Six reasons you should be on LinkedIn if you make comics

Look, I think we can all agree that LinkedIn is the worst.

It's dry; it's boring; it's full of bros jostling to share their vacuous theories of how to succeed in businesses the ordinary person would consider some kind of hell to work in, let alone succeed at.

But bear with me. Here are the reasons why comics makers should force down that LinkedIn-induced bile and start posting.

1. It's a business network. Through Comics Cultural Impact Collective (CCIC) we've heard that the comics community feels they need more visibility, more support. Every now and again someone suggests setting up a new network. The work has already been done. LinkedIn helps you build professional networks, find work, start discussions. It's just that it's never been used for anything as interesting as comics before. Why should we create new networks for comics creators, where we can only talk to other comics creators, when we could be breaking out of that bubble and talking to the whole world?
2. It makes comics look like the industry it is/has the potential to be. At CCIC we take comics seriously, and we want others to do so as well. We know that comics has the potential to be a multi-million pound industry that not only raises the country's cultural capital, but brings new jobs, supports tourism and booksellers and events as well. Let's perform professionalism on LinkedIn - and start changing people's perceptions.
3. You can find work. Set up an alert for 'comics' in the jobs function, and you'll gain a unique insight into what kind of vacancies are mentioning the word in their job descriptions, from storyboarding to journalism to stewarding at cons. Or, be proactive - make posts that explain what a great medium comics are for getting messages across, with examples of how they might be used in the areas that interest you.
4. Share other comics makers' posts. It's an opportunity for all of us to support each other and get our work outside our insular networks, into those of others. Even the most hardcore comics makers have some connections who aren't in comics - let's get our work in front of the normies.
5. You can make yourself look professionally amazing. List your publications, events, talks, and qualifications. You will immediately look impressive and ON. IT.
6. People want to see your comics. As stated above, LinkedIn is the driest, most performatively soul-dead of the social networks. Imagine how comics will land in that! People logging in at 9am on Monday to find out how their friends in accounts departments of corporate conglomerates did in the fourth regional semi final of the 'Spreadsheet Innovation' awards are going to jump on your comic as if it were a fresh spring in an arid desert. Let's give those people a visual treat.

So there you go - you're on LinkedIn right now, reading this. Isn't it time you dusted off your profile, started making connections, and saw what we can make this place?

here's a handy hint to get you started - go to Comics Cultural Impact Collective (CCIC) and see who follows it - then follow them as well. We've already got a good chunk of the comics community. If you know of others who aren't following us, do them a favour and point them our way.