July 13, 2013 6 Reasons You Need a Website
Many musicians are out there on the web, utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and so many other social platforms it’s mind-boggling. And even though they’re doing great with these tools, they don’t have a website! A website is pretty crucial to online marketing (though there are a few exceptions in which the mystique of not having a set website you post at can help.) Let me tell you why:
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Your Home, Your Rules
When you have a website, you’re staking a claim on the internet and that website is now your home. Say for instance you take a picture of something a little to raunchy for the likes of Facebook but you think your fans would appreciate it, where do you show them? If you have your own website, you can do pretty much anything you want. -
Any Ads Pay YOU
Using Facebook on a daily basis, you’ll notice a ridiculous amount of ads (unless you have adblocker). These are there to help Facebook turn a profit. But here’s the thing: you work hard to connect with your fanbase, grow your audience, and create a social community online. Why should you not get paid for those advertising rights? On your own website, you can have as many ads as you want (even none at all!) -
Social Platforms May Disappear
Remember MySpace? Even though it’s been revamped as a musician’s website and it actually pretty cool, it fell off the face of the earth for a while. This same thing could happen to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and all the others. Your website, though, will always be there if you want it. -
Bigger Percentage on Sales
If you sell anything online, chances are you’re going through a company like Bandcamp or IndieMerch. While these and others are great tools, they take a percentage of your earnings. Some of you may be okay with that, think about this: if you sold from your own website without a third party, you would get more money for the item. Higher return rate means more money in your pocket. -
Your Fanbase Has a Home
I keep talking about your website as a home, and it really is. On your site, your fans can get together and talk about your latest works, find out what you’ve got planned next, and buy your merchandise to show their support. Everyone hangs out on Facebook on their own page, but if you have a website, your fans will be hanging out where you have their attention -
Professionalism
If your doing any kind of music online, you should have even a one page super basic website. If you’re trying to book shows, you can have some example songs or videos, have information about you, etc. It’s easier to give a promoter one link than it is to give them five or even worse, expect them to research you.
As I’ve said, there really are examples of musicians who have made a successful career without having a website. Elvis Presley for instance. But these days, that’s nearly impossible. Go get a website and make some awesome happen with your music career!
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Riley Smith has been involved in music since his days in elementary school. Now, he’s focusing on the business (and mainly online) aspect of the industry, giving new musicians the tools and resources to succeed. Check out http://smithultd.com to get a website for only 20$.
Reader Comments (1)
Thank you so much for your tips. I would like to share my experience too. As you may know, today a lot of social network giants ban sometimes with no reason. When my company faced these "blind-ban" policy a couple of years ago, I decided that I need to create my own website. And I was lucky to find a great app development company, which coped well with this task.