Independent Music Resources, News and Information
Posts tagged website
Building your band’s website
Aug 3rd
Music, a member biography and pictures are several aspects of a band’s website. Bringing people to these pages to view and explore a band’s profile is important when building a fan base. Here are a few strategies to help your band do so. First, a good way to attract people to your band’s site is to have them fill out their email address so that they can be on the mailing list; however, many people are reluctant to share this information or don’t want to be bothered. Some ways in which your band can avoid this is to offer a CD or any other promotional material if they sign up for the mailing list. If you don’t have anyone to help you sell/give away your merchandise in order to have people sign up with their email addresses, you could ask a friend or if there is another group playing alongside yours, one of the band members could help you out during your performance.
Additionally, your band could have someone help you get people to sign up on your mailing list by having a sheet available as people enter the venue to see the show. Another successful tactic to get people to sign up for your mailing list during your performance is to have a giveaway. Announce at some point during the show that there will be a random drawing of emails from the list for a CD and/or any other promotional material giveaway. People love free stuff, and this gives them more of a reason to sign up!
Another tactic is to have someone help you take pictures during your show of both the performance and the crowd. Let your fans know where to locate these pictures by handing out cards with your website(s). In addition, you could be creative and have your fans take pictures with an object that represents your band, for instance. Then get them to send you their pictures – maybe to participate in a fan contest with an incentive of some kind – giving them more of a reason to visit your website(s).
Once these pictures are up, send out an email reminder to your fans that have signed up on your band’s mailing list letting them know that the pictures are up for viewing, as well as other information such as when and where your band will be performing again.
This article was written by Nicolette for Audimated.com. If you have any further information or recommendations for future articles, please contact Nicolette@audimated.com.
Directing Fans to Your Website After Shows
Jul 26th
Depending on how your shows are organized, not everyone that attends will be your fan. Some fans may be at the venue for other reasons, bands or may just be passing by. It is important to capture these potential fans and incorporate them your marketing plan, email list or social media friend list. Bringing merchandise such as CDs, T-shirts, autographed pictures, etc. to give away is a great marketing strategy to recruit fans to your website or profile. You should always have some type of giveaway merchandise on hand to motivate your followers. At the very least always have business cards or flyers on hand to send people to your website (even if you’re not playing). Recruiting someone from another band to distribute this merchandise while you are playing can be very helpful; make sure to offer your help during their show as well.
Gathering information about your fans is also important. Hand out slips of paper for them to fill out their contact information so you can record it into your mailing system. Holding drawings and announcing winners during certain points of the show is also a good way to distribute your merchandise effectively while keeping fans active and excited. The information can be very important in the future when marketing. For example, if you know your a fan’s birthday, you can always give them a free song in an email. Don’t forget that record labels care about this information too. Label want to know that you are selling music, but they also want to know who is buying.
Someone should also take pictures of people in the audience. Make sure to acknowledge the photographer throughout the show, whether it is a hired photographer, a friend, or a member from another band, and inform your fans to check in regularly to find their pictures online. Distributing flyers or cards with website information where pictures will be posted is a good reminder. Then, after posting the pictures, send out a mass e-mail to the fans in your mailing system to inform them that the site has been updated with new pictures available.
Using an e-mail signature regularly linking back to your website is a good way to promote your site. This provides immediate and easy access to your website, and you will see an increase in traffic through your signature that is linked in all your out-going mail. Also, email signatures get forwarded with your emails so that as your fans share your messages, the number of people you reach with your link increases. If you are not tracking the traffic to your website already, you should be. Knowing who is visiting and for how long can really help you make better decisions in the future.
Because social media and blogging have become a major form of communication, getting a “new friend” can be just as valuable as an email address. That way, you as the artist can connect with others through social media such as Facebookor Twitter, a great source to post some valuable links and increase traffic to your website. Regularly blogging will then show up on the news feeds and be noticed more by fans and their friends. Sending mass messages is also an effective way to communicate directly with fans and provide links to your site, but usually this requires a group or premium feature.
Encourage fans through e-mails and social media to join your group, page, profile or website in order to receive inside information about the band, upcoming shows, unique opportunities, etc. This way, all of your fans big and small can remain active and constantly be reminded to check out the website regularly for updates. Capturing your current fans (and your future fans) with your web presence should not be overlooked. Think of each connection with your website as a potential relationship with each and every fan and not just a “hit”. How valuable will that relationship be over time to you as an artist?
Greg Gerla
greg@audimated.com
audimated.com
Website Mistakes to Avoid
Jul 19th
While there are hundreds of great ways to enhance your presence online as an artist, there are many common mistakes that musicians make that actually turn away potential fans. Avoiding these mistakes and measuring the success of your online presence is now a very important component of any online music campaign.
First, make sure that your music is easily accessible on your site since that is why people are visiting your website in the first place. Don’t bury your music under a tab or behind a link. Visitors to your page are not necessarily looking for a blog post, picture or tour dates. They are likely there for your music first and other content second so make sure your music is front and center. If your visitors can’t easily find what they are looking for in their initial visit to your site, they are going to leave your page.
Many artists and their websites have their music set on “autoplay.” Surveys have shown that most Internet users find this feature to be annoying. Not all site visitors are in a location where listening to music is possible, nor do they want to hear the same song for the 100thtime every time they visit your website, refresh the page or return to your homepage. Playing your song automatically also distorts your play counts because thousands of hits will translate into thousands of listens when your visitors might be stopping your song right away or not listening to it at all. On the other hand, if you don’t set your songs to play automatically, then you know that each play can from an authentic and interested fan.
This seems simple, but often goes over looked: make sure to test and update the links on your page. Otherwise, it looks like you are just too busy to keep up your own site. This is one of the most common errors that people make so take time to make/update your website. You want to appear as professional as possible and having current information available says a lot about your seriousness as an artist. Have your friends test the links also and double check the links in your newsletter before sending because the last thing you want to do is send it out twice. Make sure to test your email as well. Bounceback e-mails are very common, and you do not want to miss out on important e-mails from fans, labels or other businesses in the music industry.
Interaction with fans is most important, and if you are not building an email fan list, you should start today. Your fans need a way to contact you, and you need a way to keep in touch with your fans. Email has quickly become the preferred format. Many websites have contact forms directly on the site for either messaging the artist or joining a mailing list. Contact forms are becoming increasingly popular (instead of just listing your email address) since it avoids spam or robots sending you unnecessary e-mail.
In addition to the music, it is important to invest your time putting up photographs of you and the band. Hire a professional photographer or have a friend take high quality pictures of the band during one of your gigs. Seeing live photos from concerts will get fans excited and perhaps even motivate them to attend one of your shows in the future. Pictures are valuable content to support your music and uploading photos is a great way to keep fans coming back to your site.
Also focus on keeping your website professional, even if you are using just using a social media profile alone to represent your music. Some artists have very long posts, random pictures, funny stories or other information that can be tiresome to read or make the site look disorganized. Keep your biographical information short and to the point, and make sure the information on the rest of your page is relevant so that your site looks inviting. Consider your online presence to be your musical resume. Keep it short, simple and remember that sometimes “less is more.” If you have old content, random information or anything that is not directly related to your musical career, it should be removed.
Lastly, if fans are able to buy your music directly from your website, make it obvious. Many sales are often lost because the option to buy is unclear or difficult to find. Do not be afraid to ask for the sale. Your fans might just start responding.
Greg Gerla
greg@audimated.com