Framework for Comics Marketing

Click on the image for a larger version.

The image gives an overview of the marketing funnel as described in the previous blogpost.

It's based on the hundreds of podcast episodes I've listened to over the past year on online entrepreneurship, online marketing, and self-publishing. Because there are very few resources out there that talk about these topics as applied to the comics-making space, I decided to think just a bit too much and come up with something.

In a nutshell, it's a proposal for the indie comic book creator on how to attract audiences from both the general public and the comics crowd to visit a comics website and lead interested visitors into sampling/buying long-form comics.

(brief explanation after the graphic)



Comics Blogposts
For the general audience, use comics blogposts, or blogposts that are in comics form. A comics blogpost is a kind of webcomic, but the main difference is that it showcases the author instead of a specific storyline, genre, or set of characters.

Comics blogposts would be twelve panels or less, using a simple drawing style, on topics that are of general interest. Because they are presented in very few panels, there's a good chance readers will read it as opposed to lengthier works. The objective of these posts is shareability.


This tactic is similar to what webcomic and comic strip creators do. When an author posts comics of this sort on a regular basis, he can start developing a fanbase. A fanbase would be more open to reading lengthier works, like comics singles.

Comics Singles

For the comics crowd and for the fans of comics blogposts, use comics singles. These are short self-contained comics stories that are 12 pages or less. Unlike comics blogposts, comics singles now allow the author to showcase his storytelling skills in a genre of his choice.

For the fans of comics blogposts, comics singles present the idea of longer stories, but don't require a huge time commitment to read.

For the comics crowd, comics singles introduce the author without asking them to commit to reading a series. The comics crowd will be able to read a complete story and immediately assess the quality of the author's skills.

The Series

Those who like the author's short comics can now be led to reading the series, which can be the first issue posted for free reading. They like the author's style enough to invest some time reading a much longer work, and are generally a few steps closer to buying something compared to those who are visiting the site for the first time.

The Email List

Most marketing experts recommend building a mailing list of subscribers, those who like the author's work enough that they're giving the author permission to contact them directly. The author can then tap into his subscriber list for more direct feedback, as well as give bonuses and privileges or inside information.

Calls to Action

Calls to Action, or CTAs, are important to include in a every website page. CTAs lead site visitors from the blogposts to the singles, and prompt visitors to subscribe to a mailing list. Without CTAs, there's a higher chance that a visitor will leave the website without further exploring its contents.

- - - - - - - - - - - 

I'll be tackling these items in more detail in future posts. But it would be nice if you could give feedback on the above information. Thanks so much for reading!

The podcasts that have been my favorites include:

Internet Business Mastery (my top choice and the primary basis for this framework)

Again, if you'd like to learn more about this system, you can start by reading about comics blogposts through this link.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How To Pace Comics

What Would You Do With 11 Billion Pesos?

Two Weeks Since Burnout