Want to learn how to start a music blog? These tips will help you.
Hopefully.
When I started Two Story Melody, I had little to no experience in the world of music blogging. Yes, I knew how to write (for the most part). I also knew the basics of SEO, thanks to my experience in a marketing agency. But I was pretty ignorant about the overlap between those things and the music industry, which set the stage for a lot of trial and error and some head-banging keyboard errors.
Don’t worry. , although. You don’t have to make music blogging rookie mistakes (even if you’re just starting out), because there’s plenty of information available online to help you out. And your job is now even easier, because I’ve scoured the world wide web (or at least the first few pages of Google) to bring you the top 7 tips:
- Choose a good host.
- Define your niche.
- Be creative and consistent.
- Drop what doesn’t work.
- Do interviews.
- Create a team of writers to help out.
- Get the book.
Fair warning: the last piece of advice is a shameless plug. I think it’s worth making the list, but I’ll let you be the judge.
So, without further ado: here are 7 tips for starting (and later building) a music blog.
1. Pick a good host.
This is from SophisteFunk (“How to Start a Music Blog”), and it’s absolutely true: “good hosting support is key”.
A good host will give you a fast, easy to manage and secure site. Plus, they’ll be readily available if you need help, which you probably will at some point. This is the Internet, after all: things don’t always go according to plan.
SophisteFunk recommends Bluehost, which is a good choice. Personally, my favorite for beginners is Siteground; They are trustworthy, have great customer service, and offer good introductory deals (like $0.99 for the first three months). Full disclosure, I’m an affiliate (because they’re good).
But yeah, in general, hosting is the foundation of any website, so this is great advice.
2 . Define your niche.
This is pretty standard advice, but I took it from Magpress’s “6 Tips to Becoming a Successful Music Blogger”: “No music blog can be successful without a niche. Finding a niche means you have to focus on a specific facet of the industry and make it the focus of all or almost all of your blog posts.”
That’s true folks, nobody cares. a music blog, but if you write about Icelandic folk music, fans of Icelandic folk music will care. If you do it right, sure.
3. Be creative and consistent.
Okay, I’ll be honest: I included this one from Outbrain’s “[Beginner – 102] How to Start Your Own Music Blog” article because I think it’s kind of funny. Here’s the quote:
“In In case it has to be said, you must be creative to succeed in the world of professional blogging.You must create compelling blog posts that your visitors before they want to read. Set specific goals for how many music reviews to add each week, as well as how many blog posts related to your genre you’ll commit to.”
Yeah, most of that isn’t that helpful (obviously you have to get creative). , No?). But there is a real nugget of value: consistency is key. Most people underestimate this when they start a blog. But 99% of viral content is the result of constant hard work that ultimately pays off.
4. Leave what doesn’t work.
This is from We Are The Guard’s “11 Things to Know Before Starting a Music Blog,” and it’s one of my favorites: basically, be willing to change.
“Be prepared to just throw out anything that doesn’t work for your site…if no one is looking into a certain column type or format…don’t be nice about it.”
I love that (and the article as a whole is low-key, one of the best resources I’ve found on music blogging, probably because it’s from an actual music blogger rather than a chart-generating machine). I would also add that being willing to give things up also means being willing to try new things as well. Don’t get stale, folks.
5. Do interviews.
From Start a Blog 1-2-3’s “8 Music Blog Ideas to Help You Build an Audience and Grow Your Online Presence”: “We all love connecting with people. behind the music ”
Yes. That’s at the core of what we do here at Two Story Melody for a reason: we believe interviews are valuable. And they’re fun to do, too.
Interviews automatically improve their content from “maybe interesting if it’s really well written” to “definitely interesting because this artist is great.”
6. Create a team of writers to help out.
This is from Who Is Hosting. This is “How to Produce a Chart-Topping Music Blog,” and it’s a good one: “Build a team of bloggers to help with content.”
I can’t stress that enough: Two Story Melody would be in messed up if it was just me.Having a team of people on board is a) a lot of fun and b) a really good way to add more content and insights to what would otherwise be a pretty drab site.
7. Get the book on music blogging.
Okay, we’ve come to the shameless plugin: starting a music blog is so much easier if you have access to the right information. That’s why I wrote this book.
Look, the reality is, there’s a lot of useful information out there, but it’s all over the place, and the vast majority of it is written by people who are bloggers, yeah, but not specifically to music bloggers (which is how you get very general advice like “be creative!”).
So, I wrote a book that contains all the information I wish I had when Two Story started. Melody:
- How to choose the right niche
- How to create a site that attracts readers and prepares you to build a community
- How to grow to the point of having artists you like send you music
- How to build a team of contributors who will keep your tone and broaden your perspective
- How to monetize your site and make revenue
You can get it here.
Hope that helps!
And I hope the rest of these tips help, too. I truly believe that music blogs are valuable – they add context to music, give artists a platform, and are a lot of fun.
This is for starting a music blog. You got this.
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