VIDEO: Ariel Hyatt and Derek Sivers: Getting Your Music to Bloggers, Podcasters& iRadio DJs
I really loved the pieces that Chis Bracco has written here on MTT on Blogging and I wanted to add some thoughts on getting blogs to write about you. His strategies are rock solid and full disclosure he used to work with my company and he is indeed very effective at getting bloggers to cover artists. Read Chris’s piece here: http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-to-really-get-your-music-on-blogs-tracking-the-results-o.html
I know that blogging seems like yet another unbearable thing to take on so there are 2 ways to approach this
1. Become a reader and commenter
2. Become a reader, commenter and blogger yourself!
Q: How Do You Play Ball with the Bloggers ?
A: Become a reader and commenter
I highly suggest that you try to get familiar with the blogging world by reading blogs and posting comments on blogs you like.
THIS IS THE WAY TO GET KNOWN IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD!
CAUTIONARY TIP: If you are posting on a blog who has not already covered you DO NOT HYPE YOURSELF. Bloggers hate it! Instead, you can leave comments about something THEY wrote and include your sig file with your name, band name and a link to your website. This is a subtle way of letting the blogger know you are a musician without saying: HEY! REVIEW ME! If they like your observations about them and what they write, they just may.
GET SEEN
Create profiles at Google Reader http://iGoogle.com and Friend Feed http://FriendFeed.com and add the RSS feeds from your different social networks. These profiles will feature updates from your RSS feeds, and enable you to follow your friends and favorite blogs in one place. Other people will also be able to see all of your various feeds in a central location.
Add your blog’s RSS feed to your Facebook profile(s) and your Facebook friends can also see your updates on your Wall.
Top 4 Reasons Why You Should Blog
1. Blogging is a fabulous way of keeping your fans connected to you – it goes much deeper than the micro tweets on Twitter and the images on Facebook & Flickr
2. Google LOVES blogs and if you set your blog up properly you will be found on Google for anything and everything you write about – this can lead people to you who were looking for other topics. Blog about your dog and a person looking for yellow lab” may run into your blog entry and become a fan.
3. You can easily update your own website and stop being beholden to a web designer. If you are thinking about re-designing your site I can’t recommend this highly enough! USE A WORDPRESS INSTALL for $150 - $200 a pro can install it for you and you will be in control not a web dude. You can post for a webdesigner to install for you here: http://www.elance.com
Note: we have someone on our staff who can also do it – just get in touch with Christian if you would like.
4. Gets you on a level playing field with other bloggers! It’s no secret that bloggers read other bloggers blogs. A blogger will trust you much more if you understand the whole world of blogging.
Video: Ariel Hyatt (Cyber PR) & Rick Goetz (Musician Coaching) Talk about The Benefits of Blogging
FEEL LIKE GETTING STARTED?
How To Start a Blog
Get a wordpress install on your site (I suggest using a designer to import for you)
I suggest the following format: http://www.yourname.com/blog
TIP: Post on elance for an experienced designer to handle this for you (make sure you choose someone who is well reviewed on elance with past experience doing Wordpress installs) http://www.elance.com
If budget is an issue, get a free blog at http://wordpress.com or http://blogger.com
For Bloggers: Some Upgrade Ideas!
1) Install a Google Reader or FriendFeed widget on your blog
2) Import your flickr photos and cross post on Facebook :)
3) Add a blogroll of other bloggers and bands you admire or venues you play
4) Get help with content! Ask a fan or band member, producer, or family member to guest blog for you!
5) Are you RSS Optimized? Many blogs are not properly set up to be RSS feeds (and they should be) Go here to Google Reader to see how yours measures up.