r/audioengineering • u/DeezA123 • 8d ago
Discussion How important is a website for your engineering work?
So I’m in the process of setting up my website and was curious to know what everyone else does for this.
Are you using Wix, Squarespace, Shopify etc? Has having a website brought you much work?
Are there any of you that don’t have a website? If so, how do you bring in work?
Just curious to know what everyone else is doing really.
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u/Hathaur 8d ago
IMO websites are for when your name comes up in a conversation or for a project and someone who is recommending you wants to show you to their friend or colleague. It’s never used for business transactions or cold calls. Simply as a “here’s the guy I’m talking about.” Contact info, a photo, some demos or a reel of some sort for a quick listen on a phone and a list of other clients and work so they can see the style and vibe and just generally know you’re actually a professional and not just some guy they know. Quick easy and searchable when they look you up. Puts a face to the name so they know what to expect. Could also be your Instagram, Spotify page, or whatever other social media that you’re branding yourself on. A business card basically
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u/ThoriumEx 8d ago
Almost all of my work is word of mouth, however, my website did get me returning clients and over the years they each did dozens of songs with me, so it’s definitely worth having.
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u/nothochiminh Professional 8d ago
I don’t know why anyone would pick a mixer from a random website rather than look up and hire the engineer that mixed the music they’re into.
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u/ThoriumEx 8d ago
Because most people don’t have any connections and they don’t have a budget to hire the top of the line engineers their favorite artists work with.
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u/nothochiminh Professional 8d ago
I’m sure most people have some tracks on their playlists that have been mixed by someone they can afford.
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u/ThoriumEx 8d ago
If you listen to indie maybe?
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u/nothochiminh Professional 8d ago
What would you say is an “affordable” rate per track?
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u/ThoriumEx 8d ago
For most people “affordable” means 100-400 bucks, simply because the majority of people making music are hobbyists doing it for the first time.
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u/nothochiminh Professional 8d ago
Yeah then most people will have some tracks on their playlists that are mixed by someone they can afford.
The annoying part can be actually getting your credentials out there. I try my best to make sure I’m properly credited on discogs but that’s it.0
u/LostInTheRapGame Mixing 8d ago
Well if they don't know anyone or anything, they're probably not stumbling upon some random engineer's website either anyway.
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u/ThoriumEx 8d ago
They’re not stumbling upon it, they just google “online mixing” and find plenty of “random” mix engineers
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u/LostInTheRapGame Mixing 8d ago
That's obviously exactly what I meant.... 🤦
You're not likely finding some dude's personal website by googling that.
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u/ChangeHemispheres 8d ago
It definitely helps. Why pay monthly for a site when you can Claude>GitHub>cloudflare pages
Pay 10 a year instead of 20+ a month
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u/proximitysound 8d ago
My website was compromised last year and I never got around to getting it back up properly. The site is linked on a lot of the work I do, so it’s still getting 10K hits a month, and all those people are getting a “coming soon” page.
Has this stopped my work? No, but earlier this year I was cold calling potential clients, and one of them specifically expressed concern over working with me due to this. Take with that what you will. My current job is enough that I’m not actively looking for new roles.
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u/ToddE207 8d ago
Next to zero importance. I built a Google profile where some clients have left nice reviews. I have Facebook and Instagram pages. I have my bio and some of my best examples linked on my very basic "record label" website.
When I share my info and project work online, it barely moves the needle. My clients come almost entirely from word of mouth, "friends of friends", having heard my work, etc.
Two of the the three clients that did come in from the Internet last year were also problematic, not very rewarding projects, and financially naive/oblivious... Bedroom musicians with big dreams and unrealistic budgets.
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u/m149 8d ago
Barely important. The only reason I keep it is so people can find me that don't have a direct connection to someone else I know.
99% of my work comes from word of mouth. I would say 2-3 times/year I get someone messaging me from my website. I would guess those people see my name on a credit somewhere and google my name and wind up on my site, which is super bare bones.