Should cartoonists hire a social-media manager? Brad and Dave discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing social media and ultimately argue that most creators should handle it themselves. They explain why social media is an extension of a creator's voice, how direct engagement provides invaluable feedback about audience-building and marketing, and why improving your promotional skills makes you a better cartoonist overall. Along the way, they discuss shyness, self-promotion, audience growth, and the dangers of trying to be everywhere at once online.

Topics Covered

• The ComicLab newsletter and the “Five to Grow On” feature
• Whether cartoonists should hire a social-media manager
• Why social media is part of a creator’s artistic voice
• The value of learning promotion instead of outsourcing it
• Why creative people often resist marketing and business skills
• How marketing skills can improve artistic skills
• The dangers of trying to maintain every social-media platform at once
• Brad’s “2-2-1” approach to social media
• Platform-specific posting strategies and why one-size-fits-all promotion fails
• Social-media feedback as a tool for improving your work
• Shyness and discomfort with self-promotion
• The “lipstick on a pig” problem: when promotion can’t compensate for weak work
• Why making a great comic remains the most important marketing strategy
• Dave’s upcoming Reddit AMA and his Hugo Award nomination
• Using award nominations as promotional opportunities
• Hugo Awards promotional support versus other industry awards
• BlueSky starter packs and audience growth
• Why cartoonists should do more cross-promotion
• Whether creators should put award nominations on book covers
• How long to keep promoting a completed comic project
• Managing inventory and promoting older books
• Long-tail sales and evergreen products
• Using older books as bonuses, stretch goals, and loss leaders
• When it makes sense to retire promotional efforts
• Whether different creative projects need separate Patreons, newsletters, Substacks, and social-media accounts
• The benefits and drawbacks of splitting projects into separate brands
• Cognitive load, burnout, and managing multiple audiences
• Using separate platforms to measure the success of different projects
• When creators should keep projects under one roof and when they should branch out

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Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.