Promoting a band / artist on the internet

Riaan-Combrink

In a post on Norio's Profitability thread I mentioned that our little duo took off once we created a website, printed business cards, etc.

In this thread I want to look at that aspect.

For guys like Norio (who have the chops and facilities to do webhosting, etc) its a natural progression. But I made our band's website using a free service - in my case Google's Page Creator. I have no programming skills whatsoever. But Page Creator is so simple, the idea is really if you can use a word processor you can create a site using their templates and code. So its a good option for the guys starting out to at least get a web presence. I started with a blog on wordpress, but found too many restrictions (not being able to load up pdfs eg) to make it work for what I had in mind with our website.

Look, its not great, but its functional. For those that haven't seen it, here's the site:

http://synchronicity.rsa.googlepages.com/

What I like most, was that I integrated and embedded Google's Calendar into the page. I now have a real-time gig-guide,which is automatically updated (in the website) each time I update the Calendar independently. It's a great tool:

http://synchronicity.rsa.googlepages.com/gigguide

Google have switched now to something called Google Sites. It seems less intuitive and not as cool, but its still free. Both the Calendar and Sites is available if you open a Google account.

Nothing, of ocurse, beats having your own commerical site. If your url is www.yourbandname.com or co.za - that's cool. But it costs. My site is free, and I can update it whenever I want without working through someone else.

Maybe the tech-oriented guys can suggests more ways and options to host free or at an afordable rate. But having a website is a basic requirement if you want to promote yourself. I find that Facebook and Myspace is cool, but a site is more functional. You can, of course, always link to your facebook page from your website.

This is the article that inspired me to make a website for our band. Its very informative on the topic - and has a cool list of content suggestions:
http://www.unsignedbandpromotion.com/band-promotion-tips.html

Here's another valuable article: Five Mistakes Band & Label Sites Make:
http://www.43folders.com/2004/12/06/five-mistakes-band-label-sites-make

Here's a nice one for the guys who think a website is a waste if you've got a peer-site: Why do we need a band website when we’ve got MySpace?"
http://musiciansites.net/2007/10/04/why-do-we-need-a-band-website-when-weve-got-myspace/

How to Make Your Band's Website Layout Your Most Powerful Sales Tool:
http://www.getsigned.com/websell1.html

I've just scratched the surface guys, just google the topic and you'll find a stack more tips.

Remember, I know next to nothing about IT. Would be cool to hear the tips of the guys with those skills. But take it from me - a website works in real-time. You won't be sorry. I suppose the converse is true - a website that sucks may do damage. Either way - as the industry changes, this is a basic every artist and band should have.

Riaan

Look, its not great, but its functional.

You did a much better job with freeware than I managed to do with Frontpage. Great site! What you're saying is very true, most people would nowadays first search the internet, then look at phone directories or other sources. A webpage is an absolute necessity IMO, for any venture.