A simple online space for artists

I tweeted about this yesterday but want to make sure that everyone knows about it.

One Sheet is a very simple online presence for artists. The cleverest thing about it is that it links to the API (the exchangable information) in all your other online profiles at places like Facebook, YouTube, Songkick etc and therefore it updates itself.

It takes 2 minutes to set up and, in theory, you can leave it alone after that.

I also like the clean and simple design with a single large image background and the clarity of the layout and usability.

Genius.

I expect most artists to build one and use it as an online business card. I can see industry folks using it as a quick reference on any band as well.

Check out One Sheet here.

Here's what Billboard said about it.

And this is Mashable's take.

And watch the video here.

Claim & control these essential online profiles

This is something that you should do when your online profile reaches a sufficient level that makes it worthwhile and it's well set out in this post on DIY Musician.

Make sure that you follow the links to the 'how to' posts for each of the sites at the bottom of their main post.

The two places that I think really count are Amazon's Artist page and Wikipedia.

The hidden reason for getting your Wikipedia page sorted is that the links that you can put on your Wiki page to each of your online presences (Website, YouTube channel, Facebook Page etc) is very strong. Wikipedia has what is called high 'Page Rank' and that tells Google to rank the pages that it links to very highly - just what you want.

Getting a Wikipedia entry to stick when you have no real online profile is difficult and not worth the effort - do it when you are noteworthy enough and use it to 'juice' your other sites.

Read the post and it's tutorials here.

Make It In Music - Seminar

I posted this yesterday when the people that I'm doing it for sent me the link, but it deserves a post!

I'm doing my first ever speaking gig as Make It In Music on 13th July in Bristol.

It's called 'How to break your band using the Internet - methods, tools & tips'.

I'm really looking forward to it, although, like most people, I don't relish public speaking!

If I get enough time before the event I'm hoping to turn it into a pdf that I'll make available afterwards - to all our readers, not just those that come to the event. Given that I am always overworked, this might fail to materialise!

Here's the blurb:

An in-depth and interactive seminar on how to use the Internet to build a fanbase for your music. The latest and best practices that every musician should know and use including what you need to know about the artist website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, music blogs and more.

The seminar will give you a workable plan that you can apply to stand out on the web and attract a fanbase that can underpin your success.

We will look at:
Building an effective website for pennies
Why you need a mailing list
How to best use Facebook
Why Twitter is a key tool that you need to master
Effective promotion using music blogs
How, why, where and when to sell your music for maximum sales
….and more.

And, you can find out more and book tickets here.

Like I said yesterday - no heckling!

8 reasons why you need to have your own website

Well, the first reason (so that makes 9) is because everyone who knows what they're talking about says so!

I just got off the phone with an artist asking me to manage them. Good online presence with 50,000 YouTube views and 1500 fans on Facebook. He wanted to know what he should do to sell his album that he's just completed.

I asked where his site was and how many fans he had signed up to his mailing list from there.

Nothing!

Well, then, I don't think you're going to be able to sell your album yet!

You need a band website as the place on the web that you control, the hub of your activity and where you can build your email list of fans who are going to be the bedrock of your support.

Facebook and Twitter (and others) are great for regular engagement and are vital but having your own place to focus activity on is ESSENTIAL.

Michael Brandvold explains this in more detail on the Mic Control site here.

It’s 2011 and you would think it is obvious why you need your own website. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have had where the other party says “I have a MySpace page, or I have a Facebook page or I have a Reverbnation page… I don’t need a website.” Or how many people have their own website, but spend all their efforts driving everyone to Facebook. All they seem to care about is how many Likes they can get. You should care about how many visits you get to your website. Some people don’t look at a website as a significant part of their business or brand. They may see it as a afterthought, something they guess they should do. If you were to open your own restrauant is the building and location that last thing you would think about? It is your future, everything you hope to achieve depends on it. Your website is your bit of real estate on the internet and it will be yours potentially forever. Make sure you treat your online presence with all the seriousness you can.

Read the whole piece.

A guide to affordable and effective websites for musicians

Following on from the previous post which highlighted how many artists don't have their own band website, is this great post from Ariel Hyatt.

Astonished by the number of artists that she met on a trip to Australia who had no web presence of their own, she put together this great guide on how to get a Wordpress based site up and working in no time and at very little cost.

It's well worth checking out the older post on Music Think Tank that she links to in the first few lines as well - it proves the need for multiple online presences.

I got a slap in the face in Perth, Australia two weeks ago.  I went there to talk about Apps, Foursquare, and advanced web marketing strategies.

I had many one-on-one sessions with artists and a vast majority had a big problem:

They didn’t have web sites.

When I say they don’t have web sites, I mean they’re only using MySpace and Facebook.  Which is a critical mistake. See here why: http://bit.ly/musicadiumpaper

I’m not saying this to make anyone wrong or to be righteous.   Websites, as I soon found out in Australia, are very expensive to build with local web designers. A few artists showed me quotes of $5,000 for a website. It’s not 1997 anymore and those quotes are not OK.

An effective website can be created $20 or less a month with no upfront costs

Read the whole post here.

And, if you do go the Wordpress route (which we think you should) it might well be worth your while investing $47 in this great Wordpress Theme that makes building your band website very easy. Specifically designed for musicians, it is very easy to use.

Learn more about it here.

Ultimate guide to music promotion and marketing

Chris Rockett is building a great resource at his blog - Promote Your Music.

And, I have to recommend this article as it really is a run through most of the major things that you can do to promote and market your music.

And it's good.

He promises to go into more detail on each over time, but, as an overview it ought to tell you a few new things to try.

If you do a simple Google search on “how to get more music fans” you will come up with hundreds of thousands of pages packed with ideas for the best way to get people listening to your stuff.

What we must keep in mind is that not all these methods are created equal, and though most of them have some basis in reality there is a good chance that you can focus on the gold rather than just trying to do everything.

Then you will have a much better chance of success.

One thing I have found while learning music marketing information is that even though a tactic is sound and makes sense, there are certain things that suit me better and that I just understand right away. I think if you see the whole picture in your mind it’s much easier to stay focused.

So try a bunch of stuff for a few weeks and see what works best for you.

Read it here.

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.