How can one make a living* as a comic strip artist on the internet?

[Joshua Skurtu]

*When I say a living, I mean regular income that provides the comic strip artist with enough to provide for themselves and their family. This number can vary by family size and location, but we can all assume that even a single male in a low housing market would need at least $25-$35K a year to be comfortable

The quick answer: Get an audience. A big one.

But don't get smart with me...

What viable business models exist? What works, what doesn't work, and what combinations of methods work? What has not yet been tried?


I have heard discussions on the "AssetBar," but this items sounds like it is more of cream off the top that a regular income.

I know a big part of webcomics is selling merchandise after giving the comic away for free, but that only pays out with an extremely large audience (as I assume any model would).


Also, feel free to touch on various methods of marketing one's comic.

I'm launching my comic strip on my website in the next week, so any info or opinions would be greatly appreciated. While I'm not in this solely for the money (I love to do comics), it would be nice to make something from it.

Thanks,

-Josh
www.theohnozone.com

[Isaiah McAllister]

A lot of points on this topic were discussed in the "To syndicate or not to syndicate" thread.

But, there really is no proven business model that works. I'm not trying to be cute, but YOU do need to build an audience. The bigger your audience, the bigger your ad revenue, merchandising revenue, etc.

Maybe a better discussion would be, "How does one build up an audience on the web?"

I don't really have a surefire answer to this either. Sure, you can advertise, but if people aren't returning to your comic, you aren't BUILDING an audience. It's like any idea, you really don't know what's going to catch on until you put it out there.

And even then, it may take a few years to build up a viable audience. There are really no overnight successes in webcomics. Even the most successful webcomics took a couple of years at the least to really build up a viable audience.

Those are just my thoughts, I'm sure someone with more wisdom will come along and debunk this. But, be that as it may.

[Brian Fies]

Well, it's going to sound like I'm getting smart with you, but I'm really not...

Most important, I think you've got to create a quality comic that people want to read. That sounds obvious, but it's a point that seems to have eluded millions of webtoonists. Good writing (most important) and good art (less important) are the only things that will keep readers coming back. People will only buy t-shirts and mousepads featuring characters they love and care about.

Act like a professional by creating a good-looking, easily navigated website, and post on a regular schedule.

The nice thing about webcomics is that, unlike syndicated comics, you can aim at a relatively narrow niche and still find a large audience. Only a tiny percentage of the general population appreciates "PvP" or "xkcd," but that adds up to many thousands or millions worldwide.

I can't answer your business model questions but I bet many of them are addressed in the book "How to Make Webcomics" by Scott Kurtz, Dave Kellett, Brad Guigar, etc. I haven't read the book and I don't know any of those guys. But love 'em or hate 'em, everyone has to acknowledge that they're successful webcomics creators and I have to believe their book has some nuggets that will point you in the right direction.

[Joshua Skurtu]

Do you need a niche to survive on the internet and create a following? I myself follow Penny-Arcade and xkcd, but can anyone name any popular webcomics that don't fit nice and neatly into a niche?

[Jesse Cline]

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, White Ninja, Dinosaur Comics...they are absurd and funny comics, no real niche, and I think their creators are doing well.

[Tony Piro]

This is a pretty broad question. If you haven't read "How To Make Webcomics," I would suggest checking it out:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Webcomics-Scott-Kurtz/dp/158240870X

It's not a surefire plan to success, but it will definitely get you off to the right start.

When it comes to making money, unless you have a large enough audience to sell products, your best best is advertising. And the best money-maker when you don't have enough page views for larger ad networks is Project Wonderful:

http://www.projectwonderful.com/

Once you get a few more hits, you can move up to larger ad networks that pay better. I have a tutorial outlining how to do here:

http://www.calamitiesofnature.com/extras/adservicereview.php

Otherwise, if you have more specific questions, I and other people on this board would probably be happy to help you out. I don't make my living off my webcomic (not by a long shot), but I could probably provide you advice on a number of issues.

[guy]

I don't have any simple answers to this. If there were a set of criteria, we'd all be successful comic strip artists. The key is luck, plain and simple.
Guy~

[Mike Peterson]

Buy the book. I'm not a cartoonist but wanted to see how to build audience. There's a lot in there about establishing not only the quality of your work but also the quality of your interaction with your audience. Start easy by watching shows like Regis and Kelly, or Bonnie whatsherface or Oprah or even the Today Show and see how they make the audience feel a part of the action. Then go to a few of the successful web comics and look at how they blog, how they encourage interaction, how they make their readers feel like they belong. Now think about the various comic cons and how the artists sit their booths, chatting with visitors, drawing little sketches, etc etc etc.

If you don't have the energy to create that kind of interaction, it's not going to be easy to make a profitable web presence. Your work can be dynamite, but you have to make people feel that they are in on the game somehow. There are very few successful web comics that don't make use of this marketing technique.

There are a few successful web comics that are genuinely inventive and well-done. But there seem to be a much larger number that have simply succeeded in tapping into the zeitgeist. I don't know if you can plan to hit that magic spot. But you have to do all the other stuff, too, and that you can start thinking about before you throw open your doors and brace for a rush that may or may not be coming. (If nothing else, you can design your site and presentation with marketing in mind before you launch, rather than having to redo it sometime down the road.)

[Frank Zieglar]

I'm not trying to be smart with you, however...

Your post cracks me up for a number of reasons. On Lee's syndicate topic, you state a number of opinions about webcomic as a business and what you would do if you ever start one. Now you ask how to do it, before you even launch and try to put all your theories into action.

I like Toon Talk, but it seems to me, primarily a board representing the 'print' side of comics. Why ask your question here? Why not at one of the many 'webcomic' boards instead?

There are no secrets about it. The info has been shared many times, but all that info is only opinion or is what worked for that particular person.

It's a numbers game. Get an audience. Period. The bigger your audience, then the better your chances to sell something. Sell a book, t-shirt, wallpaper, original art, cartoons, DVDs, toys, plushies, buttons, stickers, games, or anything else your audience will pay for. Keep the majority of the monies by doing as much as you can yourself.

How do you get an audience? Be yourself. Do the comic that you would want to read and like-minded people will read it also. Or be controversial; people will hate you so much they will read it just to complain about it. Be nasty; porn sells.

Like any new business - get the word out. Tell everybody. Make flyers. Make friends. Trade links. Advertise. Word of mouth.

[Joshua Skurtu]

1. I posted some ideas of what I was planning on Lee's topic, and many people had very valid counter-points to my ideas. It made me rethink my long term plan. I started this topic to start a discussion (the board had not had many new posts the last four days) and to get some ideas.

2. This board is not only about print comics. Lee's topic in particular is a discussion about Web and Print.

Thanks for the input.

[Frank Zieglar]

1: I said I'm not trying to be smart with you. I'm not laughing at you. Your post really made me laugh, mainly because of the seeming contradiction to your other posts regarding your opinions on webcomic business (as I stated above). If you were here with me I hope we would be laughing together. I haven't seen anything to indicate that you rethunk some of your earlier positions until now.

It reminds me of a Webcomics Weekly episode where Scott Kurtz is making a fake phone call to Ted Rall in regards to the 'print vs web' thing. Scott is saying things like 'In your face Rall! How you like me now?!" with all kinds of attitude. Then he gets kind of serious and in a low tone asks, "By the way, could I ask you a few questions?" Indicating that he want's Rall's advice or opinion about something. Then he finishes the fake phone call with something like, "OK, thanks for the help. Also, in your face Ted Rall!!!", back with the attitude.

You're all "This is how I'm going to do my webcomic, yo!" Then it's "By the way, how do I do make money off the webcomic ?" I laughed.

2: I said this board seems to be PRIMARILY representing print, not ONLY about print. There are far more syndicated cartoonists here than at any of the webcomics boards AFAIK. The comments at the Daily Cartoonist (which isn't a message board anyway) are the only other place that I see so many print cartoonist posting at.

[Joshua Skurtu]

lol

I know.

1. Sometimes I sound "determined" in my ideas, but they are just that, ideas. Sometimes I make it sound like my balls are bigger than they are. :-)

2. While there are a lot of actual people on this board in print, if you polled the majority, I am sure they only make up 20% at the most. A lot of the people here are here to learn from the syndicated artists, and that means they either have a webcomic, plan to make a webcomic, or are currently trying to get syndicated in print (and will probably fail and end up making a webcomic). I see comic vs webcomic as moot. In BOTH areas you will make money based on your ability. Yes, anyone can put up a webcomic, but that doesn't mean you get readers.

[Jim Tierney]

Two bits of advice:

1. Remove any barrier between your content and the reader. When I followed the link to your site, why did I have to follow a second link to see any content? You've just lost about half your potential readers/fans right there. Your home page should be like any other store display... It should have your stuff right out in front to grab eyeballs. Usually you will have to prioritize your display, for example, by putting the comic front and center, and maybe putting the video down below in the what is usually considered the 'news' section on most comicpress sites.

2. Don't be in a hurry. It's a marathon not a sprint. Put out content, improve your craft, and learn any secondary or supporting skills you need to produce your comics and videos and to administrate your website. As you learn things, you might also find a number of indirect ways to profit from all this, or you might figure out which parts of the business are your strong suit, and you might even transition those skills into some sort of money-making enterprise.

-Also, on a side note regarding advertising. You might want to consider holding off on any advertising right away, because early on, the amount of money you stand to make usually doesn't justify the visual distraction that the ads tend to bring to your site.