By: Diana Urban
These days,
author websites are much more than static business cards. They’re now a
valuable marketing tool serving as the hub of an author’s online activity, from
displaying their books to blogging to participating in social media. These
elements allow authors to grow their reach and increase book sales.
If you’re
designing an author website, what should you be sure to include? We scoured
dozens of successful authors’ websites to see what elements they include the
most often. While every website has slightly different goals, and an author’s
genre and personality set a unique tone for their site, these are frequently
used elements that anyone building an author’s website should consider including:
1. A list of
published books
An author
website can be a useful sales tool. Many sites include a page listing all of
their published books with links to buy each one. Typically, they:
- Link to the book page in the top navigation. This makes it easy for visitors to find this page no matter where they arrive on the website.
- Display the book covers. This can help spark recognition later when a reader is browsing BookBub’s latest deals or a retailer’s search results page.
- Include a brief elevator pitch. Each book usually includes a quick synopsis or a blurb from a recognizable author.
- Include links to multiple retailers. This helps visitors easily find each book wherever they shop.
For example, Daniel
Silva includes links to each retailer where the book is available on
his books page:
. . .
2. The
author’s newest or upcoming release
Many author
websites have a prominent feature section on the homepage for promoting their
most recent work. This makes it easy for fans to find the book with the latest
buzz. Authors who have a book coming out shortly tend to feature this instead,
and change the language from “coming soon” to “now available” once the launch
date arrives.
In this section,
many authors include blurbs instead of a simple synopsis to build excitement
and hype. For example, Dan
Brown includes blurbs for Inferno on his homepage:
. . .
To read the rest
of the post, click here:
~*~
If you missed my latest writing and
marketing tweets, here they are again:
- 9 Author Website Trends You Need to Know About http://ow.ly/Ydscd
- Why I Outline--And Some Tips - The Dancing Writer's Advice http://ow.ly/YibRL
- When to Use the Present Tense – Lewis Editorial http://ow.ly/YibT9
- 7 Tips for Writing About Other Cultures | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/YibUE’
- Writing Critiques | Self-Publishing Author Advice from The Alliance of Independent Authors http://ow.ly/YibWa
- Top Time-Saving Tip for Writers http://ow.ly/YibYD
- Ten Ways to Generate Story Ideas – Mythcreants http://ow.ly/Yic0c
- How to Create an Advance Information (AI) Sheet for a Self-published Book | http://ow.ly/Yic3j
- Stealing Time http://ow.ly/Yic7G "...how do you find time to write? I have a full-time job/small kids/I’m too tired."
- 5 Reasons Writers Need Google Plus, Even Though New Google Plus is Awful http://ow.ly/YiceU
- 16 Self-publishing Predictions | Self-Publishing Author Advice from The Alliance of Independent Authors http://ow.ly/YicgL
- All Write - Fiction Advice: The Essential Fiction Writing Checklist - Part 2 http://ow.ly/Yiclz
- What do you hate most about the editing process? http://ow.ly/Yicpj
- Does Creativity Decline with Age? | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/YicrZ
- #37: How Good Does My Writing Need to Be Online? - Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach http://ow.ly/YicFP
- How Writers Can Feed Their Muse through Community | Live Write Thrive http://ow.ly/YicJN
- Problems with Multitasking - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/YicOT
- Fiction University: Real Life Diagnostics: Working With Dialogue http://ow.ly/YicUh
- Finding a Critique Group to Nurture Your Fire | Writers' Rumpus http://ow.ly/YicY6
- Instagram Account Switching: This Week in Social Media : Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/Yid0R
- Secondary Characters - Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/YioD7
- 500 Words a Day: The Secret to Developing a Regular Writing Habit http://ow.ly/YioFt
No comments:
Post a Comment