There is a built in audience and fanbase for comics due to the nature of the comics industry. This means there is ample opportunity to gain visibility for your research and media coverage as an academic that studies comics (cartoons, superheroes, comic strips, etc)!
I have been studying comics for over 10 years. My dissertation was on African American communication dynamics specifically in Black comic strips. From there, I published my first book Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation -which won an Eisner Award (the highest distinction in the comics industry). My work has allowed me to gain massive research visibility and media coverage. Below are three strategies you need to incorporate now in order to move your scholarship beyond the pay wall of academic journals.
THIS FREE WEBINAR COVERS THREE PHASES YOU CAN USE TO ACHIEVE SIMILAR SUCCESS AS A COMICS SCHOLAR
1. Find a Niche
Comic scholarship is a niche area of academia, but you want to further narrow your research to a unique area of comic scholarship that is not oversaturated. When I was studying Black comics over a decade ago there were not many other individuals studying the representation of race in the space of comics. However, as of today there are many people who study Black comics from an academic perspective, which would make it more difficult to gain research visibility and media coverage. It is important that you find a niche area of comics that you can carve out and excel in – create a new path. The chapter I wrote for Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation focused wasspecifically on the history of Black comic strips. At the time, not many people were invested in such a topic, however, when the topics was picked up by mainstream media I became the point-person for popular conversations regarding the topic. By finding a niche area of the comics industry to focus on, you position yourself as an expert in your niche and become a go-to person in that area. Positioning yourself in such a manner is critical when it comes to establishing visibility and gaining media coverage. Always remember, niche is king! If there are not many books on a particular area, that is your opporunity to fill the void and stand out.
2. Create and Repackage Formula ™
When you are publishing work in an academic space, you want to repackage it in a way that will allow for you to market it towards new audiences – I’ve coined this the Create and Repackage Formula™. My dissertation focused on African American communication dynamics in Black comic strips. Once the dissertation was completed, I then created the book Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation which still focused on said communication dynamics, but was repackaged in a way that allowed other contributors to discuss areas of Black comics that were different from my own. Therefore I repacked my dissertation into an edited book. The repackaging formula is critical to gaining research visibility and media coverage because additional contributors and publishers often have audiences that differ from yours, and repackaging your work into an edited book will help you connect to those new audiences.
My book Why Wakanda Matters is an example of how the repacking formula can further bolster the success of your work. The niche book combines Black comics and psychology with the movie “Black Panther”. To repackage the work, I created a mini podcast series with the contributors who wrote chapters for the book. In addition to the audience that the book attracted, the podcast gave me visibility amongst “Black Panther” fans, those who prefer podcasts over traditional books, and those who frequent platforms such as YouTube more than a local bookstore. The create and repackage formula ultimately serves to gain more visibility for your research and more media coverage for your brand. There is no limit to the way you can repackage work to get it in front of new and larger audiences- get creative and don’t be afraid to think outside the box!
GET HELP WITH REPACKAGING YOUR CONTENT FOR A MASSIVE AUDIENCE
3. Borrowing Audiences
Borrowing audiences refers to getting your work in front of an audience that falls outside of the comic space. To successfully borrow an audience, you want to land in the sweet spot between industry and culture. In this instance, your industry is comics and your expertise is comic scholarship. However, there is an entire realm of culture and pop culture aside from your industry in which conversation that does not directly relate to your field occurs. If your research falls between your industry and the culture that exists outside of it, you can attract a new audience that is intrigued by one of their interests being combined with something new and exciting.
Take my book, Why Wakanda Matters: What Black Panther Reveals About Psychology, Identity and Communication as an example. The movie that inspired the book, “Black Panther”, has its own built-in audience and fanbase. The release of the sequel to “Black Panther” will yet again ignite conversation within that built-in audience and fanbase, and I want to be in front of that audience when that time comes. One way I may do this is by doing reaction videos to the first “Black Panther” movie entitled, “Academic Scholar Reacts to Scenes in ‘Black Panther’”. This way, when the movie’s existing audience and fanbase searches for it on YouTube they would see videos and my brand which would effectively allow me to borrow an audience in order to increase visibility for my research as well as garner media coverage.
LEARN HOW TO ADAPT THIS STRATEGY TO YOUR SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREA
Another example as to how I have borrowed audiences in order to gain visibility and media attention is by going on “The Breakfast Club ”, the talk show hosted by Charlamange Tha God which has attracted major names in culture such as former president Barack Obama and then-senator Kamala Harris. While the show is centered on hip-hop and rap, there is a history between the music genre and Black comics. Getting on “The Breakfast Club ” allowed me to position myself between my industry and hip-hop culture. This put my brand and my work in front of an audience that I would not have accessed on my own which again allowed me to get my research the visibility it deserved and media coverage I needed to grow and succeed.
By implementing these three strategies, as well as challenging yourself to think outside of the box you can raise the profile of your research and your brand. For more resources, tips, and tactics fill out this questionnaire so that we can discuss the ways I can help you Power Your Research.
A big part of building a brand as an academic is properly starting an LLC. You can do this in minutes HERE. Northwest is who I trust for all my business formation needs.
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