So… you are an author, you’ve published a book, or maybe you are in the process of publishing your first book. You may be overwhelmed with the entire process as well as getting the word out about your book. From experience, as a published author myself, I can tell you that one of the most valuable pieces of marketing that you can invest in is your “digital business card” officially, your website. Gone are the days of just creating paper fliers, postcards and business cards to promote yourself, your business or your book, in today’s digital society you must have a website.
For an author a website will need several key elements. These elements include:
An Identifying URL
When I say identifying it needs to represent you, preferably you will snag your own name for a dot com. Your own name.com will probably be your first choice, but you may also choose the name of your book if this is your first and only book at this time.
Pictures
Let’s face it people like to identify with you. They desire to see your face, look at your smile, and connect with you, then your book isn’t just a physical product but a story from a real person that they have looked at even if it was only a face on the Internet. People are also more likely to buy a book if they are able to see it, so be sure to put your book’s cover art on there as well.
Contact Information
People want to know they can contact you. Even if you can’t respond to the inquiries personally you will gain credibility by being accessible to your readers. Be sure to include at least an email address. You may or may not choose to include your personal phone number.
A Blog
A blog is a perfect way to continue to share your knowledge with your readers as well as to create credibility and a connection with those coming to your site or hearing about you for the first time. This will also allow you to connect with your readers by encouraging them to comment and then interacting with them via the blog.
Testimonials and Reviews
The cold hard fact is that people want to see that your book was useful to and well liked by others. So, posting testimonials and reviews of your book is a must. People buy most often based on someone else’s recommendation, so use that to your advantage filling your site with positive reviews and testimonials.
Your website can do great things for you and the success of your book so you want to be sure to spend the time and or money that it takes to make it be a place that you can be proud of, you won’t regret it.
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Learn a lot more about how to market your book with your own website via our exclusive courses inside The Book Ninja Academy.
Photo courtesy Shutterstock, Chaosamran_Studio
