It began as a conversation with my programmer son and his programmer girlfriend. It was an idea to develop a website for songwriters with a radio station for airing independent music. While I hoped that bluemusepublishing.com would generate sufficient income to support itself, I also wanted to create a collaborative environment for various artists. In retrospect, it was an idea that was bigger than the resources available to sustain it.
Admittedly, I knew very little about creating a website, but I had this notion that a website need only provide some value and it would grow. I was in for a big surprise. Marketing on the internet is far more than purchasing a domain name and finding a suitable host.
On the positive side, I had over 400 members with over 1000 uploaded original songs. I had a 3/10 Google rating (not too shabby for this type of website) and was showing up near the top in a variety of search strings. Also, a few of "my" artists have been discovered since joining my site.
It was an exciting journey and I did learn a lot along the way. Certainly, gaining a cursory understanding of the various languages associated with creating a website has value. With that comes an appreciation for those who work as developers/programmers every day. Yes, HTML, XML, and CSS are relatively easy to understand individually. However, the combination of languages must be integrated. One must also understand PHP, MySQL, AJAX, Java, and Javascript. If you want to have your own server, it pays to understand Apache.
But wait....there's more. It is vitally important to understand Search Engine Optimization or SEO. In short, SEO consists of the new rules of online marketing and publicity. For someone who spent some time in marketing, it is fascinating, but far too complex to discuss in a blog. In fact, it is not possible to describe as the rules change everyday. It honestly requires full time dedication to maintain a level of competency in this dynamic field.
SEO is the key to growing a website organically. I learned to write articles and press releases, all designed to draw attention to a website. I also learned to create a sitemap and to maintain consistency with keywords and content. It makes a difference.
There is a vast online culture that must be recognized and respected. Using various techniques such as "black hat SEO" can hurt your ratings. It can also draw the wrong attention from any number of internet purists who poo poo on flagrant self promotion. One must learn how to create networks and generate some reciprocity. That is, it is necessary to have other sites directing attention to your site. It is similar to the ground game for publicity but also vastly different.
One must have a presence outside of one's website. It is important to have content on blogs, podcasts and YouTube. All of these can point back to a website and provide "juice". I recently told a friend, it is like a tank with water pouring in (analogous to links pointing to your site) and water pouring out (analogous to links on your site that point to another site) at the same time. You want to have more water pouring in than pouring out to build ratings.
Creating podcasts, videos and writing articles are all a lot of fun. But, I must credit this whole roundabout journey through cyberspace for helping to find my true passion. Yep, you guessed it. Writing fiction. While non-fiction can be enjoyable in small doses, it is a bit claustrophobic for me. I feel confined by facts. I enjoy writing without boundaries with much less regard for reality. Perhaps I should have taken heed of the accusations made by my peers long ago when they told me I wasn't in touch with reality. Hell, I never WANTED to be in touch with reality! It has taken me 53 years and a now defunct website to realize what my friends were trying to tell me long ago.
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