Host Your Own Blog
Many bands think about having a traditional website that just provides general information about the band but not having consistent updates. This is the age of the Internet. Keeping your fans involved is not only what you need to expand, but it is what you need to survive the turbulent scene of today’s world of music business.
Many artists have already switched to using WordPress and other blog services for running their websites. Take a look at KatyPerry.com. Once you get into the main site, it is a full-fledged WordPress site. It provides everything a musician would require from a site and provides a platform for engaging fans. You just write an occasional blog post about what you or your band is doing. Tell about how your recording sessions are going or embed your new Youtube video that you just uploaded. Then share the post on your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Many web hosting services now include not only WordPress but may have automated scripts for doing the WordPress installation for you. There are many options out there, but a couple of recommendations we have today are Webhostinghub.com and HostGator.com.
Youtube
Most people think of Youtube for videos only, but that’s missing a big part of what Youtube has evolved into. Youtube has become a great platform for music discovery. There are many artists who post videos to get exposure for their music. Some of the videos are fancy and expensive, while others are cheap homemade videos. You can even find “videos” that are simply image slideshows with the music behind them. As long as you adhere to the requirements, you can even add advertisements to your videos to make some extra money.
The de facto standard of social media is now Facebook. If you’re not already on Facebook, then you need to jump on the bandwagon. While the Facebook interface isn’t as good for music purposes as MySpace was, there are options available to improve upon it. One great option is to tie your Reverbnation page in with your Facebook by adding their Band Profile app. Once set up, you can make it your default page when someone views your page on Facebook. Other great apps are Bandpage, Woobox, Woobox’s Static HTML Page Tab, Livestream, MailChimp, and Fan of the Week.
While Twitter can be a bit tough to figure out initially, it can prove to be a fantastic music promotion tool once you’ve gotten use to it. For some quick tips, go and grab your copy of The Musician’s Roadmap to Facebook and Twitter. You can also check out Twitter For Dummies and Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets.
StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon has become a fun way for people to find interesting new sites. Besides having your own account to be able to share through, you can entice others to share your site by creating quality content for it. Take a look at CDBaby.com’s Use StumbleUpon to Get Exposure for Your Music post.