What Belongs on an Author Website Homepage? 4 Key Elements

[Quantum]

Does your author homepage--on your own website or on a social media site like Goodreads--convey the following important messages:

1. Clear identity
2. Your latest book or books
3. Links to social media sites where you’re active
4. Email newsletter sign-up

(https://janefriedman.com/author-websi...)

[Ian]

The interesting question for me is the email newsletter - how many have them, and how much good does it do do you think? When you get a deluge of emails every day, do you want to read one of those?

[Joanna]

Hi Ian, I was originally advised to launch a website, and to blog. Then, suddenly blogs were out and email newsletters were in. To get readers to sign up for your newsletter, you need a popup ( which I detest) on your blog page. Then you need to send out a newsletter on a regular basis informing your newsletter readers about the interesting stuff they can read on your blog. Huh??
I have a "subscribe to my blog" feature on my main pages, so if readers like my blogs they can sign up to get them in their email on the day my blogs are published which is exactly at 11.30 am ( EST) Saturday morning every week.
I think newsletters are probably great for bestselling authors who have lots to tell their fans, but for the moment I, at least, find it sufficient to have a website, and to blog/post regularly. And when I have really interesting posts I direct friends and followers from Goodreads to them by posting the first few lines on my Goodreads blog. I also put them into my Twitter feed.
Your point goes to the heart of our universe: in the deluge of emails/ and all the other stuff (tweets/facebook feed etc etc ) we get every day, whose newsletter/blog/tweet do we read?

[Ian]

Hi Joanna, I have a blog and a website, and I do my best there, but I note that in dealing with my email inbox, I have a strangely rapid "delete" habit, and i suspect others do too.

[Marie Silk]

Alex wrote: "Does your author homepage--on your own website or on a social media site like Goodreads--convey the following important messages:1. Clear identity
2. Your latest book or books
3. Links to social me..."

Everything but the social media links. Those are on the "about me" and "contact" pages.

[Marie Silk]

Ian wrote: "The interesting question for me is the email newsletter - how many have them, and how much good does it do do you think? When you get a deluge of emails every day, do you want to read one of those?"

My website has been up for almost a year. I have an email newsletter but I have not done incentives to sign up. At this point I have sent out a total of 3 newsletters, and those happened when I had new books on pre-order to announce. I've had about 50 pre-orders that came in within 48 hours of the newsletter going out, so I credit the newsletter for those. The vast majority of sales do not come from the newsletter or website though. In terms of ROI, I don't think I'll see it from the website.

I'm subscribed to maybe ten author newsletters right now. I read the less frequent ones, but the newsletters that come in every week or more, I tend to skip because it's too much for me.

[Lizzie]

Marie Silk wrote: "Ian wrote: "The interesting question for me is the email newsletter - how many have them, and how much good does it do do you think? When you get a deluge of emails every day, do you want to read o..."

The authors that i deliberately sign up for because I really like their work, I read. Usually, they have something worthwhile to me. Updates on books, short stories to fill in characters, a question about their "big" series of what the readers would like as an idea for a new novel in that series, a blog with comments about a movie or tv series raising an interesting philosophical or moral discussion.

Other authors whose newsletter I end up with because of an instafreebie or give away contest i ignore or unsubscribe. I receive emails before i have had time to discover if I like their work. IT is easier to unsubscribe and then signup again if i read their book and like it a lot.

I dont like emails that are ads for other authors' books. An occasional recommendation is Ok but don't send me emails filled with them.