Blogging for Musicians: How to Grow Your Fan Base One Post at a Time

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April 11, 2012{ 9 Comments }

Grow your audience with a blog 300x197 Blogging for Musicians: How to Grow Your Fan Base One Post at a TimeI know, I know– you’re busy enough as it is; you don’t have a spare minute for another promotional activity.

But what if I told you you’re ALREADY a blogger? Any time you update your Facebook status, send a tweet, share a picture, video, or song, you’re blogging. See, it’s easy!

As my compadre Chris Bolton at HostBaby says, “Blogging is a casual art form. You don’t need perfect prose or grandiose themes to succeed. All you need to do is be yourself; your friends and fans will appreciate it. Blogging is also the best tool for growing an audience online, and it’s actually quite simple to start your own.”

In his article “How to Grow Your Fan Base with a Blog,” Chris lays out the benefits of having your OWN blog, as opposed to sticking exclusively to existing social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter; and he also lists 5 Important Tips for Running a Successful Blog.

Curious what they are? Check out his advice HERE.

What, no blog?! Build a Website with Built-in Blog at HostBaby Today!

Chris Robley's Author Bio

  • http://www.facebook.com/Clippernolan Rob Jones

    As a non-musician, yet a very active music blogger and music fan, here’s what I’d like to see more of when it comes to musicians blogging on their own. I’d like to see what books you’re reading, or what current events are on your mind. These things play into your art. So I want to see the roots of that, as a fan. I also want to know what music you’re grooving to, and why it makes you groove. It’s fun to trace the connections between what a musician loves, and what ends up coming out in that musician’s work. Share it!

    Perhaps most importantly, I’d like to see where it is you want to end up, as a professional musician. I want to get a sense of your personal journey as a musician trying to make a long-lasting career. That’s just primal stuff, like Homer’s the Odyssey or something. Narratives and storytelling don’t have to be on that epic level, of course. Yet, I want to get a sense of the milestones you’ve hit, and the ones you hope to hit. And I want to hear those ‘aha’ moments, too. Some of the most successful acts in music history have interesting stories attached to them – Elvis making ‘That’s Alright Mama’ for his Mum’s birthday, The Beatles in Hamburg, Mick & Keith meeting at the train station and deciding to share their record collections. The list goes on and on. Storytelling is powerful, and always has been, for musicians! A blog can be an extension of that.

    All of this plays into my music blogger brain. Because, when you write well about yourself, it makes it a lot easier for me, as a music blogger, to write about you too, and to spread the word to my audience who hasn’t yet discovered you.

    • http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

      Great advice. I think we often tend to think we have nothing to say if there is no immediate music-career news. But it’s all those other details that really make the story.

  • http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

    I agree with you in some respects. My take on it would be that no one is going to care about the trivia of your life until you’ve created art that is anything but trivial. If my favorite artist was between books or albums I might be curious about what they were up to. Not every move of every day. But once in a while I’d check in.

  • http://twitter.com/PTheWyse Praverb Dot Net

    Lovely article….thank you for the advice

  • http://www.indyintune.com Darrin

    As someone who blogs and podcasts for local, independent musicians, I have always believed the key to success is to get in touch with your audience and present yourself as just an “everyday joe” as it were. Forget celebrity, and by all means let people know the mundane and day to day struggles of your life. Make them feel like they know you. That way when they see your name on some bar’s marquee, they are more apt to come in, support your dream, and have some kind of a vested interest in seeing you become successful. If people don’t care about the “publicity” or the “celebrity,” and I understand that many don’t, then they can focus on the parts of your art that are important to them. Me? I want the whole story.

    • http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

      Agreed. People can easily sniff-out the holier-than-thou attitudes.

  • http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley
  • http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

    That does sound interesting.

  • http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

    I believe so. Though I’ve mostly used WordPress myself, so I’m not sure exactly what the limitations of blogspot are regarding built-in functions, plugins, etc.