I recently made a new blog dedicated to putting out a weekly storyline in numbered sequence much like a comic book, with illustration occasionally. My questions are is this a good strategy to build a fan base? And will a blog hurt any chance of professional publishing?
I know of a few self publishers that have blogs to help expand their fan base and it works. It also helps to be on Facebook and Twitter with links back to your site. And if you keep things on a fairly smooth schedule that your followers can count on that's a huge bonus. But I'm not entirely sure if this would hurt your publishing career later on. I could only seeing it being a problem if it - A. looks sloppy and is full of errors or B. has comments, or opinions that could come back to bite you. I've seen some self-publishers get into petty arguments or have comments taken out of context that created a backlash of hatred.
I got it started out and have the first chapters of both my series launched! Got plenty of views so far! Will link in my sig
Sort of like an online novel / serial? There's quite a few out there, and with a lot of persistence and effort they can pay off. A couple of sites worth looking at (and getting listed on) are Muse's Success and The Webfiction Guide. They should send some readers your way, and you can also have a look at what other people are putting out in a similar format.