It could be argued that the golden age of the comic book has long passed, but there’s still plenty of diehard fans along with a number of comic books and graphic novels that are still going strong, attracting new readers on a regular basis. However, like most of the media we consume these days, comic book fans want reading their favorite books to be convenient, instantaneous, and cheap.
Farrago Comics is a company that is working towards benefiting comic creators and readers. Farrago is the first free-to-read app for comic books, with creators splitting revenues on full page ads. It allows readers to read for free, while creators can make money while maintaining 100% of their rights.
We asked Marty Fleischmann, CEO and Cofounder, some questions about Farrago and starting up.
How has failure made you a better entrepreneur?
“I learned a lot of lessons on growth, online marketing, and dealing with problems and opportunities at my last big start up, an online insurance lead generation company. After making it to #80 on the Inc500 I had to deal with a very difficult, reckless partner who managed to imperil and then destroy a lot of the value we had built up over 8 years, so I vowed to take all I’d learned and build a better company that had a great social mission with great value to all.”
What has been your most successful marketing strategy?
Marty claims they have a very high click thru rate on Facebook page promotional ads, approximately ten times higher than what most Facebook ads get. He also says that ninety percent of those who click through, go on to “like” the Farrago fan page (At the time of this writing their Facebook page has 16,794 fans). However, if they had more funding for marketing, he says they would put it towards reaching out directly to comic book fans through social media or paid ads and introducing them to Farraago.
What keeps you and the team motivated?
Right now the team is small, but Marty says they’re all genuinely motivated by their mission to make comic books more accessible to readers and to help creators make money and keep creating amazing stories for fans. They know that the happier they can make people, the more successful the company will be. Hearing positive feedback from fans is a great indicator that they’re doing a good job. Also, the fact that award winning creators and smaller publishers have put great content on Farrago. knowing that it’d be several months before they see any sort of revenues. All of these motivate Marty and his team to continue busting ass.
Image Credit: Flickr/Hugo Chisholm