Get fans to your website and keep them there

I saw this when Adrian @Buzzsonic tweeted it and went over to check it out.

It's from a company that, amongst other things, do online marketing for bands.

And, it's got a load of great stuff to say about how to run your site, what sort of things to cover etc.

The crucial point for me is that they keep saying that you:

a) need to get people to your site from wherever else you first interact with them on the web - which I agree with 98.7% (that tiny margin allows for unique circumstances where, for the very few, it might just make sense to keep the communication somewhere else); and

b) need to regularly give your fans something to read, watch or listen to. Yes, that's regularly, as in often and consistent. You know, regular?

One caveat - they talk about a member's section. I'm not against a member's section (free or paid) but don't make that a hoop for people to jump through too early.

Get their email address by offering something in return. Not just one track. Several at least, or something else (a DJ set of your influences and a few free tracks?). Then you can communicate with them and when your fanbase is ready to have a member's section and when you're able to make it worthwhile (enough material and time to curate it etc), then that is the time.

From their post:

Your website is the hub for fans to gather, get official information, make purchases, and more. No matter how big your web presence is, your website needs to be the shining star of all your efforts. The point of all other web media is to drive your fans to your website. It must be engaging and encourage them to make purchases.

You need a strategy: Think of creative ways to engage fans with fresh content that makes them feel they are an extension of you. There is nothing more crucial to creating an environment that brings fans to your website daily and keep them buying.

Do you have an upcoming release? Blog about it! Post pictures and videos from the studio. Write about something interesting that inspired an upcoming track, or an anecdote about an amusing dilemma of the day. Fans love to hear about how their favorite artists create the music they love. Don't keep them in the dark!

Go and read the whole thing here.