Whether you’re building a new website for your music or looking to improve your current one, Bandzoogle’s got you covered with their free eBook, Building Your Website: A Step-By-Step Guide for Bands and Musicians.
To give you an idea of what’s inside the guide, check out the sample chapter below on improving your website’s bio page. While you’re at it, we’d recommend using these tips to spruce up the bio section of your Sonicbids EPK, too!
Make sure you snag your free download of Bandzoogle’s new eBook for even more great website tips.
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If reality television, blogging, and social networking have taught us anything, it’s that fans want to know more about the real you. The bio page can be a huge source of traffic for your website.
Think about the people who are visiting your website. Maybe you opened for a band and their fans want to see what you're about. Maybe a journalist or blogger needs material in order to review your show, or your new album.
They're interested in finding out more – it's up to you to give them a great first impression. A good bio page gives context to your music, and that enables the listener to better appreciate it.
Here are some things you should think about including on your bio page:
1. The 5 W's: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
Keep these in mind as you write out a bio for yourself. Imagine you’re describing yourself to a stranger. You might give them some kind of reference to relate to, such as a familiar genre, band, or style of music that they can identify with. But you wouldn't go into every itty-bitty detail of your history. Same thing here. Keep it short, sweet, and relevant.
2. Mention Your Name
Consider writing your bio page in the third person. It might seem a bit impersonal not to use "I" when talking about yourself, but using your name will give your bio text a professional edge.
It will also help your website rank for keyword searches in Google done on your name (or your band name), and allows journalists, bloggers, show promoters, etc. to indulge in a bit of copying and pasting when they want to talk about you.
3. List Your Accomplishments
This is the time to brag about yourself! Write out all of the interesting things you have done. Use a great quote from the press, list places you have played, or bands you've played with. This could be in paragraph form or even as a list. Once you’ve written everything out, trim it down to the most relevant and most attention-grabbing information.
4. Tell Your Story
What sets you apart from everyone else? What makes you different and special? In other words, what’s your story? Give your fans a reason to go to your next show, buy your album, or join your mailing list.
5. Include a Photo
Include a photo of yourself or your band on your bio page. Putting a face to your words will give your page a personal touch as well as making it more visually appealing.
6. Keep it Current
Revisit your bio page every few months and update it accordingly with your latest and greatest musical activities.
7. And... Action!
Now that they know all about you, make it easy for your visitors to contact you and buy your music by including some kind of action. You can include a contact form, a link to your store, or even just your email address.
