| Many musicians are very creative and prolific; releasing | | | | page you post. Nothing is more frustrating than getting |
| albums by the minute and performing nonstop at local | | | | "trapped" in a site and not being able to find home. |
| and regional venues. After a couple of years of this, | | | | Your user will eventually close the tab and never |
| the artist begins to realize that he or she is not going to | | | | come back to your site. Furthermore, they will tell their |
| get that big label contract. Some give up on the dream | | | | friends and you end up with a bad rap from the start. |
| of being able to make a living with music. That need | | | | Create a user friendly site and much of the battle is |
| not happen and the artist need not starve forever. | | | | over. |
| The major music industry has been in decline over the | | | | Include samples of your music on your site. You do not |
| past years due to the rise in the internet music industry. | | | | need to have a whole album. One or two good |
| The internet provides artists with an alternative way of | | | | samples at least 45 seconds in length will catch the |
| promoting their music with minimum investment while | | | | attention of your visitor. You can use this single track |
| retaining the bulk of the income. Consequently, the | | | | technique to create visitor returns to your site by |
| need for major record labels is diminishing. Indeed, | | | | building anticipation for your next release. |
| many major music artists are abandoning large record | | | | Your sample clip should include the "meat" of the track. |
| labels for the lucrative internet market. The problem is | | | | Long introductions that do not have good musical |
| that most small and moderate indie artists do not know | | | | development may cause the viewer to get bored and |
| how to capitalize on the popularity of the internet | | | | leave the site. If you have not captured the listener in |
| marketplace and lack the knowledge and skill set | | | | the first 20 seconds you are not going to: So take time |
| necessary to launch a successful marketing campaign. | | | | setting up quality samples. |
| Internet Marketing is not as difficult as it appears and | | | | More images and fewer words is a rule I have learned |
| the process can be broken down into several | | | | and will pass on. People like pictures and videos. Show |
| concrete steps. | | | | them, do not just tell them what you do. The highlight |
| The first steps is setting up a personal website. This is | | | | of my marketing debut was when my stats showed |
| the store where you sell yourself and your music and | | | | 80% of my visitors staying at one of my sites over an |
| the home page is the storefront. The home page; the | | | | hour because of the addition of videos, images and |
| first page a visitor sees, is the key to your internet | | | | directive captions. I have found that if visitors choose |
| success or struggle. | | | | to stay, they will eventually choose to pay. Viewers |
| Your home page needs to be creative enough to | | | | who linger on your site will tell their friends about your |
| capture the attention of the viewer in less than 30 | | | | music. The saying, "Word of mouth is the best |
| seconds. If the viewer likes what is seen they will stay | | | | marketer..." still applies in internet marketing. Use |
| or bookmark the site for further review. If the viewer | | | | interesting graphics, images and videos. |
| does not, they leave the site right away. This is called | | | | Your text should be concise and to the point. |
| a "bounce". A good web server will give you the | | | | Consumers do not like to read long texts nor small |
| "bounce rate" of your site, or how many people left | | | | print. Remember to break up long text into shorter |
| your site in less than 30 seconds. If you have a high | | | | paragraphs. Long, rambling, and overly mysterious |
| bounce rate, consider redesigning your home page to | | | | sentences confuse and can agitate your reader so |
| one more appealing to the average consumer. | | | | make your point, quickly, before your consumer |
| Keep a few things in mind when designing your sites. | | | | becomes angry and turns away. |
| Studies show that most people bolt from sites with | | | | An Indie musician with a track record of solid |
| lots of dark colors so think twice before using these. | | | | performances can improve the business aspect of his |
| We all love black, but the truth is most people still | | | | or her art. We indie artists do not fail because of our |
| associate too many dark colors with "negative" things. | | | | music, we fail because we do not know music |
| the average consumer is not a Goth and prefers | | | | business. We can enhance our business success by |
| whites and color. If you do use the "dark theme" look, | | | | utilizing internet marketing strategies and tools |
| your text needs to be light and your graphics must be | | | | successfully utilized by commerce for years to access |
| spectacular, colorful and bright enough to capitalize on | | | | the global marketplace. |
| contrasts with the background. | | | | A well designed website is the first step in a |
| Make your site is as easy to negotiate as possible. | | | | successful internet marketing campaign. A site that is |
| Your links need to be obvious and clearly state where | | | | attractive, user friendly, and well written can be the |
| they will take the visitor and go where they say they | | | | Indie musician's best friend on the journey towards |
| will go. Include a back back to the home page on each | | | | creating a successful music business. |