Web ComicsSmile and think(And maybe send some money to support the creator)

Presenting pizzafromscratch.net Web comics succeed with a business model that operates differently:Give away views of the content online.Monetize by Subscriptions (Patrion, etc.) Sale of merchandise Advertising

Target MarketWith very little data online (more on this, later), I still know I can target:People who like animals (and the proxy of pet owners)Both gendersAll ethnicitiesMiddle-aged and younger – the people most onlineCentered on median incomeAll over the English-speaking world, for now

Who has a pet cat?If my US readership is largely people who have cats, then it’s Slightly more female Mostly white (But I won’t ignore others.) Clustered around early middle age Slightly higher percentage of upper

income people, but still mostly clustered around the US median

Suburban, rural, and urban, in that order

Reaching Target Market Gender It’s not enough to have strong female characters to attract a representative readership. So far, I have stayed away from drawing the usual male fantasy clichés.

Reaching Target Ages & Ethnicity – All of ThemFull range of representative humans

Phoenicia, the little African girl

Dr. Rosalind Franklin (still alive here), old European lady

FM, African professional

Mr. Cheng, restauranteur

The Car Alarm Punisher, overweight street hero

Sapient animals on whom anyone can project ethnicity

Trying to Reach All Incomes Rich characters and poor characters working together

My Target Market: a Textbook DescriptionMORE LIKELY READERSThe most desired market by age, 18-34, is shifting onlineThe autonomous and idealisticAmong VALS segmentsSome thinkers and innovatorsMakers, strivers and especially the survivors

LESS LIKELY READERSThe aging population who read comics in printMay be challenging to hedonic, home-loving, and conservative mindsetsAmong VALS segments, strongly conservative achievers and believers

My Personal Target Market Is ThusGender: yesEthnicity: yesAge: young at heartIncome: enough for basic, $40/month, low-end, high-speed internet, with enough left over to buy a t-shirt and a book, each yearGeography: pretty much the geographic range of domestic cats

Positioning Within the Herd Very little information available on readerships requires inference and intuition. Some things are known:What I can offer readersCompetition as a guide: what does and doesn’t workPrevailing prices for books, t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.

Benefits for ReadersFamiliar format: the sequential art of the comic stripPopular themes: humor; humans and other sapient animals; slices of ordinary life; current events; a little science fictionHonesty: no shading the truth, no neglecting to check my assumptionsQuality: a record of local, state, regional and national awardsReliability: in 5 years’ volunteer cartooning, twice weekly, no deadline missedFocus and drive: by all evidence, my calling, and maybe the only way I can make a livingWork ethic: working on the go or at home, even during recreation time

Competition as a Guide to What Readers WantExisting strips as evidence of what readers want and don’t wantSuccess in various formsContentStyleSophisticationUpdate scheduleFailure one way in particular: over trust

Readership details are hard to find.

GirlGeniusOnline.com

KeenSpot.com (Aggregator)

Penny-Arcade.com

PvPOnline.com

Belfry.com (Aggregator)

Dilbert.com

ErfWorld.com

Garfield.com

GoComics.com (Aggregator)

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0

Web Comic Reader Demographics

Visitors Education Graduate School Visitors Education College Graduate Visitors Education College Some Visitors Education College None

Visitors Gender Female Visitors Gender Male Visitors Browsing Location School Visitors Browsing Location Work

Visitors Browsing Location Home LogN of Daily Unique Visitors LogN of Daily Earnings

Pecentages for demographics, natural log of daily visitor and earnings counts

Two of the biggest independent comics, and neither MySite nor Met-ricsBot has any demographics online.

One comic, Erfworld, with extended info on readers The only significant differences

from the general population (all from Quantcast)

Computer Gamers and Web Comic PopularityAs just seen, readers of ErfWorld are 3.2 times more interested in video games, and over 200 times as interested in web comics, such as PvP, included below.

Popularity of Cats & Video Games, Example One

“VG [video game] Cats”

Popularity of Cats & Video Games, Example Two

“The Gamer Cat”

Hopefully, one out of two is enough.

Content, Style, and Sophistication, Part OnePaulsen juxtaposes sweetness with disturbing details that make his

characters more real.

Content, Style, and Sophistication, Part Two Adams uses simpler art that still tells the stories, and saves his energy for the ideas more directly. And not all cats are good, or even nice.

Content, Style, and Sophistication: My Try Kittens are cute, and I recall Walt Kelly using animals in Pogo to comment on politics and other human behavior.

Sequential Art on an Update ScheduleFive years’ experience shows I can maintain a twice-weekly update schedule.“Terminal Lance,” by Maximilian Uriarte, shows that twice weekly is plenty for keeping readers interested enough to support the creator. (Before you visit his site, while the comics are very funny, they’re also often very crude – definitely “not safe for work.”

Trust – the Biggest Issue A web comic site must be trustworthy regardingIdentity and financesPrivacyComputer SecurityChildren (most of all)

The Fate of Sites that Are Distrusted

Merchandising with No Up-Front Costs There are several online businesses that produce and sell products, on consumer demand, with printed content supplied by creators such as I am.CaféPress.com mugs, clothing, bags, mouse pads, device covers, stickersZazzle.com mugs, tees, bagsSkreened.com: environmentally-friendly printing; donating to charitiesSpreadshirt.com t-shirts: options are selling through them or directly from a shop, at no up-front charge, either way.Teespring.com t-shirts by crowd-fundingCustomInk.com coffee mugs

The Big Two: CafePress Vs. Zazzle Sorry. It’s not simple. “Zazzle allows you to set your own percentages on your royalties, on average most people will set their Zazzle royalties between 10%-35%. Minimum payment threshold for PayPal is $50, or $2.50 fee if payment is below this threshold. Minimum payment threshold by check is $100, or $5 fee if payment is below this threshold.

“Cafepress pays out a flat 10% royalty on all your customized products. Minimum payment threshold is $25 by either check or PayPal. They also offer Shop Performance Bonuses.”

http://www.webjess.com/zazzle-vs-cafepress-one-right/ Zazzle and CafePress also offer commissions for promoting other creators on their sites. Rules vary and are a little tricky with CafePress.

Prevailing PricesCafé Press

Café Press

Café Press TeeSpring

Spreadshirt

ZazzleZazzle Zazzle Zazzl

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Getting by with 1,000 True Fans

http://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/

By one measure (linked below), they will spend a day’s pay each year on my site. If my 1,000 fans have half the median annual income, I’d have well over the median (about $70,000), and would happily send them valuable thank-you gifts.

Pizza from Scratch Smile, and think for yourself.