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Business of webcomics
The business of webcomics involves creators earning a living through their webcomic, often using a variety of revenue channels. Those channels may include selling merchandise such as t-shirts, jackets, sweatpants, hats, pins, stickers, and toys, based on their work. Some also choose to sell print versions or compilations of their webcomics. Many webcomic creators make use of online advertisements on their websites, and possibly even product placement deals with larger companies. Crowdfunding through websites such as Kickstarter and Patreon are also popular choices for sources of potential income.
Webcomics have been used by some cartoonists as a path towards syndication in newspapers, but few are chosen each year. Since the early 2000s, some webcartoonists have advocated for micropayments as a source of income, but this system has seen little success.
Some artists start their webcomics without the intention of making money off of them directly; instead, they choose to distribute online for other reasons, like receiving feedback on their abilities. Other artists start creating a webcomic with the intention of becoming a professional, but often don't succeed in part because they "put the business before the art." Meanwhile, many successful webcomic artists are diversifying their income streams in order to not be solely dependent on the webcomic itself. As of 2015, the vast majority of webcomic creators are unable to make a living off their work.
The strategy of building a business around posting free comics online began in the 1980s, when Eric Millikin created the first webcomic, Witches and Stitches for CompuServe in 1985. Self-publishing on the internet allowed Millikin to avoid censorship and the demographic constraints of mass-market print publishers. Though Millikin's online comics were instantly popular with the early internet audience around the world, the large online audience and influence did not necessarily translate into enough sales to reach economic success at the time. By the 1990s, Millikin had moved to publishing comics on the then-new World Wide Web, but was homeless, living in a car, and working in an anatomy lab as an embalmer and dissectionist of human cadavers. Since then, Millikin has achieved professional webcomic success, including through turning his webcomics into award-winning print-published work and commissioned public art, and by selling original artwork in gallery exhibitions. By 1999, Millikin was one of the few webcomic creators successful enough to make a living as an artist. He now often donates a portion of his profits to charities.
In the year after the debut of Witches and Stitches, Joe Ekaitis began online publishing of his weekly furry comic strip T.H.E. Fox in 1986. By the mid-1990s, Ekaitis had pursued monetizing the comic through publishing it in independent comic books and through appearances on independent cable television program Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends; however, economic success was elusive. Despite running online for over a decade, the comic never achieved its goal of newspaper syndication, and Ekaitis stopped updating in 1998.
Professional webcomic creators use various types of business models in order to profit from their webcomics.
Many webcomic artists have made a good living selling merchandise, including T-shirts, posters, and toys, in what John Allison has called the "T-shirt economy". By 2004, artists like Richard Stevens (Diesel Sweeties) and Jon Rosenberg (Goats) supported themselves via sales of merchandise as well as self-published books. Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant) has said that 2007 was a good year for her to get into webcomics, as she was able to make a living off of advertising and T-shirts within a year. In Beaton's case, she "got linked up with Jeff Rowland from TopatoCo, and he sold shirts and stuff." However, the business of primarily selling T-shirts has since dramatically declined, which Dorothy Gambrell (Cat and Girl) has described as the "great T-shirt crash of 2008." By 2011, merchandise distributor TopatoCo responded to the declining T-shirt market by seriously looking to provide other types of merchandise, like toys. Webcomic creator and TopatoCo employee David Malki stated that "part of that was just realizing that people like lots of things, not just T-shirts."
Some creators may get highly lucrative publishing deals in which comic books are created based on their webcomics. Some may reach a high degree of success, such as the graphic novel version of Raina Telgemeier's webcomic Smile, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller and remained on that list for over three years, having sold over 1.4 million copies. Some webcomics creators have had their books published by mainstream comics publishers who are traditionally aimed at the direct market of American comic books, including Fred Gallagher's Megatokyo being published by Dark Horse and Kazu Kibuishi's Flight anthology series published by Image. Comics author Scott McCloud noted that "the quality [of the Flight book] is so high that once it hit paper, it just became impossible to ignore." Some web comic creators use Kickstarter, which launched in 2009, to raise money to self-publish their books. Digi DG (Cucumber Quest) set out to raise $10,000 USD for a print release of her webcomic, and her fans raised over $63,000 USD in order to make the concept a reality. Similarly, Jake Parker went on Kickstarter in order to start his comics anthology The Antler Boy, and he went on to receive $85,532 USD in pledges.
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Business of webcomics
The business of webcomics involves creators earning a living through their webcomic, often using a variety of revenue channels. Those channels may include selling merchandise such as t-shirts, jackets, sweatpants, hats, pins, stickers, and toys, based on their work. Some also choose to sell print versions or compilations of their webcomics. Many webcomic creators make use of online advertisements on their websites, and possibly even product placement deals with larger companies. Crowdfunding through websites such as Kickstarter and Patreon are also popular choices for sources of potential income.
Webcomics have been used by some cartoonists as a path towards syndication in newspapers, but few are chosen each year. Since the early 2000s, some webcartoonists have advocated for micropayments as a source of income, but this system has seen little success.
Some artists start their webcomics without the intention of making money off of them directly; instead, they choose to distribute online for other reasons, like receiving feedback on their abilities. Other artists start creating a webcomic with the intention of becoming a professional, but often don't succeed in part because they "put the business before the art." Meanwhile, many successful webcomic artists are diversifying their income streams in order to not be solely dependent on the webcomic itself. As of 2015, the vast majority of webcomic creators are unable to make a living off their work.
The strategy of building a business around posting free comics online began in the 1980s, when Eric Millikin created the first webcomic, Witches and Stitches for CompuServe in 1985. Self-publishing on the internet allowed Millikin to avoid censorship and the demographic constraints of mass-market print publishers. Though Millikin's online comics were instantly popular with the early internet audience around the world, the large online audience and influence did not necessarily translate into enough sales to reach economic success at the time. By the 1990s, Millikin had moved to publishing comics on the then-new World Wide Web, but was homeless, living in a car, and working in an anatomy lab as an embalmer and dissectionist of human cadavers. Since then, Millikin has achieved professional webcomic success, including through turning his webcomics into award-winning print-published work and commissioned public art, and by selling original artwork in gallery exhibitions. By 1999, Millikin was one of the few webcomic creators successful enough to make a living as an artist. He now often donates a portion of his profits to charities.
In the year after the debut of Witches and Stitches, Joe Ekaitis began online publishing of his weekly furry comic strip T.H.E. Fox in 1986. By the mid-1990s, Ekaitis had pursued monetizing the comic through publishing it in independent comic books and through appearances on independent cable television program Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends; however, economic success was elusive. Despite running online for over a decade, the comic never achieved its goal of newspaper syndication, and Ekaitis stopped updating in 1998.
Professional webcomic creators use various types of business models in order to profit from their webcomics.
Many webcomic artists have made a good living selling merchandise, including T-shirts, posters, and toys, in what John Allison has called the "T-shirt economy". By 2004, artists like Richard Stevens (Diesel Sweeties) and Jon Rosenberg (Goats) supported themselves via sales of merchandise as well as self-published books. Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant) has said that 2007 was a good year for her to get into webcomics, as she was able to make a living off of advertising and T-shirts within a year. In Beaton's case, she "got linked up with Jeff Rowland from TopatoCo, and he sold shirts and stuff." However, the business of primarily selling T-shirts has since dramatically declined, which Dorothy Gambrell (Cat and Girl) has described as the "great T-shirt crash of 2008." By 2011, merchandise distributor TopatoCo responded to the declining T-shirt market by seriously looking to provide other types of merchandise, like toys. Webcomic creator and TopatoCo employee David Malki stated that "part of that was just realizing that people like lots of things, not just T-shirts."
Some creators may get highly lucrative publishing deals in which comic books are created based on their webcomics. Some may reach a high degree of success, such as the graphic novel version of Raina Telgemeier's webcomic Smile, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller and remained on that list for over three years, having sold over 1.4 million copies. Some webcomics creators have had their books published by mainstream comics publishers who are traditionally aimed at the direct market of American comic books, including Fred Gallagher's Megatokyo being published by Dark Horse and Kazu Kibuishi's Flight anthology series published by Image. Comics author Scott McCloud noted that "the quality [of the Flight book] is so high that once it hit paper, it just became impossible to ignore." Some web comic creators use Kickstarter, which launched in 2009, to raise money to self-publish their books. Digi DG (Cucumber Quest) set out to raise $10,000 USD for a print release of her webcomic, and her fans raised over $63,000 USD in order to make the concept a reality. Similarly, Jake Parker went on Kickstarter in order to start his comics anthology The Antler Boy, and he went on to receive $85,532 USD in pledges.