“Muaauughhh, the French… champagne…”

Comic Lab

Webcomics weirdos Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar are talking comics! When a Patreon backer hits the viral jackpot, they wonder if it wasn’t fool’s gold. This turns into a discussion of smart online marketing, how publishing religious content is like posting NSFW comics, and one overarching theme — social media isn’t about generating Buzz so much as it’s about building Community. Then, the boys talk about getting a publisher excited about comics, and finally, those sentimental things we hold onto that we should probably let go.

BUT FIRST, “Muaauughhh, the French… champagne…”

Show notes

• 00:00 — Orson Welles stumbles through a Paul Mason wine commercial blitzed off his keister.
• 09:48 — It’s illegal to run a raffle on Patreon… unless you do it this way.
• 18:10 — Going viral… is it “fool’s gold”?
• 22:40 — If your promotion isn’t clickable, it’s useless
• 24:46 — Frequent/Consistent/Significant still plays a role in today’s webcomics publishing
• 28:19 — Posting cartoons about divisive topics will have significant consequences
• 29:35 — Publishers of religious-themed content should pay close attention to how successful publishers of NSFW content operate. The two require a very similar approach
• 32:23 — Niche publishing
• 35:37 — Generating BUZZ on social media vs cultivating COMMUNITY
• 43:43 — Buying advertising is too much money for not enough return
• 44:28 — Being a guest on a podcast/YouTube channel… is it good promotion?
• 46:36 — Webcomics growth is usually slow growth
• 47:31 — How do you go about getting a publisher excited about comics if they're not typically known for it?
• 56:46 — What are the things you should probably sacrifice practically speaking, but you're just not ready to part with, because they remind you of good times of why you love being a cartoonist?
• 01:07:54 — When you’re introduced to a cartoonist who is apparently a big deal...but you’ve never heard of them

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Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the editor of Webcomics.com

Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

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Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.