I want to post about some potential changes the site and comic will be facing this year, and I want to do it early enough that everyone has a chance to weigh in before they (maybe) happen.
For the past 23 years, this comic strip has been what I do for a living. It’s how I provide for my family. That means, it has to generate money in some fashion. In the beginning, this was mostly from advertising, capitalizing on the traffic the site gets. Then advertising started to fall off as the ad industry became saturated with algorithmic bidding, and junk ads that paid less, etc. So then the balance shifted and subscriptions-for-extra-content (ie, Patreon) offset the decline in advertising revenue.
These days, website banner advertising is basically dead. All of the ad money goes to Tik Tok influencers and you have to run tons of obnoxious ads just to see any movement. I’ve been clinging to it because it felt like as long as there was some money coming in from ads, I could justify this old business model of giving away the majority of my work for free on the website. But this year it may be time to finally accept that I need to evolve with the industry.
I’ve recently left my old ad agency, and signed with a new company for a trial. I’m not super optimistic that they can show me better results, but it reached the point where there was no reason not to try something different. So we’ll have some new ads for a while; you’ll notice I’ve given up more real estate at the top of the page to try and accommodate higher-paying ads. And we’ll wait to see if it makes a difference, if advertising can continue to be somewhat viable.
But what if it can’t?
Well, if/when this last attempt doesn’t work, then I have to really consider making some changes for the long-term viability of this comic. If advertising is no longer working, then there is no longer any incentive to worry about consistent traffic to the website, and there is more incentive to add value to support methods like Patreon, in order to hopefully entice more people who enjoy my work to sign up.
So to start with, the plan would be to reduce the number of update days on the website from 3 pages a week down to 2, while keeping the regular schedule for $1 Patreon supporters. This way I could continue providing the comics for free on the website, but at a slower rate. And for $1 a month, people could continue at the current pace while also supporting the comic’s continued creation.
The Starcaster Chronicles already has a successful Patreon of its own, where it continues to be funded by fans of that series. However I find that the practice of then posting those issues to the website is met with somewhat lower interest; most of Starcaster’s core audience are signed up on the Patreon, and thus have already read these pages by the time they’re posted here. Combined with the absence any traffic-based monetization (ads), it would make sense to shift Starcaster to a Patreon-only series so it isn’t occupying update days here.
The bottom line is that I have one commodity here: the stories I tell. And I have largely given that away for 23 years, and been able to make it work. But absent a viable, passive way to monetize the large amount of traffic this site gets, and with no desire to become a Tik Tok influencer, I feel as if I only have one other direction to go.
However, we’re not there yet. As I said above, we’re with a new ad company now, and we’re going to see how that goes. The reason I’m looping you in is so that we have time to have a discussion about it. This entire business I have has only ever worked because of you, and I want to hear from you, answer your questions if I can.
Speaking entirely personally: I’m not a fan of Starcaster. I much prefer your other work. As a non-patron, I’d be ENTIRELY happy with a slower release schedule for free content vs the patreon release schedule. My vote goes to that.
I agree. I’m an OG reader and honestly skip the Starcaster stuff. I’m sure some people enjoy it, but it’s the weakest in my opinion.
I’d rather have one less comic every week than a monthlong stretch where I skip your site because I couldn’t care less about The Starcaster Chronicles personally. I also think $1 a month is very reasonable for an extra comic every week, and I hope if you go that route it enables you to keep supporting your family through CAD. Good luck!
One problem with the ads model is that the advertising industry have ruined it by requiring too much of our data so a lot of people use ad-blockers. I use Privacy Badger, not to block ads, but to protect my privacy. It’s not supposed to block ads per se but to just block intrusive ads – there are hardly any ads that get through.
Yeah it’s really gone in an awful direction, but it was a core pillar of my business model, so I’ve stuck it out. I just feel like we’re finally approaching a breaking point, and if I’m going to finally remove all of the ads from the site, I have to find a way to balance that elsewhere.
I’ve been reading your comic consistently for most of those last 25 years, and I’ve loved it the entire time. I also thoroughly enjoy the Starcaster Chronicles as part of that read. I don’t subscribe to many Patreons for the purposes of keeping bills down as much as possible, so I appreciate you posting those pages here. I would likely be inclined to spend a $1 a month for that additional update every week.
Big fan of Starcaster, also a huge fan of Analog and D-Pad.
I’m of the firm belief that, as a content creator, you owe us nothing. This is your livelihood, and you need to do what’s necessary to keep you and your family fed and housed.
If things end up going Patreon-heavy, then that’s what you need to do. Best of luck moving forward.
I would disagree that I owe you nothing. I mean, clearly I’m not forced to do this, or to do anything I don’t want to, but at the same time, none of this works without you all.
So it’s always going to be a priority for me to try and find ways to run this business that works for all of us.
Hey Tim, I’m a big fan of your work. I’ve been reading here on the website – cued by RSS entries in my feed reader for, well, longer than I can remember. I think I was still in High School (I’m 33! so that makes this comic a significant portion of my life). You have yet to produce a comic series I don’t enjoy. I can’t be entirely sure anymore, but I was pretty sure I purchased the animated series the moment it came out. I’m not even sure if that’s still accessible or not. I read a ton of… Read more »
I’m down to support your work however works best for you. You’re an artist and you deserve to be able to make a living doing what you love. I’ve been reading for years, I love Starcaster and all your other work and the least I can do for all the good stories you’ve brought into my life is kick some cash your way.
It occurs to me that I could add Starcaster as read-only to the $1 tier of the CAD Patreon as well. It would stay a couple of issues behind, and wouldn’t allow voting on choices like the main SC Patreon, but it would let people still continue to read it without signing up for 2 separate Patreons.
That’s definitely an arrangement I’ll look into.
I think that would be easier for a lot of OG fans like myself to justify.. 🤔
Bring back the Chef! He can team up with the axolotils! Mayhem and Profits!
I’ve been here a long time and while I don’t personally like you it has become a sort of habit to check what’s going on. I have also subscribed to your Patreon sporadically throughout the years and you should be paid for your work. Starcaster chronicles is what keeps me coming back, the superhero stuff is ok but the console wars and players 1-4 is quite meh to me. Currently the system keeps bringing people here to check if there’s something they like today. I’d easily be here and pay for it if it’s 3x Starcaster chronicles per week but… Read more »
I’m not a patron (more on that later) but I read all your comics (and considered going back and reading the archives of The Starcaster Chronicles to better understand the storyline.) But more importantly, you’re an incredibly talented creator and I support whatever decision you make that both supports your family and your creative drive. If that means less comics for us non-paying members, I’m all in support. I’d rather less for us if it meant keeping you going. (To that end, for $1/month, I think it’s time I signed up as a Patron. You’ve given me so much enjoyment… Read more »
Been reading your comic for almost as long as you’ve been making it, close to two decades now. And for the most part I have absolutely loved all of it (even the infamous “Loss” comic, which I don’t know why it got meme’d so hard, I genuinely felt it was well done and emotional, but maybe that’s just because I was a father at the time I read it.) It will be sad to see the “free to read” model go away, but I also totally understand that you have a livelihood to maintain. You do what is best for… Read more »
I think moving away from the Ad model is a good move and those that are occasional readers will not notice or worry about a delayed schedule. Although I don’t know much about your fan base, I do not think you will loose site visits by dropping to two releases a week. The internet is not the same place it was 20 years ago and going to a more subscription based model sounds sensible, especially when you are still providing a free product twice a week. Like many others, I have been reading for 20 years and will happily support… Read more »
I wouldn’t love seeing the Starcaster Chronicles disappear here. But then again, I’m not paying for its Patreon, so tough luck for me.
As someone that purchases all the Girl Genius graphic novels as ebooks when they come out I would like to suggest a more frequent and therefore less expensive ability to purchase completed stories through Drive Thru Comics or something like that. It may not actually be viable for your comic length so I am just throwing it out there. I have taken part in some of your Kickstarter campaigns as I can for the electronic format.I don’t have a lot of room for physical books.
I will definitely be looking into trying to offer more regularly available eBooks or smaller packages of storylines for individual purchase.
Completely understand the need to make a living. Transparency and being upfront helps alleviate that pain to the consumer sometimes. This is just my PERSONAL opinion. I hate subscriptions. The world has turned into a subscription based society where I have more money filtering out of my pocket now then ever before, just to have access to the digital content (hell, even some of the physical content) that keeps me sane. That being said, what I don’t like is also what makes some of my favorite sites continue to provide content. I’ve supported when I can but often am faced… Read more »
I come every time I see you post on RSS. But I’m old and old school. I normally only read the comics and move on. I love your work and would be sad if I lost out on any of it (I really enjoy the Starcaster ones, actually). It’s your work though and you have to do what you have to do.
I’ve enjoyed reading CAD for years. I really like Starcaster, I didn’t actually know there was a separate Patreon for it. I would definitely be interested in signing up to keep reading it if it moves to Patreon only. I saw Tim had a comment about maybe making it read-only on the 1$ tier which would work great for me (i’m not that interested in the voting side)
You produce a quality product for which you need to be adequately compensated. Nothing wrong with a subscription if ads don’t provide a living wage.
Hey Tim, thanks for all the content you’ve given us over the years. I’ve been reading and following for decades and I appreciate all that you do. One suggestion that has occurred to me (and apologies if this has been addressed or brought up before) is that I think you’d be better served by shortening your posts on Facebook and other media sites. What I mean is that while I appreciate having a full comic page posted there, it doesn’t usually lead me to visit your website after I read it. A link and a thumbnail to generate interest could… Read more »
It is something I considered. But really, the idea behind posting the full comic/making it easier to read on social media was already shifting my attention away from relying on ads. The idea is to cultivate pockets of readership where people are/find it most convenient, and then hoping that those regular readers will buy a book, or sub to Patreon.
I’m ashamed to say I browse almost exclusively with 2 ad blockers on. Sorry. I just forget that ads exist, but I’ve paused them on your site and promise I will click through every ad I see here from now on. Maybe appeal to others to do the same, that must be why a lot of ad revenue has dropped off?
You don’t need to apologize- the ad industry has been so forceful and intrusive with their practices that a lot of people have been driven to using ad blockers. I get it, even though it costs me revenue.
Companies run ads, people block ads. So companies push ads harder and in grosser ways, so more people block ads. So the companies get even more skeevy and cheap about it… it’s a cycle.
FWIW though, I get paid for ads being displayed. Clicking doesn’t factor into it.
I’m a patron already if you want to go behind a paywall. Honestly, I’m 100% here for the Capaign, Console Wars and one-off strips. I never got into the main Ethan and Alan story after the reboot. (I read other superhero comics sparringly.) Even for just the small amount of your content I read, $10 a year on Patreon is a steal. If the minimium were $20 or $30 a year, I might reconsider.
I’ve supported the $1 Patreon since 2019 and have been reading the comic for a decades at this point. I also pay $2 a month for Starcaster since 2019. The prices seems low to me for the amount of enjoyment I’ve gotten out of the arrangement and I will continue to be a patron unless there are drastic changes to the work you put out.
Reading this post made me realize my ad blocker was on for your site. I had previously disabled it, but that must have got cleared at some point. I went ahead and disabled it for CAD again! I would encourage others to do the same if they want to keep getting comics for “free”.
I will continue to support Starcaster’s patreon, but I will need some time to digest how I feel about potentially adding another fee to receive the usual content…
Hey! Longtime reader. No patreon, I dont do those as a rule. Surprised to see so much prefer the baseline comics over the Starcaster. Ever since the reboot I think the characterization is all over the place with especially Ethan going from useless idiot to wise sage at the tip of a hat. I guess I miss the old comics, the America’s Army stuff, Star Wars galaxies. No serious stuff, just wacky hijinks. A new Starcaster run gets me excited though, with good writing and good art in a genre near and dear to my heart. I only very recently… Read more »
I’ve been reading this for twenty years and decided that becoming a Patreon is the least I can do. Being honest, I’ve wasted a lot more money during my many years and much more foolish endeavors. Absolutely worth it.
Thank you for clearly and openly communicating the situation as it is. Every time I read updates received over RSS on phone instead of desktop, I can’t believe how awful the ad experience is, especially the 1000+ “partner” cookie prompt. I’ve been reading CAD out of old habit, and breaking old habits is hard, so you got yourself a new Patreon member. Good luck with supporting your family doing what you enjoy, I wish everyone could do that.
I think having a way to on-board new patrons to Starcaster via posting it on non-update days to the regular comic would help that patreon continue to grow?
First off, I agree with everyone else that you owe us nothing and that you need to do what you need to do. I say that as an admitted freeloader. Thinking pragmatically—and apologies if I’m showing my ignorance here because this is already a solved problem—if you switched to 2 days per week, would that mean there are “gaps” in the story for that third entry that’s reserved for Patreon? Or would that be exclusive content that exists out of time or as a one-off? A concern with taking SC fully private is that you lose the best way to… Read more »
There would not be gaps, the website would just progress the story slower than the Patreon. For example, after one year, Patrons would be 52 pages ahead of where the website is.
I’ve been a loyal reader for so long, I don’t remember when I started. I don’t subscribe to Patreons (I try to avoid recurring expenses because I have 5 special needs kids, and they get expensive), but I have tried to support the various Kickstarters over the years. Today is my 11-year-old son’s birthday. When he was younger, I bought one of your stuffed Zeke plushies, and he stole it from me because it helped him sleep. When you had a limited supply left, I bought a second one for me, and he stole that one two. It became a… Read more »
You do you Tim. Whatever you do i know I’ll still come here to read your comics, whatever the ads.
This may echo others thoughts, but FWIW: I’m personally not interested in Starcaster. Not a knock, just not my cup of tea.So I would be fine if it wasn’t in my feed. That said, I would worry that people who might become interested in Starcaster never get exposure and in turn, never funnel to Patreon. I also block ads, mostly for privacy/safety reasons. Something I wouldn’t object to would be ads as a top panel in a strip or similar for non-patreon members. I’m less concerned about ads as part of static(ish) content. I don’t know anything about ad networks… Read more »
I like all your work, but admittedly challenged with any reading online. My quick glance here is really intended to evaluate a future purchase of a print copy. I feel that’s where I can better support you.
Not sure if this is something you can control or not, or if it’s just a quirk of certain ad/content blockers, but your Patreon promo at the bottom of comics gets filtered out by my content blockers in Safari. So I only recently learned you even had Patreon based on the comments section. It’s entirely possible that swaths of readers using ad blockers may not even be aware there’s a Patreon available to support the site. And honestly I didn’t even know you had ads on the site until recently as well, primarily due to these discussions in the comments… Read more »
I had to inserted into a spot where an ad used to be; I changed its structure so now maybe it won’t get viewed as an ad?
I’m one of the hardcore fans of starcaster who has not subscribed. It’s not that I don’t value your work, I really do. Which is why I have purchased every single hard copy you have ever produced. I really appreciate the way you provide those hard copy options through Kickstarter. In this world of subscription this and subscription that, one has to be very careful where we sign up for monthly subscriptions. I respect that you have to figure out a business model, and need to figure out how to funnel people to your subscriptions, but I would also suggest… Read more »
I’ve been reading your comic since almost the beginning, before smart phones were a thing. Visiting your website is like a reflex for me when I open any browser (the number of times I’ve accidentally searched for “Computer Aided Design” is embarrasing). Reading this, I feel guilty that I’ve had so much gripping, thrilling and emotional story and artwork, for free! I want to thank you. However, I want more, so, I will sign up to your Patreon to help you out more than loading adverts. Better late than never. I do hope you don’t ever take down the website,… Read more »