“It’s easy for you to keep blogging. You have six or seven hundred readers a day, the pressure is on to keep those readers. I only have twelve people reading my blog.”
Here’s where the actual interaction comes in for you musicians. I suppose it’s just like anything else. If you want people on your blog, you need to figure out how to get them there. If you want people to your shows or to buy your albums, you need to figure out a way to do that. You need to interact with them. You want to be approachable to your fans? Then be personable on your blog. We have already seen that it’s possible to blog everyday things, and there are almost thirty comments of people confirming that it is what they want. But what if people are still having a hard time finding your blog?
Step one: Go to blogs that you think are interesting, post comments, communicate with people. You know…. interact. When you take the time to comment on something someone else has written, unless it’s John Mayer, or Seth Godin, they will click on your name and check out your blog. I have never had anyone comment on my blog that I didn’t try to click on their name to see their blog. That’s traffic and potential readers.
Step two: Link to other blogs. When you see something you think is entertaining, funny, thought provoking, or interesting and want to talk about it on your blog, link to where it came from. When you link to someone else, if they are paying attention, they will notice. They will see that you have linked to them, visit you, then most likely link back to you. That creates traffic. Once again, actual interaction. You can also put links in the side bar. Links that you read regularly, and think others should visit. Several people will do a “link to me, I will link to you” campaign, but the potential of linking to something you don’t recommend is always there.
“How do I tell who is linking to me?” There are a million different ways, but the two that I use, are the built in dashboard option on Wordpress, and Technorati. Both will tell you the site and the context of what is linking to you. For instance, I noticed on Technorati, that Spence and Shaun had linked to me which is giving me traffic, and also causing me to visit them (as if I didn’t already). Technorati has some sort of “authority” thing that I don’t really understand, and not sure I really care to, as long as I know where the links are coming from. Linking to people and getting links is the quickest way to spread your blog around, but again, frequently updating is key here too. If your blog sits for a while people are going to stop clicking on your name and eventually take you off their list.
Step Three: Comment on the comments. Here’s the tricky part for you artists. A lot of artists are used to saying what they want to say and walking away. Interview style. They answer their questions, smile, shake hands and forget all about it. There is no “checking back” or interaction from that point on. Blogs are different, because they have comments. They have people asking questions, people responding to what you have said. It’s only common courtesy that you engage in the conversation. After all, you started it. “But super-freak-fans control every conversation with thirty comments per post.” Then post something else and ignore them. Here’s what they are doing. They are trying to use your status or your popularity to get themselves attention. If you continue to post things that you want, eventually they will realize that you are not paying attention to them if they aren’t contributing to the actual conversation. They will get that, and either stop commenting, or start commenting something constructive. Not to mention the people that are actually involved in the conversation will usually take care of the trouble maker and get them in line.
If you aren’t commenting on the comments, it feels like you are posting something and never checking back. That’s what you are doing right? And you wonder why your blog doesn’t have traffic. You wonder why people don’t comment. It’s because there is no point to them commenting. They know you won’t answer questions, or say anything back so why would they comment? Again, actual interaction.
I know, it’s hard, but guess what? It’s work. It’s your job. These are the people that (1) are interested enough in you to find your blog, (2) most likely are the ones that are going to buy your albums and (3) have blogs of their own and can and will help spread your music around via the internet. These are the people you want to interact with. These are the people you want on your side. And these are the people that can add unbelievable amounts to your career. Interact with them.
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