A website is a powerful tool that enables you to connect with your fan base and show the world (including the media) who you are and what you do. To me, your website is the foundation to your online presence. You can build a house on top of it, but if you start building the house without the foundation, it is liable to fall down or fall over. So, here are several reasons why you should be prioritizing your artist website.
To Appear More Professional
This is not a hard concept to grasp; if you have a website, you look more professional, period.Why does professionalism matter for musicians?
Well, think of it this way. If I Google your band name and find your website, I know that you’ve invested the time, effort and money required to get it set up. If you have a nice-looking website, I’m more prone to thinking that you’re putting the same amount of time and energy into your music too. If you care about getting more publicity, booking more shows and selling more albums, I can’t state this strongly or clearly enough: please put a priority on building your website.
To Secure A Position In Search
We now live in a world where anybody can write something about your music (yes, your music) and publish it online.I’m not saying that they will, but if they do, their articles might start appearing above your social profiles (assuming that’s all you have) in search rankings.If you build your website, you can prevent this from happening. You can pre-empt those that might have malicious intentions.
You can ensure that the first impression people get is a positive one.
If someone else writes about you, you can’t control whether it’s a glowing testimony or a scathing critique.Having your dot-com domain name appear as the first result in search for your band or artist name is wise. As long as there aren’t other blogs, websites or businesses out there with the same name, this should be relatively easy to do (make sure to do your research!). Put your website online, make sure your artist name is in the title, and start building content.
Strategies For Long Term Success As An Independent Artiste (Part Two)
To Own Your Content
Whatever you post to social media isn’t really yours.The terms of social networks are dictated by large companies that have no obligation to their users whatsoever.
We’ve seen Facebook change their design, policies and terms of service over and over again, much to the dismay of many users. Do you really think this is going to stop?
How To Build A Fan Base For Your Music
On Facebook, you have to pay for the same amount of exposure you used to get without payment, and even the effectiveness of advertising is somewhat suspect at times.
On the other hand, you get to keep whatever you post on your own website. You get to keep your email list if you’re building one (you are building one, right?).You have so much more flexibility with a website that you simply do not with social networks, up to and including design, layout, monetization methods, and so on.
Credit: Jonilar/KwabenaYi/Medium
