Comics and Technology: Finding Direction in a Technological Age

Up until the last 15 years or so, if you were a comic book fan, if you wanted to buy comics, you would go to the comic shop or book store, period. Other than the Ultraverse foray into really expensive CD comics, there really was no electronic form of comics readily available. This worked out fine 15 years ago, but today, webcomics are as abundant as junk mail, so I'm going to cover a couple of things you can do as a comics creator to stand out, and yes, to make some money in today's information-overloaded market.

I mentioned that the purpose of this article was partially to, yes, help you make money doing comics. Some people criticize the fact that some web comics creators are able to live off of their website alone, but I believe this is a noble thing to be able to do. If you're a fast food worker, then is it bad for you to make money from it and make a living? I don't know about you, but I'd rather be doing comics for a living.

1. Offer merchandise. Not quite the easiest step in the world, but an important one if you want to make some extra money for all your hard work. And, if people love your work as much as you do, then by buying merchandise, they're showing others they support you and in turn, may drum up interest in your work. If you think your project is worthwhile, make an investment. Make up some T-shirts, and some stickers. Give them out at conventions, or at your local comic shop.

2. Advertise. This one can be a little more complicated. Make a game plan. Don't waste money on getting the word out, unless you're going to a.) get new fans who you'll be marketing your work to in the future, or b.) be selling them something right then and there. Get your reader base from point A (originating website) to point B (they're buying stuff). Again, make a game plan. People who buy online buy spontaneously, so they're not going to click on your ad, bookmark your site hoping to buy something later, and come back later to make a purchase. If you're going to advertise, at least get their email address so you can market to them later.

3. Offer Advertising Space. Offer a page in your online comic dedicated to advertisers. Might seem a little annoying, but a devout reader will overlook interruptions like these, and maybe even visit your advertisers to support your efforts, especially if they are relevant to their interests.

4. Set up hosting for your webcomic. This one may sound pretty obvious, but this can be a hard first step, considering the number of hosting providers out there nowadays. Just choose one that you can live with, because it can be a pain changing hosting providers, or not, depending on how their site is set up. If you're looking for a webcomic hosting service, look no further. Sign up with Comic Domination here :)

5. Make an iPhone App. Uh, yeah. This one is easier said than done, obviously, but if Apple features your app in their store, you've got access to a whole new audience of millions. There is a lot of potential here, but even if you were to hire a Mac-knowledgeable programmer, you might be looking at a pretty hefty investment getting it off the ground. Here is an actual iPhone app generator I found, but of course, you have to have an iPhone.

6. Offer e-reader Files. Not as hard to do as creating an iPhone app. Get your comics into ebook stores online, and spread the word about your website that way. Plus, if it's a hit, you might make some decent money from it.

Stay diligent, and your hard work might just pay off yet. Being a comics artist in the digital climate of today is not the easiest thing to do, and a lot of time won't pay off until you do at least one or a combination of the above suggestions. I'm only offering a brief overview of publishing online, but I'll try to release more good information in the future so stay tuned, I'm not done yet.

--J.T. Blevins
Comic Domination, Founder/Webmaster