Webcomickers like myself are always looking for new, lazy ways to increase visits to their site. Well, here’s a couple you ought to check out if you haven’t already!

COMICRANK: Comicrank not only works as webcomic promotion, but also as a very unique tracking tool. Imagine a toplist where you never have to worry about voting or updating incentives. For some people who have too much to do already, Comicrank is your cup of tea! Its “toplist” is ordered by number of readers only, so yes, I GUESS you could call it a popularity meter, but I would argue it’s subtly different. That point however, is moot.  To sign up for Comicrank, make an account, fill out the information, and put a small button on your site which functions as a tracker (and does not interfere with other tracking codes like Google Analytics, to the best of my knowledge).  If you are a popular or middle-range comic, you’ll stand to attract some new readers because you will be on the front page of the site. If your comic is new or not too popular, it’s ALSO a good tool for un-inflated reader numbers (Kind of mid-way between Project Wonderful stats and Google Analytic stats).

KAPPUKOOHI BANNER EXCHANGE: Ignoring the very strange, tough-to-pronounce name of this banner exchange, it’s a perfect size for just about everyone  (88×31 button).  This is a great way to reach a very diverse audience. Not everyone who signs up for the exchange will be your comic’s same genre, so your banner could be displayed for free on sites whose readers most likely would not normally stumble upon your comic. Since it’s free advertising in exchange for such a small space on your site, I’d recommend trying it out. I’ve gotten modest results, which bodes well for when more people join, since the exchange circle is still very small. For small banner spaces like this, it is IMPERATIVE that your banner have clearly-readable text, if you include text at all. You have a small space to make an impact, so do it right. I recommend checking out the “members” link on the site to see other banners currently up. (Hopefully this may one day take the place of the ill-fated rubifruit exchange.)

SIGN UP ON UPDATE TRACKING SITES: Bunches of these sites exist, and for minimal work, you can start “advertising” your comic update to all visitors on that site by either merely creating an account, or in some cases, inserting a small code on your webpage. For sites that update many days a week, it’s almost a synergistic effect for gaining readers–your link is always prominent on that site. If you update not so often, it still works, just not as well for those who can update more. Then again, that is a rule of thumb with webcomics: the more you can update, the more readers you will have (dependent also on quality, but that’s not what this article is about.)

Anyways, that’s it from me! Today’s article was more for people pretty new to these kinds of self-advertising. I hope it was useful.

But getting back to business, and in the same vein as my past webcomic networking articles, let’s talk about Twitter. First, if you don’t use it,  I want you to forget everything you’ve heard about it, or have read about it in the newspaper (or worse, in newspaper COMICS.) What is Twitter? Twitter is like a giant IM message board without the pressure of carrying on an extended conversation. It’s a forum where there is no such thing as tl;dr (too long; didn’t read, for the uninitiated) because each message must be 140 characters long or less. As you have most likely heard, Twitter is ALSO an instant newsfeed. From the latest messages from the revolution in Iran, to spacewalk updates from NASA, to status updates from your favorite comic creators, you can follow people, ask questions, or simply keep up with what the hell is going on in the world.

There are a bunch of affiliated sites and applications you use to expand the Twitter experience as well. Twitpic and Yfrog use your Twitter login to give you an instant photogallery (with comments) attached to your account. Apps like Tweetdeck and Twhirl let you “Tweet” from your desktop instead of the online interface. There are of course, many more applications, but I’m not going to list any more. It’s not too important.

Twitter also lets you send private messages (direct messages) as well as public directed messages to a specific person in the form of @username.  Profiles can be private or public. Topics can be marked with a hashtag in the form of #topic for easy searching. For example, a tweet may read, “my #webcomic just updated! http://warofwinds.com.”  A friend might then “retweet” my message, “RT @kezhound my #webcomic just updated! http://warofwinds.com.” (kezhound is my username there.) Other friends may also retweet. When a message is retweeted, not only does everyone who follows you see YOUR message, but everyone who follows the person who retweets you ALSO sees the message. Get it?

That, in a nutshell, is Twitter. Forget the fancy-schmancy “microblogging” bullshit. It can be as boring or as funny or as interesting as you want it.

Anyways, for the past couple months, ever since I caved to my buddy Canterrain’s repeated attempts to get me ON there (I was a doubter for damn sure), I’ve been on Twitter, using Twitter, and networking on Twitter to help get word about my webcomic out there. Here are my referring stats since I’ve started (click to enlarge):

Yes, there is an obvious trend. A very good trend. Twitter has surpassed DeviantART in my top 10 referrer list.

How to Network with Twitter:

I’m going to use the “d” word: diversify. Webcomic readers are still such a small audience compared to every other blasted thing on the internet that you CAN’T just cater to them and expect any kind of real result or new readers. I encourage people to use Twitter to introduce an entirely new audience to your work. You can do this by finding and “following” people with similar interests to you, and making friends. For example, I’m heavy into the martial arts, and there are tons of martial artists on Twitter. I follow a bunch of them. I don’t wave my comic in their face and ask them to retweet that. That’s small, petty, and will be ignored. Rather, I try to create a raport, and move on from there.

How do you find people with common interests? You can try a trending topic. In the search bar after you make an account, plug in a search term. For example, I might try “martial arts” or “#martialarts.” Another place to look is TwitR, a Twitter directory. You list yourself using the hastag method described above with 3 different descriptors. For example, #webcomics #martialarts #kayaker. This way, people can find you, and using their directory, you can also find others.

Since you are a comic creator though (at least, most likely you are, since you are reading this), you SHOULD definitely be posting about your work. For example, “Working on Monday’s comic. It’s a doozy! Here’s a preview!” Every time you update, post a link to your site. Every time a friend on Twitter updates, try to RT (retweet) them, because they will most likely RT you back.

Since Twitter allows only short messages, if you need to post a URL, use a URL shortening service like TinyURL. You plug in something long, and they give you something short that redirects to the original URL.

Twitter has a lot of spam/bot accounts, and they WILL follow you. This is nothing to be afraid of. For example, if I post something about…Ford Trucks…I WILL get Ford truck bots following me. If I don’t follow them back, I don’t see any messages they send. Twitter is working very hard to lessen the number of bots, and recently last week purged thousands.  Just try not to be annoyed or frighted of “all these strangers” following you. Sometimes people you DON’T know will follow you. You DO have the option to block them. Bottom line, like any social networking site, don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your boss or mother to see.

Don’t tweet stupid, inane stuff. “Putting in a load of laundry. Almost out of detergent. There are 3 pairs of socks in my hamper. Life is boring.” Accounts full of this stuff give Twitter the horrible reputation it has.  Status updates are one thing, “Going to the beach with the dog and fam! Back in a few hours!”, but lists or trivial/boring-ass statements do not help you, especially if you are trying to introduce your comic to a new audience. The goal is to find people to follow you, who thereby see your messages when you post your links. No one follows boring people. They “unfollow” them. Be interesting. Be funny. Be snarky. Be friendly.  Be a character.

It’s not a contest. Put the rulers away, we’re not measuring here. Yes, people who have more followers have more people who follow their links back to their sites. Yes, people with tons of followers aren’t likely to follow some smallfry back. But remember, you’re there to spread the word about YOUR work.  Don’t comare yourself to other people, just keep pushing to get your work out there.It’s not about numbers.  It’s a free way to introduce more people to your comic.

Involve yourself. #Followfriday happens on Fridays. You’re supposed to post the profiles of people you think other people should follow. For example, I could tweet, “#followfriday @xyliatales @canterrain @Senshuu @godspack #webcomics.” #Webcomicwednesday is something I THINK I started a couple months back. I’m not too sure. Someone may have thought of it before me and it just didn’t catch on. Anyways, on Wednesdays, you could post, “#webcomicwednesday follow @xyliatales for latest updates from http://xyliatales.com.” See how I did that? An @ and a URL.  If you passively sit by on Twitter, tweeting just about yourself and never TRYING to ACTIVELY network, you won’t network. Networking is active. It requires legwork. It requires you making friends FIRST and taking the first step to help advertise someone else. They in turn may advertise you back. This goes for people outside of the webcomic community on Twitter as well. Remember that whole “diversify” thing?

Personalize your profile page. For the love of cacti, INCLUDE YOUR URL IN YOUR PROFILE AND MAKE A SHORT BIO.  This not only lets people click your name to find your site, but ALSO proves you are not just another spam account. You can even create a personal background image on the profile. Here’s mine (best viewed in 1280px-wide resolution, or wider).

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That’s about it from me! Please feel free to post your Twitter profile in the comments here. Use it to network. There are also threads in various forums specifically for passing around Twitter accounts.

You guys know  I’m not here to bash anyone for not doing something. I’m here to ENCOURAGE all you webcomic creators out there to help OTHER webcomic creators, without expecting anything back. Is it so hard to add a link to a links page? To a news post? To write a sentence about a new comic you’ve discovered that you think people should read? Do you think that if you send your audience to another site, they won’t come back? ‘Cause seriously, it doesn’t work like that! :D

I ran a short survey on my site about how people first discovered The War of Winds. 59% answered “a link from another comic.” So, MORE THAN HALFthe people who took the survey came because someone linked me on another site. This cost me nothing, as opposed to the 18% who selected “from a Project Wonderful advertisement.”  The other 20% came from places like TopWebComics and forums I frequent.

These numbers are important because what’s true for me is probably true for the majority of other webcomickers as well: people find your comic by a link from another comic, by a recommendation on the site of someone whose comic they enjoy, or by a blog post somewheres.

There are so many comics out there who deserve more readers than they have, just like Galaxion. We together already have the audiences, and while I doubt the cumulative effect of what was done for Galaxion will happen all too often, the numbers DO add up over time. So this is what I propose:

Add comics you read to your links page. You don’t have to get permission first (UNLESS!!!! you’re M-rated linking a G-rated site. Then get permission first please).  It’s the internet. Take the initiative and DO IT. No one except you will mind if your links page has tons of links. If you have to, because you have some OCD tendencies, organize links on separate pages (for example, I have a page for link exchanges, recommended reading and resources), that’s ok. Provide links to the other link pages on every links page.

Give a polite review in your news. You don’t have a shred their work, after all, you’re linking them because you want people to GO there. Try not to say anything bad at all!  Tell your readers what you like and appreciate about it.  Keep the link up as long as you can!

Stumble/Digg/Redit/etc them. Don’t ask for permission.  If you use those things (I personally love Stumble Upon, and it’s one of the few add-ons I have for Firefox), use them for more than just YOUR work! Ever see the movie Pay It Forward? Yeah. Like that.

Use social network sites. If you have a Live Journal or Deviant Art or Blogspot or Twitter account, post about the comics you read.  Especially you people on DA who have subscriptions and tons of followers. All it takes is one journal entry!

If you want to start your own campaign like Campaign: Galaxion, follow the fine example set by lonelyfetus, who started it. JUMP IN. Just do it. You’re in charge, and people ask YOU what they can do. Don’t start a thread asking for what you can do or who you should do it for [at an ambiguous time in the future] …because everyone will give you their opinions, or tell you what you’re doing wrong, and that means nothing will get done at all.  You can only have one driver in the car at a time; the car crashes otherwise.  [please insert appropriate colloquialism here that I could not remember.]

We as webcomic readers/creators have the ability to send our audience where we want. Use this power for good, but above all, USE IT.  The SpiderForest collective (I’m a member there) does this indirectly with our top rotating banner. Even being part of the network automatically means a member would recommend you, because you got in. If you have a collective, or are part of one, consider more cross-advertising possibilities.

If you’re a popular comic, getting 5k+ uniques a day, you would be far more loved by the webcomic community if you bothered to link the little guys. They would probably all link you back just to say thanks, even if you took down your link to them (for example, if it was just in the news).

Above all, just help each other grow. We’re all out here spending hours on a hobby that makes little to no money, and readers rarely take the initiative to FIND new comics themselves. Point the way, and they will go.

That’s it from me today. Webcomic website reviews are still coming. Those take a couple hours to write up, so I’m still looking for that time. Trying hard!

A mirror site should never have as much content as your main site, period. A mirror site is a fallback point in event of the worst, NOT a separate, independent site that is an exact duplicate of your main site. WHY is this important? Because if you don’t differentiate between main site and mirror site, all you’re doing is SPLITTING up your audience into little clumps.  The object is to get readers from multiple other places and BRING them to one place.  If you split up your audience, it only makes more work for you (constantly keeping multiple sites up to date) with less total outcome. By centralizing your audience, it’s like the Power Rangers’ many Zords become a MegaZord; it’s more powerful. You increase your total reputation. Everyone links to the same site. Your Alexa rank goes up, your adspace becomes more valuable, and your site grows faster than it would with all the audience split up.

Let us consider Comic Q, self-hosted at www.comicq.com.  Comic Q also has mirror sites on DrunkDuck, WebcomicsNation and ComicSpace. All of those mirror sites are kept up to date with Comic Q’s most recent page, so readers at all those mirror sites see no reason to leave there and migrate to the main address. The MAIN site ends up with less pageviews than any of the mirror sites, for the simple reason that all of the mirror sites are part of a larger webcomic community (a somewhat instant audience).  Why would Comic Q even continue having a main site if it gets less traffic than the so-called mirror sites?

Now, let’s take Comic X, self-hosted at www.comicx.com. Comic X also has mirror sites on DrunkDuck, WebcomicsNation and ComicSpace, but all of these mirror sites are WEEKS behind the main site.  So the audience that finds these comics on the mirror sites sees that there is MORE content on your home site, and goes there. In this case, the mirror sites function not only as duplicate archive, but also as a means of free advertising. People like what they see, and then want more! If more is available, why would they stay on the mirror sites?   They won’t! The creator of Comic X also knows the importance of NOT merely using mirror sites as only free advertising, because he/she knows that shamelessly whoring one’s comic in other comic communities is very impolite, and therefore makes an effort not to be completely overt in driving visitors to the main site.  (Warning, don’t go to anywhere and say, “this here is the first 10 pages of my comic. If you want more, go to my site.”  That is not a mirror site, that is a whore site. There is a big difference.)

In conclusion, people who have mirror sites need to decide what their goals are. First and foremost, mirror sites should be there in the event your main site is unreachable.  Another goal should definitely be to branch out to attract new readers, but whether you want to split your audience or centralize it will change how you go about updating/maintaining this mirror site. I will always recommend keeping all mirror sites weeks behind the main site (not just one update), and having little of the extra content of your main site. Be aware that extra web content alone will not be enough to drive visitors from mirror sites to the main site, it will require COMIC content.

One last note: mirror sites don’t make up for not backing up your work. Always remember to have backups of your site and your archives on disk or on an external harddrive.  You’ll never forgive yourself if your HD crashes and you lose all your layered, high-res files. You can always retreive web-quality archives from these sites, but nothing of higher quality.

More Attention: it is really hard to get noticed when you are part of a large group. Readers will find you less often, and will automatically gravitate to the “already” popular, “tried and true” comics of large groups. This is the main difference between a HOST and a COLLECTIVE. A host is somewhere like ComicGenesis; thousands of comics, but little in the way of sharing readers or spotlighting the talents of everyone. Speaking of talent…ANYONE can get in. There is no quality control, and there will always be comics you don’t wish to associate your work with. True collectives require some sort of admission process, and everyone who is part of the collective has proven their comic is WORTH it. If you are part of a “worthwhile” group, more people will find your comic, read it, and like it. Even if the collective is SMALLER than a host, your readership will increase.

Solidarity of Purpose: even small collectives provide huge amounts of encouragement. Let’s face it: as comic creators, we all get down on ourselves. A collective gives you the confidence to keep going, and the advice of others to help you improve.  Sometimes, you can get this from just friends you have, even if you are not part of a collective. MANY of us, especially creators of new or smaller comics, do not. If you are part of a collective, you have this at your finger tips. Granted, in every collective, solidarity will vary. Before joining, I would recommend being a member of the community FIRST (through public forums) so you can see how much people in the same collective are interested in BUILDING each other up (not just with viewership. YOU have to count more than your comic).

Cross-advertising: A well-planned and executed collective has methods to advertise each and every member equally on other member sites. A collective is not merely a HOST (as in, everyone has a site but no one really cares much to be associated with everyone else), it is a solid group of people interested in the same thing: making comics and getting more readers. If you are in a “collective” that has no connecting name or theme, no means of letting the readers of one comic know that 1) that comic is part of a collective and 2) there are all of these OTHER comics there too, that collective had failed.  It is NOT a collective, it is just a host. Every comic that is part of a collective must add their readers to the pot, or else what is the benefit of being there?

Free and/or Quality Hosting: The great majority of collectives out there are free.  While donations may be encouraged to support the group, they are not necessary. Even if collectives are not free, the hosting found there is ALWAYS of higher quality than free hosts like ComicGenesis or DrunkDuck. Even visiting DD makes me crazy now, because half of the time, it’s down or absurdly slow. This does not happen with collectives.  Smart collectives find a way to pay for hosting by selling either ad space or group merchandise, or have a group-wide donation run every once in a while.

No [or at least less] ads: All free hosts require some sort of compenstation for the space and bandwidth you have.  ComicGenesis requires a 728x90px banner above the fold, and you have no control over what ads are shown. DrunkDuck keeps adding and adding those ads…everywhere. SmackJeeves has a leaderboard and banner size on default templates (or for people not logged in). WebcomicsNation also has leaderboard ads on default templates. Small collectives most often do not have ads except in the forum of cross-advertising other comics in the collective. For example, SpiderForest requires only the top rotating header, and every comic at SF gets a banner spot, as well as a listing in the dropdown.  We, as members, are also allowed to run our own ads, and may keep all revenue (though donating is encouraged!)  On Keenspot, members are required to run at least one ad banner size, but they ALSO (at least for the most part) have control over what ads are shown.

Better CMS options: A CMS is a “content management system.” It is an automatic method for archiving and information organization. For example, rather than, say, creating a new HTML page for each page of your comic, you simply upload your comic and click a button…and there it is! Dated and organized and put where it’s supposed to be! At free hosts, you have ONE choice for a CMS, which is whatever they use. At ComicGenesis, it’s “autokeen.” At DrunkDuck, it’s whatever horribly clunky CMS they use that half the time breaks half-way through uploading.  In collectives, where there are less members (and therefore, more attention for you!) you often have your choice of what CMS you wish to use!  Here at SpiderForest, we have our own system “ProPanda,” but also can use other systems we may like more, like wordpress/comicpress. There are obviously different levels of CMS, and I use this term losely here. Also keep in mind that in collectives, you have far more freedom to personally tailor or build your page, and have direct FTP access.  For example, the design of pages at webcomicsnation irks me to no end, AND YOU CAN’T CHANGE IT! You may be able to change images, but not the order. Even DrunkDuck has default pages better suited to webcomic reading.

Notoriety: This is something that comes to your comic, automatically, when you are part of a collective. Granted, the level of notoriety will depend on the reputation of the collective itself. For example, “Comic Z” will gain far more notoriety joining Keenspot than joining SpiderForest. Keenspot is far more distinguished and well-known. Being “Spotted” is a dream of many webcomickers. BUT, the important thing to consider is that while no one may have heard of Comic Z before joining Keenspot, an entire community will have heard of it the next day. INSTANT notoriety due to increased selectiveness.  It may be less in a smaller collective, but it’s still there.

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Before joining any community, it is a smart move to, as I stated earlier, join the community first. Get to know the webcomic creators. Make sure they’re people you’d want to work with. Make sure everyone isn’t a slacker, because as my friend Bengo wrote about in the Floating Lightbulb blog, everyone needs to work, not just one or two people (many more pieces of good advice in that article, so read it!).  Make sure that people heading the collective are dedicated, and willing to lead while still willing to listen to you. Make sure there are no gimmicks or tricks, and if there are contracts involved, read them very carefully. Look for a TOS, and make sure you retain all rights to your work (this often goes without saying in most places, but the concern has come up before. SF has since edited their apply page to reflect this.) TALK to people hosted there, past and present, and ask them what they think. That final bit is the most important.

You may notice me ripping on a few hosts in this article. I have no gripe with the community of any host listed, only the lack of control members may have in certain aspects. Remember! A WEBcomic is half web, half comic. When you can’t control the “web” portion, it’s holding you back. I will be reviewing different webcomic hosts shortly.

Stumble Upon works well if you’ve got connections, but then again, that is how it works at ANY networking site.  If you don’t have anyone to network WITH, no one finds what you want to share (in this case, your site). So the first step of getting SU to work for your webcomic is to “subscribe” to other people. Members on TWCL will want to get in on this thread, but since the thread is old, you may want to shrug off the complaints of others and start your own.  People are far less likely to subscribe to you [even if you subscribe to them first] from old threads.  You will of course, be immediately directed to this pre-existing thread by multiple users complaining about bad forum etiquette, but I will leave the decision of whether or not to create a new thread up to you. I don’t know if any have been started at Comic Genesis, Webcomics.com, or Drunk Duck.

How SU works: Subscribing to others, and having others subscribe to you is incredibly important on Stumble Upon because it increases the automatic popularity of whatever webpage you stumble.  (A “stumble” by the way, is what it’s called when you tell SU that you like a site. It is a good thing! Contrary to the traditional definition).  Whenever you stumble a page (I highly recommend the FireFox add-on Stumble Upon Toolbar), it appears on the “what’s new” page of everyone subscribed to you. If even ONE of those subscribed you does a follow-up stumble, the page then appears on all of the “what’s new” pages of everyone subscribed to THEM, and so on and so forth. It’s a very…viral…process.

Other than subscribing to others and being subscribed to, the more you rate and review sites through SU, the more weight all your ratings get. So, basically, the more you use SU, the more it does for you.

One of the best features SU has for webcomickers is the ability to “send” a page to friends.  For example, if I had a comic page I was really proud of, I would send the page to friends, and ask for a stumble and/or review. This is a feature to use RARELY.  Do not ask for stumbles from your friends at every update. It is highly annoying. Everytime you ask for a stumble, be aware that internet etiquette demands you be willing to RETURN that stumble and review if you are asked.

What to Expect: The viral spread of SU “thumbed up” pages means you can get a lot of visits in a very short time. It can be a major force to increase the pageviews of your site (for example, if you are paid by CPM, this can be a VERY good thing), but the visits you will get will rarely result in new readers.  Webcomickers have to face it that webcomic readers are few and far in-between; they are a small audience, more of a clique than we’d like to admit.  You may get a lot of visitors for a day or three from a single stumble through SU, but you will also have a very low average pageview/visitor number.  The majority of people who go to your site from a stumble will have no idea what a webcomic is, will check out your site for a second, and then leave (this an article I’m getting ready to write: the problem of advertising to “webcomic-ignorant” audience).  Gag-a-day comics definitely have a leg up on story-based comics when networking this way.  If a page in the middle of a story-line is stumbled, no new visitor will know what is going on. A gag-a-day comic might make people explore for more laughs.

Those of you interested in using SU on your own site, check out AddThis and of course, the SU buttons.

EDIT: JGray of Mysteries of Arcana and 2nd Shift also mentioned via Twitter that SU can also be a tool to increase Project Wonderful bids. Some may find it “unethical” since SU traffic is rather…unsubstantial…but hey! It’s out there for you, and he’s right. PW doesn’t differentiate between what kind of visitors you get, just that you’re getting them.

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Another short article today, something veteran SU users might turn their noses up at, but then again, this studio blog is about basics.  ;)

Next up, an article near and dear to my heart: having your comic OFF the main page, and how to do it RIGHT.

Here is the result of my first networking attempt, using Deviant Art as a means of free advertising through their pre-existing network of art-minded folks. I call this “networking” instead of “free advertising” because to get it to work, you really have to network (ie, connect) with people there.  You’ll need to do some legwork and make friends with others first OR have art that is great enough people will try to make friends with YOU.

First, for those of you who have not heard of Deviant Art, have no clue how it works, or how it differs from a gallery on your site, an explanation: DA is like the internet of art galleries. In one member’s gallery, you find links to their favorite pieces, and from them, more and more links. It is a web of links, and sharing who and what you like is what it makes popular (and how the whole things works).  You upload your work, and it’s posted on the front page of Deviant Art itself.  If you have people who “watch” or “follow” you there, they are notified of every update you make. This notification and exposure system it what makes it different from a gallery on your own site–AND how it brings you new visitors.

I have been a member of Deviant Art since August 2008.  By posting my comic pages there, with a link back to my site in the author’s notes, my DA account is my 19th (108 visits to be exact) top referrer this past month. And I’m not very active there! If I posted more art, more sketches, made more contacts there, I could easily increase that number.  But my point is that this type of networking is FREE advertising for you.  For the minimum amount of effort (creating a gallery, posting your comics, putting a link back to your site) you get access to a HUGE pool of prospective readers.

So, to summarize, webcomic networking via Deviant Art works with even minimal effort.

I will write articles on them later, but Twitter and Stumble Upon also work well with minimal effort. Most webcomic forums I visit have threads expressly for networking via sites like these. I encourage you to try these places out, one at a time, if you haven’t already. I say “one at a time” because if you are trying these out for the first time, don’t overdo it.  Results can be slow if you do not already have a base of people with which to network, and you may feel disappointed. But, you can take it from me, it DOES work, but how successful it will be will depend on VOLUME: how many people are linked to you as friends/watchers/etc, and how often you update.  Not to mention, of course, the quality of your content.

That’s it for today, just something simple! Next up, a review of the ad company Adtegrity.

Toplists are a popularity contest. Unpopular/unknown comics won’t ever BEAT the popular ones, but these are places to get your comic’s name out. It’s not about winning (getting in the top 10, or even top 100) so much as increasing overall exposure, and places like TopWebComics and Buzzcomix get a LOT of traffic. Even in the 200′s or 300′s, you will definitely get new readers. To get into the top 300′s, all you need is YOU voting for yourself daily, and one or 2 other people helping you out occasionally.  To get into the top 200′s, you need you voting for yourself, and 4 or 5 committed fans voting almost daily.  Getting into the top 100 requires, at least for me, 100 votes a week.  With an audience of around 1.5k, it update my incentive once a week to maintain a standing in 90′s.  BEING there gets me 80 visits a week, the equivalent of a really good link exchange! It’s a good deal, and worth the effort.

How often should I update my incentive? Depend on your audience size and your ambitions. If you’re a small comic, and you want to get on the front page of a toplist, you should update your incentive multiple times a week. I recommend updating the incentive at LEAST as often as you update your comic, preferably on the same day.  Don’t expect people to come back afterwards to see a new incentive AFTER reading your comic.  Remember to make it as easy as possible for people to vote for you! I don’t recommend updating your incentive daily. That’s unneccessary. 3 days a week is good place to start if you have small audience with high ambitions. I am a medium comic with low ambitions, so I update the incentive once a week and I’m happy where I am.

Should I display the toplist button or make my own? It is definitely better to make your own button that is a thumbnail of your incentive. It is even better to include the thumbnail AND provide a written description of what you have up. As a slight tangent, I advocate including this thumbnail in your news area AND another link elsewhere on your site.  For example, you have a permanent vote link, perhaps, in your navigation menu, AND have a thumbnail in the news area (for example, Xylia). Duplicating the link in this subtle fashion means a higher chance of visitors seeing the link.   Don’t be pushy about getting people to vote! Only 1/10 visitors MAX will ever vote for you! So don’t have links EVERYWHERE. That’s just annoying, and no one votes for annoying sites.

Be sure to let people know that voting on toplists isn’t like voting for president! People can vote multiple times a day, but only once each day per comic! We, as webcomic creators, take this piece of knowledge for granted. A LOT of visitors don’t know this! The first time I posted about it, my votes doubled. 0.0

What should I post for an incentive? Art is the favorite.   Ask Dr. Eldritch posts extra comic panels, often continuing the joke or story of the current comic.  Fey Winds often has concept pictures of World of Warcraft characters.  I sometimes post sketches of the following week’s comic page, or sometimes a “the making of” page.  If you’re the author and not the artist, or simply an over-worked artist, consider posting snippets of the following comic’s script (obviously as an image, since you can’t really post a lot of text).

There are so many toplists! Which and how many should I choose? I recommend focusing on one toplist. In the long run, it will be far less effort with far greater reward for a mid-sized comic (large/popular comics like Phoenix Requiem and Cat Legend can easily be high-ranking members of two.  They have a highly active fan base. If you don’t, try ONE list first, and make sure you can stick with it!) It means less updating of incentives, especially if you try to update each list with a different incentive.  Most people won’t vote twice either, just once (if you’re lucky!)  If you’re trying to decide between TopWebComics and Buzzcomix, I recommend TWC. It’s far more reliable. BCX is down too often for my taste. You might also have a lot of luck with smaller lists if you’re not getting anywhere with the larger lists.  For less readers, you can get more exposure there.

Next up! Deviant Art as a webcomic network tool…does it work?