The perfect webcomic publishing platform doesn’t exist. But one or the other might be perfect enough for you.
In this week’s video I look at posting your webcomic to Webtoons, Tapastic, social media platforms, Patreon and the big one: your own website, specifically: WordPress.
These are the main takeaways from the video:
Third party platforms like Webtoons and Tapas:
- There is a build in audience, looking specifically to read webcomics. They can subscribe to your comic and will be notified the moment you update.
- There is an opportunity to be discovered and then be paid by these platforms to make your comic. But this is rare. There are monetization options present.
- You’re dependent on how the website is build and run. This will influence format, but you also have a set interface to deal with (Webtoons, for example, doesn’t show you your comments on your comic episodes at all) and you have to adhere to the website’s Terms of Service. (Tapastic has had some bad controversy in the past related to this)
Social Media:
- Very easy to get started. Build in comments and it all makes it very easy to make your comics as shareable as possible.
- You’re dependent on algorithms. It’s easy to disappear in the sea of content on social media and it’s fleeting nature.
- Your comic can always be stolen, but I see it happen more on social media.
Patreon:
Meant to be a pay wall for exclusive comics. Use only when you have a big audience that knows what to expect from you.
WordPress:
- Full control over your website and presentation of your comic. You can make your own little home for your webcomic.
- You can add all kinds of extras, even plugins that let you monetize your comic right on your website.
- WordPress has a steep learning curve. It’s not too hard, (I’m not a web designer and I managed to do it) but to really put in the final touches, you’ll need some basic CSS / HTML knowledge or have friends that can help you with that.
- This will cost you money for hosting, domain name and other services, like backup (if you don’t want to do that manually).
As you can see, there’s pros and cons to every platform.
If you like simplicity, go for one of the third party platforms. If you have a grand vision for your comic and you want to have a dedicated place for it, learn WordPress and build your own website.
Most importantly: always direct people to an email list.
This is one of the best ways to stay in touch with readers. And if a third party platform stops or your website gets hacked, you can send people to another place. It’s also the best way to sell merchandise and to launch Kickstarters.
When you have chosen your publishing platform, design your comic accordingly.
If you’re still unsure about what platform to publish your comic on, remember this: there is no right or wrong decision. Just pick one. If worse comes to worst and it turns out you’d rather post your comic somewhere else, you can always do something to switch. It might be a bit of a hassle, but it’s not the end of the world!
The most important part is to not let this decision hold you back!
Do you want to learn WAY more about starting your own comic and have a framework that takes you through the entire process of starting your comic? Then keep an eye out for my upcoming course, How to Start a Comic, launching this fall on Kickstarter. Sign up here and I will send you an email the moment my course goes live!
Thanks for reading, go and make some comics!
