The Blogging Musician Waits for No Lottery!
As 2009 wrapped up, I wanted to take some positive momentum into the next year. Evaluating what worked and what didn’t work in my music marketing campaign was easy. The hard part is acknowledging it and fixing it.
We are all human, and I fell victim to some bad habits. Stop waiting for the music lottery!
Musicians sometimes are happy with just having all the pieces a band needs. I have a website, Facebook page, Twitter account, and mailing list. I bought my lottery ticket, now its time for me to win. Without any consistent activity, those aspects to your promotion are useless.
There has to be a way to learn from mistakes and build upon what you were good at.
Organization/Time Management
I’ve gotten lost amongst music projects and blogging tasks that at times is overwhelming. The reason it got to this point is because I didn’t have a plan laid out. I was writing whenever I felt like it and lost track of what I really wanted to accomplish.
Create a content calendar and think of specific topics you want to write about for the month. Whether you are writing 1 article a week or 5 a week. This will eliminate time spent on thinking “I don’t know what to write about”. If you get the ball rolling, your tasks get easier later.
This is a must for 2010. I’ve been able to plan out future articles and get more time for myself. The calendar led to projects being completed and kept me motivated to write.
Blog Promotion
Two factors showed positive effects towards my blogging promotion: social networking and getting to know other bloggers.
Social Networking Initiative
Social networking is great. The key was using what worked. Twitter is awesome, at least for me. Use what you enjoy and if you see it has a positive impact on your blog visits, then improve it.
For instance, with Twitter, I could try speaking with 5 new people and introduce them to the blog. I could also hold a Twitter contest to get more mailing list subscribers. Use it with a purpose and learn from your peers.
The emcee in me always comes out: “I wasted time in 2009, that all ends in 2010″
Getting To Know Other Bloggers
Focusing on your website content is key. As your site visitors grow, opportunities will arise. Taking time to get to know other bloggers has helped expand my reach in 2009.
Create a list of music blogs you are interested in and get to know the writers.
Build your promotion from the ground up. Other bloggers can relate to the trials and tribulations of marketing their site. Joining together on random efforts can reap huge returns in visitors later. Be honest and brainstorm as well. You pick up great tips and free promotion.
Helping others goes a long way. Thanks to all the bloggers out there spreading the word about Hip Hop Distribution.
Blog Maintenance
Keyword research has proven positive in my experience. Take time to tag your article correctly, and study the trends from your web stats. Understand your audience and give them more of what they want.
Better linking is very important. Take some old articles and find a way to link it to some newer content or vice versa. Increase reader and search engine relevance. Doing this raised my Page Rank, higher traffic and increased page views. I will build upon this.
Homework
- Create a list of 3 things that improved your website stats and revenue.
- Answer why it worked
- Create tasks to apply this month
The simplicity in this small assignment is to start thinking of building on successful campaigns that worked for YOU. Listing specific accomplishments can be hard, but you have to know if its a winning or losing effort.
I will expand more on specific tasks in later posts. Please share any things that have worked for you below and what you have learned from your blogging in 2009.
Similar Posts:
- My Music Marketing Plan Audit
- Musicians Using Twitter: Maximize Your Album Promotion
- Marketing Simplicity: Save The Complexity For Your Music
- Taking a Fried Detour: New Roads Ahead
- Comments Breathe Life Into Band Promotion
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