Starting a new webcomic in a few days

Generating hype is really hard. You need to answer the question: why should people care about me or the web comic that I am working on? There are tons of web comics out there. Even if yours is better than most, there is no way people will know that until you've proven yourself over time.

Do you have any "fame" online? Is there anything intensely different about your comic that might be notable? If so, please give us more info. If not, then I don't see getting hype, and you will have to prove yourself over time.

Sounds like you may be better off marketing yourself after launch. Once you have a comic online, try to get it noticed by people who would like it. Hopefully, your comic relates to some kind of niche, and you can get bloggers and others in that niche to publicize it. If your comic is more general interest, then you will have a harder time getting people to notice.

Fraternity is something that may help in your field. Lots of webcomics recommend each other. Do you have any friends in the same space who can link to you? If not, can you make some friends? Granted, the big players may be hard to reach. But there are a lot of scrappy comic artists out there who may love to partner with you in cross-promotion.

Harold,

How familiar are you with the big players? Sites like Achewood have awesome fan bases because of the following:

• good content
• strong social media component to the site
• awesome content
• longevity
• a history of releasing strong content over a long time

Did I mention content?

There are many sites out there that promote webcomics, and you definitely need a presence on many of them. (Registration and promotion, at least at the basic level, is often free.)

Promotion after launch on Twitter - direct links embedded to your awesome content - and Facebook will help. Tangential promotion - through consignment sites like Etsy and Tapatoco - can help. If people see your cool character on a mug or a tshirt, they will probably go hunting your site out.

Linking to webcomics you like is extremely important. It gives readers a sense of context - webcomic fans often like to know "who" they are dealing with. Are you for real, or just another dude wanting to make some cash?

Don't forget SEO. You're sunk without it. If you don't know how to do it, read up about it or hire someone.

Going forward, after launch, and after online promotions are underway, the single biggest thing you can do - arguably more important than everything else - is attend the trade shows/conventions. Be there. Sell stuff. Talk. Give away stuff. This one thing will probably do more in the short term than anything else.

Is any of this quick? Nope. Be patient. Be reliable (if you say "Updated every Tuesday" then mean it or you are sunk). Concentrate on the content. Treat it like a business.

Good luck!

You can't show a glimpse of the comic? A cover shot, background information about the characters. Anything? A sample.

I have seen launch pages such as LaunchRock do well. It all depends on how much traffic you're sending to your site, as well as how much hype there is for your product or service.

For more info on LaunchRock see the following link: http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2011/02/get-a-viral-launch-page-for-yo.php

PS- I am in no way affiliated with LaunchRock, I just like the concept of their business and have seen it be successful for many various businesses.