Looking for how to start a music blog in Nigeria? You are in the right place. This blog post will show you the exact steps you need to take now.
Blogging has become one of the most popular ways for non-entertainment professionals to share their thoughts and ideas with the world.
Whether you are an author, a singer, or a musician looking to connect with your audience on a deeper level, blogs offer YouTubers, podcasters, and interviewers all over the world a fantastic platform to reach new audiences and spread the word about their projects.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of starting a music blog in Nigeria. From choosing a genre to setting up your site, we will tell you everything you need to know to get started today!
Why Start a Music Blog in Nigeria?
There are many reasons why you should start a music blog.
a). You want to get your work out there
Music is a passion of many musicians and there are many musicians out there who do not have any platforms to share their work with the world.
By starting a blog, you can reach your audience and let them know about your latest album or song or simply let them know about your new music that you want to share with them.
b). You want to get exposure
Blogging is one of the best ways for any musician, artist, or creative person to get their work out into the world.
You can use blogs as a platform to showcase your talent and showcase your music so more people can hear it.
c). Hone your writing skills
Writing is one of the most important skills a musician can have.
It is necessary for a musician to be able to write about the music they produce and the struggles that they go through.
However, writing is not as easy as it sounds. You must practice your writing skills every day if you want to become a great writer. Writing is not easy and it takes practice to get good at it, but with time you will be able to write about your music in an effective way that people will love reading about.
d). Build relationships with your favorite artists
You can build relationships with your favorite artists by blogging about music and by sharing your music with them.
Once you started attracting attention within the industry, you get a chance to meet and interact with your favorite artists in Nigeria.
Step 1: What Will Be the Focus of Your Music Blog?
When you decide to start a music blog, the first thing you need to do is determine your focus.
Will your blog be a place for you to share your own music? Or will it be dedicated to sharing other artists’ songs and videos?
What do you want to blog about, and who do you want to attract? Finding your music blog’s focus and choosing the right audience for your work will help you grow faster.
That said, here are some of the ideas you can use to inspire your own choices:
- Meaning of songs
- Info about favorite bands
- Favorite concert venues
- Music/artist news
- Local artists
- Global independent artists
- Playing certain instruments
Don’t Try to Be Everything to Everyone
This is a mistake that many new music bloggers make in Nigeria.
Don’t try to be everything to everyone.
That’s just not possible.
You’re not going to please everyone, so don’t try.
Instead, choose one thing and focus on that.
For example, if you love playing the guitar, you can focus your blog on anything related to playing the guitar or discovering new artists who play it.
You can also choose a genre and focus on that instead of trying to cover every genre under the sun.
Step 2: Pick a Music Niche
Music niches in Nigeria are a great way to attract more readers. The music niche is the type of music you are passionate about.
For example, if you love indie rock and have been listening to bands like The Strokes, Arcade Fire, and Grizzly Bear for years, you might consider blogging about indie rock.
If you love Nigerian music, then you can blog about Nigerian music and share tips on how to create your own afro beats. If you are a huge fan of hip hop and rap, then start a blog dedicated to the genre that will teach readers about new artists in the industry and give them advice on how to improve their rapping skills.
I’ve found that there is one main problem with most music blogs: they don’t focus on one specific type of musical genre. Most blogs are all over the place with their posts ranging from indie/alternative rock to country rock to heavy metal.
I’m not suggesting that you blog only on one specific genre or style; instead, I’m suggesting that bloggers focus their content around one type of genre so they can cover more topics in less time while also helping readers discover new artists within that genre.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
- Afrobeats
- Rock
- Pop
- Country
- R&B and Soul
- Hip Hop
- Electronic/Dance
- Jazz
- Blues
- Classical and Opera
- Heavy Metal
- Reggae
- Folk
There’s no right or wrong music blog niche
It’s all about what you enjoy and what your audience wants. If you’re a fan of country rock, then fine, blog about it. If you’re a fan of electronic music or indie rock, then blog about that genre. It’s all up to you!
Just make sure that your readers are interested in what you have to say. You don’t want to blog and post 20 posts on your blog without ever getting a single comment or email from a reader.
Step 3: Pick a Blogging Platform
The next step on how to start a music blog in Nigeria is choosing the right blogging platform.
There are several blogging platforms to choose from, and this is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a blogger.
The first thing you should do is check out the features of each platform and decide which one best suits your needs.
- WordPress – WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) for bloggers. It’s easy to use and has some great features. However, it does have a learning curve, especially if you’re new to blogging. If you want a basic blog but don’t want to go too deep into coding, WordPress would be a good choice for you.
- Blogger – Blogger is another popular CMS that offers many of the same features as WordPress but with less functionality and more straightforward design options. It’s easy to set up and start publishing content right away with little training required, so it’s an ideal platform for new bloggers who don’t want to get too involved in coding or design.
- Tumblr – Tumblr is an interesting blogging platform that allows you to create blogs based on any topic or theme of your choosing (similar to WordPress). It’s highly customizable, so if you’re looking for a simple blog with little training required or if you just want something unique, Tumblr could be just what you’re looking for!
I would recommend you go with WordPress.
It comes with a self-hosted version (besides WordPress.com) which is great because you can customize your blog from scratch.
You can find more information about the self-hosted version of WordPress on this page.
WordPress is ideal for a beginner blogger in Nigeria because it is easy to get started, has a good learning curve, and offers a wide variety of customizable features.
However, if you are looking for something a little different than WordPress, check out these other options: Blogger, Tumblr, or Ghost.
Step 4: Choose and Register a Domain Name
The next step in how to start a music blog in Nigeria is choosing a domain name.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a name given to a website or page on the Internet.
In this step, you will choose a domain name that you can use for your blog.
Here are some guidelines on how to choose the best domain name:
- Make sure it is not taken by someone else (avoid using trademarks or brand names)
- Make sure it is not too long (keep it under 15 characters)
- It should be memorable (try to think of a song or quote that describes your blog)
- It should be easy to spell (avoid using a very complex word)
The next step is to find a reputable domain name registrar. Truehost Nigeria is a domain name registrar that allows you to register your own domain name at an affordable rate. You can also use their service for hosting your blog and website.
Click here to visit Truehost’s website and get started today!
To get started, find check if your chosen website name is available:
As you can see, BestMusicBlog.ng is available and is going for NGN4,999.
Go ahead and click on Add to Cart and the Checkout.
Before we proceed, you can see it is saying “No Hosting.”
That means you need to add hosting for it to be complete. Remember, if you just want to buy a domain name, by all means, proceed without hosting.
Otherwise, if you’d want to build a complete music blog in Nigeria that will make you money, you need to add hosting.
How?
See the next step.
Step 5: Get Hosting
In order to run your blog, you will need a web host.
What is a hosting service?
A hosting service is where you store your website files on a server. As such, in this step, you will choose the best hosting service for your blog.
One of the most popular hosting services in Nigeria is Truehost Nigeria.
Truehost Nigeria offers a wide variety of hosting packages that are compatible with popular blogging platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
How to Get Hosting in Nigeria
Follow these steps to buy hosting for your music blog in Nigeria.
Remember where we left off the domain registration?
Yes!
Click ‘No Hosting!’
Go through the list of hosting packages and pick the one fitting your budget and features.
Once you find the one, click “Order Now” to proceed.
Click “USE” in the next step
Check your order summary before proceeding:
And then click Continue to finish the process.
And that is how to get a domain and hosting in Nigeria.
Step 6: Choose Your Blog Theme & Start Building Your Blog!
There are many free themes available for bloggers on WordPress and other blogging platforms, but some bloggers prefer others over others.
Take some time to browse around and see what looks good to you (and don’t forget about our theme search tool ).
Themes are often used by bloggers as an easy way to customize their blogs by adding different colors or images without having to learn how to code HTML or CSS.
Most blogging platforms allow users to upload custom images and/or themes to their blogs, so it’s easy to find a theme that looks good to you!
Once you have found a theme you like, go ahead and install it on your blog.
It is important that you choose a theme that is compatible with the blogging platform your blog will be using.
For instance, WordPress users can choose from hundreds of themes for their blogs. While there are some free themes available through WordPress.org, many bloggers use premium themes (which require an annual subscription).
If this sounds like something you want to do, take some time to look at the different premium themes available on ThemeForest.com.
Once you’ve installed and set up your new blog theme, it’s time to start adding some important pages!
Step 7: Create Essential Pages & Logo
In this step, we are going to create three essential pages for our blog.
That’s right.
You’re not done creating yet!
The home page is the first thing that people see when they visit your blog (unless you have an “index” or “index.php” file that they’ll see before they get to the home page).
If you don’t know what that means, don’t stress about it. Just know you need a page called “Home.”
The second page we need is the About Page. This is where you will put information about your blog.
Here, you tell the readers who you are and what to expect from your blog.
More importantly, tell them why they should read your blog.
Our third and final essential page will be a Contact Us form. We’ll use this form on our Contact Page to take people’s contact information (name, email address, phone number) so that we can contact them if there are any problems with our blog, or if we want to share some content with them.
Create a Logo
You can create your logo in Photoshop or whatever you like. I recommend using a design program, however.
It is not a huge deal, but it doesn’t hurt to have your logo created professionally.
Step 8: Start Publishing Content in Your Music Blog
The only way to make sure that you are getting enough traffic is by writing content that people want to read.
You can start by simply writing a blog post on your favorite music genre, or you can write about the latest album that came out in the industry.
There are many things you can write about on your blog, but we recommend sticking with music-related topics at first.
Once you get a good amount of traffic from content, then you can expand to other genres such as fashion, lifestyle, and more!
Here are some of the most popular music writing categories in Nigeria:
- Music Reviews
- Music Festivals
- Music Genres
- Artist Mixes/Live Sets
- Club Events
- Industry News
- Playing an Instrument
- Music Venues
Set Yourself Apart
It is not about just publishing content. It is about being unique and different.
Try to find a genre that nobody else is writing about and go ahead and start writing about it.
If you have a unique point of view on something, then you will be able to get people’s attention.
For example, there are many music blogs out there that are just filled with the same information as everyone else.
If you want to stand out, then you can’t just write about the same thing everyone else is writing about. You need to come up with something new and different!
Here are some topics that we recommend for your music blog:
Step 9: Start Promoting Your Music Blog
Once you have started blogging about music in Nigeria and your audience has grown, you need to start promoting your blog.
There are many ways you can do this, but we recommend promoting your site as much as possible.
Targeting people who have an interest in the same music genre that you blog about is a great way to get more followers!
Here are some strategies you can use to promote your blog:
- SEO: SEO is a process of increasing the number of visitors to your blog by making it appears on page one for searches related to the music genre you are writing about.
- Guest Posting: Guest posting is when you write an article for another blog and include a link back to your own blog.
- Free Music: Promoting free music on your site is another way to get people to visit your blog.
- Guest Blogging: Guest blogging is when you invite other people to write for your site.
- Social Media: Social media is a way to promote your music blog.
Step 10: Monetize Your Music Blog
The final step to starting a music blog in Nigeria is to monetize it.
If you’re looking for ways to monetize your blog, check out these strategies:
a). Affiliate Marketing
This is the best way to monetize your blog, especially if you have a large audience. It involves linking your blog with other websites and then promoting those links in return for a commission.
b). Sponsorship
Sponsorship is another great way to monetize your music blog in Nigeria. It involves offering your services to a company in exchange for money or products.
c). Advertisements
Finally, you can also monetize your music blog by placing advertisements on your blog. This is a simple way to make some extra cash without having to sell anything yourself.
The best way to monetize your music blog is by using affiliate marketing or sponsorship. The reason for this is that it requires the least amount of work and you get paid for promoting someone else’s product or service. Advertisements are another good way of making some extra cash, but they require more effort and so will take longer to start earning any money from them!
A couple of other things you should consider when monetizing your music blog:
- Get an E-Commerce website designed so that you can sell products through it.
- Selling music informational products, like CDs and DVDs is a good way of making some extra cash.
Final Thoughts
Music blogs are a great way to connect with your fans and share music with others. You can use them as a platform for creating new content, or you can choose to focus on one genre of music that you love.
However, blogging in Nigeria is no easy task. It takes time and dedication to get started but once you do it will be worth it. If you have any questions about starting a music blog in Nigeria, feel free to reach out!