How to start a music blog? That’s a question music enthusiasts looking to make their mark in the blogging world ask themselves.
If you are one of them, you certainly have the desire to share your love for music with others. You may have an ear for discovering the best new artists and songs before anyone else. Or you may be very good at singing and explaining why a song is good or bad.
Without a doubt, you have impressive skills, and a blog is the perfect platform to show them.
In this post, you’ll learn how to start a music blog in 10 easy steps, how to find a name for your blog, how to monetize your music blog, and more.
So, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s dive right in!
1. Choose a Music Niche for Your Blog
When you start a music blog, you first need to choose a music niche, and it’s easier than you might think.
Here are three options you can consider to choose a music blog niche.
- You can narrow your topics to focus on specific genres or sub-genres of music, such as Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop/Pop, Hip-Hop/R&B, Afrobeat, Synthpop, Trap, etc.
- You can also focus on particular eras of music—for example, the 1980s or the 1990s—or explore a specific artist or band.
- Additionally, you could specialize in providing reviews and recommendations for upcoming albums and singles from newer artists.
There may be more options, but I recommend that you focus on one genre or era for some time. For instance, you can publish 50 articles on one genre before focusing on another. Or you can cover all popular upcoming albums before targeting a specific genre or era.
Why should you focus on one category only?
Because if you split yourself by covering everything, you will cover nothing. First, become an authority in one category before shifting your mind to something else.
When Your Feelings Try to Dictate Your Niche
Without a doubt, you start a music blog to share your passion for music, but for your genre or artist specifically.
Thus, when selecting a niche for your blog, your taste will definitely direct you. However, it’s still important to consider what readers will find interesting and valuable.
Let me give an example.
If I start a music blog to focus on a local artist or an unfamous genre I like, few people will visit my blog. I will write 100+ blog posts, but less than 1000 people may read them. That’s because the artist or the genre is not famous.
But the point here is I’m focusing on my taste, and my taste only. The consequence? Low traffic, difficult to make money.
That’s what will happen if you let your feelings dictate your niche choice. Instead, start with a popular genre, artist, album, ear, etc, and gradually insert your topic.
And to make sure your content stands out, use keyword research tools like Ahrefs to identify popular topics and trends in the music industry. This will help you understand what topics are currently most talked about and ensure that you can provide fresh content that won’t be found elsewhere.
Watch the video below to learn how to do keyword research for a new blog.
2. Find a Catchy Blog and Domain Name
Finding a catchy blog and domain name for a music blog is an essential step to ensure it stands out from the crowd.
You may start by brainstorming names related to your niche. A good music blog name creates excitement and curiosity, and is easy to spell and pronounce.
I show two fantastic ways to find a blog name on pages 46 to 50 of my ebook “Blogging With Results.” You can download it for free below.
You Are Just One Successful Blog Away...
... Just 1 Successful Blog Away From Reaching The Financial Freedom You Desire More than Anything Else in Your Life!
Once you have some potential names in mind, use Godaddy or Domain.com to check the domain availability. Most established music blogs use .com domains, so grab yours if available.
But I also know that it’s difficult to come up with blog name ideas alone. So, I recommend using blog name generators like BusinessNameGenerator to find catchy names.
3. Choose a Blogging Platform to Start Your Music Blog
Now that your niche and blog name ideas, it’s time to choose a blogging platform. You need a blogging platform to start a music blog.
It’s the place where you will create your blog and publish articles.
But with so many blogging platforms available, it can be difficult to decide which one best fits your needs.
At Iconic Blogging, we always recommend WordPress.org, a free blogging tool. It’s flexible and comes with a lot of customization options. Moreover, you get access to thousands of themes and plugins to make your music blog the best place on the internet.
Check out Slide, Epron, and Shuffle, for example. These are some themes you can use to build your music blog.
Also, WordPress offers all the necessary tools and templates for formatting, editing, and managing content. It allows users to comment on posts, includes SEO optimization, offers responsive design elements, and provides an easy way to integrate multimedia content such as audio, video, and images.
4. Host Your Music Blog and Install WordPress
Let’s now talk about hosting your music blog and installing WordPress.
When you host your blog, you make it accessible to users worldwide. Every website and blog you come across on the internet is hosted on a server provided by a hosting provider.
To bring your blog online, you’ll need to find a reliable hosting provider that suits your needs and ensures seamless accessibility for your readers. Whether for personal or professional use, hosting your blog allows you to share your ideas and connect with a global audience.
I recommend using Bluehost, Siteground, or Hostinger to start and host your music blog. They offer the best features, excellent customer service, and reliable hosting.
I will be using Bluehost to show you the process.
- Go to Bluehost and click WordPress Hosting.
2. Choose your hosting plan.
3. Next, enter your domain name under ‘Create a new domain’ and click Next. Make sure that .com is selected.
4. Now, enter your account information.
5. Scroll down and enter package information.
6. Finally, enter your payment information and press Submit.
And there you go! Bluehost will guide you and set up your account. Once you’ve purchased your Bluehost hosting plan, you can install WordPress
Watch the first 3:40 of the video below for more WordPress installation details.
5. Install a WordPress Theme
A WordPress theme is the visual design of your website. It adds color, fonts, and other styling elements to create a beautiful website. You can find thousands of free and paid theme options on WordPress and third-party websites.
You can use a music-related theme like Mixtape, Slide, or Epron. Or, you can go for a multi-purpose theme like Divi, Astra, or Avada.
Once you’ve selected one theme, check out this tutorial for step-by-step instructions on how to install a WordPress theme.
You Are Just One Successful Blog Away...
... Just 1 Successful Blog Away From Reaching The Financial Freedom You Desire More than Anything Else in Your Life!
6. Install Necessary WordPress Plugins
A WordPress plugin is a tool that adds additional features to your WordPress website. You can find thousands of free and paid plugins on WordPress and third-party websites.
Here are some must-have WordPress plugins for any music blog:
Allows you to embed audio files into your posts and pages, so visitors can listen to your tracks on the go.
Connects to your Instagram account and instantly adds new posts to your website.
Rank Math is a powerful and easy-to-use SEO plugin. It helps you optimize your website’s content to rank higher in search engine results.
This contact form plugin allows you to create forms with drag & drop simplicity, and it’s compatible with the most popular payment gateways.
See the number of visitors you get, where they come from, the pages they read, and more. This is particularly important for a music blog since you want to know what location likes a genre or era in particular.
This caching plugin will significantly improve the loading time of your website. Fast speed means happy readers.
Keep your music blog backed up with automated backups that you can restore with a single click. This is especially important for blogs as they can contain large amounts of valuable content.
Once ready, check out this post to learn how to install a WordPress plugin.
7. Create Important Blog Pages
It’s time to create important blog pages for your music blog. These are important because they help structure and organize content into sections or categories.
Visitors can use these categories to navigate the site and search for relevant information easily.
For instance, you can have a page grouping posts on hip-hop, articles on an artist, and posts on an era.
Here are some of the pages that you should include:
Home – a welcome page for your blog
About Me – How it all started and what your mission is
Contact Me – An easy way for readers to reach you
Category Page – A page that groups articles on a specific topic
Blog – Where your readers can find all your posts
Services – If you offer services, list them here
Privacy Policy – Explain how you use the data collected from readers
Terms of Service – The terms and conditions of using your site
Once you have created all the necessary pages, add them to the menu bar and footer, and your blog will be ready for readers.
8. Write and Publish Your First Blog Post
You start a music blog to write and make income. So once you’re done creating your music blog, it’s time to start writing!
Your first blog post will usually suck because you are a beginner. It will take time to improve your skills. But don’t worry too much, people will hardly notice it.
For now, follow the steps below to craft the best content possible.
Choose a Blog Post Topic
You need to decide what topic you want to write about. Think about your target audience and the type of content they would be interested in.
For your niche, the first article could be ‘Most listened to music genre in the world ’ or ‘Richest artists in the USA.’
Do Your Research
Once you have a blog post idea, start your research. Read other articles related to your topic and find out more about it. Just check them quickly — no need to spend minutes on that. This will help you create content that is more detailed and accurate.
Write an Outline
An outline describes the way you write your post. It organizes and structures your content in a logical way. An outline should contain the main points of your post and the subheadings that support it.
I like to use Google Docs to write my outline.
Write a Draft
Once your outline is ready, it’s time to start writing. Create a rough draft and just write down whatever comes to mind. It doesn’t have to be perfect — you can always edit it later. Just try to keep your sentences concise and make sure they flow logically.
Again, use something like Google Docs or Microsoft Word to write the draft.
Edit & Proofread Your Blog Post Draft
Now that you have written your draft, it’s time to edit and proofread. Read your draft and look for any typos or grammar mistakes. Check if all the information is accurate, relevant, and up-to-date. You can also ask someone else to read your post and give feedback.
Once you’ve checked everything twice, you’re ready to publish your post!
Publish Your Post
Add your post to WordPress and add all the necessary images. You can also link to internal pages on your blog if it makes sense. When you are finally ready, hit ‘publish’.
After you have published your blog post, share it on social media and email it to your subscribers. This will help increase the visibility of your post and get more people to read it.
9. Promote Your Music Blog
Nowadays, promoting a music blog will be an even more complex task due to the ever-changing digital landscape.
However, there are several effective and easy-to-implement ways to make your blog known.
Social media:
Leverage social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share your content with a wider audience.
Guest posting:
Reach out to other blogs in your niche (or not) and offer to write guest posts. You get more exposure and build backlinks to your blog.
Email marketing:
Email is still one of the most effective ways to reach out to potential customers. Try building an email list with a tool like ConvertKit and start sending out newsletters regularly.
Search engine optimization (SEO):
Writing high-quality content and optimizing it for search engines is key if you want to get organic traffic from Google.
By using these traffic strategies, you can quickly grow your blog and start earning money.
You Are Just One Successful Blog Away...
... Just 1 Successful Blog Away From Reaching The Financial Freedom You Desire More than Anything Else in Your Life!
10. Monetize Your Music Blog
You start a music blog to share your passion and make money. Take time to explore monetization options for your music blog.
Here are some popular methods — while monetization strategies will vary depending on your blog’s size, niche, and audience:
Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate marketing involves promoting other companies’ products and services in exchange for a commission.
You can promote music-related products such as instruments, equipment, and software.
Sponsored Content:
Sponsored content is a great way to monetize your music blog. Companies may seek out sponsorships with you, or you can look for companies that are interested in promoting their products and services on your blog.
Physical Products:
You can create and sell physical products related to your blog such as T-shirts, hats, and other merchandise.
Subscriptions:
You could offer a subscription plan to access exclusive content or premium features on your blog. Subscription plans are also known as “membership sites” in some cases.
Advertising:
Join advertising networks like Google AdSense to display relevant ads on your blog. Earn revenue based on clicks or impressions. Ensure that ads don’t compromise the user experience and are strategically placed to maximize visibility and engagement.
These are five common ways to monetize a blog. Of course, there are more, like organizing online events. You should combine all these strategies wisely.
Start a Successful Music Blog
In this guide, I showed you how to start a music blog and make money from it. By following these tips, you will create a place to share your passion with others.
Creating a music blog can be extremely rewarding and profitable if you build it with dedication and follow the right strategies. Be sure to use the tactics mentioned above and make your blog an exceptional place for both readers and contributors.
Now it’s your turn.
Where are you now? Are you looking for a blog name or ways to make money? Or are you looking for the best WordPress theme to use?
Let me know your stage or concerns in the comment section below and I’ll be happy to help!
