Elements AND content for AN ARTiST Web Sue
An artist's web site should contain elements that help achieve the goals set out at the beginning of this chapter: branding, promoting products, creating a sense of community and generating repeat traffic. As a part of the branding process, the overall look of the site should reflect the taste of the artist and the expectations of the target market.
An artist's web site should contain the following basic elements:
1. A description and biography of the artist. The home page should have some information or description, but a separate biography page should be created for in-depth information about the artist.
2. Photos. Promotional photos, concert photos, and other pictures of interest. This can include shots of the artist that capture everyday life, photos of the fans at concerts, and other photos that reflect the artist's hobbies or interests.
3. News of the artist. Press releases, news of upcoming tour dates, record releases, and milestones such as awards. This page should be updated often, and outdated materials should be moved to an archive section.
4. Information about recordings. Discography and liner notes from albums to increase interest in the recorded music of the artist. Comments from the artist on the recordings. Information on the recording process.
5. Song information. Lyrics and perhaps chord charts (again to increase interest in the recorded music).
6. Audio files. These may be located on the purchase page to encourage impulse purchases. They may be 30- to 45-second samples or streaming audio rather than downloadable files, to protect against piracy.
7. Membership or fan club signup page. Allows visitors to sign up for your newsletter or to access more exclusive areas of the site. This will help you build an e-mail list and allow for more control over content posted on message boards in restricted areas of the site.
8. Tour information. Tour dates, set lists, driving directions to venues, photographs/video from live performances, touring equipment list.
9. E-store. Merchandise page for selling records, T-shirts, and other swag.4
10. Contests or giveaways. To increase repeat traffic and motivate fans to visit the site. These can be announced at concerts.
11. Links. To other favorite sites, including links to purchase products or concert tickets, venue information, the artist's personal favorites, e-zines (online magazines), the artist's MySpace page, and other music sites. Ensure that all your offsite links open in a new window so the visitor can easily return to your site.
12. Contact information. For booking agencies, club managers, and the media. This could also include print-quality images for the press.
13. Message board or chat rooms. This allows the fans to communicate with one another to create a sense of community. This can be an area restricted to members only.
14. Blogs. Recently blogs have become popular on the Internet. A blog is simply a journal, usually in chronological order, of an event or a person's experiences. Maintaining a blog of the touring experience is one way to keep fans coming back to the web site to read the most recent updates to the journal. It also gives fans a sense of intimacy with the artist. Video blogging (or vlogging) is also becoming popular.
15. Printable brochures or press kits. Electronic versions of any printed materials that the artist uses in press kits and to send out should be made available on the web site. (See Appendix 1.) On the link to retrieve these items, be sure to mention if they are in the PDF format—some older browsers and slower modems lock up when attempting to open a PDF file in a browser window. Sonicbids is an online site that offers users the ability to create professional-looking electronic press kits for artists (www.sonicbid.com).
4 The e-store can be either integrated into the web site or feature a link to the artist's products on a third-party selling site.
By including these elements you will cover the goals of the web site, generate traffic and repeat visits, and provide an around-the-clock source of information and entertainment for fans. Coupled with an aggressive web promotion campaign, a well-designed web site can increase the visibility and popularity of an artist at any stage of the artist's development and career. Once you have determined what content should be included on a web site, decisions must be made regarding the design and layout—what colors, fonts, images, and so on should be used.
The best advice is to scour the Internet to find web sites and web components that are appealing and serve as examples and inspiration for building the perfect site. If a design expert is to be employed, these examples will illustrate to the designer what is expected of the new site. For the do-it-yourselfers, templates are available for most web design programs. Some are offered as part of the software package, some are offered as free downloads, and some are offered for sale (often for a small fee) through commercial software web sites. It may be worth spending a few dollars on a template with a professional and contemporary look. All templates can be modified or customized—the idea is to keep the elements that work and replace those that do not. A good web site can also be the product of evolution. Each time the site is updated, it is tweaked with minor improvements until it finally has the intended look of professionalism and success.
In conclusion, the web site is considered the home base from which promotions are launched. All marketing and promotional materials and campaigns can then direct fans to the web site for more of what they like about the artist. But the web site is just the beginning of the Internet presence for an artist. Chapter 7 addresses how to maximize the web site to increase traffic and sales. Chapters 10 through 12 outline how to promote the web site and the artist on the Internet.
Creating Content for the Web Site
An artist web site is one part press kit, one part electronic store front, and one part social networking site. One of the most challenging aspects of creating a new web site is building up the assets that will be used on the site. The earlier section on basic design rules discussed how to take the content and design a site using storyboarding. The previous section included a list of potential items that may be incorporated into the web site, but how are these assets developed? The publicist is the best person to create these assets. He or she knows how to craft stories and select photographs that depict the artist in the image that best suits the artist's career. Do not leave it to the webmaster to create and select these assets—this is not the webmaster's area of expertise.
If the artist has a press kit, that is a good place to start—using electronic versions of text files and graphics. These items should be developed in advance of designing the web site and should be developed for both online and offline use. An artist biography is usually written by a trained journalist or publicist, who interviews the artist, reads up on the artist's background, understands the market, and then creates a compelling story via the bio. A professional photographer should be hired to take publicity photos. Publicity shots are not the same as a publicity photo. A publicity shot is one taken backstage with other celebrities or at events. The publicity photo is the official photographic representation of the artist. Publicity photos should be periodically updated to keep current with styles and image. But once a photo is released to the public, it is fair game for making a reappearance at any time in the artist's career, even for artists who have moved on and revamped their image.
The press release is another asset that should be incorporated into the web site. Press releases are a standard tool in public relations, one that works better than letters or phone calls (Spellman, 2000). The press release is used to publicize news and events and is a pared-down news story. Here are some examples of when a press release should be used:
1. To announce the release of an album
2. To announce a concert or tour
3. To publicize an event involving the artist or label
4. To announce the nomination or winning of an award or contest
5. To publicize other newsworthy items that would be appealing to the media
The press release should be written with the important information at the beginning. Today's busy journalists don't have time to dig through a press release to determine what it is about. They want to scan the document quickly to determine whether the information it contains is something that will appeal to their target audience.
The press release needs to have a slug line (headline) that is short, attention grabbing, and precise. The purpose or topic should be presented in the slug line. The release should be dated with contact information including phone and fax numbers, address, and e-mail. The body of text should be double spaced. The lead paragraph should answer the five W's and the H (who, what, where, when, why, and how). Begin with the most important information; no unnecessary information should be included in the lead paragraph (Knab, 2003). In the body, information should be written in the inverse pyramid form—in descending order of importance.
CoNCLuSioN
A web site should be created after determining the goals of the site, the image of the brand, and the expectations of the visitor. The elements for inclusion should be decided in advance, and the site should be planned before work begins on development. Assets or content for the site should be developed independently with consideration given for elements that will be used both on the web site and in other promotional materials. Publicists should work with web designers and marketers to ensure that the web site meets the goals. In addition to assets, web designers5 and developers need tools, including a web design program and an image editing program.
5 There is a difference between web designers and web developers. A designer would not need a web design program, they work only with the graphic design and image editing tools, mostly Photoshop. The developer would be using the site design tools such as Dreamweaver, although most pro developers use other things. Occasionally these two people are one and the same, but in most pro web shops the/ re at two different desks.
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