In part three I mentioned the concept of having 1000 True Fans, or hell, any fans at all. We also talked about the importance of marketing your content with a niche. Now that that’s out of the way, there’s some questions that you need to answer to be successful. Who are you? What do you have?  Why should I buy it from you?  Can I trust you?

Let’s get, “who you are” out of the way. What I mean by this is, you need to tell your story. My story is, ‘I’m a former Marvel Comics artist who got bored drawing and painting superhero comics so I decided to focus on drawing porn because it’s more fun’. Your story could be you drew filth because you went to a catholic school, or because your art teacher called you a loser, or perhaps you’re a woman and someone told you only men could do this professionally. Whatever your story is, know that it is very important.   Art is different but yet it can be pretty similar. Our individual stories and what drives us is VERY different, and fans will connect with that.  In some cases before your actual artwork.

What do you have?  Again, this is where the niche helps. If you’re like me, it’s butts, maybe it’s boobs, babes, or parodies. What’s really effective is if you can integrate your story into why you produce your content. For example, let’s say our site is the big boob Latina MILF site from chapter 3. It would go something like this.

“I’m Rocketdog and when I was growing up, my best friend’s family was from Brazil. His mom had the biggest boobs I had ever seen!  Ever since I’ve been obsessed with looking at and drawing pinups and comics of Latina MILFs with huge knockers.”

Sounds easy, right?  Well, sometimes.  Just keep thinking about why you decide to draw porn for a living and your story will shape up.

Next.   Why should they buy big boob Latina MILF content from you?  Whether there’s two or 100 other sites out there, why should they buy comics from you?  Here’s where being an artist is great because, if they love your art/sample content, this may help answer this question.  Another way to look at this is, in business, you are solving problems.  That person who is surfing the Internet looking for content has a problem.  Maybe they want to read a Latina MILF comic with lots of build up, maybe they want pinups, maybe they’re into something torrid and kinda naughty, they’re looking for someone to solve this problem.  And if they think you can solve it, they will buy.

Another term businesses use is unique selling proposition (or USP).   What’s that one unique thing that makes what you do special?  You could say, it’s your niche since at the moment, you think you’re the only big boob Latina MILF site out there but that’s not what I’m talking about.  For example Dominos Pizza built their business in the ‘80s by promising pizza in 30 or less.  Their USP was selling a fast lunch, not great pizza.  McDonald’s sells convenience, not food.  Neiman Marcus sells luxury, not sweaters.  In the parameters of your ‘story’, what do you want to do that no one else can do?  And yes, once you do it people will copy the hell out of you, but they are not you so don’t worry about them.

The last questions is to answer is that of trust.  Trust is important because most people don’t buy until they trust you on some level.  Trust may begin with your story.  Maybe someone knew a big boob MILF growing up and immediately resonated with your site.  Maybe it’s your update schedule. Once they see you update your site with frequency, maybe that’s what tips the scales in your favor.  This is also where social media is your friend.  If someone follows you on Hentai Foundry for a year and they see your work and/or blogging, that may earn trust that will tip the scale for them to purchase.

The media loves saying how everyone is broke and because of the recession or unemployment, under-employment, etc. people still aren’t buying.  Don’t believe that crap!  People still buy, but they are holding on to their money longer.  Doing these things I talked about will help people learn who you are and trust you, and over time they will buy.  Not everyone, just a few people who really love your art and your vision.

In part 5 I’ll sum it all up. If you have any questions e-mail me at Moose at DirtyComics.com or on Twitter @Dirty_Comics.  Sign up for our newsletter for more tutorials and free cartoons.

Nothing like having time to bond.