I think this is the best place for a post like this, if not, feel free to tar and feather me. :kitty:

Anyway. Do you think it's best to have your comic hosted on multiple sites (like, DD, Smackjeeves, ComicSpace, WCN etc), or to choose one and stick with it? It seems like you'd get a broader range of readers posting to more than one, but for some reason I always feel a little silly posting the exact same thing to more than one site.

Then again, I guess there's always the option of "mirroring" your comic on a few sites, but only heavily promoting one of them.

Any thoughts?

I mirror here and post mostly on my main site at starcrossd.net - and I'll post comics I just love in galleries over on comicspace. I think it's good to mirror. My server occasionally needs maintenance and I can usually point people over here with good warning for updates. It's also good for those on the older browsers or IE since my site is optimized for Firefox. So I think it's good. You do get a more broad cast of readers I think. I don't think I'd have half the people I do without being on the Duck. And the Duck is much more fun.

I hosted Tarung Jakarta on drunkduck, webcomicsnation, and comicspace, and put it on Topwebcomics. I am looking for expanded exposures from each site.

i tried putting my comic on other sites adn i'd get 1 or 2 response. while on DD i get an avg of 45 comments on each page. so i just stick with dd. less work to keep updating multiple sites.

I dont think there's anything wrong with having your webcomic updated on multiple sites. I still update my comic over at Smack Jeeves, although I don't know why. It seems like I never get any response there. I'm thinking of making another HU mirror site at Comic Dish. And I'm going to start putting a art gallery on ComicSpace.

Sites aren't permanent... If you want to keep your stuff available come what may, then it's best to spread it around. ;)

Any site can go down.

Yeah, I went ahead and posted PT up on smackjeeves as well, although the response there has been mediocre compared to DD. =P I think maybe I'm just spoiled because I came here first and this site is so active, feedback-wise.

Ozone: I hope you're not hinting at something! :(

Each Web-comic site seems to have a relatively distinct reader demographic, so using multiple hosts is a good way to reach a wider audience. For example, SJ seems to attract a larger number of readers interested in manga-style art than DD (mainly because SJ is a hotbed of shonen-ai/yaoi activity), so it's working well for me.

Silentkitty, I just noticed you there today. You'll have tons of readers once they've had some time to find the Tower. So impatient...:)

silentkitty
Ozone: I hope you're not hinting at something! :(

I'm not :P
But DD was dead for months at the end of 2005! Everyone had to leave and set up elsewhere. Back then it looked permanent. Even though it did actually come back better than ever before and hasn't had signifigant downtime since :)
Keen Space (comic gen) has had hugely long dead times in the past. Smack Jeeves apparently goes down all the time.

Comic Dish is a new one you might try as well though.

But even hosting it on your own site isn't fool proof- you do have a bit more control there in case or disaster though, but also no in built audience or as much general support.

ozoneocean
But even hosting it on your own site isn't fool proof- you do have a bit more control there in case or disaster though, but also no in built audience or as much general support.

It certainly isn't. They crash, they get hacked, your phpadmin can blow up. And even if you're on a private server with a god for an admin your server may still need maintenance or need to get moved every once in a while. So it's a really good idea to have a back up.

I don't get many comments on any site I host on and I blame that a lot on what's going on with my story, being reposted and all. But it's a lot better here than it is on ComicSpace or any of the lists I belong to.

I have Sune, Endless Winter, Dimension, and my Home Made strips up on my own site, along with some fan art and pieces of my own, but I started using DD back before the big one as a mirror. It was sort of an experiment, with the update times and the format, and my getting out and becoming part of a comic-oriented community again instead of the hermit I'd become over the years. When the Duck went down I was good still on my own site. Since coming back, though, I have considered putting my stuff up on one, maybe two other sites. I do have a ComicSpace account, but the last time I checked, they still hadn't worked out a lot of the technical stuff. It has been a couple of months, though....

But different sites do bring in different audiences. There is a benefit to getting a good spread.

I love the community and the commenting system at DD, so I'll probably always post VP and other comics here...but yes, I do have a main site as well.

http://www.vermillionworks.com

...but man, without comments main sites can seem so...deserted, even though I know people are visiting. =P DD is like a feedback drug now, I must have my dose of it!

I also have some buddies at my Deviantart account...so I post it there for the hell of it too.
http://sarahn.deviantart.com

rainingbells
I have Sune, Endless Winter, Dimension, and my Home Made strips up on my own site, along with some fan art and pieces of my own, but I started using DD back before the big one as a mirror. It was sort of an experiment, with the update times and the format, and my getting out and becoming part of a comic-oriented community again instead of the hermit I'd become over the years. When the Duck went down I was good still on my own site. Since coming back, though, I have considered putting my stuff up on one, maybe two other sites. I do have a ComicSpace account, but the last time I checked, they still hadn't worked out a lot of the technical stuff. It has been a couple of months, though....

But different sites do bring in different audiences. There is a benefit to getting a good spread.

ComicSpace seems to be working alright for me at the moment. (I actually met the creator of it this weekend at a convention and he's a very nice guy, for what it's worth.) I've had PT posted up there for a week or two now and it seemed to go up without any technical issues. There's quite a bit of activity on the site from what I can tell, but as far as actual per-page commenting and feedback a la DD, not so much.

And Mystic Hand, I wasn't trying to sound impatient! lol! I was just comparing my first week on DD to my first week on SJ, and comparatively, there's been less feedback. No big deal.

I host all my comic son SJ and DD. But yeah, Smackjeeves is more suited for people who have boy love/yaoi comics. They receive a huge amount of comments there no matter how they look. So it's a bit discouraging to maybe receive 1 comment for a page. But i've found that art gallery site like Deviantart or Sheezyart help with exposure as well. I started hosting my comics there but it gets tedious after a while manually linking pages.

I also hosted on smackjeeves but i was getting absolutely NO response on it at all. So i stopped updating it over there and eventually just deleted the archive.

I also have my main site, that i guess is the predominant one with drunk duck second!

And there's one more thing: I am planning to do daily updates on my own site (under construction) but still do twice-a-week updates on drundduck and comicspace and smackjeeves, to trap..err..lure...err...attract visitors :)

silentkitty
And Mystic Hand, I wasn't trying to sound impatient! lol! I was just comparing my first week on DD to my first week on SJ, and comparatively, there's been less feedback. No big deal.

weren't you like featured in your first week here?
man that must've been nice...

hey guys what site would you recommend most for me to upload to? oh and if it makes any difference my comic is manga-styled but not shounen-ai/yaoi... and *cough* of varying art quality .
omg I tried signing up for comicgenesis like 10000 years ago and it like, wouldn't let me log in!!! grr!

We user DD as a mirror for our main site, and in many ways I like it better. We don't get a lot of feedback on the main site, but we do here, which we greatly appreciate.

Also, when our .com was swiped last year, we were able to keep people informed as we were setting up the .net version.

I think having mirror sites is a great thing to do.

Kristen Gudsnuk
weren't you like featured in your first week here?
man that must've been nice...

hey guys what site would you recommend most for me to upload to? oh and if it makes any difference my comic is manga-styled but not shounen-ai/yaoi... and *cough* of varying art quality .
omg I tried signing up for comicgenesis like 10000 years ago and it like, wouldn't let me log in!!! grr!

lol! I was. To this day, I'm still surprised about that (but extremely thankful!).

You may also want to try smackjeeves if you're not already posted there. Manga seems to get a pretty positive amount of feedback there, I think you'd do well. Seems like yaoi/shounen-ai is the brand of choice on that site, but I've seen other types doing well too.

You can also try webcomicsnation if you're more patient than me. The submission process on that site drove me absolutely mad.

Recently I tried Comic Genesis and with it I created a CG Wiki page to promote my comic.
I soon got a snobbish meesage from one of their admins saying I could not promote a non CG based comic, even though I mirrored there.
Well, after trying to explain I got annoyed with their bullish attitude. Upon seeing the admins profiles, through trying to state my case, I found most of them were still school kids.
So, I ripped down the wiki and my comic mirror, as I was sick that I was being given demands by a bunch of whiny little brats.

So, now I just post on here and on comicspace. Though, as soon as things pick up pace, I'll be moving to an actual website of my own.

My current comic wasn't intended to be my personal masterpiece (I'm still before it, huh!) so I didn't make any other pages with it. I'm just lazy. I wouldn't stand uploadin' same and same thing multiple times.

Maybe when I draw a better comic I will put it on my website. The only mirrorin' I could stand would be for uploads in different languages. Eg. right now, with my friend, I'm workin' on a manga that's intended to be in English and Danish. The English version is goin' to appear here, but there's no point to upload it in Danish, as the only comments we would receive would be "I wonder what they are sayin'", so instead we're goin' to create a website in Danish for the manga's Danish version and promote it in Danish communities.

And Kitty, seriously, don't complain about your audience, you're a lucky child with zeal and many good intentions. I wish my nature and luck were half as good as yours.

Nerfherder
So, now I just post on here and on comicspace. Though, as soon as things pick up pace, I'll be moving to an actual website of my own.

No need to move the stuff away from here when you set up your own site! :)
A lot of us have our own sites as well as the DD one ^_^

Heh, none of the Admins here are schoolkids ;)

ozoneocean
No need to move the stuff away from here when you set up your own site!
A lot of us have our own sites as well as the DD one ^_^

Heh, none of the Admins here are schoolkids

I'll still keep posting here if I do get my own server. That is a given, my friend.

And I'm glad the Admins here aren't schoolkids. That's why I like this place. But I have to say that Comic Genesis is such a big joke. Their snobbery and power-tripping is quite laughable.

Friedenmann
And Kitty, seriously, don't complain about your audience, you're a lucky child with zeal and many good intentions. I wish my nature and luck were half as good as yours.

Oh my gosh, I already said I wasn't complaining! :( I was just comparing the two.

When I started to make my own webcomics, I didn't really know anything about webcomics - I just knew that I was sick of xeroxing zines and I wanted to find new ways to distribute my stuff. Well, OK, new ways to display my stuff, anyway. I set up websites for my comics and mentioned them on my livejournal, and so I had my friends reading them.

Eventually, someone mentioned this place, and I put my comics up. Then I tried a few other sites. Generally, they have not impressed me. I dont mind thewebcomiclist - I get a few hits from it, and I don't have to update it, so it's harmless. But a site like topwebcomics doesnt work for me. I put my comic up there, and it was instantly ranked #5830. There doesnt seem to be any mechanism for being noticed at all. They dont tell you whose new or whose updated or anything.

Here on DD I've at least picked up some readers. I get about 100 readers a day on my own website, and something like 60 views a day here, and I'm hoping to pick up readers as i get more strips finished. I think people are naturally more receptive to webcomics that are on episode #50, so Im looking forward to earning a little cred that way.

(I know I'll make it - I have a 2-3 week buffer on Rocketship A Go-Go, so even though we're on episode #38 I'm drawing episode #51 right now. Or rather, I *should* be drawing it right now.)

Of course, that's the problem with DD - I've found all of these kewl new comics to read! It really cuts into my satyrday afternoon drawing time...

ozoneocean
No need to move the stuff away from here when you set up your own site!

Wow, that's what I like about DD. You don't treat people's stuff hosted here like your own possessions (some services do).

StaceyMontgomery
(...)a site like topwebcomics doesnt work for me. I put my comic up there, and it was instantly ranked #5830. There doesnt seem to be any mechanism for being noticed at all.

The votes on TWC and similar services count only when they are from registered users. You're very unlikely to be noticed through it, but drawin' incentives is a way to get more pageviews on the comic's site...

"but drawin' incentives is a way to get more pageviews on the comic's site..."

I hate to seem like a stupid newbie (because, after all, the truth hurts) but I am new to webcomics - but what do you mean by incentives?

I put new penis up on comicspace. I did have it on smack jeeves, but they're assholes. Most of my webcomic time is spent on DD.

I've tried many, many times to be bothered hosting my comic on multiple providers, but DD's always been so much more user friendly that I always just go back to updating on DD exclusively. Also, DD doesn't have those damned stupid file type/size restrictions that others have.

StaceyMontgomery
"but drawin' incentives is a way to get more pageviews on the comic's site..."

I hate to seem like a stupid newbie (because, after all, the truth hurts) but I am new to webcomics - but what do you mean by incentives?

TWC (and buzzcomix as well, I think) gives you the option to upload an "incentive" - usually a bonus picture or a sketch - that people can see when they vote for your comic. If you want to get noticed on TWC, put one of their buttons on your site and ask people to click on it to vote. You can upload some type of bonus as a "thank you" for doing so. It's not hard to get into the top 200-300 on there with just a few votes.

I'm not really sure what Friedenmann means by only registered people counting toward the vote total for your comic on TWC, I haven't noticed that being the case. I've voted without being logged in to either DD or TWC before, and it registered the vote. Just FYI.

:kitty: