The word blog is short for “web log.” A blog is basically an online journal that its author uses to publish “posts,” which are separate entries to the journal. Blogs can be used for any reason and subject matter imaginable. From teenagers and activists to politicians and best-selling authors, anyone can easily and inexpensively publish a blog. In many ways, blogs are just another version of a web site with multiple pages. You can visit and read a blog page in the same way you would any other web file format called RSS. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. In general, it is used to publish and organize frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds and podcasts. The coolest thing about RSS is that it gives people the ability to subscribe to blogs and podcasts.

In essence, an RSS feed allows you to subscribe to a web site, which just happens to be a blog. You can subscribe to blogs using something called a news reader, feed reader or aggregator. Feed readers work in a similar way. Open it up, and all of the blogs you’ve subscribed to will show up, with the latest content at the top, usually with just the headline and maybe the first few lines of the blog post displaying. It’s a pretty awesome way to have only the information you want delivered to your desktop.

What to Do With Your Blog:

• Deliver the facts. The most basic thing you can do with an artist blog is to announce stuff: gigs you’re about to play, new tracks you’ve released, awards you’ve won, media coverage you’ve just landed, etc. Let people know about all of your music-related activities. But there are other things you should do with your blog too.
• Share your journey. This blog style is part personal diary, part rock documentary. Invite fans to follow along as you log reports about your adventures through the music world. Publish daily dispatches from the road, keep fans updated on your creative process in the recording studio, or tell them about the great show you had the night before. Share yourself
  with your fans and they’ll feel more of a connection with you.
• Post often. Some bloggers publish something every day; others post entries once or twice a week. Choose a frequency that works for you and do your best to stick with it. I suggest at least one post a week; more if you can swing it. What you want to avoid is DBS (Dead Blog Syndrome) – where weeks or months go by between posts. Lifeless blogs don’t get read.
• Report on your genre. Here’s an idea that could bring you a lot of targeted traffic. Instead of publishing a blog that promotes your music only, create one that acts as a one-stop resource for your entire genre. If you play children’s music, start the Children’s Music and Family Fun Blog. Publish reviews and links to other artists who create music for kids. You’ll
  attract a lot of incoming traffic from people searching for your musical category. Of course, you’ll include lots of plugs for your own music, which will make it well worth not having the complete focus of the blog on you.
• Extend link love. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of cross-referencing that takes place in the blog world. You should regularly scour the web for news and online resources that would be of interest to your fans. Then write about (and link to) those other blogs, sites, artists, etc. After you publish a new post, send a quick e-mail to the person whose site you
  plugged. This will often lead to a return link when that webmaster or blogger writes about the exposure they got on your blog. The best way to get link love is to give it unconditionally in the first place.