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Can you make money from a music blog?
YES, you can definitely make money from your music blog.
However, how much money you make from your music blog depends on how frequently you post/update content, the quality of your content (and website), the amount of years it’s been consistently generating LOTS of traffic and several other factors.
You’ll actually need to learn an ENTIRELY NEW skill set; online marketing.
If you ask me though, independent musicians need blogging (amongst other things) and extensive knowledge of online marketing (SEO, content marketing, etc…) to make a living nowadays.
Being self-employed, you’ll definitely benefit from creating some passive streams of income for yourself.
Believe it or not… It’s MUCH more profitable to start a music-related blog than to practice social media marketing. The QUALITY of your traffic will be much higher.
That might seem controversial, but I leave that up to you…
If you want to learn how to make money with your music blog in 2021, keep reading.
- Monetize your music blog using affiliate marketing
- Monetize your music blog using advertising (Google Ad Senses, Mediavine, etc…)
- Monetize your music blog using digital products
- Monetize your music blog using your services
- IS music blogging dead?
- Summary: Can You Make Money From a Music Blog?
Monetize your music blog using affiliate marketing
One of the BEST ways to monetize your music-related blog is by becoming an affiliate!
You’d be surprised how many affiliate programs there are for music-related niches.
However, one of the easiest to get started with is the Amazon Associates program. If you use musical equipment and love talking about it, you can certainly make some sales.
I recommend generating AT LEAST 5,000 unique visitors per month before applying though.
Even then, you certainly won’t be paying your bills with this stuff…
Before you get 5,000 unique visitors per month though, it’ll definitely take a while. Of course, it all depends on how consistently you can be for the first few years.
On average, it can take you anywhere from 1-3 years to get there (full-time income).
That’s inherently why most music blogs fail over time… It needs to become part of your lifestyle.
It’s the same thing as having a YouTube channel; they’re both FULL-TIME jobs.
It obviously wouldn’t hurt to do both, but be prepared to HUSSLE!!
Once you take-off though, you can make anywhere from 100$ – 10,000$ per month just from affiliate marketing on your music-related blog site.
Of course, there’s MUCH more to it than that…
Monetize your music blog using advertising (Google AdSense, Mediavine, etc…)
Once you manage to start generating enough traffic with your music-related niche site, you’ll definitely benefit from placing ads in your blog posts as well.
Once you get some SERIOUS traffic (100,000 to 1,000,000 unique visitors per month), you can also start partnering with some higher quality ad networks such as Mediavine.
Some websites generate full-time income from just that; ad placements.
It’s also an excellent metric to measure the VALUE of your website. I’m not kidding when I tell you that some websites sell for over $100,000+…
Some people take out personal loans JUST to buy websites.
Of course, you can also use revenue from affiliate marketing when you get your music blog appraised. It’s just more transparent with advertising.
However, it’ll take quite some time before your music blog gets there.
One of the key factors in your music blog’s success is bringing something NEW to the table. Just check out this list of the top 100+ music blogs.
You’ll notice that EACH of these blogs has something unique about it.
It’s also enough to prove to you that there IS money to be made with music blogging.
Monetize your music blog using digital products
When you’re just getting started with online marketing, the best way to learn is by selling OTHER PEOPLE’S products (affiliate marketing, ad placements, etc…).
Sooner or later though, you’ll want to think about selling something of your own.
Here are some examples…
- Online Courses
- Audiobooks
- Ebooks
- Loops & Samples
- Plugins
The list goes on…
If you think about it, I’m sure that you can find at least ONE of these that you can do.
Of course, you can go the conventional route of selling merch and vinyl records, BUT…
You’ll find that digital products don’t cost ANYTHING (after they’re finished).
The best part is you can sell UNLIMITED copies without ANY additional overhead.
For example, you could also think about selling high-quality digital downloads of your music (WAV, AIFF, FLAC, etc…) for your truest fans.
Once you start generating traffic, you can direct it WHEREVER you want.
It’s always better to sell your own products (especially if your audience needs/wants something from you).
Monetize your music blog using your services
The possibilities are endless when you talk about redirecting traffic from your music blog.
It’s also quite common to have your music blog direct your readers to your SERVICES.
Here are some examples…
- Session Musicians (or ONLINE session musician)
- Music Production
- Mixing and Mastering
- Audio Post Production
- Consultations
- Music Reviews
The possibilities are literally ENDLESS…
So, I hope you’re starting to get the idea that starting your own music might be a good investment. It’s not that expensive and will bring you MUCH more revenue than social media.
If not in the short-run, that’ll definitely be true in the long-run.
For lots of musicians, their website is like their business card.
That’s why listing the musical services you offer is CRITICAL. It’s also the quickest way to start making money if you’ve already got a high-quality network.
Sharing links is much easier nowadays than sharing business cards.
Also, just remember this…
great sales copy + great content to support it = conversions.
You can’t fit much on your business card and definitely not your work. However, you’ll find that most business cards usually direct us to WEBSITES.
Make sure that your URL exists and assists potential clients in profiling you.
Once again, you’ll need to learn MUCH MORE before you get to that point though…
IS music blogging dead?
Of course, you might be asking yourself… “Do people even read anymore’?
The answer to that question is YES.
However, I admit that this number seems to be declining as the years go by. On the other hand, it’s also important to realize that there IS some content that’s better in blog format.
If your blog is educational, you can include audio samples.
You can even embed entire YouTube videos…
In other words, you’ll simply need to adapt your approach. As long as you remember that some things are better as blog posts and that others are better as YouTube videos; you’re good!!
It’s also important to realize that search engines like Google are cracking down on LOW-QUALITY music blogs.
In other words, your music blog/website needs to be in TOP SHAPE.
Part of that involves the quality of your web hosting, but the biggest part of that has to do with the quality of your CONTENT.
You’d be surprised how much garbage there is out there nowadays…
Every time I’m researching a product, I always find these “best of” or “top x” posts.
It’s always clear that the person writing them doesn’t own ANY of the products listed and that they’re basically regurgitating information from the manufacturer’s website.
If you can provide just a LITTLE more value than that… You’re GOLD!!
I can’t instruct you how to make your music blog exceptional. You need to do that yourself.
HOWEVER, I can instruct you how to get setup, start establishing your musical brand and distinguishing yourself from the other musicians trying to make it out there.
You’ll just need to dig a little deeper for that…
Summary: Can You Make Money From a Music Blog?
You won’t believe it until you make your first DOLLAR.
That’s right, don’t expect your first affiliate commission to take you out of the rat race!
I swear, even when it comes to getting your music placed on television, film and things of that nature… Everybody seems to quit after the money starts trickling in…
My first royalty check was 0.30$ which is pretty common, you know?
Starting a music blog is the same concept, you just need to start acquiring real estate.
Your music career is actually very similar to the real estate market…
Whether you’re selling pieces of “musical real estate” (your catalog) or space on your “musical billboards” (your blog), it’s always a number’s game.
A few blog posts ranking on search engines won’t make you rich…
Neither will a few TV and/or film placements (especially if they’re non-recurring).
I personally hope to see you push through the obstacles though. I’m telling you that there are so many ways to “make it” in the music industry nowadays.
You just need to adapt your approach to the current times and economy.
If you enjoyed hearing my take on it… Maybe you’ve still got more to learn by joining Decibel Peak Academy. You can even subscribe to Decibel Peak’s YouTube channel to have access to tons of free educational resources.
You’re on the right path, keep moving forward. Thanks for reading!
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