Method #4: Donations

And then there’s the oldest method in the book: setting out a tip jar and hoping your readers love your comic enough to donate the cash to sustain you. The difficulty with a donation jar is that the donor doesn’t really get anything out of it. Sure, fans like to support you, but at least with merchandise and print sales, they benefit from the transaction. Donations can be hard to extract save from the most hardcore of fans.

One way to make it work would be to run an annual or semi-annual donation drive. You let your readers know that it costs money to draw, ink, and host your comics on the web. It takes away from your time that you could otherwise be spending at a “real job” so to speak. If you build a case, readers will sympathize. If you build it badly, though, you could come off as needy or desperate, which could drive away readers.

Method #3: Print Sales

Once you have a sizeable archive of completed strips, you could pursue a publishing route that takes all of those strips and binds them into a physical book for sale. I loved reading these compilation books as a kid and people still love reading them today. They’re great for home libraries, classrooms, children’s entertainment, and even as bathroom time-passers. You’ll have to go through a publisher for this, though, unless you plan on self-publishing.

Method #1: Web Ads

Perhaps the easiest way to make money with a webcomic is by displaying some ads on your website. Web ads have become the de facto money-making scheme for all kinds of websites these days, and since your webcomic is going to be hosted on a website, there’s no point in letting some of that web estate go to waste.

Google AdSense is the go-to option here, especially if this is your first time dealing with web ads on a site you operate. If you’re currently boycotting Google How To Quit Using Google How To Quit Using Google So what can you do when Google encompasses a ton of products and services all around the world and you want to escape their control? When complaints and protests don’t work, the best way to. Read More for whatever reason and AdSense isn’t an option for you, then there are AdSense alternatives 3 Contextual Ad Alternatives To Adsense 3 Contextual Ad Alternatives To Adsense Read More that you can try as well. Either way, web ads are great because they act as passive income – once you grow a sizeable audience, web ads are like free money.

Keep in mind, however, that web ads alone won’t make you nearly enough to go full-time. Adblock extensions are killing the Internet Are Ad Blocking Browser Extensions Killing The Internet? Are Ad Blocking Browser Extensions Killing The Internet? One of the reasons for the Internet’s surge in popularity is the cost of most online content – or rather, the lack of cost. That’s not to say the content is free, however. Almost every. Read More when it comes to ad revenue, so don’t expect these to be your get-rich-quick-while-drawing scheme.

How Do Webcomics Make Money?

A lot of my childhood was swept up in comics. I don’t mean superhero comics — I never really got into those — but funny strips that often contained subtle commentaries on life that flew over my youthful head. Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, Dilbert, and comics in that vein. Nowadays, though, a lot of great comics are being published on the web as webcomics. You might be interested in adding to the pool, but what if you want to do it full-time?

The web is full of content ranging from general humor webcomics 8 Awesome Webcomics You Don't Want To Miss 8 Awesome Webcomics You Don't Want To Miss Read More to webcomics for geeks 10 Awesome Webcomics Drawn Just For Geeks 10 Awesome Webcomics Drawn Just For Geeks Webcomics are arguably more popular now than they ever have been before. This is mainly due to a marked increase in the quality of content, with some webcomics being both magnificently written and magnificently drawn. Read More. Whatever your genre, whatever your niche, you will be able to find an audience as long as you write well and put yourself out there every day. So how do you make money from it? Keep reading to find out how most artists keep their bank accounts afloat with publishing their drawings.