The Oatmeal

In 2009, web developer Matthew Inman created—and then quickly monetized—his webcomic blog The Oatmeal. He posts one-shot doodles commenting on no rigid set of topics ranging broadly from politics to fun science facts to philosophy and more. Though featuring unique content, his webcomic style breaks no stunning digital boundaries. With the exception of the occasional web quiz and the absurd amount of scrolling his comics require, he uses almost no “enhanced” digital affordances [1].

Contrasting these attributes against the plethora of webcomic competition which pioneer “enhanced” affordances, it comes as a shock that The Oatmeal brings in over half a million dollars annually. The speed and size of his monetization are due largely to his effective use of more subtle affordances of the web.

He earns his income through selling merchandise, books, and, most notably, Kickstarter campaigns related to the themes of his comic (such as the card game Exploding Kittens which raised two million dollars in 24 hours and 8.7 million total). What makes this tactic so effective, however, is how he embeds spending money as part of users’ interaction game [2]. In his famous “Why the mantis shrimp is my new favorite animal” comic, viewers scroll vertically for several minutes reading the comic, laughing harder with each new doodle and wacky fact. By the end, viewers scroll conveniently into a cute little web shop, where they can purchase their very own mantis shrimp swag.

The digital affordance of online transactions allow Inman to capture viewers when they’re most in love with his content-- right after seeing it for the first time-- and they can make in impulse purchase in minutes. Furthermore, The Oatmeal originally monetized for donations-- part of which he used to help a charitable cause. Viewers gave their money and feel good about themselves because of perceived usefulness. This beginning helped Inman stand out even further against traditional comic models such as Marvel, which attempted and failed to bring old pay-per-comic models to the internet [3]. The Oatmeal questions the conventional wisdom about webcomics, showing that when used properly, digital affordances make it far easier, not harder, to monetize comic content.

1. Batinić, Josip. “‘Enhanced Webcomics’: An Exploration of the Hybrid Form of Comics on the
Digital Medium.” Image & Narrative 17, no. 5 (November 2016): 80–91.

2. Schachtner, Christina. “Digital Media Evoking Interactive Games in Virtual Space.” Subjectivity:
International Journal of Critical Psychology 6, no. 1 (April 2013): 33–54.

3. Wershler, Darren. “Digital Comics, Circulation, and the Importance of Being Eric Sluis.”
Cinema Journal 50, no. 3 (Spring 2011): 127–34. doi:10.1353/cj.2011.0035.