BANDFREAKS ARTIST MAGAZINE
AUGUST 22, 2005
VOL. I.iii
Good Morning! This month's (short) artist magazine takes a quick look at how to get more out of your Band Finder account and from BandFreaks.
Our magazine is sent out to all of the artists in our Band Finder no more than twice a month with important reminders, tips, and updates concerning the Band Finder and BandFreaks.Com. This month, we go over some ways sluggish accounts can jump-start their traffic, a few updates, the Bandfreaks Affiliate Area, and this weeks special bonus to to all Band Finder members.
FIRST OF ALL, TO ANSWER A QUESTION WE GET FROM SOME OF OUR NEWER BANDS -- WHAT IS BandFreaks?
http://www.bandfreaks.com/support/faq
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION
I. CHANGES AND MORE
1. Support and Artist Networking Forum Added
2. 3 Ways You Can Help Make the Finder Even Better
3. DOUBLE DEPOSIT BONUSES THIS ENTIRE WEEK!
II. TIPS AND TRICKS
1. GETTING STARTED: Using the Support Section
2. 5 Things to Do if You're Not Getting Enough Traffic
3. The BandFreaks Affiliate Program
4. Free Advertising for Bands (Become a BandFreaks Advertiser)
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CHANGES AND MORE
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Get a sneak peek at what's been going on at BandFreaks!
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SUPPORT AND ARTIST NETWORKING FORUM ADDED
Recently, we've added a support and networking forum exclusively for bands in the support area. Feel free to post, whine, get ideas, get support for any of your accounts with us at Bandfreaks and generally network with other artists. Of course, everyone can still feel free to post to fans in the general community as always.
http://http://www.bandfreaks.com/support/forum
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3 WAYS YOU CAN HELP MAKE THE FINDER EVEN BETTER
Doing your part in the "Band Finder" project is easy! Our fans and bands make the Band Finder work. A better Finder also means greater traffic and more targeted fans to your web page as well. There are several ways that you can make a better Finder:
#1 - Add a graphic or link on your website. Sending us your untargeted fans helps get the word out -- and gets you back tons more targeted fans in return. Just send us the people and let the Band Finder divvy them up and send them to where they're needing to go.
#2 - Spread the word to other bands! More band in the Finder means a better finder -- more diversity, better searches, and better finds. A better finder means that people come back to do it again and again!
#3 - Add a search box to your site and get FREE CREDITS for every search. This lets people at your website search directly through the Finder. We'll be adding all types of new search boxes all the time. You can get your search box by logging in and going to the "Affiliates" section in your Backstage Area.
By adding your chunk to the increasing popularity of the Band Finder, you'll be taking part in one of the more swiftly growing phenomenons in the Internet music scene. You'll also be helping your band out, to boot!
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DOUBLE DEPOSIT BONUSES THIS ENTIRE WEEK!
The last week of each month is DOUBLE YOUR DEPOSIT WEEK at Bandfreaks! On the final week of each and every moth, Bandfreaks will match ANY deposit to your Band Finder account. Credits are used in the Finder to increase bids and get your band higher in the listings for your keywords. You can add as little as $2.50 to your Finder account via PayPal, Credit or Debit Card, Online Check, or Egold. Add $2.50 and get $2.50 more, free! Add $10 and get $20 deposited into your account. It's that easy -- remember that this special ONLY lasts from this Monday to the following Sunday.
ADD MORE FUNDS NOW:
http://www.bandfreaks.com/cgi-bin/bandfinder/accounts.cgi
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TIPS AND TRICKS
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GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR BAND FINDER ACCOUNT
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GETTING STARTED: USING THE SUPPORT SECTION
If you've just signed up and haven't added your information yet, be sure to make use of our new help & support section in your Band Backstage area. The support area has handy getting started tutorials .
The new Bandfreaks Band Finder support section can be found at
http://www.bandfreaks.com/support
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5 THINGS TO DO IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH TRAFFIC
With so many bands in the Finder, and many more being added every day, it's easy to become so buried in the listings you hardly see ANY traffic.
While the Finder is, of course, engineered to deliver fans based on results FIRST, placement is the second most important thing to consider when working with your Band Finder account. Here are 5 ways to make sure that YOUR band is seen out of the tons of other bands in the Band Finder:
1) Check Your Keyword Positions. Your keyword rank is the second most important criteria when the Finder is considering groups of matching results. Log into your Finder account and check your positions. If each of your keywords is listed at an impossibly low ranking, you may need to increase your keyword bids. Being able to bid on keywords is what your Finder credits are for. Increase your bids to get your band higher on the list for fan searches, or read the quick tutorials in the support section to get an idea on how to get started with keyword bids.
http://http://www.bandfreaks.com/support/getting_started/getting-started2.shtml
2) If you don't want to go through each individual keyword, try using the "Top Bid" option. Simply check all the keywords you want to increase your bid for and click the "Top Bid" button at the bottom of the page.
You can have a look at the support section for more information on how to use your keyword manager.
3) One of the issues may be that your band doesn't have ENOUGH keywords listed in the Finder to show up enough in fan searches. Make sure you've added as many keywords as apply for your band. Usually, 25 - 30 keywords is plenty. Also be sure to check in and make use of the new styles, moods and genre keywords we add each week.
4) Add a few "sounds like" keywords to your account. We 'll adding a tool to add "sounds like" keywords next month, however in the meantime you can go to the search page and pick out a few more "sounds like" artists from the drop down listing. People use this search more than any other search at Bandfreaks right now, so be sure to add as many of these keywords that apply. The "sounds like" search is here:
http://www.bandfreaks.com/independent-band-finder_sounds_like.shtml
5) Make your descriptions better. Other bands may be getting your traffic simply by having a better (or more readable) description. Take a look at your descriptions and make sure that they're exciting, concise, and make sense. We get hundreds of submission each week with unclear descriptions, or descriptions that have been cut off entirely. Remember to keep your descriptions to 500 characters and to make them as clear and readable as possible to invite fans who have searched for you to click on your listing. Be sure to read Katie Price's article on building good descriptions for your band.
http://www.bandfreaks.com/support/power_users/article1.shtml
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THE BANDFREAKS AFFILIATE PROGRAM
NEED MORE FREE CREDITS FOR BIDDING? You can earn free credits for your account by sending us searches, clicks, and more bands! Earn up to 0.50 in Finder credits for each band you refer to the Band Finder! Log into Band Finder account and click on the "Affiliates" section to learn more.
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FREE ADVERTISING FOR BANDS (BECOME A BANDFREAKS ADVERTISER)
ARTISTS AND BANDS: Be sure to grab a 'BandLiner' ad and increase your band's exposure!
Advertising at Bandfreaks works the same way that the Band Finder works, and is based on bids and credits. All new accounts receive $5.00 to use for their campaign with ZERO obligation to continue advertising your campaign once your free cash has run out. This is a great opportunity to get some free advertising and put your band's headline on our MP3 review pages, our Artist Review pages, our Music News updates, and all of our Band Finder pages -- these receive thousands of page views every day!
Bands are more than welcome to make use of ANY of our advertising campaigns, and it's very easy to get started and set up. Go to:
http://www.bandfreaks.com/advertiser-signup.shtml
to open up your advertising account and get started.
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AGAIN -- REMEMBER TO ADD KEYWORDS, CHECK YOUR LISTINGS, AND KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR TRAFFIC STATS IN YOUR BACKSTAGE AREA!
Thanks to all of our bands and artists for making our new Band Finder concept a great success. More fans and more bands can only be a good thing for everyone. More bands means better searches, which means fans are that much more likely to really get into the Finder. More fans means more interested listener finding great fans through the Finder and actually getting involved in the music. The Finder Works! Be sure to spread to word to bands and fans alike, and do whatever you can to help the BandFreaks Band Finder Project become the #1 way to hunt out new bands and artists on the Internet.
See everyone in two weeks or so, and be sure to update your bookmarks to reflect the recent change from HitClick.Net to BandFreaks.Com!
Comments? Suggestions? Ideas? Testimonials?
Feel free to contact us at feedback@bandfreaks.com!
Avallon DeBrill
BandFreaks(c) Editor
http://www.bandfreaks.com
support@bandfreaks.com
(Formerly The HitClick Independent Music Network)
