Kickstarter are;
The way I see it you’ve got a couple of paths.
- You’re using Kickstarter to get a small run/pre-order complete. The layout costs, design, etc are already done and you’re not looking to be reimbursed for that time. You’re basically just going to use the KS money to cover your printing costs.
- In that case, create a tier that handles book 1 and 2 together. Since you’re using IndyPlanet as a storefront, you can place a small order of book 1 from KaBlam to fill out any orders from this tier. You might even want to offer a small incentive discount (less than 10%) when they pick up this tier.
- You’ve got significant external costs that you need to recoup. Layout, artist fees, time, etc that you’d like to be able to be paid back for, and you’re building this into the KS goal.
- This makes the bookkeeping a little more tricky, since 100% of the KS goal can’t be used towards your second book. I’d still say put in a second tier with both books
- The trick to this method is moving your goal out a little more, try to see what your costs would be if you had to print a copy of book 1 and 2 for every backer, then add on your other costs. and then multiply by 1.11 (KS fees are still 10% right?)
Either way, don’t forget to include the costs of shipping in every tier that has a physical product attached to it!
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This reply was modified 6 years ago by
Matt. Reason: Edited because I apparently can't spell worth beans
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden FilesMatt
Participanttest
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden FilesMatt
ParticipantHi Brian!
Code Name: Hunter - http://www.codenamehunter.com
Danger Mouse meets Dresden Files - You’re using Kickstarter to get a small run/pre-order complete. The layout costs, design, etc are already done and you’re not looking to be reimbursed for that time. You’re basically just going to use the KS money to cover your printing costs.
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