The value of creative content is really no secret among musicians. The art of crafting words is often underappreciated and underused in comparison with other creative marketing measures though.
While it’s true, a picture is worth a thousand words and videos and audio are understandably favorite choices for music artists, written content is priceless too. Here are some suggestions to make sure you’re taking advantage of all the avenues of written content available to you.
1. Platitudes.
If you haven’t heard of platitudes, you’re missing out. Platitudes are a new trend on social media. They are sometimes compared to inspirational quotes but instead of being authored by Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, or Bill Gates, they are created by you (or maybe even your creative writer).
Platitudes can be used on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and most all social medica sites. Many musicians are seeing astounding results from their thought provoking or motivating quotes. Often, a graphic accompanies the platitudes.
If platitudes do nothing else, they help form a connection with your existing fans and may even attract some new ones. And since that’s what it’s all about in the music industry…why not give it a try?
2. Blogs.
The first recorded blog dates back to 1997. Even though blogs have been around awhile, they definitely are still worth their weight in gold musicians.
Look at it this way, when you want to get to know about a celebrity – like your favorite actor, musician, or athlete, it’s a good idea to check out their website and social media sites. There you’ll find photos, maybe some videos, and most likely, some blogs they’ve written.
Blogs allow for more personality to shine through than a factual article does. You begin to get the feeling you know the person who is writing it. That’s the joy of writing blogs. Your fans can get to know you through your writing. In the event that you don’t like to write or are horrible at it, you can hire someone to write on your behalf.
3. Press Releases.
Did you know you can create your own press releases to announce anything newsworthy? You certainly can. There are a quite a few sources where you can submit press releases. Some charge a fee per submission or require you to have a paid account while others are free.
Press releases are a great way to get the word out about a new song, album, music video, or tour. There are typically rules you must follow when submitting the article. For a reasonable fee, you can find freelancers who specialize in writing and submitting press releases, or it may be something your music marketer offers on your behalf.
4. Frameworks.
Audiences love to learn how to do things. If there’s something you are good at that can be summarized in step-by-step written content, you might want to consider doing frameworks which are basically “how to” instructions. Perhaps aside from playing music, you love to surf and want to teach your fans how. Maybe you want to teach how to write lyrics or play the drums.
Whatever it is you are passionate about, your fans will love reading about it. You can even write inspirational or funny things because frameworks don’t have to be educational. You can publish them on your site or on multiple “how to” sites where you are listed as the author, and you’ll want to link back to your website or social media site.
5. Guest sites.
Networking is an awesome way to get attention to your site. Write an article about yourself or about something of interest and have it posted on a guest site. When rubbing shoulders with other musicians, marketing managers, and others in the industry, be on the lookout for those with sites they might allow you to put an article or blog on. Sometimes, artists trade and guest post on each other’s sites. Always include a link back to your website or social media site.
6. Bios.
A biography is an account written about you. You can write it or you can have it written by a professional writer. Bios can be short and sweet. They can also be book length or anything in between. Music sites often add bios when promoting a song. You can even have a bio on your own site. It’s a good idea to have a bio anywhere you can and to update them when you have new music out.
7. Books.
Books get attention. You can write a book about yourself, your music, or about anything you’d like. The book can be long or even in the form of a shorter booklet. You can self-publish on a platform like Amazon Kindle or the hard copy option on Amazon. There are other self-publishing platforms as well. Self-publishing is a much simpler process than trying to find a publisher unless you have written before or are well-known. You can print your own e-booklet without a publisher and give it out when a listeners downloads or buys your music.
8. Posts.
Post on all the social media sites you are active on. Your posts don’t have to be profound. Your followers will like hearing from you, no matter what it is. You’ll be building a presence which is what engages users.
Regardless of if you are a writer or aspiring one and will be writing your own material or if you plan to hire a writer, written content open doors to promote yourself and your music and therefore should never be ignored.
Readers love to engage with musicians they listen to. In order to do that, it’s important for you to utilize the opportunities written content provides you. Simply put – you owe it to your fans and fans you could be drawing in and you owe it to yourself as well. If you aren’t one…you might want to get one.