Creators and Readers are two groups that go hand in hand. In a very substantial way when it comes to art, one cannot exist without the other- Art is created to be seen, heard, felt and read or otherwise enjoyed (including eating it), even if the only one doing that (thus consuming it) is its own creator in the seclusion of their own room.
And due to this function of Art, creators of it need their respective consumers: visual art like paintings and films needs viewers, music needs an audience, and books and webcomics need readers.
But how much and when and where do creators cater to them?
Pit-Face brought up a very interesting thing when I asked her for any ideas for a newspost- that she thought it interesting that here in Drunk Duck, the forums and the newsposts cater to creators, rather than readers.
As creators we definitely cater to our audiences in our webcomics’ personal sites, here on the Duck and beyond it: we make them attractive and optimized showcases of our work, we provide the comment section and extra supporting pages with information, cast listings and other goodies.
But what about elsewhere? Could we engage readers in the forums, or here via the newsposts?
One definite policy we’re told in lists of advice about how to draw in viewers is to comment on other peoples’ work and post in forums like the one we have in DD. But those viewers, those consumers will be also other creators in their vast majority.
So in essence we don’t really expand our community with new readers that aren’t part of our circle of creators, as much as recycle each other’s function as a reader- and don’t get me wrong, that’s wonderful to have (it taught me how to make something that actually looks like a webcomic) but perhaps we’re undermining not only ourselves as a creator but all other fellow creators commenting under our pages since we’re depriving ourselves of a chance to use hubs like DD to grow big audiences of non-creators; in short, we may not be bringing in consumers.
DD is a shopping mall full of amazing webcomics. But are we inviting anyone in by creating niches and extra events and stimulation that will intrigue a non-artist, or are we only expecting fellow artists to walk in?
Maybe my next newspost should be “10 Reasons Why You Should Read DD Webcomics”.
Creators vs. Readers
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 6, 2018
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Ozoneocean at 8:22PM, Jan. 7, 2018
Have a look at the new designs for DD here: http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/177679/?page=3#latest
Ozoneocean at 8:16PM, Jan. 7, 2018
Alternative front pages were an interesting idea. :) Not sure how to do that now... short of having some sort of tick box setup for the reader on their account to show only some content on the front page...
KAM at 6:39AM, Jan. 7, 2018
Ozone, that's good. I'll have to listen to that when it's up. Still if we think of the Duck as a book store/library it helps to think how people use those to figure out how best to meet the needs of readers, and a main way is making it easy to find specific type of reading material, mystery lovers want to go to the mystery section, sci-fi fans go to sci-fi, and some people just want to find the dirty stuff (and some want to stay far away from the dirty stuff.) ;-) Wasn't there an attempt to have alternate front pages for horror and some other genre years ago?
Ozoneocean at 10:40PM, Jan. 6, 2018
@Kam, we talked about just that in the Quackcast last night. @El Cid, we mentioned your efforts too, especially the way you always share the love around with fellow Adult comic creators. Those kinds of genre based communities or "web-ring" styles of mutual advertising are a really good idea because they give people more of exactly the thing that they're there to read in the first place.
El Cid at 6:29PM, Jan. 6, 2018
As far as getting more quantity of readers, that probably depends more than anything on how many popular comics are hosted here first and foremost. If you have a lot of popular comics, and those authors are pushing the site, then that would be a big help.
El Cid at 6:27PM, Jan. 6, 2018
That's been the trend in every art site I've been active on. If ten percent of active artist are also active in the community, then maybe one percent of readers will be. It makes sense, as most readers probably just view The Duck as the place they pass through on the way to their favorite comics (unless they're bypassing it altogether through a site like Comic Rocket). I think the best way to get more readers involved in the community, and looking at other comics, is for their favorite authors to encourage them to do so.
mks_monsters at 6:48AM, Jan. 6, 2018
I think this is an issue that exists in any art site and from what I see, every type of art site has one or many genres that tend to be more popular than others. It's not good or bad. It's just the nature of the beast. While Forums can help you get out there because it shows social interaction, I have long since learned that you can't change a crowd's mind. You just have to wait out trends sometimes and keep persisting.
KAM at 5:56AM, Jan. 6, 2018
Perhaps some forum threads where people can list their recommendations for things like good fantasy comics, good science fiction comics etc. Once we have a good list those comics could be marketed to people as a starting place?
KAM at 5:55AM, Jan. 6, 2018
Well if you want to attract readers perhaps start with a list of what there is to read? We have genres, we have ratings, we have ongoing comics, we have completed comics, as well as those that just stopped updating but may be long enough for a good read...
usedbooks at 5:48AM, Jan. 6, 2018
I'm still coping with a fear of sharing things I create with others. Growing up, I wrote tons of stories, but if someone asked to read one, it was out of the question. I'd hide them like a personal diary. Even when I uploaded my webcomic, it was primarily as a digital backup. I'm still afraid of people seeing things I create. But I also kinda want to share? I'm glad I did to the extent that it forces me to grow and improve. And more than once, getting out of my echo chamber solved the crippling writer's block that killed so many stories when I was younger. But I'm still terribly self-centered. I write for my stories and not for readers. (And I either ignore or get a pangs of anxiety reading "how to get more readers" articles. Heh.)
Ozoneocean at 3:14AM, Jan. 6, 2018
Yes... it's an oooold issue there. Hopefully comemt and reply notifications should help this by having more give and take and making things more interactive between reader and creator. I've wanted to advertise DD as a place to READ comics for the longest time but I'm really not sure how.