SPQR Blues Chapter 4 part XXVIII, row 2

[spqrblues]

Above are a new banner and a newer new banner I've been using through the Project Wonderful network for placing ads on webcomics sites. It fits in better on some of the sites that have b&w comics, and is a better representation of the artwork than a full-colour banner. But is it interesting enough? I think I'll devise something more dramatic. Never mind. Those banners were pretty bleh. I'll go back to the drawing board.

And in the meantime, stuff happens in Herculaneum...




The archives live here • The sekrit speculation thread lives here

Comments

[kyleen66.livejournal.com]

Oooo... she's going to get in trooouuuubbblllle.

Live the little roman numbers on the brick. Nice touch. And she's got her kitty with her. Cute.

Kissies.

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty, she's going to get left behind on the other side of that gate. Humans are soooo unfair!

a brick?

[(Anonymous)]

I thought it was a early pomum computer! On the other hand, if they don't have electric power, I guess it would be a brick and the kitty couldn't sleep on the keyboard to keep warm.

The banner

[b2creative.livejournal.com]

No Sweetums - that's the problem!

But seriously ... maybe it's just me, but it seems like the text gets lost in there. I realize you want it to be subtle, but it might be TOO subtle.

Subtle. It never looks like I've spelled that word right.

Re: The banner

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Needs Sweetums--check. Maybe in place of that minotaur.

Too subtle--I can be unsubtle! I know I can do it! I'll go get my box of crayons! :D

Re: Subtlety?

[(Anonymous)]

Subtlety? I'm afraid it's lost on most of us... even more so than irony. Americans take everything literally. Even me, and I'm usually quite perverse. DRW.

Re: Subtlety?

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Well, now, that just makes me want to be even more subtle and about twenty times more ironic.

I'm pretty perverse, too.

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

What? You don't think she's just had a sudden urge to let the kitty out?

Dr. Phil

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Kitty says, The whole city is my litterbox!

[shishiolio.livejournal.com]

"But seriously ... maybe it's just me, but it seems like the text gets lost in there."

I feel the same way.

Also, Klio, you should make other ads (skyscrapers, leaderboards, squares, etc) if you haven't already. And you should consider animated ads as well. They're better at commanding attention.

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

And the colour banners seem to get more clicks, but of course the comic is b&w, so... eh. I've done a square, but am not sure how to fill an entire skyscraper. It's almost as big as an entire daily comic :)

There do seem to be some new folks reading the whole archives, so I hope they'll stick around.

[shishiolio.livejournal.com]

Speaking of colour ads for black and white webcomics, there are people that actually get indignant if a black and white comic uses a colour ad and refuse to read the comic on principle. So even though colour ads are unarguably superior to black and white ads, it may not be a good idea to use them in your case.

I can't say for certain as I don't know if those types of people are a minority amongst webcomic readers or not. Something to think about at least.

On a tangential note, it's so nice to see an American (you are American, aren't you?) use the proper spelling for "colour".

Back to the subject of promotion, one great idea that I had and was reminded of by the Webcomics Weekly podcast I told you about in my recent e-mail (thanks for replying so promptly, by the way) is to offer your strip to College newspapers for free. (Make sure to include your URL, e-mail, and copyright notice on each strip, obviously).

Another good idea is to participate in online communities whose members would be interested in your comic. I don't think it's possible to pull in great numbers of readers with this method anymore, but I think the readers you get from this method will be bigger fans of your work than those brought in via an ad. I found your comic through Comic Genesis, and you know I'm one of your biggest fans. And since part of your job is schmoozing with comic creators, it's win-win for you.

As for new people reading the archives, it could be current readers re-reading them. To date, your comic is the only webcomic I have read more than once.

Sorry for possibly bursting your bubble there.

[shishiolio.livejournal.com]

Also, again, make skyscraper and leaderboard ads. Find a way to fill the space.

One tip I can impart to you is to convey what your comic is about in as interesting and succinct a manner as possible.

For example:

As you probably know, my comic is what most people would probably call a perverse or shock humour comic that holds nothing sacred. I throw subtlety to the wind and go right for the jugular. I guess my comic is what a comic written by Howard Stern would be like.

So that's what I needed to convey and I needed to do it in a way my target audience would enjoy.

What I usually did was slap the punchline from my favourite strip on there - "After all, as a teenage girl, you must be quite used to having orgasms in your mouth."

http://www.projectwonderful.com/img/uploads/pics/1382-1182296802.jpg

http://www.projectwonderful.com/img/uploads/pics/1382-1181152459.gif

Despite how plain and poorly designed these ads are, they worked great, because the line is funny, tells people exactly what to expect, (shock humour, sarcasm, etc) and piques their curiosity. (Who would say that, and to who? And why)?

I also animated the strip that punchline came from to great effect:

http://www.projectwonderful.com/img/uploads/pics/1382-1177694878.gif

As for the skyscraper, I had the same problem you did, so I made one mostly consisting of parts of the strip I thought my target audience would find funny or appealing.

http://www.projectwonderful.com/img/uploads/pics/1382-1172435828.jpg

Again, it's poorly made, but it worked because it conveyed what it needed to and did so in a manner my audience found interesting.

The problem with your ads is that they don't really tell me anything about the comic.

OK, so I know it's a swords-and-sandals soap opera, but I don't know what it's *about*.

Who's the guy in the picture? What does he want? What do you mean by Roman? What do you mean by soap opera? Who are the other characters and what do they want? You tell us nothing.

Another thing to consider is that you call it a soap opera. I know you're trying to liken it to those old Roman dramas, but that's not what most people think of when they hear "soap opera" these days. What most people think of is something that takes poor writing and convoluted plots to their furthest extremes. In other words, it's not something that conjures favourable thoughts.

Also, "mostly daily" tells me you're a flake. I know you're busy, and that's as specific as you can get because of it, but I think it would be better to set a schedule for as many strips as you can, and let readers know extras will be posted on other days if time allows.

For example, let's say you know that you can do five strips a week, but you don't know what days you can post them on. Set a concrete schedule for three strips a week, and you can either post the surplus strips when they're done, or use them to build a buffer.

I wish I thought to tell you all of this before, but since I was already a fan of your comic by the time I saw your ads, I never gave this any thought until you brought it up.

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Er... that pretty much nixes every element of skyscraper banner I was just about to work on.

Y'know, I could wait and get famous from selling minicomics at cons, instead. I hear that's how you become a millionaire in the comics business, yep.

[shishiolio.livejournal.com]

Then it's a good thing you read my thoughts on the subject before starting it.

As for selling minicomics, you could do that, but why focus on that? Why not exploit all options available to you?

Minicomics are good for promoting yourself and your work, but you'll make more money selling items with higher profit margins (books, t-shirts, original art) to fans.

If Dave Kellet is to be believed, he made $92,000 last year solely from his webcomic. And he only has about 20,000 readers.

[amedia.livejournal.com]

t-shirts, original art

Eeeee!!! I would SO buy an SPQR Blues T-shirt if any were available. And original art! That would be utterly squeeful. I would adore an original piece or a limited-edition print that I could frame and hang on the wall of my office - I would look like a proper Latin teacher then! (I have the poster already, but I want MORE!)