how to promote my mp3 blog?

November 30, 2005 12:09 PM

Best ways to promote an MP3 blog?

It seemed easy to promote a normal blog, I'd just try to get my posts linked to from other, more successful, blogs and watch my hits go up. But with my newest foray into MP3 blogging, it doesn't seem to work the same way. Or does it? There are endless amounts of MP3 blogs and i'm just modestly trying to stand out from the bunch. So my question is, how can I actively promote my MP3 blog?

posted by deafweatherman to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

Write well about good songs that we won't have heard before. (IE, be a good mp3blog.) When you see a post on another mp3blog that you like, link to it - and say something about why it's good. If the target of that link sees the referral, they'll follow it back. If they like what they see, they might mention you. Or they might bookmark you and then when they see something they particularly like, they might mention you.

Or just be like most of the obnoxious new suddenly-popular mp3blogs and leak every new thing that comes out every day, regardless of the quality of the music or of your prose.

Write every day (if you can). And be patient.

Good luck!
posted by Marquis at 12:14 PM on November 30, 2005

Do a daily podcast summary of your blog?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:16 PM on November 30, 2005

I have to say I was really impressed that your blog wasn't even linked on your userpage. It adds a lot of credibility to your question here.

And given that, email me - I'm curious to check out what you're doing.
posted by Marquis at 12:16 PM on November 30, 2005

Posting obscure (but great) tunes is always a plus, but it's a consistent challenge, and after awhile it might begin to get on your nerves that you're not posting your favorite artists. Even the big mp3blogs give in sometimes and post Bjork or Prince or whomever, which I think is nice and somehow endearing.

But, on the whole, I think Marquis is right and most people probably prefer to hear things they didn't yet know were great. Good luck with it. (And: why not post your URL in your profile?) :-)
posted by Tuwa at 12:55 PM on November 30, 2005

Tuwa's right, of course - but what's going to make your blog special will be either a) the writing; b) the music; or c) [hopefully!] both. And you're not going to attract tons of new readers by only posting "Crown of Love" or "Love Will Tear Us Apart" or "Devil's Haircut" unless you're writing about em really darn well. (Which could be the case.)
posted by Marquis at 1:00 PM on November 30, 2005

* Write great, not just good, content

* Make your site known, without spamming (as others have stated as well.. It's nice of you not to spam us with the link while asking the question). It might just get DIGG'ed.

* If you find yourself regularly writing new things, and the response is good, maybe you can try joining a blog network such as 9rules.com

* Mail me your link
posted by lodev at 1:02 PM on November 30, 2005

I screwed up the guts to actually write a few of my favorite bloggers and say "pardon for invading your inbox, but i'm doing something that may be spiritually similar to what you're up to and wanted to introduce myself." That can blow up in your face as spamming if handled poorly, but in my case I was lucky enough to get some nice links and write-ups.
posted by mykescipark at 1:09 PM on November 30, 2005

Eh. Why do you care if it's popular? I mean, on the one hand, everyone blogging wants to have at least a few readers. Otherwise, why bother? But on the other hand, there is such a glut out there that there's really little point in putting up another track from The Arcade Fire or Babyshambles except to amuse your friends.

Something else that I think helps is dedicated hosting, though it's not necessary. Letting people interact quickly definitely rates higher than making them go through You Send It or Rapidshare.

One more thing: If you have friends in the real world who are also interested in having a music blog, a group blog can be a lot more compelling than a solo shot if everyone's tight.

(Oh, and c'mon, post your URL. I'll mention it, and then both of my readers will go there!)
posted by klangklangston at 2:15 PM on November 30, 2005

A surprising number of people read blogs of all sorts through RSS aggregators. There are several that cater specifically to mp3blogs, such as the Hype Machine and elbo.ws. If you don't already publish an RSS feed of your mp3blog, do so; if you can swing it, make it podcast-compatible (look up RSS enclosures if you're using a homebrew blogging system). Get yourself on those aggregators somehow (probably as simple as submitting your site), and you'll reach a lot of people who might not otherwise find your site.

Other than that, I'd go with the advice everyone gave above, except perhaps for the "post obscure songs" bit. It's definitely interesting if you post something not a lot of people have heard before, but it means absolutely nothing if you're not excited about the song. If you want to post Destiny's Child and Gwen Stefani, don't go out of your way to post Japanese noise-rock just because you think it'll attract more readers. People come because you have an MP3 they want, but they stay because they like your personality/writing style.
posted by chrominance at 7:56 PM on November 30, 2005

I second the elbo.ws suggestion. You can submit your site here.
posted by mumble at 4:57 AM on December 1, 2005

Another aggregator to submit your site to (along with the Hype Machine and elbo.ws) is Indieum.
posted by kickerofelves at 9:16 AM on December 1, 2005