What To Do With My Website...

Many authors only update or overhaul their websites when they have a new book release, and this isn’t always frequent enough to keep readers coming back. Here some ideas for ways to generate visits to your site.

Blogs are good ways to have fresh content on your site and to encourage repeat visitors. I do guest author interviews on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and I post my new content each Friday. The guest interviews are a win-win for the author and me. They get the exposure to my readers, and they share my site with their fans.

Try to think of topics that appeal to your readers. Most of my Friday posts relate to writing or books. Do you have hobbies or job skills that your readers are interested in? Most blogs will let you embed videos for more interaction. The video content can be reused on Instagram or TikTok.

Add the links to your blog posts on your social media sites to drive traffic to your site. Twitter/X and Instagram are hashtag friendly, and this lets you highlight topics that appeal to a variety of readers. If your blog posts appeal to professionals, don’t forget to the share the links on LinkedIn.

I send out a quarterly newsletter with contests and updates. Inside, I also feature six or eight of the recent author interviews. This lets me recycle some content, and it provides more coverage for my guest authors.

Sometimes, it’s a good idea to spot check your webpages to ensure everything is current and working correctly. Here’s a quick check list of areas that may need updating:

• Make sure your latest author photo is posted.

• If you list events, verify that they are up to date.

• Ensure that all your latest books appear on your site. If you have book club questions, make sure you have a set for each book.

• Check all of your links to make sure they are working.

• Review your biography and press kit.

Websites take some time to maintain, but it a valuable and the central part of your author platform.

I Need an Author Website. Where Do I Start?

Authors (Prepublished or Published) need a website. This is your home base. This is where readers, librarians, reporters, and bloggers find you.

When you go to create your site, research other authors in your genre and see how they present their brand. Look at layout, page content, and colors. Your look and feel defines your brand. It should match your writing style and your books. For example, you don’t want a sweet, romantic look if you write horror. Your content and design need to be neat and polished.

You should purchase a URL with your name. Some authors who use pennames have multiple sites, and others combine them into one. If you create multiples, make sure that you can maintain all of them.

You want guests on your website, blog, and social media sites to recognize you. The name should be the same (or similar), and the picture should look like you. If your photo is a flower, it’s hard for readers to make sure they have the right site.

Decide whether you are going to pay someone to design your page or create your artwork. It can be expensive. Make sure you have clear requirements and get estimates. Also make sure you understand what you’re paying for (e.g. just the site, site and maintenance, hosting, etc.) and when you’ll get it. There are also a lot of services out there that have build-your-own websites for different prices. I’ve used Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. There are lots of how-to instructional videos on YouTube if you want details on a specific service.

You need to keep your website current and find ways to drive traffic to it. Your social media sites are great, but if you’re blocked or the company shuts down, you have no way of contacting your followers. Your website should work in conjunction with your email list and social media sites as part of your marketing strategy.

If you do not have a lot of published works, you may consider starting a blog on your site. This will give you fresh content and drive interested readers to your site. Blogs also let you showcase your interests or elements of your books (e.g. cooking tips, crafting, writing tips, book reviews, traveling, etc.). You should have a regular schedule for posting. Blogs can be a lot of work, but they can help you keep readers returning to your site.

Here’s what you need to get started:

1. Make sure that you have a professional headshot that you can use for your promotions and books. Selfies don’t look professional. Save those for casual candids in your social media posts.

2. Make a Press Kit or About You page. It needs your photo, contact method, and a short biography. Make sure you keep your biography current. Many website templates have forms that guests can fill out, and it will send you an email notification without publishing your email address or contact information on the website.

3. Make sure your social media links are on your site. Most webpage templates have an option to include them on every page.

4. If you have published books, make sure to include them. Some authors put their latest on the home page, and then create a book page that shows their books in order by series.

5. Most website templates have a feature that you can add to allow readers to subscribe to your newsletter. If you have an email list, you need to include this on your website. (When you configure the feature or widget, you’ll need to connect it to the site that contains your email list.) I use MailChimp.

6. Most websites allow you to have a tab or link to multiple pages. Make sure the links are in the order that you want them and that the labels are understandable to readers. You also want to keep the labels short. Many readers are accessing your site with a phone or mobile device.

7. When you’re done with your site, check it out on your laptop and mobile devices. Most website templates are mobile friendly and will adjust to fit the screen the person is using. You want to make sure that yours does since most users access websites with mobile devices that have smaller screens.

8. Test all of the links and forms on your site. Make sure they work. You don’t want to miss email subscriptions or contact requests, and broken links frustrate users.

9. Put your website URL and your social media links in your email signature. You never know who will be interested enough to check out your site.

Ways to Get Traffic to Your Website

All authors need a website with your current information and all your books. Getting people to visit your website can be a challenge sometimes. Here are some ideas to drive traffic to your website.

1. Have a blog on your website and blog regularly. Pick a schedule that works for you and try to stick to it. Find your niche of what you want to share (e.g. tips about writing, social media tips, book promotion ideas, recipes, crafts, etc.).

2. Share links to your blog posts on your other social media sites for advertising.

3. Make sure to put your website’s URL on all of your other social media sites. If there’s not a specific field for it, make sure to include it in your biography or description.

4. Find other authors like you and do a blog take-over. She posts on your blog while you post on hers. You swap audiences and hopefully introduce new readers to you.

5. Find ways to have guest bloggers or interviews of others on your blog. When the guests share your post, other readers find your site. On my Pens, Paws, and Claws blog, we have #WriterWednesday interviews with guest authors.

6. Build a network (formal or informal) of other bloggers/writers who will share each others’ posts. You spread your reach to all their followers.

7. Review books on your blog.

8. Do guest posts on others’ sites. Include your biography, website URL, book links, and social media links at the bottom of your post.

9. Put your website’s URL on your bookmarks and business cards.

10. Some authors give away freebies or have contests on their websites. Others give away short stories or excepts from a future work.

11. Make sure you keep your content on your blog/website current. If people visit, and things are dated, they often don’t return.

Does Your Website Need a Health Check?

People often create a website and update it only occasionally. Authors need to periodically check their sites to make sure they’re current (and interesting). New material (and your author blog), keep readers coming back to your site. Here’s my checklist for author websites.

1. Make sure your photo (author headshot) and biography are current. Your photo should be recent and professional.

2. Include a list of events (including online ones like Facebook parties) on your site. Make sure that you keep the list up to date. No one wants to see your events from 2010.

3. Check all of your links on your site to make sure that they still work. Make sure that you can move from page to page and your pages appear as you want them to look.

4. Fill out your “contact me” form and verify that you get the email notification.

5. Make sure that your newsletter signup form works correctly. You don’t want to miss people who are interested in your work.

6. Include all of your publications with buy-links. I have a page for books, novellas, and short stories. Put your most current book first or at the top. When you do links, include multiple outlets to share the love among book retailers.

7. Make sure you have a media page that has several biographies of different lengths (100, 250, and 500 words). Many authors include photos and book covers here. If you’re asked to do a presentation or someone’s doing an article or blog post on you, they’ll use the material on this page.

8. Make sure that you have links to all your other social media sites. Verify that they work.

9. Include your blog on your website (if you blog regularly). Again, people don’t want to stop by and see that your last post was in 2005. Pick a blogging schedule that works for you and try to stick to it. This is a great way to have fresh content on your site and to keep readers returning.

10. Remove any web pages that are no longer useful. Many of your web applications will let you deactivate or archive them in case you want to use parts of them later.

11. It is great to have someone create your site for you, but you either need a personal assistant or publicist to keep it current, or you need to maintain it yourself. Content from the last decade does not inspire readers to return to your site.

12. If you’re looking for new ideas for your site, visit other authors’ pages that are in your genre. Look at the color choices, layouts, and content. Look at the order of their pages (links or tabs at the top).

13. Look at your webpage on a computer, tablet, and cell phone. Most web services create pages that are “mobile friendly” and adapt to the screen on the device. But there are still some that don’t. Make sure your site looks professional on a variety of devices.

Online Tools That Can Help Writers

There are lots of online tools that make my writing and work lives easier. Here are some sites you should check out.

Acronym Finder - Sometimes, I need an acronym, or I need to have one defined. This is a great site for that. 

NetLingo - This site helps you figure out what chat and text acronyms mean. 2DLOO

Computing Fundamentals - This is an online technical dictionary if you need a quick definition of something from the computer realm.

Automatic Text Generator - There are times I need to mock up flyers or other documents to show the layout. This tool will generate blocks of text. My team at work does software testing. I use this site to generate blocks of text to test fields in applications too.

Office Templates - Office has an incredible library of templates. If you need a calendar or a newsletter format, chances are you'll find a good selection here. This site is invaluable when you need to do a document quickly.

ScreenFly - This site will show you what a website or blog will look like on different mobile devices. Type your URL in the blank. There are different device types at the top. It helps to see if your site is mobile friendly.

Free Training - MOOC is Massive Open Online Courses. There are hundreds of free classes you can take in almost any subject you're interested in.