READ MY COMIC DAMN IT! (A "how to" guide)

Well hell, long time no see huh? I'd like to say I'm back from my, er, break all rejuvenated and refreshed and what have ya but honestly it's damn near midnight and I'm running on three hours of sleep that I managed to eek out on my couch this morning when I finished cleaning dog piss from my mattress upon arriving home at 3am after a 15 hour shift. But enough about me. How was your day? Aw, forget it. We ain't here to trade sob stories or have hardship contests, we're here to talk about comics, right?

Let's talk about your comic, for once! More specifically, how to get more folks to notice that ya even got a comic! That's the struggle, ain't it? Well, one of em- there's also drawing, writing, planning, plotting, formatting, publishing, etc. of course! But sometimes the getting anyone to read the damn thing part seems like the struggle we got the least control over.

So let's start right here, with this site.
First you can make sure you have a signature image banner so that when you contribute to the forums, other users can see that you have a comic. Got it? Great! So… er, then what?

Well it's like bein' at s party, kinda. At some point ya realize your "I'll just stand over here against the wall looking interesting and surely someone will come talk to me" strategy isn't the most effective way to meet people. Ya gotta actually approach people and engage with them! Thankfully here on the internet, ya run a way slimmer risk of having a drink thrown in your face and don't have to worry that somebody's gonna point out that weird thing you do with your mouth or how much you're sweating.
So how do you "engage"?

Comment on other people's regularly, recently updating comics, for one, especially the top ten. The folks who comment and read comments tend to be readers willing to invest their time in a comic, and return to it once they're interested. So there's a good chance at least some of 'em will click on your name to have a look at your comic. But don't be the guy at the party that interrupts conversations and only wants to talk about himself. If there is one thing that ya ought never do, it's post comments or start threads to the effect of, "hey check out my work". That will make exactly no one want to check out your work, and will gain you nothing but contempt and revulsion. Dogs will growl at you when you walk past them, babies will start crying in your presence, and flowers will wither at your touch. Yeah, I know, it's a bit harsh but I don't make the rules, ok? Look, just be complimentary and play it cool, and people will come. Commenting on news posts and engaging in relevant discussions there can serve the same purpose, too!

So when people DO click on ya, what do they find? Make sure your profile page has enough interesting info about you that someone would want to see your work. This can be your stylistic or genre influences, hobbies, witticisms, personal background, whatever. Think, "what kind of tidbits or key words makes me wanna look at someone else's work?" and try to attract like-minded folk who dig what you do.

Speaking of which, you gotta keep doing what you do, dig? That's to say, consistency is key! Frequent updates will put your comic icon on the front page more often, thus increasing the odds more folk will see it and check it out.

Now if ya wanna step outside the boundaries of this here establishment and into the infinite vastness of the internet, let's talk about increasing yer popularity through outside sources. This can be done by getting a link to your comic on a popular blog or buying advertising through Project Wonderful- on other comics or on The Duck Webcomics. Ads are a sure fire way to boost yer readers, and is more affordable than it sounds; it's less like paying for friends than it sound like too.

If you get enough views, regardless of where they're bein' directed from, yer comic will go into the top 10 listing, and then even more people will see it on the front page. And that's it, kid! You've made the big time. Nothin left to do but relax with your piles of money and fawning harem, like all the big shot web comic artists! Huzzah!