Don’t settle for ‘same ol’ same ol” when you can have ‘here now wow-wow!’

A custom WordPress website always starts with a pre-designed ‘theme’ or template. What will make your site ‘swim above the rest of the school’ is the degree and quality of customization. This is where a professional web designer comes in. While using a theme as a basic foundation, your designer will be able to change the look, feel and function of the “theme” … a little or a lot… to make it a custom site that represents you in a way that is as original as you are. The elements of this design can then be carried over to your Facebook page, Twitter profile, blog, and so on, for a brand consistent image across the Web!

While you may carry some of the traits of your heroes, teachers and mentors, you are a carbon copy of no one! You get one lifetime to be yourself. Let your web presence show who that is!

It’s important and immensely helpful to study what your favorite people are doing with their web sites, blogs, etc.. These are great ways to get ideas and inspiration, absolutely. But make sure when it comes to your online presence that you make your own your own. Give your online audience a genuine feel for who you are and what you have to offer. You only get one chance to be you… don’t waste it trying to be someone else.

Read more about how to be yourself in Think Outside The Bowl. Or contact me if you would like assistance in creating an online presence that is truly, powerfully you.

Your brand should look and feel consistent as potential customers, clients and fans follow you from your website to your blog to your Twitter page to your Facebook page to your other blog and so on. Too much visual hodgepodge from site to site can make people scratch their heads and wonder “Where am I? Did I get lost? Is this the same person?”

That doesn’t mean everything should be identical. But, for instance, your photos on your website, your blog and your social media accounts should be professional shots from at least roughly the same time period… so your pictures from one site to the next don’t look like before and afters from an extreme makeover session!

Use the colors and photos, images and certainly your message from your primary website… and carry these over to your Twitter profile. Your blog. LinkedIn. YouTube channel. You get the idea!

And, after the visual continuity is in place, make sure your accounts are linked to each other logically so that you can avoid redundant posting and make the most of the power of cross posting your message among the various online places you can be found.

First Snag: An issue arose where an artist was showing up as ‘on the bill’ for a performance at a particular venue on a particular night when in fact she was appearing elsewhere that night. Originally, she was on the bill for this venue, but both venue and artist had changed the date (in ReverbNation) when the show was postponed.

Oddly, the correct date was showing up on most but not all ReverbNation widgets. This glitch could cause a problem if the artist’s fans see the incorrect widget info and show up at the wrong venue!

ReverbNation’s email support was speedy and the rep was earnest… but unable to resolve the issue. The artist’s (my client’s) troubles have been turned over to RN development staff for now. So far I have not heard back from them.

Second Snag: I recently purchased an iPod Touch. One of the first things I noticed was that the ReverbNation widgets, with which I’ve been so enamored, are inaccessible on my iPod. Meaning, of course, that my nifty ReverbNation “Shows” widget, that gives the Google Map link and directions to a show, cannot be accessed by a fan on the road trying to get to the show! Eeek! This made me pretty unhappy.

ReverbNation widgets use the universally popular Flash technology, and therein lies the problem.

As you likely know, Apple does not currently make Flash available on their mobile devices, and insists they don’t intend to. Flash has been promised by makers of some non-Apple mobile devices, but results so far are not completely satisfactory.)Whether Apple stick to their guns on this, and how the availability of Flash on other mobile devices shakes out in the long run, remains to be seen, but meanwhile, I don’t like that parts of my or my clients’ web sites are inaccessible on mobile devices.

The Result is that I have removed the ReverbNation show widget from my own music web site, my Facebook page, my MySpace page, and everywhere I had used it. And, I am recommending that others do the same.

I still have my ReverbNation artist page up and active, and will continue to use it for now. It’s still a great way to connect with other artists. And the price of their email marketing service–-FREE for up to 500 subscribers–-cannot be beat.

That said, I’ve replaced my RN Shows widget with a really handy WordPress plugin called Gigs Calendar… that, just like the RN widget, has a Google map link. Only this one is accessible from any mobile device! You can see it at work on my site here. I will write more about this and other musician-useful plugins in my next bit of bloggery… stay tuned.

* ReverbNation does offer some “Pro” product upgrades for a small monthly fee but all of their basic offerings are free. They even have a revenue sharing system whereby artists earn small amounts of money as RN makes a profit. So far, I have made $1.60.