Quote:
Originally Posted by Manomanman  How did he make the site go viral? What exactly was he doing on Digg that made it take off?
My intuition is that he was doing the Tim Ferriss thing - build up a core audience that will consistently push your content to the top. |
I think it's just that he gives away massive value in a way that nobody else does, by making very memorable and unique comics that actually make people laugh.
Basically, he is giving away free positive emotions to his visitors, and they only have to pay if they want to buy a product of his.
Seems like a pretty strong business strategy
(almost identical to Steve's: give away free value, and only get paid if the visitors want to buy a product you advertise)
As far as Digg goes, I use it regularly. Whenever The Oatmeal submits a "story" that is one of his comics, it always gets Dugg to the front page almost immediately.
Basically, everyone on Digg is a fan of him. But I suspect that anyone on any social network would be a constant fan of his if they like his comics. I doubt he actually had to "work" to build an audience.