Why you should have your own website
As an artist your website provides a window to outsiders, allowing them to look in on your brand and find out more about you. Regardless of the stage you are at in your career, it is always necessary to have a user-friendly artist website featuring information about you. Although social media accounts are highly effective vessels with which to connect with your fanbase, having your own website can take this a step further. Even though the prospect of setting up a brand new website may seem daunting, going ahead will be extremely beneficial. We’ve taken a closer look at exactly why crafting an artist website is so important to your career.
Control
Having your own website gives you a huge amount of control over the image you present to the world. Unlike social media, you aren’t limited in what you share, and it is totally up to you to decide how to present your content. Anything is possible, and you are no longer bound by rules and regulations. You can organize your site however you would like to, and you can position your content however you choose. Also, unlike social media, you are not in competition with anybody else, once your visitor has clicked through to your site you have their attention and are free to show them all of your most exciting content. The possibilities really are endless with your own platform, giving you the freedom to express yourself fully as an artist.
Merchandise store
Your website is a great place to sell merchandise, generating daily revenue from your brand. With your own site, you have the capabilities to set up your store in any way you choose and offer as much or as little as you like. Selling merchandise is a great source of revenue as an artist, and allows you to express yourself artistically in yet another sense. While you may not want to set up a store straight away, it is worth keeping in mind as a future project once you have your website set up.
Keep fans up to date
An artist website is ideal for keeping fans up to date on your activities. Whether you want to share information about a new tour, an exciting new project or a brand new release, your website is the perfect platform for sharing. Delivering news straight from the source also gives you control over exactly how you are presented, and gives you the chance to present updates however you see fit. Keeping some content exclusive to your site also helps to drive site visits, and motivates more fans to keep up to date using your site.
Showcase your content
With creative freedom on your own website, you really do have the power to truly showcase your releases and various content. Use your site as the platform to really draw attention to your latest track, and embed your streaming links so that fans can listen to your music straight at the source. Your website is also a great place to show off high-quality images of your performances, the ideal platform for letting your photography and videos really shine.
SEO
While you cannot control the search engine ranking of your social media pages, you have complete control over the ranking of your own website. You may want to take on an external agency to manage your SEO, or you may decide to research and manage it yourself. Either way, you have a lot more control over your positioning on search engines. Hiring an external agency can be costly, so you may want to work on your own SEO if you have a low budget.
Access to in-depth stats
Social media sites do grant you access to basic statistics behind your profile, but nowhere near as in-depth as the statistics you can access on your own website. You can quickly get access to in-depth information about who visits your site, enabling you to get a better idea of who your fanbase is and who you should be gearing your content towards. Having access to this data can greatly influence your decisions around who you target your material towards in the future.
Mailing list
Aside from capturing information about who visits your site and is familiar with your brand, an artist website is also valuable in the sense that you can collect data for a mailing list. Using software, you can allow users to sign up to your mailing list, allowing them to be the first to know about any upcoming projects. Collecting email addresses and contact information is a highly valuable practice, as it gives you yet another point of contact with those who are passionate about your brand, creating even more chances for your fans to interact with your releases.
Legitimacy
Last of all, having a high-quality website gives your brand more legitimacy. Upon finding your website, most people will be encouraged into assuming that you are an artist with potential and a huge future ahead. It will also let visitors know that you mean business and have exciting projects on the way. Even though anybody in the world has the option to set up a website, it still acts as a stamp of legitimacy and changes public opinion about your potential.
Overall, creating an artist website is a no-brainer, with so many positives involved, it makes sense to establish a solid presence. Having a website is the single best way to give your brand more widespread influence, and add legitimacy to your persona. In this day and age, creative personalities are only truly able to be taken seriously once they have established a web presence. Starting up your new website may seem like a mammoth task, but actioning the process one step at a time ensures that you will feel at ease. The earlier in your career that you build a website, the better, so it is worth planning your website as early as possible, and regardless of the stage you are at in your career, today is the day to take that vital step.
Example of an artist website: Hardwell
