Should I shift part of my paid search budget to programmatic display?

[Steven12]

I've been part of the comic book community for over 20 years now, and I've seen it evolve from local shop gatherings to massive online forums. With all the changes happening, I'm curious what everyone thinks makes a truly great comic book community in 2025. Is it the local comic book shop community vibe, online discussions, or something else entirely? What keeps you engaged with our comic book fandom?

[Kevin_S]

From my perspective working at a shop, the local comic book shop community is still incredibly important. There's something special about having a physical space where people can gather, browse, and actually talk face to face. But I've also seen how online communities have expanded our reach. The best comic book community these days seems to blend both worlds local hubs that also connect digitally. What keeps me engaged is seeing new people discover comics and watching their excitement grow.

[KennethXS]

I think a great comic book community is one that's welcoming to all kinds of readers. Too often I see gatekeeping or elitism, especially in graphic novel discussions. The best communities I've been part of celebrate everything from superhero comics to indie comics to manga. They recognize that different people enjoy different aspects of the comic book fandom, and that diversity makes the community stronger.

[JamesJ]

For me, it's all about discovery and sharing. A great comic book community helps you find things you wouldn't have found on your own. Whether it's underground comics recommendations or discussions about comic book trends 2025, the community aspect amplifies the experience. I love when someone recommends an indie comic that completely blows my mind that shared excitement is what keeps me coming back.

[Lily.M]

What makes a community great is the quality of discussions. I've been in groups where every marvel comics news or dc comics news post turns into a pointless argument. The best communities focus on constructive conversations about comic book theories, art analysis, and storytelling. When people can disagree respectfully about superhero comic discussions while still appreciating each other's perspectives, that's when you know you've found a good community.

[EmmaR]

I think accessibility is key. A great comic book community helps newcomers navigate the sometimes overwhelming world of comics. Whether it's through comic book reading order guides or friendly comic book recommendations, making people feel welcome and supported is crucial. The community should be a resource, not a barrier to entry. That's what builds lasting engagement with the comic book fandom.

[JackTW]

I’m trying to decide if we should move a portion of our paid search budget into a programmatic display campaign. The targeting options look powerful, but I’m worried our creative isn’t strong enough to make people stop and click outside of a high-intent search context. Has anyone made this shift and seen it actually work for lead generation?

[Emma92]

Yep, we shifted about a quarter of our paid search budget into programmatic display last quarter. Impressions exploded and the targeting options felt powerful, but the clicks and actual leads were all over the place. It seemed to help with top of funnel awareness, and eventually we saw a small lift in branded search, but the CPL was higher than we’re comfortable with. We kept a guardrail for retargeting and cleaned up landing pages, and we treated it as a learning experiment rather than a slam dunk.

[Edward.J]

We tried it with a simple lead magnet and retargeting on a small segment. A handful of SQLs came in, but the cost per lead was two to three times what we saw in search. Not scalable for us yet, though it did spark some conversations with a few enterprise accounts.

[Savannah_H]

Our creative felt like a bottleneck. We ran static banners with stock headlines, CTR was terrible. We tried dynamic creative that pulled in product features, and CTR ticked up a bit, but we still didn't see consistent leads. It seems like you need a strong value prop promise before the audience even notices the ad.

[LukeIM]

Honestly I’m not sure the problem is creative. The landing form was long and the follow-up emails were slow; we lost people before they filled anything out. It might be worth fixing the funnel mechanics first and then re-tasting the channel.

[AddisonJC]

We did a six week pilot and watched cost per lead stay stubbornly high. There were some mid-funnel signals, but nothing to justify reallocating a big chunk of budget, so we curtailed the spend and kept testing with smaller bets.

[Ethan_J]

I rushed into it and maybe overcorrected without solid signals. In two weeks we didn’t get a clean incremental lift, so we pulled back and flagged it as a future experiment if we could tie it to a tighter offer or faster follow-up.

[Samuel93]

One odd thought from the team: some audiences here behave differently than search folks. If you’re serious about leads, maybe test in-banner forms or contextual placements that feel less intrusive and pair with a quick, obvious incentive. It’s off the cuff but it helped a little when we tried it informally, though not enough to rely on.