Little discussion about pricing comics
Added 2025-01-06 20:29:28 +0000 UTCHello there,
I’d like to take a moment to talk to you about how funding works for the comics we produce here and gather your thoughts on something that’s been on my mind.
How the Comics are Funded
Most of the comics are funded by individual supporters who are interested in specific stories. In essence, they invest in the comics they want to see come to life.
Patreon funding, on the other hand, is mainly used for ongoing projects like The Bad Girl and the Renamon comic. To fully fund another comic just through Patreon alone, I’d need at least 100 to 200 more supporters. Right now, it’s not quite enough to cover another big project without affecting the existing ones.
Why the Price is Set at 250€ Per Page
To work with high-quality artists, I’ve set the minimum price per page at 250€. From my experience, this is a fair price for the level of talent involved, and it helps ensure that the artists are comfortable and motivated to contribute.
Of course, 250€ per page is a significant amount, so I’ve always planned to split the cost among several people. It wouldn’t be realistic to expect just one or two people to fund an entire 20-page comic.
How Funding Has Evolved
In the beginning, my My Little Pony comics were funded by just one or two people at a time, which limited the number of pages. To make it easier for more people to contribute, I decided to set the cost at 50€ per page per person, payable through PayPal only. This started to attract more supporters—The Bond had 6 funders, and The Bond 2 had up to 14 people.
The 250€ minimum was still met, but with more people contributing, it created a better environment for the artists, making the project more rewarding for them.
The Problem I’m Facing
For a while, everything went smoothly. However, with the comic The Red Knight, we barely reached the minimum amount required. Because of this, I decided to reduce the price to 25€ per page per person to encourage more participation, but we'd now need at least 10 persons to reach the minimum amount. I also made payments possible through Patreon, hoping it would make it easier for people to join and fund the project as the comic was being made.
I tried this approach again with Thrill of the Hunt, but it didn’t have the desired effect, as it struggled to reach the 250€ goal as well. I’m hopeful that these comics will attract more attention once they’re publicly released, but it does make me wonder if the balance between pricing and number of people is still right.
What I Need Your Help With
This brings me to my question: What do you think would be a fair price to keep these projects funded and growing? I have many ideas and stories I’d love to bring to life, but without proper funding, it’s tough to get them off the ground.
I’d really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions!
If you want to discuss it more directly, we can still talk about it on the chat
Comments
Maybe I could go with 10€ where people just have access to THAT comic and nothing else, while 25€ get access to the patreon AND are credited on the pages. But, while I do agree that people who want to spend more should be allowed to do so, I don't see what more I could offer. I don't see myself printing content I haven't the rights for. Doing digitaly is one thing, but printing is another.
Jzz
2025-01-16 12:17:35 +0000 UTC$10/month for basic comic support with $30 and $60 as upgrades. Let people who can spend more do so, in return for the things you currently offer at $25. Give the $60 a print copy when its done or something.
aj
2025-01-16 05:18:58 +0000 UTCI'm not sure to understand your suggestion?
Jzz
2025-01-12 18:58:10 +0000 UTCYou make a good point about release rate and retention being linked. Is it possible to get more market segmentation? Add another tier or two to each comic, or divide some of the general contributions to cover the distance? Maybe 10/30/60?
aj
2025-01-12 17:26:43 +0000 UTCNo, 1 page per month is the absolute maximum allowed for releasing a comic page. You see, the visibility of a comic is directly tied to how frequently its pages are published—the more often, the better. Ideally, 1 page per week is the sweet spot, and it's often how some Patreon accounts, focusing on a single comic, manage to thrive. Publishing 2 pages per month is still reasonable, as people understand that creating a comic page takes time. However, 1 page per month is the limit. Anything slower than that, and the comic is no longer taken seriously. It becomes “one of those comics that will never end,” and even more forgettable, especially in today’s fast-paced world where capturing attention is harder than ever. People tend to lose interest in comics that don’t maintain a consistent release schedule. Moreover, producing 1 page in more than a month gives off the impression that we’re dragging things out just to stretch customer payments without showing real progress. Everyone knows, realistically, that a single comic page doesn’t take that long to make. I get that, in an ideal world, it would be better to charge a very small amount per person, like 5€ as you suggested, and just rely on a large number of people to fund the comic. But that would mean having at least 50 people interested in supporting one project, which seems quite unrealistic to me, given how many Patreon creators struggle to reach that number—even my SFW Patreon barely gets there. Besides, asking for a higher amount encourages funders to invest and commit more to the project, which increases the chances they’ll stick around until the end, compared to someone who throws a few euros and gets lost in a crowd. Having fewer people also allows for better communication and feedback, as we can interact more with each individual supporter and hear their thoughts on the project.
Jzz
2025-01-11 12:31:23 +0000 UTC1) 25 is still a hard sell, even for people making ok money, and a lot of people, most even, aren't. The whole reason patreon works isn't 5 people giving a hundred, but a hundred giving 5. 2) If you need $250/page do you have to hit that every month? You could just set a goal and commission the page whenever it was reached.
aj
2025-01-11 04:26:26 +0000 UTCThat's all good, but I still can't shake the feeling than with my business, which is making fan comics from whom I haven't the copyright, it might put too much spotlight on the project itself, to the point of being forced to stop it :T
Jzz
2025-01-08 15:36:06 +0000 UTCAnxiety of a paywall is enough already. Really wish our dollar value was higher so it didn't cost as much to support you.
Lone Wolf Survivor
2025-01-07 03:40:04 +0000 UTCI mean I would be willing to donate a little less, but with set pricing you might be loosing on those opportunities. Stepping away from tier subscriptions that split the community in different groups with different benefits, you could just make the community work as a whole for maybe bigger rewards
JoulesTheBunny
2025-01-06 21:40:50 +0000 UTCYeah you have to hash it out with your team about setting up milestones and the rewards for achieving those in a way that gives you full autonomy over the comic but still satisfiy the donor and they feel they are getting their moneys worth basically. I know there are may options, but honestly I think crowdfunding might be the way to go rather than set pricing, specially because you are geared towards a more international audience with different currencys, for me 50€ or even 25€ it's more expensive than either 50 usd or 25 usd.
JoulesTheBunny
2025-01-06 21:35:37 +0000 UTCThat could be a possibility, although, while I already offer constant updates and access to be able to speak with me and the artists, additional stuff like emoji or drawings would need to be discussed with artists, as, personally, I'm only writer and story boarder, so I wouldn't want to make promises that have nothing to do with me, haha
Jzz
2025-01-06 21:21:52 +0000 UTCI'm not quite versed in copywrite law, specially international copywrite law, but I'm like 70% certain if you change names and maybe in minor detail change the appearance of some characters you might be able to argue you are not using any IP but that you got inspired by it rather than flat out profiting of their IP
JoulesTheBunny
2025-01-06 21:20:00 +0000 UTCI see your point, but I guess it would mean it would happen only if we can't manage to reach the minimum amount, and someone is generous enough to high up their payment.
Jzz
2025-01-06 21:19:47 +0000 UTCUnderstood... maybe there could be something else you might offer... I dunno, this might be a little more work but it's another way to reward funding without altering something in the comic, might be through some gifts? For example in Twitch certain donors might get exclusive reactions or emoji, maybe here you could make a small commemorative drawing of the comic something people could use as an sticker for telegram and other messaging apps that the only thing that changes is like it says their user name or a text that they can easily replace? Or maybe through constant updates, or acces to be able to speak to the artists not influence the story but this would be more geared towards other artist who would like to improve their work, like some sort of drawing stream?
JoulesTheBunny
2025-01-06 21:17:53 +0000 UTCI don't see it as unfair. I'm lucky enough to be in a situation where I probably feel €50 less than the average person feels €25, and in that case, charging us both the same is probably the less fair thing. In any case, anyone could still choose to pay €25.
Graydon Armstrong
2025-01-06 21:13:18 +0000 UTCSince what I do is mainly fancomics, I'm also afraid that having a crowdfunding might attract a bit too much attention. Especially if it becomes succesful. I wouldn't want the project to be shut down through copyright reason.
Jzz
2025-01-06 21:09:55 +0000 UTCMy issue with that is that I always try to put an extremely high attention to details, which isn't something most customers would do. From experience, it has happened very often that they'd suggest something, for me to immediately say "nope" because of lore/story telling/accuracy reason. That may not be the best feeling for a customer. Although I do try to give them stuff they'd like to see if I can, but I simply can't offer that as an advertisement, since it'd be impossible for me to accept most demands.
Jzz
2025-01-06 21:07:52 +0000 UTCAnd I understand the cost for a comics might be high, but I can tell you from experience that a well done crowdfunding effort, can reach not only several thousand but even hundreds of thousands, even the best efforts can end up raising millions!
JoulesTheBunny
2025-01-06 21:03:14 +0000 UTCI can't help but feel that it might be unfair for people to pay more than others, but I did make the same thing, in the customer shoes, of paying more specifically to help a project to finally happen. So I guess it could be alright? I'm not really convinced tho.
Jzz
2025-01-06 21:02:45 +0000 UTCWell that could be a good survey to conduct on which maybe the most attractive like rewards for their donation. But if I had to say, many would like to see their input in the comic, like they are a part of the comic. Apart from being credited as donors, they would like to see that they contributed to the comic itself, I'm not saying something like really dramatic as a character or a change in the lore, but maybe some simple scene changes or clothing styles, might be a good way to go, still that's just me you should try asking to a larger audience what they think
JoulesTheBunny
2025-01-06 21:01:38 +0000 UTCYeah, you may not need to offer anything, sometimes just making the difference of getting the comic funded is enough.
Graydon Armstrong
2025-01-06 20:53:44 +0000 UTCI mean, that doesn't seem like a bad idea, but not only my comics cost several thousand € to be made, but also I have no idea of what I could offer to people in exchange for their generosity. That's actually the main reason why I've never made a real crowdfunding before.
Jzz
2025-01-06 20:52:23 +0000 UTCI think for new comics and ideas might be interesting to use a crowd funding strategy with certain goals or milestones along the way. For example as 25% of the amount required in funded, work will start and maybe later on as 50% is funded maybe a couple of pages (maybe just as WiPs or just flat color) are delivered. I think it's a better option because most people might not be able to put forward 25 or 50 (either per month or one unique payment) but I'm sure many could spare either 2$ to 3$, and as more milestones are achieved and the interest grows more people would want to fund the comics!
JoulesTheBunny
2025-01-06 20:49:18 +0000 UTCHmm, that's not a bad idea, although I don't see what I could offer to the ones at 50€. Or what I should remove to those paying at 25€ (I'd rather not remove anything, for obvious reason). Currently, what funders get is: - to have updates as soon as we have made progress - a private chat about that ongoing project where they have the possibility to discuss the project and even share ideas that might be picked - being credited on each page they funded. It's not much, but I don't see what else I could offer (and adding OCs is out of question).
Jzz
2025-01-06 20:47:36 +0000 UTCIf someone is willing to contribute €25 but not €50, asking €50 just means you get nothing. But if they're willing to contribute €50, asking €25 might get you €25, or it might get you €50 if that's going to make the difference of whether the project goes ahead or not. People want stuff to different degrees, and also have different financial resources, so I don't think one price is the way to go. I don't know if you could offer perks at a higher price or not, that's up to you, but you could charge €25 and make it clear that people are encouraged to pay €50 (or more) if they want it that much and can afford it, and make sure there's a mechanism for them to do so.
Graydon Armstrong
2025-01-06 20:37:58 +0000 UTCI think that requiring less people works better in the long run. In my experience, Patreons tend to engage in lesser numbers but with greater impact, so that's my reasoning. Sure, higher price, but I think it could still be reasonable and managed.
Jake
2025-01-06 20:33:54 +0000 UTC
