A Web Presence – Do You Need It?

© I.Woloshen

As a songwriter, there are certainly advantages to having your songs, or at the very least yourSELF exposed to the masses. The “millions” that internet companies tell us we’ll be exposed to, however, isn’t necessarily true. Why? Because there are millions of other websites out there, and an infinite number of surfing possibilities! So why bother? Well, here are a few of my thoughts.

I’ve had my webpage online for about 6 years now…that’s pretty much since the beginning of the internet when we were all just learning about it. Of course, many things have changed in those six years…websites can be a lot more interesting to look at and hang out in now, many of us have faster connections, and we’ve all become more web-savvy both in our surfing and in our creation of them. The downside, of course, was that too many people jumped on the bandwagon, starting internet companies and a boom in the stock market, only to fall flat when many of them proved to have no substance. That’s my first rule of thumb: substance.

Maintaining a webpage of any sort is a big job. Actually, you have to think of it as an “ongoing” job. Just putting your picture and a couple of audio files online is not going to do much for you, unless you’re already famous :) If you don’t want it to be a lot of work, my first suggestion is to use a websites like Soundclick, where you don’t have to do AS MUCH to keep it going. You still need to advertise it and keep it fresh in order to keep them coming back, but it’s not as much work as maintaining your own website. SO, if you’re not ready to commit to the time it takes with your own website, these others are a good starting place.

What Is Required Of You – Essentially, think of these sites as online press kits. On most sites you will need photos, audio files, a bio and if possible, some press quotes. I’ve seen people use fancy generic photos instead of pictures of themselves…I’ve even seen a few people use their pets  :) I have to say though, that if you’re a performing songwriter, the pic should be of you. Make it a good one, a close-up if possible.

Audio files are normally mp3 files these days, although some sites convert into Real Audio files as well. If you don’t know how to make an mp3 file, then learn how! Or at the very least, get your audio gearhead friends to do it for you. By doing a search on your favourite search engine for “how to make mp3 files”, you’ll get a lot of websites to peruse. My set up is this: I stick my CD in my computer’s CD/DVD player…from a CD, I rip the .wav files into Windows Media. Then I convert them to mp3 files using Adobe Audition , but there are plenty of free audio converters out there, just do a Google search for audio converters. When you upload an mp3 file to a website like Soundclick, lo-fi and hi-fi versions of the files will automatically be created, so all you upload are mp3 files. Confused yet? Don’t worry, it’ll get easier  :)

Your bio should be short, concise, and only include the highlights. Favourite colours and other hobbies might be cute, but they are not important facts  :) I’ve seen very clever bios that don’t say ANYTHING relevant…maybe that’ll attract a few jokers. A sense of humour isn’t a bad thing, just make sure you include a little beef with your burger. If you’ve had any press at all, throw in a couple of good quotes. This makes you appear more “legitimate”, even if it was your uncles’ newspaper in a small town of 250 people where the quote appeared.

Beyond this, as I said before, keep it fresh. If you get new pictures, upload them, new songs, same thing. You don’t have to upload ALL of your songs, but rotate them once in awhile. If you have any news, upcoming performances, awards…let your listeners know.

These are the basic elements you’ll need for other music websites. But what about creating your own website…is it worth the trouble? I’m certainly not going to try to teach you how to build a website, I’m much better at teaching guitar  :) But strictly from the point of view of a songwriter or performing songwriter, there are several things to consider. When I first created my website, the smartest thing I read about building one was that it had to have something on it that would keep people coming back. That’s when I had the idea to create a songwriting tips section that I started writing articles for. There are a number of big websites now that cover all aspects of songwriting that are far better than mine, but on almost every one of them, there’s a link to mine! This has built up slowly, over the years. Most of the traffic to my website used to be from links that other songwriters had up on their web pages. The majority of traffic I get now is simply from search engine inquiries with the keywords “songwriting tips”!

You are likely not going to want to write your own songwriting tips (although I encourage you to if you can!), but you have to create your webpage with the same thought…”how can I make sure people will come back for more?” This is not an easy task. Content is everything. You could build a site around another hobby or interest…you’re a creative person, just let your imagination go! Here’s another list of do’s and don’t’s in terms of creating a website:

1.Do check out the singer-songwriter directory and check out as many webpages as you can to see how others have done it.

2.Do remember the same rule you apply to your songwriting…K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid!

3.Do some research on HTML, the code that is used to create webpages. You can buy software to create your pages that doesn’t require any extensive knowledge, but it helps to know a little.

4.If you are colour-blind, do consider getting some colour scheme ideas from elsewhere…OH, how the eyes hurt when I see pink text on a blue background…arrgghh!!

5.Don’t have a bunch of goofy, distracting, time-consuming animations or java-scripts on your pages unless they apply directly to your content. People will leave your site really fast if it takes too long to download, or if it makes their computer crash!

You don’t have to pay for web space these days…do a search on any search engine for “free web space” and you’ll find all kinds of them.

Promotion Is Everything! If you already have a following in terms of performing…have your website URL on every piece of promotional material you put out there…posters, business cards, stickers, CD’s, everything. If you don’t have a following yet, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time promoting your website, mostly on the web. Make sure it is listed with all of the major search engines. If there are other music-related websites where you can post or promote your site, do so. Join songwriter forums (see my critique boards article for links), and chats so that you can not only meet other songwriters, but get some promotional ideas. The web is not a static place, it changes constantly, so be on the lookout for new places to promote yourself as much as you can.

I handle my own web pages, etc., but that does not make me an expert when it comes to web page development. So if you have any general questions about it, I’d be happy to help you. Otherwise, I’d refer you to any one of a number of websites that have much better and more specific information. That’s my disclaimer  :)

Ultimately, if you’re willing to put the work into it, having a web page has far more advantages than not. You’ll “meet” all kinds of people out there, find new songwriting collaborators, new fans and you’ll find yourself part of a wonderful community. Good Luck!

IJ 

Where To Get A Critique and What To Expect

© I.Woloshen

First of all, let me say that I don't privately critique lyrics anymore for several reasons. The most important one being that it takes a lot of time to do a proper critique of most lyrics, and I just don't have that time anymore! Be happy for me, that's a good thing :-)

So what I want to do is give a list of places where you can post your lyrics for critique. There is no guarantee with any of them that you will get lots of critiques, or even good ones, but it's really important to keep trying to get feedback on your songs, so these places are a good starting block. For most of them, you simply have to scan down to the "lyric critiques" section:

The Muse's Muse forum is tops on my list because I know that Jodi keeps an eye out for what is going on there. I know how sensitive you all are to having your lyrics evaluated by people you don't know :-)

The Just Plain Folks forum is also a good one, and busy! You can also get feedback on your mp3 files if you have 'em!

If you do a search on any search engine using keywords "lyric critique" you'll find a bunch more, I promise you, but the ones above are set up by people that I know and therefore recommend. Now, onto the "what to expect from a critique" part of our discussion :-)

I've got other articles on critiques and how they work, etc., but I still find that many songwriters really don't know how to judge a critique and what to take from it. The first thing you must realize is that many songwriters who will critique your songs on these boards are in the same position you are...they may not know all, but they are sincerely looking to improve their craft. You can expect some of them to pat you on the back..."great song!"..."wow, I really like this!". This might make your head swell, but it isn't much of a reality check :-) What you NEED from a critique can be broken down into several things:

1. Honesty. This doesn't mean that the "wow, this is great" comments aren't honest, but they really don't help you much. There is no perfect song, and always something you can do to improve a song. Those who are willing to give you an honest assessment, are your best friends! Even if they don't like something!

2. Meat & Potatoes. You need people to tell you, as much as they can, why something isn't working for them. Do they misunderstand your lyric's message? Do they get mixed up with your songs' characters? What isn't working and why? Don't be afraid to ask questions, just remember not to sound too defensive :-)

3. Suggestions. You can take them or leave them, but if someone suggests another way of writing something, give it a good look first before you decide to ignore it! You might not want to re-write exactly that way, but it might give you a better understanding of where they are coming from and what isn't working.

4. Twice is Right. If you don't agree with an assessment, that's cool. But if you hear the SAME THING from more than one source, this is really something you should take a second look at! Don't ignore it, don't let your hurt feelings get in the way.

5. The Truth Hurts. Critiques are NOT easy to take in the beginning. But someone who takes the time to give you the hard facts, some real feedback, is worth thanking. So PLEASE remember your manners and thank them, even if they just mashed your song to pieces and flushed it down the loo.

Try doing a few critiques yourself on these boards so that you can feel what it's like to be on the other side. Just because you don't think you know enough, you can still offer some feedback, and that is a very valuable thing!

Okay, now take a deep breath, and put your lyrics out there!

[Oh, and p.s. - if you know of a great forum where you can post lyrics and songs for feedback, please let us know and add it in the comments below!]

IJ

Results of My Survey

© I.Woloshen

For the past several months, I have had a survey up on my main songwriting tips page with some basic questions on your experience, preferences, goals and others. The survey brought some surprising results, at least to me! What I want to do here is go through the questions and responses and evaluate them! The company that provided the poll changed around and as a result, the poll is no longer valid. However, I'll be creating new polls in future so stay tuned! As for the results I received from the last one, here are the results:

The length of time most of you have been writing surprised me a little. I usually hear from people who have only been writing for a short period of time...but according to the survey, MOST of you (36%) have been writing longer than 10 years, followed by 2-5 years (32%), less than one year (19%) and 5-10 years (13%). What is interesting to me is that although I started 32 years ago, I realize that it is only the last 10 years that counts to me. Why? Because I don't think I really studied the craft until then. Before that, I could have cared less to do any rewriting or to step outside of myself and think about what an audience response to my song would be. So I've come to the conclusion that the length of time we've been writing is probably not all that relevant! Have we spent that amount of time REALLY studying songwriting? I have read some great lyrics by people who have only been writing for a short while...and some equally weak lyrics from some who've been at it for some time!

Most of you who responded write both lyrics and music (67%), more write just lyrics (25%) than just music (8%). This was a newer question on the survey and therefore has fewer responses than some of the others, but seems to confirm my suspicion that MOST songwriters aim to do both.

The majority of you are what I call "sporadic" writers (42%)...I include myself in that category. I can go a long time without writing, and then suddenly spew out a long list of songs. This is why I don't believe in "writers' block", at least for me! Because there's a time that I'm in the songwriting "mode" and a time I'm not...sometimes I have nothing to express! 25% of you write daily! I wonder if you have written daily for all of your songwriting life? My guess is that there are probably some who responded this way because you THINK you should write daily :-) 25% write weekly. This seems fairly reasonable. 8% of you write monthly.

The next question is one I took particular interest in..."What do you feel is your biggest weakness in your songwriting?" My guess would have been lyrics, since the majority of songwriters I hear from seem to find difficulty in coming up with fresh and original lyrics. But most of you (24%) responded that "structure" was your biggest weakness! I'm wondering if this is because the definition of structure isn't all that clear? What I call 'structure' is also defined in songwriting terms as 'form'. This is the ABABCB (or any combination of those) that you always hear about, where A=verse, B=chorus and C=bridge. There does seem to be some confusion by newer writers about what a "bridge" is, or a "pre-chorus", and where they belong. But considering that most of you have been writing for more than 10 years, the confusion about structure does come as a surprise! 19% find melodies the biggest challenge and the same number say that "conveying a message" is their biggest weakness. I DID say to pick more than one if necessary, so the demo may be a little skewed by that. Another big surprise...only 1% of you said that uniqueness is your biggest weakness...now that's a shock! For the most part, many of the songs I listen to or lyrics I read from newer writers really lack the uniqueness quality! Nobody thought rhyming was their biggest problem...this is also very interesting. Is that because it's easy to rhyme words, or because you practise rhyming more than anything else? :-) 14% thought your lyrics were your biggest weakness, and 10% music.

None of you have successfully found a songwriting collaborator on the internet. Whether that's because you aren't looking for one, or just haven't had any luck, is another question. Considering that the internet has become a great tool for interacting with other songwriters, this also comes as a surprise to me!

The majority of you are interested in seeing more articles on lyrics (27%) or just more of anything (27%). Articles on performing (14%) and music (16%) and the business (16%) are pretty even. I do take this question pretty seriously...but it is curious to me in comparison to the question above about your biggest weakness, where only 14% of you thought it was your lyrics. I also like the fact that a good number of you will leave the choice of article topics up to me :-)

In terms of songwriting goals, I'm also very fascinated to know that most of you (41%) are interested in becoming a performing songwriter! Practically speaking, it IS an easier way (if you can say that!) to get your songs heard by others. The trend in major music centers like Nashville these days is for a songwriter to be self-contained. In other words, less and less signed artists look outside for material and more write their own. 36% of you are in search of a publishing deal, 14% write purely for fun, and 9% haven't quite made up their minds what they'd like to do yet.

The majority of you (86%) have never attended a songwriting workshop put on by a songwriting organization! I enthusiastically encourage you to do so! Not only is it a great learning experience, but you will finally meet more of your own "kind" :-) A lot of success in the music business, for instance, is based upon who you know. You've heard that one before, haven't you? But who's going to know you if you don't get out there and introduce yourself? That's the biggest side benefit from attending workshops, aside from honing your songwriting skills. Okay, enough preaching :-)

And last, but certainly not least...favourite songwriting tools! I told you you could pick more than one, of course. Looks like the good ol' "pencil and paper" method of writing is still valid one (36%), followed by the guitar (24%), micro cassette recorder (11%), keyboard (9%), newspapers/books/magazines (7%), the Internet (7%) and a rhyming dictionary (4%). I didn't include a thesaurus, which I use all the time, don't know why I forgot that.

As I said earlier, the poll no longer works, but I will be creating more in future, so stay tuned :-)

IJ