Support for Indie Authors discussion
Marketing Tactics
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Is owning a website imperative? What do you think? If you have a website what web host do you use and why?
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Kat wrote: "Yes, I think a web site is a must for you to promote your brand...you. I'm currently working on building mine. I managed to get a .com domain name with my full name and middle initial so that was a..."How is it tax-deductible? I'm just wondering. Perhaps that's something that works in England only? Thanks for the post! Christine
Anna Faversham wrote: "Hardly anyone uses mine to contact me - but at least they can if they want to and that is important. It probably depends on what else you have. I don't do FB or Twitter, so a website is probably a ..."Web sites are relatively inexpensive although it does take some time to develop content.
It adds to your presence, but you need to understand that your web site is one of millions in the internet universe. You need to be discovered. The only way is to have a really good SEO. Now, it's getting expensive!
A good web site won't hurt, but it might not help, either. You need to look at your marketing budget and use that in your calculation.
J.D. wrote: "Anna Faversham wrote: "Hardly anyone uses mine to contact me - but at least they can if they want to and that is important. It probably depends on what else you have. I don't do FB or Twitter, so a..."So far I've done it all for free and it's gorgeous. Do your research. Lots of sweat equity though so be prepared to learn baby learn! :-)
I'm not a CPA, but from what I understand, a website is considered a marketing expense. I've always been able to deduct expenses related to my website — domain hosting, web hosting, developers, etc.
Is it just me or has the WHOLE website world decided to add that annoying "pop-up" to join their newsletter list? I don't mind the idea of joining BUT when one is forced via these invasive pop-ups it leaves a very bad impression. YET, it seems everyone and their brother has joined the pop-up band wagon. Now I have just built a new website (which still needs a bit of work) but I refuse (at least for now) to make anyone join immediately. I had to ask, does anyone have an opinion either way about this?
Hi Christine, they can be quite annoying but stats show that websites that have them are able to grow their mailing lists quicker than those that don't. As email still remains the most effective way to build relationships with prospects and ultimately sell to them, I guess a lot of website owners view the trade-off as worth it. I personally don't use them, I have opt-in forms at the end of blog posts and share sign-up forms with relevant content across social media. However I'm not opposed to them when done well, I really dislike the generic ones that just say 'sign-up to my mailing list or newsletter' but sometimes the resources being offered in exchange for your email are quite useful. I guess the key is to offer value via the pop-up if you are going to use them.
Regarding owning a website, I think it is imperative for a few reasons:> Google is the no. 1 way people search for products and services, if you don't have a website you ultimately miss out on an infinite number of business opportunities
> It's great to be on social media sites but you don't have any control on these platforms, your business is at the mercy of the social media platforms rules which can change at anytime.
> Businesses without a webiste are often perceived as less professional and credible than those that do.
In terms of hosting I use 1&1 Internet, disclaimer I was there Head of UK Marketing for 4 years, however as such I got to an insider view and know how professinally they run their business and how secure their datacentres are, they also own there own datacentres which isn't the case for most hosting companies.
Oh and I love WordPress I have a few websites, all of which are built on WordPress and hosted by 1&1.
Katrina wrote: "Regarding owning a website, I think it is imperative for a few reasons:> Google is the no. 1 way people search for products and services, if you don't have a website you ultimately miss out on an ..."
Maybe. Maybe not.
People use Bing and Google to search for products and services. What about books?
Do people put "books" into a search bar or do they search for a specific title or author? Most new authors don't have a following. How will their web sites be discovered? What metatags can they use?
With tens of millions of web sites, how can an unknown author be discovered?
The answer is aggressive advertising and SEO. That costs a great deal of money.
A web site is a good way to engage with readers, but is hardly a panacea to reach prospective readers.
Most new authors are really limited in their marketing budget and I include midlist authors who are traditionally published.
Christine wrote: "Is it just me or has the WHOLE website world decided to add that annoying "pop-up" to join their newsletter list? I don't mind the idea of joining BUT when one is forced via these invasive pop-ups ..."Yeah, I get really annoyed by this too. I've got a subscribe button on one site, but nothing that gets in the way of actual content. I'm less likely to visit a site if I can't simply get to the content I was looking for.
Christine wrote: "Is it just me or has the WHOLE website world decided to add that annoying "pop-up" to join their newsletter list? I don't mind the idea of joining BUT when one is forced via these invasive pop-ups ..."I've had a website for nearly ten years now, and I added the please-subscribe popup and it didn't do a damn thing for email subscriptions. I got so annoyed with it, that I killed it. I now gather most new email addresses through giveaway services, such as Instafreebie and Bookfunnel.
J.G. wrote: "Christine wrote: "Is it just me or has the WHOLE website world decided to add that annoying "pop-up" to join their newsletter list? I don't mind the idea of joining BUT when one is forced via these..."Oh that's great info! Really, it's SO, SO annoying and rude I think! Someone on my LinkedIn thread said it makes you ADHD! Ha! :-)
Christine wrote: "Is it just me or has the WHOLE website world decided to add that annoying "pop-up" to join their newsletter list? I don't mind the idea of joining BUT when one is forced via these invasive pop-ups ..."Mine's coded to only pop up when someone scrolls to the very bottom of my site. I get more sign-ups this way, and far fewer unsubscribes. It feels a lot less pushy to me.
Web sites are not going to help you. They're not.Amazon marketing may be the best place to allocate your scarce resources.
You write in a particular genre. Focus your marketing like a laser beam on those who will be interested in your genre.
There are tens of millions of web sites. Unless you spend truckloads of money on SEO, you will not be discovered.
Trust me, I've seen this movie before. I know how it ends.
J.D. wrote: "Web sites are not going to help you. They're not.I can't agree with this statement. As always, whether you have a website and what form it takes depends on your goals. I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. For example, owning a domain with your author name, e.g., joesmith.com, allows you maximum flexibility for your online brand and protects your brand from squatters. An author website also means you have maximum control over your web identity. If you grow big enough, your website can become an e-commerce portal for your brand. It's difficult or impossible to collect all-important email addresses from other channels, such as Facebook and Twitter. (Other tools, such as Instafreebie or Bookfunnel, can help.) Email is still the best way to make direct contact with current and potential readers.
The disadvantages are the costs of maintenance, the need to add content on a regular basis, and possibly design costs, assuming you don't use a host's templates. (I use WordPress, by the way.)
I will agree that having a website will not necessarily make you more discoverable, and spending tons of money on SEO is probably not worth it. However, readers expect multiple channels for engagement with you as an author, and a website is a leading method, along with social media.
I'll get off my soapbox now. :)
J.D. wrote: "Most young authors have a very small budget and they need to be strategic in their investment ..."Totally agree with this statement. Goes for "old" authors too, like me. I just think a web presence has to be part of the mix.
I so far the investment in my website including SEO id minimal but that’s because I built it myself. Agree, endorsements, connections are key!
I do know, however that whether Indie or not marketing is dependent upon the author.
Write like an author and think like a marketer and you’ve got a winner.
That’s the name of the game guys!
We love the internet because it has opened our door but now we must be smart about our marketing and our investments.
Christine wrote: "Thank you for all your help! You have saved me much time and energy. After reading here, I decided to go with Wordpress against the advice of some "Techie guy" who adamantly recommended Squarespace..."Hey! I actually hired a boutique marketing company to build my site and do my social media for me. They were totally worth it and offer a self-published author discount!
J.G. wrote: "J.D. wrote: "Most young authors have a very small budget and they need to be strategic in their investment ..."Totally agree with this statement. Goes for "old" authors too, like me. I just thin..."
I completely agree.
Marie Silk wrote: "I don't think a website is a must, but it can be a nice touch to have one. I opted for a domain hosted by godaddy. I was able to get my author name dot com. I really don't know much about websites ..."You are doing better than you think. If you do regular updates on your website and send these to your email subscribers then it will benefit your presence and sales. Any name-brand author has a website; why not you?
I have been tinkering around a lot this past week with my website. Is there anyplace one can post their website and ask others for reactions and suggestions? I think we might all enjoy that kind of feedback. Thanks (didn't want to break the rules and put my website link here!)
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I started out creating my website on a free site but didn't like the look, so rarely gave out the address. Based on earlier feedback here, I moved to Wordpress and upgraded to have my own domain. I love it! Wordpress is so easy to use, and looks very professional. It's worth the very minimal cost per month!
I've only used my wix website as a more aesthetically pleasing way to redirect potential buyers to my amazon link while also give them more information about the book and myself. I did notice my sales go up a little bit after I made it, but it's not that big of a change.I tried blogging before but it's quite tiring and I haven't noticed any positive changes that come from it. I just update it whenever I'm free now.
So for the question of whether it's imperative or not, I'd say it's not a must but it's good to have.
I think a website is probably most important for authors who want to be traditionally published and are going to be looking for an agent and publisher. You have to be googlable , so that any agent who googles your name will be able to see that you're a writer who is serious about your craft. I've been blogging on my website for more than 18 months. I blog once a week every week on a Saturday morning. Same time on Saturday morning. If you googled my name I'm pretty sure the first three pages that come up are all about me. It's a lot of hard work but it's also a lot of fun!!!
I have one self-published book, but after some intense NaNoWriMo writing, am about to start submitting a young adult novel to some traditional publishers.Traditional publishers all ask you to submit a market plan these days, along with your sample chapters, and a big piece of having a marketing plan is having a web-site to promote your writing and yourself.
I actually have little interest in creating and maintaining (and paying for) a website, but feel like my chances of getting published depend as much on the marketing plan as on the quality of the book.
So... a website (Weebly?) seems to be in my future.
That’s so interesting that they ask you to submit a market plan! So basically the publisher is asking you to do their work! Why would anyone go with a publisher ? I’m not sure I see the benefits of that route, guess that’s a topic for another thread. Thanks for that information!
I have a website and a linked blog. I used GoDaddy to set it up. It was easy. I am happy with their service and I would recommend them to others. Is it imperative? I can't say for sure. I have not seen a jump in sales when I have promoted the site, despite multiple links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and a paperback-discount offer from me, via PayPal. According to GoDaddy, more than 1,000 people have visited my website this month; 94% of them have come through Facebook mobile apps. At a minimum, I am gaining wider awareness of my book, if not actual book/ebook buyers. That's worth something. Another advantage of having the site is complimenting paid promotions aimed at librarians and booksellers. I have a couple of promotions coming up in the next couple of months that I hope will generate sales to them through Ingram. I'll see what happens ...
I use 1&1 for all my web sites. I currently design and maintain 3 with them, 1 for my day job, a spec fiction magazine I am trying to launch with a friend, and my own writing site. I've never had a problem with them, but some people think they are expensive.
For my own site I chose the premium plan which is £23.99 a month, but I get a daft number of email accounts, all the design templates I could possibly want, access to stock images, a blog facility (so I don't have anything other than my name in the url), enhanced security, a shopping facility so I can sell directly from the site (accommodates up to 2500 products), video hosting, file downloads, syncing with social media, loads of apps, auto language translation app so it can be viewed in multiple languages, SEO optimisation, mobile friendly, it has marketing options like running a promotion etc, and 24/7 support.
It isn't up and running yet, I need to write more material so it doesn't look so bare before I launch.
For me, 24 quid seems like a good price for being able to have everything in one place and not juggling separate email, blog, video and shopping links. Plus, if I ever start making money from my writing, it'll be tax deductible. It is easy to use, everything is pretty much drag and drop.