Try adding a hook!

So if you’re in a band and you’ve decided that you need to post more updates on your site than you currently are, or if you want to try and make your updates a little more interesting (and who doesn’t?)… try applying more concept.  More of a “hook.”

Here’s what I mean… say for example, you just want to keep your site updated frequently, so you’ve decided you will write a daily blog for an upcoming tour… or you are going to implement a weekly update to post… don’t just write about what random stuff happened that day, or that week or whatever.  Posts like “so we woke up in the van, brushed our teeth in McDonalds bathroom, and set out on the road again… only to run out of gas, blow a tire, and overheat the engine all at once” are only okay if you’re REALLY interesting (best to assume you’re not), or if something really extraordinary happened… but for the most part, it will be generic updating of mundane life that isn’t going to really endear anyone to you, or make them want to come back to read the next one, or forward it to their friends…

One idea to make things more interesting, is to try coming up with a concept or theme for your updates… one band I know of wrote an entire tour blog where every entry was focused solely on documenting the unique filth and grunge that was the bathrooms at the bars they were playing in each night.  It was entertaining, and made me want to listen to the band, because I thought they were interesting.  Maybe you’ve got the opportunity to go on tour with your favorite band of all time, so you decide to write about your experience getting to know them, and watch them every night… even though it doesn’t actually talk so much about you or what you’ve done, that’s a great hook!  Not only does it show you’re excited about the tour, but you’re tapping into the other band’s audience as well, then they see how excited you are about seeing the other band, then they think you’re interesting and they’ll check your band out too.

Being more interesting isn’t the only reason to apply a stronger concept to your updates though… Something else happens when you’ve put the thought into it and come up with a hook for them too, and that is you’ll find them a lot easier to write because that extra bit of focus really helps to spur the creative juices on.  Before you know it, updates will be flowing out of you like crazy, they’ll be more interesting, more engaging, and more likely to create return readers.

And your own creativity is the only limit to what you could use as a hook, so since you’re all really creative musicians, this should be easy!  Have fun with it.