Using an Author Website to Market your Work
Think back to pre-1997 (in my case) when – to know about a new book – I’d have to walk past a bookstore, or catch a glimpse of a poster at the railway station. If the cover, description, or the name of the author caught my eye, I’d stop. Fast forward to now, and although the above exist, the norm for gaining attention is via the World-Wide-Web.
There are blogs-a-million out there, and review sites that help to put the book into someone’s viewpoint. However – an author can’t rely on just secondary outlets to promote their novel. No – the author has to do to that themselves. The instant method of letting the world know about you and your novel is … a Website.
During the Self-Publishing Conference, I was teeny-bit startled by the number of writers/authors that didn’t have their own personal website.
Yes – of course you can use the one page sites that are offered by Indie Publishers, Self-Publishing Companies, Amazon, Goodreads, Wattpad, etc, etc, e…t…c… BUT – they are limited as to what they offer – or more importantly – what you can offer. Use them as additional platforms – though focus on a site that represents you as a whole, rather than being one of many.
The gorgeous Aimee Fry – from Authorworks Design Agency – wowed us with her presentation on Using an Author Website to Market your Work – at the Self-Publishing Conference.
Quite simply – she knows her stuff and doesn’t use jargon to bamboozle the audience.
Her tips/reasons are:
1. It’s a way of Interacting with the Audience – rather than just being the name on a cover. People like to read about celebrities, and to know what they’re up to. Think of yourself in that manner. If you gain a readership, by letting those readers into your world, you’re engaging with them.
I use my website to keep your updated with how I’m progressing, and sneak peeks of images, ideas, and novels that I’m working on. I’m engaging.
2. It’s about Marketing. Don’t assume that just because you’ve landed a mega-deal from a publisher, or you have a zillion friends and family that will promote your book – that they actually will promote.
Come on – even if your family and friends purchase a copy, the likelihood is that they will promote with one another, thus not amplifying your reach. A website is your portal to the world. If anyone wants to know about your novel (product) and you (the creator), they can visit your site.
And what if a publisher or a journalist visits your site? Don’t you want them to say “wow, this person cares about their creativeness.”
3. Branding. Often overlooked in website design. If you use a DIY site to create your own, you may be overwhelmed by the features available and end up with a clumped/messy site.
Be mindful of the image you are trying to create. It must be easy and intuitive for the visitor to navigate your site and get to what they want.
When creating your menu and where to place items, think of a filing system at home.
4. Naming the Site. When creating this site, I thought about ImranSiddiq.com ImranSiddiqWrites.com or ImranSiddiqWriter.com. In the end I went for … imranwrites.com.
Why? I wanted to keep it quick and simple to write.
Why didn’t I create a site called Disconnect.com to promote my Debut YA Science Fiction novel? Because it’s not the only book I’m writing. If my intention is to write and market one book – then a site that refers to that one book is fine. But, in my case, I’m aiming to write many, thus, my site represents me.
So, think about the name.
A site called: ArnoldSchwarzennegger.com is quite a lot to put in. And Disconnect_DividedWorldsTrilogy_Book1.com is confusing.
Some of the best author sites are simply the author’s name.
5. Entice them. A Website can be used to:
Hold a competition
Announce new novels
Announce your progress
Leave a review of a novel you’re reading
Inform us about a festival/event you’ve attended
Give is a peek of Chapter One
Show us an alternate ending
Promote your novel with more detailed items than can be shown on Amazon
The above can be as blog posts or as a page (in the menu) in its own right.
What’s that famous phrase from Ratatouille? “Surprise me.”
6. Tap into the Resources. If you see a site that’s been created, and it keeps you interested (for more than 3 seconds) then there’s no harm in enquiring about who created the site.
Note: Aimee has built and advised on many author sites.
7. The Website is a Step towards Social Media. Once you have that site up, and you’re into the groove of updating it, you’ll become less afraid of social media like Twitter and Facebook.
Again – it’s all about promoting and engaging.
And if someone likes your tweets, or they Like your Facebook author page, then there’s a greater chance that they will visit your site.
From experience – any author without a website loses my interest.
Don’t think; “I haven’t got time to use all these sites.” It can take 30 seconds to create a tweet or a message, and you can do it whilst walking, sitting on a bus, at home, waiting for the coffee, sitting in a meeting, or lying in bed.
For tips on Twitter: See my Post on Tweeting Responsibly.
Face it … Social Media and Websites are part of the evolution of communication:
By Ear/Gossip
Ravens/Hawks/Pigeons
Morse Code
Telegram
Telephone
Pagers
Websites
Mobile Phones/Texting
Chat Sites like MSN
Social Sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Embrace.
8. Use Google Analytics. It’s the one fantastic place where you can find out about who is visiting your site, which country are they from, how did they get there, what device are they using, and how long they stay on your site.
This is all vital to understand if a Blog Post about your characters got a lot of hits as opposed to a post about your editing schedule.
Aimee provided a simple tip to me of adding more colour to my site. And she’s right. I need a better header and a little funky-gunk to the clean design.
Overall – she reminded and introduced many to why a website is important. Great Session 
Aimee Fry can be contacted on:
Twitter = https://twitter.com/TheAuthorWorks
