Building a Music Website or Artist website is critical for Musicians and Bands today. Over the years I have seen some Dreadful websites that artists have launched online. This is mainly down to lack of funds and the artists having a go at building a website themselves. The results of this in most cases is not good.
If you have the money you can have a developer create one for you. This will set you back 500 to 1000 euros. For that, you will get a very nice looking website but the charges don't end there. Websites need to be maintained and updated on a regular basis. They also need to be optimized so google and the other browsers can see and show them on their pages. Think of a website like a new car. You have to take care of it and keep it serviced so it serves you well. The same applies to your website.
There are two critical foundations needed for artists. The first one is finding a physical Music venue where you can play regularity and build a fan base. I have written about this in a previous Blog. You should check it out first before reading any further. Reality Check for the Irish artist is a comprehensive look at the workings of a venue and how the artist should engage with it fully. There are lots of tips from myself who has worked for over two decades in the business.
The second Foundation is your website. The venue is your first Home and base of contact and website being your online base of operation. Get these two right and you are rock solid for life.
If you are one of those Artists that do not have the funds to build or have your website managed, Then you have other options. Those options are building the website yourself and maintaining it yourself. It can be done and done very well with a little patience. The website you are reading this blog on was created by myself and is maintained by myself. A few years ago I had no idea about the digital world and now I am quite proficient.
Well, you don't need a lot of money for starters. You need to buy a domain name which will cost you about 10 to 20 euros a year. You will need a server that will host your Website and Domain. That ranges from 50 to 100 euros a year. You can pay this per month with no upfront fees. Finally, you will need a platform to put all of your details onto and launch it onto the internet.
This might seem very complicated but it's quite easy. I used the Irish Company Irish Domains and I find them very good. You can do everything I mentioned on this site and begin to work on your website almost straight away. I have being with this company now for over 6 years with no problems.
You can buy your domain, server and start building your website from one of their platforms. I use WordPress myself. It's very good and there are lots of tutorials on youtube, showing you exactly how to build a great looking WordPress website. Irish domains also have extensive information on how to set everything up along with support to help you with any questions.
The yearly cost may surprise you. It can cost as little as 100 euros a year. That's about 2 quid a week. I manage 3 websites myself and my cost is a little over 200 per year but one website is very affordable for any artists out there.
There are lots of free music templates out there so no added cost is needed. You can invest in a very smart music template but it's completely up to you. Templates or Themes for your website range from 20 to 70 euros. That's a one-off payment by the way so no need for any yearly payment for this service. I use Envato Market . They have some really cool themes for any Artist out there.
So there you have it guys. Lots of information for you to consider. There is no excuse for a bad website these days. With a bit of research and following a few tutorials you will be well on your way to a beautiful website.
Please comment if you have any questions or need any more further information. I will be writing a few more blogs on this topic as there are many things you need to know about maintaining your website. I will be writing about plugins necessary and how to optimize your website. How to write blogs and any other topic to help you succeed in the music industry.
Please feel free to ask me to write about any topic that you may need information on.
Optimising your Youtube Channel and tracks are critical in today's digital age. Many artists In Ireland do not understand the significance of having Both Channel and tracks optimized.
When Creating a Music Channel, make sure that your Channel "Category" is in the "Music" category. Over the years I have seen about 50% of artists in the wrong category.
Create a good description of the act. The description should be around 300 words for google to see it as good content and Recognise you for google ranking.
You need to have at least 20 tags to your channel. Tags are like mini descriptions of your Channel. Eg. Singer-Songwriter, Band, Ireland, Irish, Music and anything related to what you do and who you are.
You need a decent picture as your profile picture. Make it stands out and appealing to your audience.
Make sure you have these things done correctly so your Channel is fully optimized.
Now that you have your Channel Page optimized, you are ready to upload your track to your Music channel.
You will need a good title obviously. Try to keep the title short and to the point.
Again you will need a good description and about 300 words. Put in all your information and available links in there too. Having a couple of lines in the description is a major No-No.
Again you need at least 20 tags that are relevant to you, your channel and your new track. All of this is needed so google can read the information and rank you on its pages.
Use the share facility under your tracks. Youtube likes this and so does google. Copy and pasting links is not a good idea.
Give people some love for their comments. This is also registered in youtube and helps google to recognize your activity on your channel.
Pin one of the comments or pin your own comments thanking everyone for listening. If you can do these few important things then you are giving your Tracks the justice there deserve.
Your channel is seen as pretty much like your website on the youtube platform. Just like a website, it needs to be optimized. Your tracks are seen as blogs on your website and also need the same attention. The more Optimisation and activity around Channel and tracks the better the result.
I have found a very good youtube Optimization tool that has a free option that you can use. It will show you where your channel and tracks need attention. You can also take a good look at other channels with this tool and see how they are doing their SEO. Every Artist should be using a tool like this and giving a track the best chance of being seen.
Have a look at some more Blogs about attracting more fans to your Web profile HERE
