Yeah Yeah, I Know You Can Sing. But Where's Your Other Voice?
November 29 2011, 07:58 PM
Filed in: Indie Advice
The word Voice isn't used exclusively to describe the sound your face makes when you open that hole in your head. Voice is also used in a literary sense to describe a writer's style. It's used to convey an author's attitude, personality, and character.
So back to my opening statement. Yes, I know you can sing. But where's your other voice?
The internet's a big place you know. Is your voice only being heard through your music (or the product pictures you have displayed on your website)? The internet is made up of much more than just mp3's you know. So in order to take full advantage of what the online world and its community has to offer, you also have to write. Words.
Scary, huh? I know.
So yes, you guessed it... the issue I'm skirting around is blogging. And it's no different that what you're reading this very moment. See what I did there?
If you want to get noticed online and develop a community around what you're doing (which is essential in any entrepreneurial endeavour), you need to speak up and share things with your community. Yes, photos and pictures help (and are mandatory), as is any content (including your music of course)... but you need to write the written word as well.
Oh I don't care what you write about. That's up to you. But do me a favour, ok? Don’t write to impress. Don't write to promote. Don't write to advertise.
Write to connect.
Your goal is to share yourself with others. Your goal is to create a community around what you're doing, your passion, your ideas, your art, your start-up business... you.
Yes, it takes practice. As does anything in life. All the more reason to get started right now.
The only “trick” to developing your writers voice is to relax and let it flow. The more you write, the easier it will be to develop your own style. And as your style begins to unfold, so will the soul and spirt of you and your message.
If you listen to my podcasts you've heard me say this many times before: the last thing you want is for a potential fan or customer to land on your website and
But by injecting blogs into your online strategy and sharing them with your Twitter and Facebook followers (not to mention the Search Engines), you're giving people a reason to come back (providing your content is intriguing enough).
Keep your site fresh. Write and share new content frequently… and update your damn blog!
—Brian Thompson
