Music blogs are a popular way for artists to distribute their music to the public. Posting songs, lyrics, and other information about this subject online can reach a large audience.
The most important aspect of any blog is content; without it, visitors will only visit once and will be unable to find what they are looking for. Furthermore, the main goal of a music blog is to showcase artists’ latest works, fan fiction, and other features, further connecting them with their listeners. Unfortunately, some blogs may also contain advertisements that discourage those that visit from continuing with the site.
Why Start a Music Blog?
A music blog can be a perfect side hustle, hobby, or full-time job if you are passionate about music and writing. Asides from the fact that it gives you the freedom to be creative, starting a music blog also offer the following benefits.
- Building connections with artists, record labels, tour managers, and other reputable figures in the music industry.
- Enjoy the opportunity to become an industry insider who hears the news first.
- Access to festivals, live events, and performances for free.
- Free music concert tickets, songs, and pre-release.
- Freedom to create and own a community of music fans with the same interest.
- Opportunity to establish your brand and become an influencer.
- Chance to make money from a career path you love.
As mentioned, there are so many things to enjoy if you are ready to turn your music blogging vision into reality. However, a successful blog requires proper planning. Below is an explanation of how to plan your music blog.
How to Plan Your Music Blog
The best music blogs are operated by bloggers who plan, research, and set goals for what they’d like to achieve.
Here, we’ll be looking at ways to set up your music blog for success, the importance of a niche, and how to form a brand.
Importance of a Blogging Niche
New blogs are created every day, and with so many ones already in existence, it may be pretty hard to stand out. Therefore, you need to choose a blogging niche. A properly defined niche will help your target audience easily locate you and your content, making it easy for your music blog to thrive.
Furthermore, a niche is what your music blog is about. You could start a blog on electronic music, country music, how to learn to play guitar, and many others. Narrowing your niche even further can make you appear as a go-to person or expert. For instance, your music blog can serve as a resource for upcoming female electronic singers or can teach university students how to play guitars.
If you don’t have an idea of what your niche should be, create a list of all the things you are knowledgeable and passionate about. Try different combinations of both, and do some online research to see the music blogs already in that niche. This will help you know where your content will be appreciated the most. Below are some music blog niches you can choose from.
- Local music blog (local events listings, artists, venues, and reviews)
- Genre blog (country, Afrobeat, classical, R&B, electronic, pop, etc.)
- “The industry” blog (artiste manages, record labels, recording studios)
- Live music blog (analysis of festivals and live shows and festivals)
- How-to music blog (how to find a studio, how to play an instrument, how to start a band)
To make an impact online, you must take the time to specify your niche and plan what your music blog will cover.
Forming a Brand for Your Music Blog
You need to create an identity for your music blog after deciding what you want to write about. To do this, you must choose a name for your music blog. Moreover, you can’t launch your music blog or purchase a domain name without a name. Therefore, it is crucial to invest some time into getting the right name.
What is your blog going to be called? Choosing a name that suits your blog and can easily be remembered is essential. However, if you don’t have a good idea for a name, take inspiration from famous music artists and albums. You can also include your genre in your blog name if you will be writing about a particular type of music. If your music blog is education-based, you can include the subject in your blog name to help your audience locate you.
Furthermore, you need to edit the title of your music blog to make it attractive to search engines. If you’re having a hard time doing that, consider trying our blog name generator. You need to ensure that your chosen name is available before choosing a blog name. Moreover, you must verify if the name is owned or trademarked by another brand.
Additionally, it will be best to create a visual identity for your music blog after choosing its name. A simple logo works well in most cases. You can hire someone on freelance platforms like Upwork or Fiverr or design a logo yourself.
Setting Up Your Music Blog
Now that you’ve developed a name and identity for your music blog, it’s time to go live! In this section, we will be looking into how to purchase a domain name, register for hosting, and install a custom theme and content management system.
Purchase a Domain Name
During your research, you must have checked if the name of your music blog is available as a domain name. We advise you to go for a .com domain, as this is easy to remember and is known worldwide.
You can record your domain with several service providers, but we suggest you try Bluehost to enjoy great service at competitive prices. Check if your provider offers a free domain as part of your hosting package before buying, which can benefit you are looking to own a complimentary blog.
Choose a Web Hosting Provider
You must buy hosting for your music blog after registering your domain name. However, you have to make a monthly payment to your hosting provider to keep your music blog and its content to make it available and visible to your online readers.
Once again, Bluehost is the go-to web hosting provider if you are looking for affordable plans with a lot of space. Nevertheless, you can try free platforms like Blogger, WordPress.com, or Tumblr if your budget is tight and you won’t like to invest in hosting at this time.
Use a Content Management System
You need a platform that allows you to upload, create, and save your music blog contents and posts. The next stage is installing a content management system, also referred to as CMS.
Our suggested content management system for bloggers is WordPress, a free, open-source CMS supported by a big community of experts and developers.
Several hosting providers offer a “one-click” method of installing WordPress, and you can also enjoy organized WordPress hosting, including automatic updates and installation. This is a great alternative if you plan to only concentrate on your blog content, delegating the technical aspect to an expert.
Utilize Customized Themes
All WordPress install come with numerous free themes, but we advise you to invest in a third-party custom theme to help your music blog look professional and unique.
You can find great WordPress themes designed for music bloggers in Themeforest. Alternatively, you can uncover clean and professional blog themes in Studiopress.
If you don’t know the ideal theme to go for, it is high time you’ve done some research. Identify trends like layout, colors, and designs by observing other successful music blogs. This will help you know the essential things to include in your blogs.
Content planning
Artists and their teams should create a content plan that includes what they want the blog to be focusing on, the niche, and how they plan to engage with the audience.
The Posting Schedule
Plan out when you will post at intervals like once every day, twice a week, or once per month. Keep in mind that some artists might want fewer posts because of having other work on top, so try accommodating your schedule. The frequency of posts is a personal preference, and one can easily change it as needed without worrying about it becoming too much too soon.
A successful music blog can keep the audience coming back to it. Schedule your posts ahead of time in a way that makes sense to you. That way, you will have time to write great content and make sure scheduling is consistent.
You can use online tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Editorial Calendar to schedule your posts ahead of time. Besides, you can schedule your Instagram posts here too. Once you have a good grasp on how often you want to post, make sure you keep up with it as much as possible. This way, it will be hard for your audience to forget about your music blog.
Writing the Content
When you start your blog, make sure you have at least three posts already in mind. This way, you won’t be caught scrambling if something happens or you can’t post for some reason. Also, if multiple people are blogging, make sure everyone has a say on the content.
The Tone of the Blog
Determine the feel or tone that the blog should have and address others on your blog.
Content and the Imagery
Your blog’s content should fit the style of the music and be able to captivate those who read it. Pack your site with keywords related to the niche of your music, and add tags (or categories) to categorize your content.
It would be best if you had an eye for imagery. Remember that the photos need to be high resolution, so make sure you don’t use low-quality images.
A music blog extends the artist’s personality, so it should all come together cohesively, starting with your blog’s logo, typeface, and color scheme.
Design
The design is just as important as what you post because it creates the mood and sets expectations for what people should expect. In addition, it helps determine whether people will come back to read your future posts.
Promoting Your Blog
Reviews
This is one of the best ways to tell others about your blog and attract visitors. Learn how to write these reviews. This section can include album reviews, song reviews, etc. You can also attach images or videos to these review pages.
Take some time to look at other music blogs and see what features they have implemented in their pages. You can also look at the About section of websites such as The Village Voice, Pitchfork, etc.
Press Releases
Bloggers like to be on the pulse of what is happening in the music industry, and they love fresh, new music.
A press release can be a great way to get your name out there and start building an audience. Moreover, press releases help you get coverage on social media, enabling you to grow your mailing list.
How to Pitch a Press Release
There are many ways to pitch a press release, and each blogger has different preferences. For example, some prefer emailing their contacts, and others prefer online services like PRweb that send the email automatically to respond faster.
Look to send out a pitching email once per week to a setlist of contacts that you have followed. You can find these contacts in the entertainment section of your email account. However, your best bet is to read up on what bloggers follow and look for the ones that have been most active over the past few months.
Make sure to follow them back so they know that you are listening and interested in their work. Please do not make it seem like you are taking advantage of them because they will be more than willing to help you out.
Conclusion
Great blog templates are free to download on the internet, but you can create your own if you have some artistic expertise. Remember that blogs are created mainly for information & entertainment, and a solid niche and audience engagement are essential when starting a blog.
Another objective of posting is to keep people interested and come back for more, so make sure the content is top-notch. Moreover, if the design does not settle well with your audience, ensure you make necessary changes. You can get a general idea of what works for your audience by reading other blogs.
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