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One of the best marketing tools you can have as an author is your own website. Even if you're just starting out, it's a worthwhile investment because it not only helps establish your presence but it gives you a place to showcase your new and upcoming works, and sell merchandise.
Setting up a website may seem difficult at first, but there are many platforms out there that make it easy (seriously!) with simple-to-use tools and pre-made templates to help you shine. Some even have a click-and-drag interface, where you simply move the parts of the website where you want them. No coding experience necessary!
Of course, you can always hire someone to build a website for you if your technical skills are lacking, but in today's day and age, it's pretty easy to create your own.
For this blog, I'm going to focus on building your own and what every website, no matter whether you're a first-time or established author, should have.
Choose a Website Builder
I'm going to step outside the norm here and say you should decide which website builder you want to use first, before you even buy your domain.
That's right. Website builder first. Why, you ask?
Because sometimes, you get a fantastic deal on a bundle for a domain plus hosting service if you do it all through one provider. Many will even offer the first year for free if you sign up for their service.
There are many website builders out there these days, and you can choose the one that best fits your needs. Some of my recommendations include:
- Wix
- Weebly
- Squarespace
- Shopify
- WordPress
Note that WordPress and Shopify can be a bit more difficult to set up for those with little technical know-how, but they are still very dynamic platforms. I recommend starting with the free options and playing around to see if it's something you feel you can maintain long-term.
Buy Your Domain
Once you've found your website provider, it's time to buy your domain (if you didn't do it already through your web hosting service). It can be tempting to get creative, but it's important that you keep your URL as concise as possible, with no crafty spellings or dashes, because you want to make it easy for your readers to type it in.
I recommend using your author name, if it's available. You can even tag "author" on the end of it. So if your name is Jane Doe (creative, I know), you'd try to buy janedoe.com first. If that's not available, you'd try janedoeauthor.com.
If you have a name that's too difficult to type or is commonly misspelled, try shortening it to something catchy.
Domain names are usually pretty cheap, depending on where you buy them. I've seen some as little as $0.99 for the year when companies are running a promotion. On average, though, they typically run $10 to $20 for the year, and are usually cheaper if you buy more than one year at a time.
Make it Easy to Navigate
Have you ever visited a website that you just couldn't figure out for the life of you? Same. It's a real turn-off, and instead of attracting readers, you're going to drive them away.
Keep the interface simple, with a clean layout, and when you're done designing it, take a look at it from a visitor's perspective.
Is it easy to find the pages you want readers to find?
Are there any weird spacing or margin errors?
Is it dynamic, meaning can you view it comfortably across a range of devices (phone, computer, tablet)?
Stay away from flashing images, if possible, because they can be an eyesore or sometimes a seizure trigger. Use images to brighten up the page and break up text, but keep them cohesive with your branding.
Pages You Should Have
Each website should have a few different pages, but don't go overboard. Keep your website short, simple, and easy to navigate.
I recommend setting up the following ones, for sure.
About Me
This is a simple page where you tell your readers all about who you are. You can expand on your shorter author bio that you use for sites like Amazon and other retailers.
I would refrain from telling too much about yourself, simply for safety reasons. It's okay to talk about your love for books, what got you into writing, and your credentials, but maybe skip listing your hometown or any specific information about your family or activities you participate in.
Books
This page should list all of the books you've published under one name. Do not mix and match here if you have multiple pen names, because it will hurt your overall branding and confuse readers.
List books that are out and upcoming ones, even if they don't have covers. A picture with a black cover is perfectly acceptable and is a widely used technique in the publishing industry.
If you have room, a little snippet of the book's contents is a great way to get readers intrigued.
Contact Form
You want people to be able to reach you, right? A contact page is a sweet and simple form where readers can send questions and messages. Unless you have a UPS address, a P.O. box disguised as a street address, I would advise not listing it here.
Newsletter Sign-up
We've established that newsletters are a great marketing tool, and on your website is a great place to publish that sign-up option. In fact, it doesn't need to be on its own page. You can post a sign-up box where readers can enter their emails on any page, or all of them.
I would also suggest maybe posting old newsletters on this page, as well, so people can catch up on news they might've missed or read old ones. Of course, this all depends on the amount of space you have through your hosting service.
Optional Pages
Optional pages are those that can benefit you but aren't necessarily needed. Some you can add after you've published a few books.
Upcoming Events
This is a great way to keep your readers informed of where you will be, in the event that you're attending conventions or doing signings. This is one page you'll need to keep up-to-date, especially if you're traveling a lot to different states, countries, or stores.
You can also link to the events so your readers can buy tickets or learn more about what it entails.
Media/Press Kit
Once you've established yourself and are widely known, you might feel the need to put out a media or press kit for publications to announce a new book or upcoming events. This is typically reserved for those who have an extensive backlist or a very large following.
Store
If you are opting to sell your books or other merchandise on your website, too, you'll want to add a store page, where readers can shop. You'll need e-commerce hosting in order to be able to do this, though. Shopify is one of the best options in terms of both setting up a shop and its cost to maintain.
Keep Branding Consistent
Branding is critical as an author, so when you design your website, keep that branding consistent throughout. Use the same colors, the same fonts, and design. Don't throw a modge-podge of images together and expect it to make sense to your readers (even if it makes sense to you).
Optimize It
Optimizing your website is important to finding you. While many will end up there on purpose, seeking out more information about you as an author, some may be looking for authors in a specific niche as part of their research.
Optimizing your website means simply adding keywords (use them organically—aka don't let them stand out like a sore thumb) that detail what your website is. If you write sci-fi, you'll use terms like "sci-fi books" and "sci-fi author" to help increase your visibility. Don't overdo it, though.
How Much Will it Cost to Keep an Author Website Running?
This is a very good question, but it's also subjective. Some authors spend less than $100 a year on their website, while others pay thousands. It depends on whether you design and run it yourself or if you have someone do updates for you.
It also depends on your hosting service and any extras you pay for, like live chat or interactive apps for scheduling events.
Regardless of what you pay, however, your expenses related to the website (and your author business) are a tax write-off in most countries.
Want to craft some amazing content for your website? Sudowrite can help you with that, too!