Want to learn how to start a music blog? These tips will help you.
Hopefully.
Reading: How to create a good music blog
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). Thanks to my experience in a marketing agency, I also knew the basics of SEO. But I was pretty ignorant of the intersections between these things and the music industry – which set the stage for a lot of trial and error and some head-to-keyboard errors.
Don’t worry, though . There’s no need to make beginner’s mistakes when it comes to blogging music (even if you’re just starting out), as there’s a whole lot of information available online to help you. And your job just got easier because I’ve scoured the absolute World Wide Web (or at least the first few pages of Google) to bring you the top 7 tips:
- Pick one good host.
- Define your niche.
- Be creative and consistent.
- Drop what doesn’t work.
- Conduct interviews.
- Assemble a team of authors to help.
- Get the book.
Just warning: the last tip is a shameless plug. I think it’s a worthwhile thing worth making the list, but I’ll let you judge.
So, without further ado, here are 7 tips to get you started ( and then build) a music blog.
1. Choose a good hoster.
This one is from SophisteFunk (“How to Start a Music Blog”) and it’s absolutely true: “Good hosting support is key.”
A good host provides you with a fast, easy-to-manage, and secure website. Plus, they’re readily available if you need assistance, which you probably will at some point. We’re talking about the internet, after all – things don’t always go according to plan.
SophisteFunk recommends Bluehost, which is a good option. My personal favorite for beginners is Siteground; They’re reliable, 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 yes, overall hosting is the foundation of any website so this is a great tip.
2 . Define your niche.
See also: How To Build a WordPress Site Offline (in 3 Simple Steps)
This is pretty standard advice, but I took it from Magpress’s “6 tips to become a successful music blogger”: “No music blog can be successful without a niche. To find a niche, you need to focus on a specific facet of the industry and make it the focus of all your blog posts—or almost all of them.”
That’s the truth, folks. Nobody cares about a music blog, but blogging about Icelandic folk music will interest fans of Icelandic folk music. If you do well, of course.
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 find it kinda funny. Here’s the quote:
“If it needs to be said, you have to be creative to succeed in the world of professional blogging. You need to create engaging blog posts that your visitors will want to read. Set specific goals for how many music reviews you want to add each week, and how many blog posts you want to publish in your genre.”
Yes, most of this isn’t that helpful (of course you have to do be creative, right?). But there’s one nugget of real value: Consistency is key. Most people underestimate this when they start a blog. But 99% of viral content is the result of consistent hard work that finally pays off.
4. Drop what doesn’t work.
This is from We Are The Guard’s 11 Things You Should Know Before Starting a Music Blog, and it’s one of my favorites: Basically, be You ready to spin.
“Be prepared to just delete anything that isn’t working for your site…if no one is digging up a certain type of column or format…don’t be appreciative.”
I love this (and the article as a whole is one of the best resources I’ve found on music blogging – probably because it’s from a real music blogger and not a listicle generation machine ). I would also add that being willing to drop things also means being willing to try new things. Don’t get stale, friends.
5. Conduct 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 to work with the to connect with the people behind the music. ”
Yes. That’s at the core of what we do here at Two Story Melody for a reason: we think interviews are valuable. And they’re fun to do, too.
See also: 10 Tips for Creating a Content Calendar
Interviews pretty much automatically rank your content from “might be interesting if it’s really well written” to “definitely interesting because this artist is cool.”
6. Assemble a team of writers to help.
This is from Who Is Hosting This is How to Make a Chart-topping Music Blog, and it’s good: Assemble a team of bloggers you can help with Content.”
I can’t stress this enough: Two Story Melody would be in rough shape if it were 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 perspective to an otherwise pretty monotonous website.
7. Get the book on music blogging.
Okay, we’ve come to the shameless plug: starting a music blog is a lot easier when you have access to the right information. That’s why I wrote this book.
Look, the reality is that there’s a lot of helpful information out there – but it’s everywhere and the vast majority of it was written by people who are bloggers, yes , but not specifically for music bloggers (so you get generic advice like “be creative!”).
So I wrote a book that has all the information I wish I had when I started Two Story Melody:
- How to choose the right niche
- How to create a website that attracts readers and makes you want to build a community
- How to grow to the point where the artists you love are sending you music
- How to build a team of contributors who maintain your tone and broaden your perspective
- How to monetize your website and generate sustainable income
You can get it here.
Hope it helps!
And hope the rest of these tips help , to. I really think there is value in music blogging – it adds context to the music, gives artists a platform, and is a heck of a lot of fun.
Here’s how to start a music blog. You did.
See also: How To Create A Website Free Of Cost in 2023?
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