If you’re looking to make some extra cash, why not start a side business? There are plenty of opportunities in the world of online comics and if you know where to look, you can make money from home. Although this can be a bit of a crowded space, there are plenty of opportunities for beginners to score some quick cash. You just need to know where to look and how to make the most of it. Keep reading for some tips on how you can make money with online comics!
Find The Right Niche
When it comes to making money online, you first need to find a lucrative niche. This is similar to what you would do for any other business; find a need and fill it. When it comes to online comics, you can find lots of niches including:
- graphic novels
- sci-fi
- western
- adventure
- crime
- horror
- superhero
- suspense
- comic book series
Each of these niches have large audiences who are willing to pay for premium content. Find something that you’re passionate about and you’ll be able to build a profitable business. Remember: your customers are your users so you need to be able to provide value to people who need your product or service.
Create compelling content
Creating compelling content is the key to making money online. People are much more likely to pay for well-written, nicely illustrated content. Consider investing in stock photography and illustrations for your blog posts. You can also hire freelance writers and journalists to pen compelling articles for your blog. Finally, consider purchasing a copywriter to help you polish and refine your copy to make people want to read your content.
The better your content, the more likely you will be to make money from online comics. Remember: people are used to being sold content online so try to offer up compelling reasons for them to purchase your product or service. Make sure to test out different headlines, descriptions, and other variations of text to see which one resonates with your target audience the most.
Use video content
Just like with any other form of online content, video content is becoming a crucial part of online comics. Even the biggest publishing companies are moving over to digital first models which means shorter lead times and more content being available whenever customers want it. If you’re a talented video editor, consider creating videos to supplement your blog posts.
Videos allow you to add interactivity which improves engagement and drives more traffic. Also, videos can be shared on social media which further improves their reach. If you’re just getting started, consider looking for online videos made by big-name publishers who can provide advice on what to film and how to edit. Bigger publishers usually have in-house video editors who can teach you the ropes.
Get affiliate links
Monetizing your content through affiliate marketing is another way to make money from online comics. Affiliate marketing is when a business offers its products or services to others in hopes that they will make a purchase or become a paying customer. When someone clicks a link or buys a product that is promoted on your site, you will earn a commission.
If you decide to go down this path, consider setting up a separate account for your affiliate marketing. You can use your blog to promote products that you have personally used or seen on other sites. Alternatively, you can use affiliate links to promote a range of products that you think your audience will enjoy. Just remember: you need to make sure that the product you are promoting is worth buying and that you’re not simply just trying to up-sale. You should only promote products you think your audience will appreciate.
Build a community
Just as with other forms of social media, establishing a presence on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram can help you make money from online comics. However, if you’re looking to really cash in, you can build a community of followers who will then trust you to recommend products that they may be interested in. For example, if you’ve been asked to review a product on your blog but you’ve never done so, you can use your social media accounts to promote the product and eventually make some money off the sale.
You can also create a group on TikTok—just remember that these platforms are mostly free—and invite your followers to join. Once you have a large gathering of people, you can start a live chat where you can answer questions and give advice on your product. Establishing a presence on these platforms is easy and free so it’s something to consider if you want to make quick cash.
Curate a weekly or monthly event
If you’re the creative type, consider putting your talents to good use and creating a comic book, graphic novel, or even an entire standalone novel. You can use a tool like Canva to layout the entire book while spending only a few hours each week to flesh out your story.
Hosting a creative writing competition where aspiring authors can have their work published online is also a way to make money from online comics. Consider using a tool like Poetica to get unpublished writers to participate in your competition. All you need to do is find an active community of writers and get them to participate in your competition. After the competition, you can choose which entries you want to publish and which ones you want to keep private. The private entries are still available to be accessed by the public so that readers can learn more about the authors participating in the competition.
Create an online store
An online store is an e-commerce website where customers can purchase products that you’ve advertised on your blog or through social media. If you’ve been doing your research and built up a decent audience, it’s time to create an online store. If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop to learn more about creating an online store, check out Shopify’s step-by-step guide to creating an online store or, if you’re looking for a more hands-on approach, consider using one of their store builders. Either way, building an online store is a bit of an upfront investment but it’s a worthwhile endeavor if you want to make money online.
Above all else, be consistent. Building a community of regular customers who like and trust your content is the key to making money from online comics. If you want to make extra cash, consider looking for ways to establish yourself as an authoritative voice in your niche. With a little bit of luck, you can make some extra cash with online comics!