Eight ways to promote your music blog on Last.FM

#1 > Utilize your profile:

When you set up your account, create a username that shares the same name as your blog. This helps with name recognition as you become involved in Last.fm. Be sure to place your blog’s link in your profile, as well as your signature. If possible, use your blog’s logo image as your profile image.

#2 > Get your scrobble on:

As you listen to music on iTunes, always have your scrobbling on. Everything you listen to will be reported to Last.fm, and eventually an accurate image of your music taste will emerge. An easy way to get a jump start on your music charts is to leave iTunes running while you sleep.

Beyond the charts that your profile page will report, there are many advantages of building your music history. If you’re into making “friends”, you’ll be presented with 50 neighbors that have similar tastes. The more music you listen to, the broader your taste becomes… which means that you’re more likely to appear on other people’s top 50 neighbors. You’re also more likely to show up as a “top listener” of an artist.

By clicking on the Music tab on your Dashboard page, you’ll find artists that Last.fm recommends. This is based on your listening habits and can be a great tool in finding obscure bands you haven’t discovered yet.

#3 > Love your music:

As you listen to music, you can tag the artists, albums, and songs, which help other people find the bands you’re into. You can also “love” a track, and if you subscribe to Last.fm (only $3 a month), tracks you “love” will be offered as a radio station.

#4 > Contribute Information:

Last.fm is a glorified music wiki, and music wikis depend on fanatics like you. When an agency, artist, or record label sends you tour information, be the one to add the concert details on Last.fm. Not only does this improve your relationship with people in the industry, it also links your profile name to the event, which translates into more exposure.

#5 > Join Groups:

Join quite a few groups and spark conversations. You may find people who will contribute to your blog, members to befriend, or help you start that next project. If you added your blog’s address to your signature, you have free exposure where like-minded people spend their time.

To stay on top of all these discussions, go to your Dashboard and check your Reply Tracker. Almost everything in Last.fm is provided as an RSS feed, so if you use Google Reader you can easily find out if someone has replied to a comment you’ve made.

#6 > Journal Entries:

As you post on your blog, make it a habit to copy/paste your posts as a journal entry on Last.fm. Every mention of an artist, label, album, or track can be turned into internal Last.fm link. These internal links, called Connections, will also place a link to your journal entry on the corresponding artist link… so linking your journal entry to Radiohead will automatically place a link to your journal entry on the Radiohead page.

Now that you’ve joined a number of groups, you can submit your journal entries to your groups. Doing this will contribute to the community, drive traffic to the artists you’re passionate about, and gets your name out.

#7 > Utilize the Shoutbox:

When you blog about a band, go to the artist’s Last.fm page and paste your blog link in their Shoutbox. Be sure to explain what the link is. This is another way to contribute to the community, connecting fans with information about their favorite artist.

Remember that ticket and album sales depend on people “buzzing” about music. These grass root efforts can help launch careers.

#8 > Subscribe:

If $3 a month won’t set you back too much, you may find it worthwhile to subscribe. Doing this allows you to listen to your personal radio station and embedding your player on your blog so other people can listen.

Other advantages of subscribing allows you test out beta features, removes ads from your profile page (for you and other people), and you’ll stay informed of who’s visiting your profile page. When Last.fm’s servers are taxed with too much traffic, your radio streams will get preferential treatment.

Taking advantage of Last.fm’s features can help you grow your blog. You’ll find more regular readers, connecting with people that look to the Internet to discover new music.

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