Chapter 4: Your Band’s Website
A Website is a “must-have,” for any performer. That’s pretty much a given. It’s how you,
and more importantly, your fans and others use it that’s the key. Sure, there are plenty of
third-party sites on the Web where you can establish a presence, promote yourself and
your act, sell tunes and such. Facebook and ReverbNation come to mind. But your own
site gives you a very valuable asset–control. With your own site, you control the brand-
ing. You control the content. Plus, if you use it to sell songs and merchandise, you can
keep most of the money.
When executed correctly, your site can become the hub, or center point, for your pro-
motional and marketing efforts. From your site, fans can sign up for your e-newsletter,
listen to and purchase your music, learn about up-coming shows, connect with you on
Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other third-party sites and more. That’s pretty valuable
stuff.
But, before you start reaping the benefits of a site, some questions are in order, as
well as some careful planning. Having crystal clear goals and an intimate knowledge of
your audience both go miles toward developing a killer site that engages its visitors and
keeps those visitors, now fans, coming back.
Developing A Killer Website
I’ll be using the term, “killer website,” several times throughout this chapter. A definition,
therefore, is in order. And here’s one for you: