Entries Categorized as 'Andertoons Meta'
5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Cartoon Subscription
It's hard to believe it's been almost four months since we launched Cartoon Subscriptions here at Andertoons. The response has been amazing and people really love the all-you-can-laugh approach to using cartoons.
So I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some ideas to help you get the most out of your cartoon subscription:
Blog Cartoons
Blogging might seem downright stodgy these days, but it's still a great opportunity for content marketing, and a great place to use cartoons from your cartoon subscription.
Instead of dropping in a boring stock photo, use a cartoon. Or try a weekly cartoon as a standalone post and save yourself some writing.
Facebook Cartoons
If your business has a page on Facebook and you're looking to get some attention, cartoons are absolutely fantastic begging-to-be-shared bite-sized content.
In fact, a recent study showed that Facebook image posts generate 53% more Likes than text or links. The same study showed an 84% link click advantage when that link was posted with a image via Photo/Video versus links posted via Status. Wow!
Listen, I'm a little late to Facebook myself, and I can't say it's my favorite flavor of social media. But if you have a cartoon subscription, you should definitely be posting cartoons on Facebook.
Tweeting Cartoons
Twitter is perfect for cartoons, and the recent Twitter Cards make adding visuals to your tweets even better.
You can simply Tweet a cartoon like this:
A perennial favorite... ow.ly/i/1PAoi
— Andertoons (@andertoons) April 5, 2013
Or, if you're really clever, use a cartoon on your blog, Facebook, or Pinterest pinboard and drive some traffic back.
Here's an example of a Tweet from Firefly Marketing pointing to a cartoon from Small Business Trends:
Small Biz Trends: Declining Markets: Tired and Need a Day Off ow.ly/2vXWz7
— Firefly Marketing (@soarwithfirefly) April 5, 2013
A nice on-topic cartoon for Firefly's followers and some traffic for Small Business Trends. Awesome!
So, f you're trying to figure out what to Tweet, don't forget about all those cartoons in your subscription. After all, when you've only got 140 characters, the whole "a picture is worth a thousand words" thing really works in your favor!
Pinterest Cartoons
With Pinterest being most visually based, it's another great opportunity to use your cartoon subscription.
People love to Pin and share cartoons, so add a Pinterest button to your website and blog, post some cartoons, and watch the Pins (and links back to you) pile up.
Email Newsletter Cartoons
Email marketing is still incredibly effective when used correctly. In fact, it's how I got my cartoon subscriptions off the ground.
Give people a reason to open and keep opening your emails from Constant Contact or MailChimp by including a cartoon from your cartoon subscription.
In fact, here's a short video tutorial:
I'm sure I've overlooked a few opportunities (Tumblr, Flickr, StumbleUpon) but hopefully I've given you some ideas on ways you might not have considered to use those thousands of cartoons in your Andertoons cartoon subscription. And if you haven't yet signed up, with plans starting at only $20/mo, what are you waiting for?
How To Draw A Cartoon Baby Chick – Tutorial
With Easter coming up I thought I'd show you how to draw a cute little baby chick! Just follow the animated GIF above or the easy written instructions below.
When you're finished, feel free to tweet, pin, email or otherwise share a pic of your cartoon baby chick with me and I'll post it over at Pinterest! And if you'd like to grab the GIF and/or the tutorial to post on your own blog or website, you're more than welcome to. (A link back would be appreciated.) Enjoy:
Easy, right? You should try out my other how-to-draw tutorials too! Here's just a few:
Feel free to check out my chicken cartoons too!
Waterman! – A New Comic From Me & The Boy
Fans of Electricman, prepare to wowed yet again! Behold, the origin of Waterman!!!
But wait, there's more:
Easter Cartoons 2013
Easter isn’t far off (it’s really early this year!) so I thought I’d share this a brand new basket of Easter cartoons to help get you in the mood!
This year I tended to go a little further afield with my Easter cartoons’ topics, like, for example, chocolate bunnies. I went through a bunch of ideas about eating the ears first and melting and all that, but the whole hollowness aspect won out.
Thanks goodness for Google images for stuff like this. Need a picture of a chocolate Easter bunny? How about a hundred!
This is probably my favorite of this year’s Easter cartoons. I did a search for Easter on Pinterest to help kickstart some writing, and you would not believe all the amazing incredible stuff there. I was so bowled over that that became the impetus for this cartoon.
That Easter Bunny plays hard ball.
This is my wife’s favorite from this batch. When I told it to her originally she literally LOL’d, which was great, but then the pressure was on for the image to match the gag.
I like the kid’s cool nonchalantness. He’s literally a bad boy.
Side note - the kid in the back right used to have a basket with him for collecting his eggs, but then he would’ve had just one basket as well. So my choice was to add one more basket for him, or just take it out in Photoshop, and I chose the latter. Maybe he’s putting them in his pockets? What a weird kid.
This Easter cartoon went through a number of different captions:
- I think we should foster your inner dye.
- Tell me about your chicken.
- So, how was your Easter?
I still like that chicken one, but it didn’t really work with the decorating thing. Maybe another time...
Drawing a giant anthropomorphic jelly bean is not as easy as you think. It’s got to be the right shape or maybe he’s a balloon, or a Cheeto, or just a blob.
Well, that does it for this year’s batch. Still want more? You can check out all of my Easter cartoons here.
Here’s some additional blogs about Easter cartoons too:
Twitter and Cartoons
I love Twitter. It’s easily my favorite of the social media platforms, probably because it’s the most cartoon-like: quick, fun, and easy to share.
But while most people focus on those 140 characters, Twitter is also incredibly visual. And it’s perfect for using cartoons! Don’t believe me? Here are five ways to use cartoons with Twitter:
Profile Photo -
Your profile photo is the avatar that accompanies each Tweet:
I'm Tweeting about a blog post about Tweeting! Getting dizzy...
— Andertoons (@andertoons) March 4, 2013
But it certainly doesn’t have to be a photo. All kinds of images work, and a cartoon is a fun way to stand out! (See Apelad’s Twitter avatars for some additional inspiration.) You assign your profile photo under Settings / Profile:
Header Image -
Your header is the large image topping your Tweets on your profile page. It’s a fun way to dress up your name, link, and bio. I adapted a cartoon of mine so it looks like my info is being discussed in a cartoon meeting:
Again, this image is added under Settings / Profile:
Background Image -
You can also customize your Twitter pages’ background with a cartoon. I took the same cartoon image I used for my Header and ran it through Photobricks to make it look like a LEGO mosaic:
Here it is as my Twitter background:
But the background is also good for using smaller cartoons. Check out Small Business Trends’ background:
You can set the background image under Settings / Design:
Media Gallery -
Here's another often forgotten visual opportunity. When you Tweet an image it appears in your profile page’s Media Gallery:
And when you click on a thumbnail you get this:
Your Media Gallery is a great place to share cartoons (especially custom cartoons) with followers.
And last but not least is, of course...
Tweets -
People have always loved to share cartoons with friends and family, and Twitter makes that even easier. You can of course Tweet a link to a favorite cartoon:
Sock it to me! (today's cartoon) - andertoons.com/police/cartoon…
— Andertoons (@andertoons) March 4, 2013
Or you can, with permission, Tweet a cartoon:
For those of you not following me online, here's what I did on my summer vacation. twitter.com/andertoons/sta…
— Andertoons (@andertoons) March 3, 2013
Twitter has also recently begun including images in its search results, there’s the relatively new Twitter Cards, and Vine is all kinds of interesting!
So if you’re looking to get some more followers and get Your Tweets read, consider some cartoons! They’re fun, fast, and a perfect fit.
(And feel free to follow me on Twitter!)
Daily Cartoon
