I've been following you for some time, Claudia, and have been impressed by what you offer. Yet I live in Japan, have a 9-to-5 job that involves demands that make it difficult for me to follow through, with limited time that leaves me with just enough room to create and juggle what time I have left over to try and reach out and engage the work of other Substackers.
I have what feels to me like some odd dilemmas - yet you may feel they're not so odd, no matter how much they feel that way to me. I've been on Substack since June of last year, and beginning in February and March, my subscriber base began exploding. From around 26 subscribers at the beginning of February it has now gone past the 200 mark in a relatively short amount of time - yet my 30-day open rates have plummeted. There was a time when I was killing it at a 45-46% open rate, and now it's down to the 25-27% rate. Yet I get more likes than before, and some comments, plus restacks, which I hardly ever had before when my open rate was higher, and more recommendations than ever. I recently managed to pick up one new paying subscriber, which gives me a grand total of 3 (!).
I have a niche area - a comic strip, which poses its challenges. I love what I do, and the reactions to it have been uniformly positive. I include written transcripts of the dialogue along with recaps of story arcs. Part of my problem is the very feature of it - it's an old-school style comic strip, which has detail that is impossible for me to do on a daily basis unless I have more time and a certainty of a sustainable income level. I have yet to do anything like a live stream or chat - that is a move I know I need to make. I am a teacher, and my semester is ending soon, so that will free up some time.
On the face of it, I can see I've made some right moves - I welcome all new subscribers with notes, post positive notes about creativity on average 1-2 times a day, all of which are liked, with some commented on and sometimes restacked. I also have written recommendations for others to help boost them, and without asking them, they have written recommendations about my strip.
I know a comic strip is a hard sell, and I'm not complaining. I feel that I sometimes I'm not all that far off from a real breakthrough. There are some things that I've been suggested to do that again, require more time than what I have, so I think my real dilemma is in juggling it all in such a way that may be preventing me from acquiring more paying subscribers.
Thanks so much for sharing all of this. it sounds like you’re doing so many things right.
Growing from 26 to 200+ is huge, especially with a full-time job. The drop in open rate might just be growing pains, I think we all relate to and see that happening.
And yes, comic strip is a unique path. Maybe the next step isn’t doing more, but making it easier for people to support what you’re already doing—early access, behind-the-scenes notes, a light paid tier with small extras. First thing would be to know what people need/appreciate from you. Have you looked into that more?
Thanks, Claudia. That's also what I've been told, and what I can see is another step. One other dilemma is that ideally, I should have a stack of strips in the can that I then publish - and yet I can only create, then publish, one strip by one. Back in the days of newspaper strips, cartoonists would draw on average 6-8 weeks' worth of daily strips, including the Sunday color strips, in advance, pre-dated exactly when they would go in print. That is impossible for me - but these days, that load isn't necessary. But having work in the can, stacked up, is a premium.
(BTW - if I'm not mistaken, you are German, or from a German-speaking country - so if you don't know what I'm talking about with newspaper strips, my apologies! I have no idea if there had been comic strip sections in German-speaking newspaper cultures. I'm from the U.S., where there has been such a newspaper strip culture.)
So yes, I may be on the precipice of things. I am a believer that persistence is necessary, and that so many give up right when they unknowingly may be on the verge of a breakthrough. In a sense, I have achieved one kind of breakthrough - the word spreading about my strip, with people discovering it, reading and liking it, and recommending it. It's getting the "awards" - now, it's the "rewards" I have to work on.
Yes, I'm German - but I know what you are talking about :) we have something similar. I actually think what you are creating with AI and all that will become more and more important even, people appreciate real creativity and talent. I do think you are on the right track with the way you think about it as well > awards and now rewards!
Thank you again, Claudia. But actually, I don’t use AI - though for all I know, I may be obligated to use it in the future, if for nothing else, to keep it in the hands of someone who could use it as an adjunct, a co-pilot, but who has an aesthetic sense and does not have to rely on it :-)
This is powerful 🌹thank you Claudia
thank you, Linda!
Super actionable post here!
I've been following you for some time, Claudia, and have been impressed by what you offer. Yet I live in Japan, have a 9-to-5 job that involves demands that make it difficult for me to follow through, with limited time that leaves me with just enough room to create and juggle what time I have left over to try and reach out and engage the work of other Substackers.
I have what feels to me like some odd dilemmas - yet you may feel they're not so odd, no matter how much they feel that way to me. I've been on Substack since June of last year, and beginning in February and March, my subscriber base began exploding. From around 26 subscribers at the beginning of February it has now gone past the 200 mark in a relatively short amount of time - yet my 30-day open rates have plummeted. There was a time when I was killing it at a 45-46% open rate, and now it's down to the 25-27% rate. Yet I get more likes than before, and some comments, plus restacks, which I hardly ever had before when my open rate was higher, and more recommendations than ever. I recently managed to pick up one new paying subscriber, which gives me a grand total of 3 (!).
I have a niche area - a comic strip, which poses its challenges. I love what I do, and the reactions to it have been uniformly positive. I include written transcripts of the dialogue along with recaps of story arcs. Part of my problem is the very feature of it - it's an old-school style comic strip, which has detail that is impossible for me to do on a daily basis unless I have more time and a certainty of a sustainable income level. I have yet to do anything like a live stream or chat - that is a move I know I need to make. I am a teacher, and my semester is ending soon, so that will free up some time.
On the face of it, I can see I've made some right moves - I welcome all new subscribers with notes, post positive notes about creativity on average 1-2 times a day, all of which are liked, with some commented on and sometimes restacked. I also have written recommendations for others to help boost them, and without asking them, they have written recommendations about my strip.
I know a comic strip is a hard sell, and I'm not complaining. I feel that I sometimes I'm not all that far off from a real breakthrough. There are some things that I've been suggested to do that again, require more time than what I have, so I think my real dilemma is in juggling it all in such a way that may be preventing me from acquiring more paying subscribers.
So...thoughts?
hi Lee! thanks for your comment.
Thanks so much for sharing all of this. it sounds like you’re doing so many things right.
Growing from 26 to 200+ is huge, especially with a full-time job. The drop in open rate might just be growing pains, I think we all relate to and see that happening.
And yes, comic strip is a unique path. Maybe the next step isn’t doing more, but making it easier for people to support what you’re already doing—early access, behind-the-scenes notes, a light paid tier with small extras. First thing would be to know what people need/appreciate from you. Have you looked into that more?
You’re probably a lot closer than it feels.
Thanks, Claudia. That's also what I've been told, and what I can see is another step. One other dilemma is that ideally, I should have a stack of strips in the can that I then publish - and yet I can only create, then publish, one strip by one. Back in the days of newspaper strips, cartoonists would draw on average 6-8 weeks' worth of daily strips, including the Sunday color strips, in advance, pre-dated exactly when they would go in print. That is impossible for me - but these days, that load isn't necessary. But having work in the can, stacked up, is a premium.
(BTW - if I'm not mistaken, you are German, or from a German-speaking country - so if you don't know what I'm talking about with newspaper strips, my apologies! I have no idea if there had been comic strip sections in German-speaking newspaper cultures. I'm from the U.S., where there has been such a newspaper strip culture.)
So yes, I may be on the precipice of things. I am a believer that persistence is necessary, and that so many give up right when they unknowingly may be on the verge of a breakthrough. In a sense, I have achieved one kind of breakthrough - the word spreading about my strip, with people discovering it, reading and liking it, and recommending it. It's getting the "awards" - now, it's the "rewards" I have to work on.
Yes, I'm German - but I know what you are talking about :) we have something similar. I actually think what you are creating with AI and all that will become more and more important even, people appreciate real creativity and talent. I do think you are on the right track with the way you think about it as well > awards and now rewards!
Thank you again, Claudia. But actually, I don’t use AI - though for all I know, I may be obligated to use it in the future, if for nothing else, to keep it in the hands of someone who could use it as an adjunct, a co-pilot, but who has an aesthetic sense and does not have to rely on it :-)