Photo by Edward Eyer for Pexels
I’m seeing an odd thing with folk musicians around my age and older. I’m not referring to musicians on the rocking side, traditional-ish, or those who’d be considered “Americana.” I’m talking about the ones who have Dylan and Mitchell in their bones, mostly. Singer-songwriter-y.
If they’re playing around some, say, a couple of events per month (including outdoors and streaming these days), yes— they usually have a newsletter. But when you visit their websites, the calendar has no connection to another ecosystem. Yes, some connect with a site with the initials RN, but…
Your calendar is one of the main ways you stay top-of-mind in the awareness of your listeners. An effective, functional website design for musicians should be integrated with Bandsintown, full stop. Over 560,000 artists are on it, from emerging to iconic. To find you, most people will still Google you. If you’re on BIT, you’ll be more prominent.
To stay high in the search rankings, update your site frequently. Excellent blog content is a good way to do that. Squarespace has simple, robust tools for making it happen (compared to other site builders folk musicians commonly use). It doesn’t have to be complicated. Those thoughts you put on Facebook or Instagram? Repurpose them into posts. Give it a few months. Chances are, your viewership will grow.
The 50+ folk music website scene is gathering dust. It’s high time to clean it out, open it up, and bring it in line with high-level design practices.
