Brutus Barks Out The Business Plan
Or Wiener Dog Wizz-dom …
My dog Brutus and I were having a conversation today, much like how Harvey used to speak with Berkowitz, the difference being that he didn’t advise me to kill young lovers indiscriminately and I wasn’t packing a .44 Caliber Charter Arms Bulldog in my pocket. Brutus is very opinionated for a two-year-old dachshund, and often digresses into lengthy diatribes about the evils of those who would spay or neuter their pets, prime places for hiding half-chewed frozen waffles, and the benefits of dating hairless chihuahuas. But, if you are patient, he will occasionally enlighten you with a real “treat” of doggy insight. For instance, last year, we were having a little gab fest when, in between bites on his genitals, he prudently advised me to sell my shares of General Motors just before the company’s collapse. I listened, thankfully, though I ignored his talk of putting money into Kodak.
Today, we were discussing web sites and webcomics in general, and Rebeldog Comics and Humdrum Heights in particular. I asked him, “Why do some mediocre sites flourish while other spectacular ones fail? What is the key to driving traffic to one’s site?”
Brutus muttered something about Google algorithms and search engine optimization and keyword trending, and blah blah blah. Truth be told, he lost me completely. And then he said, “Don’t get discouraged, King AdBeck. Your site be cookin’. You are the secret sauce, the best kept secret of the Internets. Do it for yourself and the ten cool kids hip enough to check it out, and everybody else can go screw.”
“Perhaps I should advertise,” I opined, stroking my grizzled goatee.
“Nah, piss on ‘em,” said Brutus, and to illustrate his point, he proceeded to urinate under the dining room table.
“Damn, dude!” I shouted, reaching for the nearest roll of paper towels. “Why you gotta do that every time?”
“Keep doin’ what’cher doin’,” he said, as a great golden stream continued to pour out of him, soaking the legs of the old American Colonial table and the carpet tiles beneath. “Post regularly, give people some quality content, and they’ll find you. Even if you have to write about implausible conversations with your not-quite-housebroken wiener dog.”
3 Comments
You’ve got a smart dog there, King. It makes me feel envious when I see comics that are nothing bad manga rip-offs or rehashed fan fiction or whatever doing really well. I just…hope mine is a little more original (if not always better) and take hope from the idea that at least I don’t pander to the fickle taste of the majority; instead trying to make something I can be proud of. If other people like it, then awesome but I’m not depending on it.
I think you’ve got one hell of a comic in the works and things this good can’t go ignored forever.
Aww, Sheika, you are too kind. And I agree, we’ve just gotta keep doin’ what we do, and produce the work to the best of our own abilities and satisfaction. The internet is a big place and yes, we’ve gotta compete with cut-and-paste strips of unlicensed computer game characters and cookie-cutter furries in Medieval garb, but I believe good work will eventually find an audience. That’s the hope anyway.
For what it’s worth, I think you’re an original. Go get ‘em!
Thanks King.
Its really nice to hear it from someone whose opinion I value. Now if you were to suddenly start making comics about cookie-cutter furries in Medieval garb… *shudder* I dunno, I might have to come after you with a ray gun or something.