Ingredients of a successful webcomic.

If this seems kind of patronising or "well, duh" then I apologise, and request your patience. Also, this is intended to serve as a jumping-off point for subsequent posts, which will explore the issues raised here in considerably more detail. I don't mean to be a tease with all these promises of future posts to come, honestly - it's just that I think it makes the most sense to move from broad strokes to detailed examination, to start with the very basics and build up from there. Thank you for bearing with me in the meantime.

Right then. Let's get down to the basics. First principles.

So, I want to have a successful webcomic according to the definition of success I outlined previously. There are three things I need in order for this to happen:

1. A webcomic I enjoy creating.
2. Readers who enjoy my webcomic.
3. A way to turn readers into revenue.

Let's break those down.

Item 1: A webcomic I enjoy creating.

It's all very well making a webcomic that's well-drawn and well-written, but if the process of creating this webcomic is comparable to, say, pulling teeth, then it's extremely unlikely that I'm going to want to keep creating it - especially considering that I'm unlikely to see much of a return on it for quite some time. I don't think I'm alone in finding it extremely easy to come up with reasons not to do something I find tiresome or tedious, and can, if pushed, procrastinate such things almost indefinitely. Sometimes this procrastination can be turned to productive ends - for example, having paperwork that needs filling out often results in my living space becoming a whole lot tidier - but that still doesn't get the odious task done.

A webcomic that isn't enjoyable to create swiftly becomes a chore. Motivation fades away, time and effort put into each page diminishes, and the webcomic first becomes half-assed, then irregular in its updates, then stops updating altogether. This is obviously no use at all if my intent is to make a living from my webcomic, so it's a situation to be avoided if at all possible.

I have to be enthusiastic. The easiest solution to the motivation problem is to make a webcomic I'm going to enjoy creating - and the easiest way to do that is to create the kind of webcomic that I'd enjoy reading. If I'm making a webcomic in which I'm not 100% invested, that'll show - it'll likely seem lacklustre or mechanical, missing that spark of passion, and this will be a turn-off for readers. After all, if the webcomic's creator can't find reason to be enthusiastic about their work, why should a reader?

Item 2: Readers who enjoy my webcomic.

Attracting an appreciative audience is a two-step process.

Step 1: Make a good webcomic.
It sounds trite, but it's something that really does need to be reinforced. No amount of advertising, networking or self-promotion can substitute for having a good product that my customers will enjoy. No amount of charm, marketing savvy or other less savoury techniques will earn me a dedicated audience if my core product sucks.

As such, I must strive to make my webcomic the best it can be in all regards - in art, in writing, in site design, all of it. The internet and the local library can be an invaluable resource here. If I think my writing's weak then I need to read up on how to assemble a plot, write believable dialogue, or construct compelling characters. If my art needs work then I should study perspective, anatomy, composition and colour theory. If my website looks janky or generic there are plenty of resources out there which can teach me enough about HTML and CSS coding to make it look distinctive and interesting. And so on and so forth.

The point of making a good webcomic (with pleasing art and engaging writing) is that if I do so, people will like it. They'll keep reading it. They might recommend it to their friends, word will spread, and more readers will come along. If I'm making the kind of webcomic that I'd want to read then there's a very good chance that it's also the kind of webcomic that other people want to read. Tastes vary and some topics are more popular than others, but unless a comic is incredibly niche there's probably an audience out there for it. It's just a matter of connecting with that audience, and making them aware that my comic exists. Which leads to...

Step 2: Tell people about it.
So far I've mostly been promoting my own comic on Twitter - it's free, and it's a very straightforward way to connect with people. There are lots of other webcomic creators on there already, many of whom are happy to pass on word about your webcomic if you do the same for them.

I've also submitted my webcomic to a number of online directories (OnlineComics.net has been a pretty good source of traffic, f'rinstance), and have stumped up some cash for a Project Wonderful ad campaign (which is good at generating traffic as long as you can keep funding ad campaigns). These are just a couple of examples of how to promote your work. There are various channels, each with different advantages and disadvantages which I'll examine in future blog posts.

Item 3: A way to turn readers into revenue.

Ah yes, the business model. The thing that turns a webcomic from a hobby to an occupation. This... this is the tricky part, and one which I will admit I'm only just beginning to explore. Even those who're well-experienced in making a living from their webcomics are constantly looking for new ways to refine the business model, searching for new revenue-streams to supplement those they're already using, so the only rule is to find what works for you, and then use it. Better yet, find several things that work for you. Diversify.

The main obstacle to monetising my webcomic is that not everyone who reads it is going to like it enough to just throw money at me as a gesture of appreciation. I mean, it'd be nice, but it's not very likely. So I need to find a way to encourage readers to throw money at me, and among webcomic creators the prevalent method used to incide money-throwing is to offer merchandise in return. There are other approaches - charging subscription fees to allow readers to access the webcomic, or the archives, or additional content, getting enough traffic to make ad-revenue a viable source of income, and so on. This will also be examined in future blog posts.

For now, I'll just say that while this might seem grubby and grabby and mercenary and materialistic, that's only the case if you let it become so. I'd like to avoid the situation whereby my overriding motivation shifts too far from making an awesome comic towards making as much money as possible, because at that point one becomes a sell-out and the work suffers. Making money does need to be a consideration, but it's a matter of finding a balance between the creative and the commercial.

My ideal situation would be one in which I have honed my craft to the point that readers are so astounded and amazed and enthralled and delighted by my work that they insistently thrust fistfuls of banknotes into my pockets whenever we meet. Failing that, I'd like to get proficient enough at making comics that those who enjoy reading them are willing to support me in this endeavour by buying enough books, t-shirts or whatever for me to live a fairly comfortable life.

I think that's a pretty reasonable goal.