Why Do You Need A Website?
When a concert attendee sees you walk out on stage and wants to learn more about you, the first thing they do is pull out their phones and Google you. Would you rather have the concert video of 12-year-old you show up first on the results, or would you prefer to control what your fans see? I did not like to see the videos of my high school bassoon performances pop up first, so I created a website as soon as I was able. Websites are a powerful tool for getting your work out into the world and the best way for you to control your message online.
Here are seven reasons to have a personal website:
1. Your Website Is Your Virtual Home
Like driving to your home in the real world, your website is a place for people who want to visit you online to go first. Your site is a place for you to give information about yourself in a slightly more relaxed way. When people hear you perform on the concert stage, they often want to know more about you as a human. What do you love to do in your spare time? Do you have any other interests? WHY do you perform in the first place? Use your website to answer these questions and give your audience a sense of who you are through the site itself.
2. Your Website Captures Your Personality
Unlike your professional bio which is often formulaic and structured to fit the needs of a publication or concert series, your website is a great way to share more about the other things in your life that make you who you are. You can write your bio in the first person, you can have a longer bio that reflects more of your interests beyond performance, and you can discuss why you chose to pursue classical music in the first place. Finally, your website is a place where you can build your design skills with font, layout, color choices, and photo placement in a way that represents you.
3. YOU Control The Contents Of Your Website
Several years ago, I gave a presentation at a conference, which was a lovely experience. The person in charge of the event posted a flyer online that looked like it was from 1992, complete with clip art, misspellings, and a bad photo of me. When I searched for Nate Zeisler on Google, guess what came to the top of the search? By having an up-to-date website, I was able to quickly push the flyer down to a much lower part of the results. The best part of your website is that you are able to control and curate the information that you would like your fans to see.
4. Your Website Provides A Direct Line Of Communication With Your Fans
We are now in a world where you no longer need a publicist or manager to connect and communicate with your fans. Your website is the perfect place to give updates, blog, podcast, and share performance videos with your audience.
5. While Social Media Will Come And Go, Your Website Remains
Every five years or so, a new social media platform pops up, replacing the hot platform from before. Facebook replaced Myspace, Instagram replaced Facebook, Snapchat replaced Instagram and now TikTok is replacing everything. Through it all, websites have remained. Use your website as a place to keep the information that remains the same for long periods of time like your bio and professional photos and then utilize social media for more timely information and to build your audience.
6. Everything Flows Through Your Website
Think of your website as the hub of a wheel. The spokes going out are all of the channels to bring people to your site. Various channels include Social media sites, podcasts, blogging, newsletter curation, listing your website in your bio, etc.
7. Your Website Is Your Business
Having a website has the potential to allow you to be in control and gain financial stability, without being dependent upon someone hiring you to perform. Over time, you can turn your website into a platform that can support your career financially. Here is my step-by-step process for building an online community that will help you gain financial stability.
Thanks for reading and I hope that this post will help you make the decision to launch your website today!
Photo Credit: Patrick Fore on UnSplash
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