Hello again, welcome to part two of Blog guide with Sharifah101 Interviews!
This part is different than the first part, and it’s because this part will focus on how to create a music blog like Troy but not exactly like Troy’s music blog.
Since I don’t have knowledge of a music blogger, I am going to learn like you guys!
So get your pen and paper and write notes!
Or don’t
It's your choice!
Warning: If you haven’t read part 1, make sure you do before you read this blog post!
Continue….
B.G.S 101 Interviews with KPOPREVIEWED Part two
S.O: SINE YOU HAVE A MUSIC BLOG, HOW DO YOU WRITE YOUR BLOG POST?
T.L: NOWADAYS, THE PROCESS IS TO LISTEN TO THE SONG ONCE OR TWICE SO I KNOW WHAT MY INITIAL THOUGHTS FOR THE SONG ARE. AFTER MAKING NOTE OF THEM (EITHER ON A PIECE OF PAPER OR STRAIGHT ONTO THE BLOG POST), I TAKE MY TIME TO RE-LISTEN TO THE SONG TO PICK OUT OTHER THINGS. SAME GOES FOR THE MUSIC VIDEO. I TEND TO WATCH THE PERFORMANCE JUST ONCE OR TWICE DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH WAS PRESENT IN THE MUSIC VIDEO. THEN I DO A BIT OF EDITING AND MAKE A NUMBER OF CHANGES IF I NOTICE OTHER THINGS. MAKE A FEW LAYOUT CHANGES AND THEN PUBLISH OR SCHEDULE THE RELEASE OF THE POST.
S.O: DO YOU WANT YOUR BLOG POSTS TO BE SEARCHABLE ON SEARCH ENGINES SUCH AS GOOGLE?
T.L: WHEN I FIRST STARTED, I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE AN IDEAL THING. FROM WHAT I CAN TELL AT THE MOMENT, MY BLOG CAN BE FOUND ON GOOGLE.
S.O: IS WRITING A MUSIC BLOG POST EASY AND WHY?
T.L: IT DEPENDS ON THE DAY. SOME DAYS, IT COMES EASY AND I AM WRITING REVIEW AFTER REVIEW. OTHER DAYS, I HAVE BAD WRITERS BLOCK’S AND CAN’T WRITE THE FIRST SENTENCE. OTHER TIMES, I QUESTION MYSELF TO WHETHER I WROTE THE EXACT SAME THING BEFORE OR WHAT I WROTE ABOUT THE ARTIST THE LAST TIME AROUND.
S.O: DO YOU READ OTHER MUSIC BLOG POSTS? IF YES, WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THEIR BLOG?
T.L: YES I DO. IT ALLOWS ME TO SEE WHAT ELSE PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT THE SONG (SOMETIMES I MISS SOMETHING SO OBVIOUS THAT I AM NOT AWARE OF UNTIL I READ ABOUT IT IN SOMEONE ELSE’S REVIEWS). I CAN ALSO CHECK THE TO SEE WHICH ARTISTS I HAVE MISSED OUT ON OR WHOM I SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO NEXT TIME THEY MAKE A COMEBACK. THEY ALSO GET WAY MORE TECHNICAL THAN WHAT I WRITE ABOUT, SO IT IS DEFINITELY INTERESTING TO HAVE A READ.
S.O: HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR BLOG POSTS?
T.L: I DON’T REALLY PLAN THE BLOG POSTS. ONCE I AM AWARE OF A RELEASE, I PUT IT DOWN ON A CALENDAR SO I KNOW WHEN TO EXPECT IT. THEN, JUST BEFORE WRITING THE POST, I GO HUNTING FOR SOME INFORMATION FOR THE INTRO. SOMETIMES THAT WORK, OTHER TIMES IT DOESN’T YIELD MUCH. AND I START WRITING MY THOUGHTS FROM THERE.
S.O: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BLOG POST FROM YOUR BLOG?
T.L: I DON’T PARTICULARLY HAVE A FAVOURITE BLOG POST. BUT IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE THE KPOPREVIEWED AWARDS 2017 RESULTS POST AS IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I ALLOWED READERS OF THE SITE TO VOTE AT THE END OF YEAR AWARDS AND I THOUGHT THE RESULTS WERE INTERESTING. IT WAS ALSO RELATIVELY FUN.
S.O: DID YOU GET ANY OPPORTUNITIES FROM YOUR BLOG? IF YES, WHAT WAS IT?
T.L: I HAVE YET TO RECEIVE ANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS SITE. IT IS MAINLY A SIDE HOBBY TO KEEP ME BUSY WHEN I AM FREE OR TO TAKE MY MIND OFF THINGS FROM MY PERSONAL LIFE.
S.O: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO WRITE K-POP REVIEWS OR MUSIC REVIEWS?
T.L: REFER TO QUESTION 29. I THINK WHAT I WROTE THERE WOULD APPLY TO THIS QUESTION. THOUGH TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE INDUSTRY YOU ARE REVIEWING FOR. THE KOREAN INDUSTRY WORKS DIFFERENTLY TO THE WESTERN INDUSTRY IN MANY WAYS SUCH AS PROMOTIONS AND CENSORSHIP. UNDERSTANDING THIS WOULD ALLOW YOU TO UNDERSTAND WHY SOME THINGS MIGHT OCCUR IN ONE INDUSTRY BUT NOT IN ANOTHER. ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT POINT, POST REGULARLY (AND THIS APPLIES FOR ALL BLOGS). I DON’T MEAN EVERYDAY BUT AS IN KEEP, THE MOMENTUM GOING. THAT WAY, YOU ENSURE CONSISTENT TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG AND YOU CAN KEEP ON TOP OF THINGS.
S.O: DO YOU SPOT BAD SPELLING, GRAMMAR OR PUNCTUATION IN YOUR BLOG POSTS OR BLOG POST DRAFT BEFORE PUBLISHING IT?
T.L: I TRY TO. I GIVE MOST REVIEWS A ONCE OVER TO MAKE SURE WHAT I WROTE WAS CORRECT AND MAKE SURE GRAMMAR, SPELLING ETC. IS ON POINT. BUT SOME OF THEM JUST SLIP BY ME AND I DON’T NOTICE UNTIL WAY LATER (LIKE MONTHS LATER). I HAVE DOWNLOADED GRAMMARLY (THOUGH I HEARD THEY WERE HACKED RECENTLY OR SOMETHING), WHICH ALERTS ME TO SPELLING/GRAMMAR MISTAKES AS I WRITE (AND IT IS QUITE HELPFUL).
S.O: WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO WRITE A BLOG POST?
T.L: I GUESS EVERY TIME SOMEONE LOOKS AT THE BLOG, IT DEFINITELY MOTIVATES ME TO PUT SOMETHING NEW UP THERE FOR THEM (OR SOMEONE ELSE TO READ). I ALSO FEEL LIKE THAT IF I NEED TO IN THE FUTURE, I CAN SHOW POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS MY MANAGEMENT AND OTHER TRANSFERABLE SKILLS, WHICH SHOULD HOPEFULLY PUT ME IN A GOOD LIGHT.
S.O: DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH BLOG STATS?
T.L: I AM HAPPY WITH WHAT MY STATS ARE AT THE MOMENT. I WOULD LIKE MORE BUT I AM NOT TOO PHASED BY IT. PROVIDED SOMEONE IS CLICKING ON MY BLOG EACH DAY, I AM HAPPY.
S.O: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON PEOPLE WHO ARE BLOGGING BECAUSE OF THE BENEFITS?
T.L: EVERYONE WOULD HAVE THEIR OWN REASONS FOR BLOGGING.
S.O: DO PEOPLE MAKE FUN OF YOUR BLOG?
T.L: NOT THAT I AM AWARE OF.
S.O: DO YOU THINK OTHER MUSIC BLOGS ARE BIAS, ESPECIALLY K-POP MV REVIEWS?
T.L: YES, I THINK TO AN EXTENT ANY MUSIC OR REVIEWING BLOG IS BIAS. EVERYONE HAS THEIR PREFERENCES AND IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO WRITE SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE NOT THAT PASSIONATE ABOUT (HOPEFULLY, YOU UNDERSTANDING WHAT I AM GETTING AT HERE). SOME PEOPLE ARE REALLY GOOD AT DISGUISING THEIR BIAS WITH THEIR LANGUAGE. IF YOU WERE TO ASK ABOUT MY BLOG, I WOULD SAY I AM BIAS TOWARDS A FEW ARTISTS AND THAT IS BECAUSE I LIKE THE ARTISTS AND THE CONTENT THEY RELEASE.
S.O: WHAT ARE YOUR 5 TIPS TO BECOME A MUSIC BLOGGER?
T.L:
• TALK ABOUT A MIXTURE OF ARTISTS (DON’T JUST FOCUS ON MAINSTREAM ARTISTS, SOMETIMES THE GOOD STUFF ARE WITH THE LESS KNOWN ARTISTS)
• INCLUDE PICTURES TO BREAK UP A LARGE PIECE OF WRITING.
• DO SOME RESEARCH ABOUT THE GROUP/SONG PRIOR TO WRITING. THIS WOULD HELP PUT SOME THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE AND FORM PART OF YOUR WRITING. FOR THE MUSIC VIDEO SECTION OF MY REVIEWS, I TEND TO READ THE YOUTUBE COMMENTS WHICH HELP ME WORK OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING.
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO WRITE A BAD COMMENT ABOUT AN ARTIST OR SONG, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE A LARGE FOLLOWING OR IS YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST. DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE BACKLASH (IF ANY). AN ARTIST WILL HAVE A FEW UNPOPULAR TRACKS THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREER. IT IS CALLED GROWING AS A MUSICIAN.
• DON’T JUST LISTEN TO ONE STYLE OF MUSIC (I.E. DON’T GET TOO INVESTED IN KPOP). LISTENING TO OTHER MUSIC TO BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS TRENDING.
S.O: HOW DO YOU BALANCE SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY WORK WITH YOUR BLOG?
T.L: EVEN I DON’T KNOW HOW I MANAGED TO DO IT LAST YEAR. BACK IN THE DAY
, I WOULD PRIORITISE UNIVERSITY OVER THE BLOG BUT NOW I KEEP A BALANCE BETWEEN EVERYTHING TO MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY. I DO SET ASIDE A FEW HOURS A DAY (WHERE POSSIBLE) TO WORK ON THE BLOG (I.E. WRITE UP REVIEWS, UPDATE MANY OF MY SPREADSHEETS THAT I USE TO MAINTAIN THE BLOG).
S.O: LAST ONE, DO YOU THINK SMALL MUSIC BLOGGERS STRUGGLE THE MOST IN THE BLOGGING INDUSTRY?
T.L: I THINK ANYONE STARTING OUT WITH BLOGGING WILL STRUGGLE, REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU ARE BLOGGING ABOUT. EVERYONE HAD TO START SOMEWHERE. PROVIDED YOU FIND A MOMENTUM TO GET YOU GOING AND FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT YOU ARE WRITING, THEN EVERYTHING WOULD.
Thank you, Troy, for your answers and again, if you haven’t read part 1, make sure you do!
I hope this blog post has helped you with your music blog; if I have missed something in this blog post, make sure you send me an email or comment below.
Email: sharifahtaiwo31@gmail.com
Should I interview other music bloggers?
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Xoxo, Blog Guide With Sharifah 101
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SONG OF THE DAY
그레이스(GRACE) - 아임 파인(I'M FINE) Official M/V
Credit: Grazy Grace
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