Web comic - Can I make any money out of this?

[Clockworkpencil]

Hi

Any feedback on the following would be much appreciated.

1. What needs reviewing?

The curious adventures of Splinky the Space Cat. (My online comic)



http://clockworkpencil.blogspot.com.au/

2. What does your business do?

Cartoon style illustrations.

3. Who is your target market?

Every one

4. What specific concerns do you have?

The story so far:

I started 'The curious adventures of Splinky the Space cat' almost five years ago as a submission to the Illustration Friday web site. Every week a topic is posted and anyone is invited to submit a piece of artwork based on the topic. My initial post was originally intended as a one off, but having done a second one the following week I got hooked and have kept going, on and off ever since, the story being driven by what ever the topic of the week happens to be.

So what now?

Although I am doing this for my own amusement at the moment it has occurred to me that I may be able to generate some income from it. I have an idea that maybe rather the the Illustration weekly topics, the story could be driven via input from social media to make it a bit more interactive.

So the question is - Can I make any money from this?

Any feedback, constructive criticism or advice would be very welcome.

All the best

Michael

[FS Concierge]

Hi Michael,

I'm not the right person to comment on whether you'll be able to generate any money from Splinky, but I did want to tell you that I think he is very cute, and to thank you for giving us something different to consider in the Community Reviews section.

I'll be interested to hear the feedback you receive.

All the best to you and Splinky,
Jayne

[Clockworkpencil]

Hi Jayne

Thanks for your comment.

I am not sure if I have made the question too unspecific...But any sort of of feedback is very welcome...

Best wishes

Michael

[KarenC]

Hi Michael - I think you should make it an App for iTunes story.
NOTE: You MUST have an iTunes account to read the links below.

This can be done a few ways - you can pay someone or you can do it yourself by doing the page layout in Adobe Indesign CS6 and exporting to format suitable for iTunes. (This is something I am doing with a story I am illustrating. My husband wrote it.) Then use an Aggregator to get it approved and onto iTunes. Each App must go through an Aggregator.

Basically, you will need an Aggregator to sell on iTunes even if it's free.

There are rules for iTunes. To sell anything on iTunes (i.e. music, books, Apps etc) you must also have an U.S. Tax ID if you do not use an Aggregator - so that is another reason to use an Australian based Aggregator to avoid that problem. You must also use a Mac for signing into iTunes and uploading.

There is a list of Aggregators here (scroll down to Australia). NOTE: You must login to iTunes before you can see this link https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebO...7.3.1.11.1.0.5
o distribute music on the iTunes Store, you can work with one of the Apple-approved aggregators listed (at the link).

Aggregators are third parties that can help you meet technical requirements, deliver and manage your content, and assist with marketing efforts.

If you choose to work through an Aggregator, Apple's contractual and financial relationship is with that aggregator. You can work with any aggregator listed below, regardless of your location.

Go to http://www.apple.com/au/itunes/sellcontent/ to read more.

(This information I put also on the discussion at Loading an iPhone App )


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[Divert To Mobile]

Regarding Splinky
I'll start with the positives;
There are a lot of cat lovers out there
Your idea is different
From what I read, I wanted more.

I think your idea to make it interactive is brilliant, Im not sure how you would do that possibly a poll with options to vote on or something.

Now the bad news,
I have no idea how you can make money from it. However some great institutions have evolved from a hobby.

Steve

[adrian_gray]

I say, study what's working! I have no idea how many web comics are making money, but I'd go and do the research and see what I could find out. Then see how they are making money: Advertising? Merchandise? Something else?

One thing I'd point out is that a target market of 'everyone' is almost always bad. It really means your target market is no-one. I imagine cartooning would be similar to writing, you write for one person, not generically for everyone. In fact, alienating people can sometimes make your supporters more loyal, and be good marketing. I'd definitely try to define your niche...

On that topic, there are two web comics I regularly read - xkcd and The Oatmeal. Both are niche for geeks, and both make very nice cash out of it (mainly through merchandise)

Cheers

[Clockworkpencil]

Wow! Awesome feedback

Karen I like the itunes story app idea I will definitely have to look at that. Thanks for the positive comments Steve, and Adrian you are right about defining a niche, It is something I had not thought about...

Thankyou you all for taking the time to post your thoughts I really appreciate it.

Best wishes

Michael

[IncredibleCo]

I'd say - no idea! But it's cool to have an Illustrator on the forums so stick around!

[tonyk]

Perhaps you could market it in schools. Very cute idea by the way. Kudos.