Episode 432 - How to get more readers

Just Banes and I for this one! Today we have 3 topics:
1. Being positive and how that really helps us in online communication and social networking, as well as giving a boost to those we talk to- very important in comic communities.
2. How to get more eyes looking at your work. We always need to build our audiences!
3. Updates for drunk duck to modernise the site… We're going to have to raise a lot of money for this! How is the best way?

-1. There's an old myth that “being positive” helps you get over diseases and makes you a happier person among other things. Well, it doesn't unfortunately, but what it DOES do is make you more popular and interesting to people as well as giving people a boost when you communicate with them. This is a great tip for good online communication: be positive and be sincere.

-2. How to get more eyes looking at your work? The trap everyone falls into is expecting ALL their traffic to come from the site they're being hosted on thorough its own internal mechanisms like the search and front page features on Theduckwebcomics.com . Of course that's silly, you're competing with all the other members of the website for that limited limited piece of the pie, and that's exactly the same for all webcomic hosts. To get more readers you have to jump the queue:

2a- Network: comment on the work of others, especially comics that you like so you can always be sincere, do fan art for people, collaborate.

2b- Make yourself visible, participate in discussion and things and have a link banner. On DD that would be in the forums or the newsposts.

2c- social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube etc.This takes time but it can work.

2d- Buy advertising. This is a great way to get a big boost very quickly! On DD we have the option of banner ads https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2019/jan/25/give-your-comic-a-boost-and-help-us-at-the-same-time/ which give you a big ad on every page of the website, or supporting us through Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5127951 Which gives you a link on the front page, links or ads in weekend newsposts, and a link ON the forums.

-3. It's time to think about getting fixes and a redesign for the site again! We have good plans for it already and know all sort of things we'd like to fix like good page organisation for creators, likes, threaded comments and comment notifications for a better social experience (we have SOME of that already but we need more), a nicer colour theme, a site that works better on mobile devices, translations of the site into other languages for Italians, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, etc
The trouble is that we need money to make that happen because these are fairly big changes. How would we get there?
Banes and I are thinking of a mix between direct donations to Paypal and a Kickstarter campaign - I hate Indiegogo, too may obstacles and it takes a really big cut.

Site redesign look and feel here: - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/177679/?page=3
Suggestions for money making and new features here: - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/178185/

This week Gunwallace has given us the theme to Android Blues: Cold blue, ancient mechanisms, clicking and pulsing… springs contracting, gears turning, cams slipping, servos spinning, capacitors whining… the machine works perfectly and mysteriously.

Topics and shownotes


Featured comic:
Ice Massacre - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2019/jun/18/featured-comic-ice-massacre/

Featured music:
Android Blues - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Android_Blues/, by Stahlberg, rated A.

Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei/

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