It's one of the most pressing questions in webcomics — where to post. Should you post on Webtoons? — Tapas? Should you stick to the social media giants — or go with the upstarts? And what's with all this talk about a website?! Let's get this sorted out.
Understand the playing field
To make smart decisions, you need to look at the big picture.
You need to find people who would enjoy your comic. That's a deceptively difficult challenge. The biggest mistake you could make would be to assume that there's a group of people who enjoy reading comics, and you should post your work where they are. That's like Burger King trying to market their restaurants by looking for people who like eating food. If your assumption is that you have to post your comic on Webtoons because that's where the comics readers are, then you're making a similar mistake.
You're not looking for comics readers — you're looking for people who enjoy the kinds of things you write about in your comics. If you're already posting your comic on platforms like Webtoons and Tapas — and if you're experiencing a pronounced lack of traction — then you've already got evidence that this is true. You just haven't done the math yet.
Of course, none of this means anything if your comic isn't good. If you're not producing a good comic, people won't be drawn to it — no matter where you post it. If you're like about 90% of cartoonists, you gravitated to the medium because you're an artist. And that means your writing probably needs improvement. Because the readers read for the writing — not the art. If your comic isn't gaining traction, it's almost always because of the writing. This is nearly 100% accurate for humor comics.
Therefore, your first step is to focus on the writing of your comic. As you improve your writing, you will become more in touch with — and more in control of — the themes, content, and topics that your work centers around. The more you understand your own writing, the better you'll be able to target that work towards its intended audience.
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