Build Your Home on the Internet: Part 2

As you build your website, keep this in mind: it’s not all about you.

This may come as a surprise. An author website should be all about the author, right? And their books? It is about those things, of course, but more than that, it’s about the visitors.

What do I mean by that? I mean that your website needs to be more about visitors than it is about you. It needs to be about giving people good reason to visit. Unless you are a famous writer with many fans who already know and love you and your books, you’re going to have to give potential guests something to show up for in addition to news about you and your book. That something might be entertainment (stories, essays, jokes, artwork, for instance), or it might be free information.

If you’re a writer of nonfiction, what you’ll put on your website is pretty cut-and-dried. Not only will you present your credentials as an expert on the subject of your book, but you might offer articles, tips, or other information pertaining to that subject. For example, If your nonfiction book is a biography about the band Coldplay, you might share photos you’ve taken of the band and a schedule of their upcoming shows.

In the same vein, novelists must offer materials that pertain to their story line in some way, and deciding what that should be is not always easy.  

An example: Rose Scribe has written a romantic comedy in which her protagonist, Daisy Blossom, works at a florist. Daisy is a lonely girl who enjoys making arrangements for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and proms—though she’s never received a bouquet in her life. By the end of the story, someone special gives her a bouquet. So, when Rose Scribe builds her website, she’ll include info on herself and the book, but she also might decide to put together a page dedicated to flowers: beautiful photos she’s taken; watercolor paintings she has come across; an article or two on how-to create a centerpiece or decorate with bud vases. Some informational material that Rose feels will appeal to her readers and those most likely to visit her website.  

Spend some time brainstorming and come up with a few appropriate and interesting possibilities for your own book. In the meantime, here are nine elements to include on your website:

1)    Home Page. This is where you introduce your website. What is it about? What can one learn or do here? Welcome your visitors with something that inspires them to continue looking and reading.

2)    Pop-Up. A “pop-up” is a box that literally pops onto the screen and requests a visitor’s email address (and sometimes other info). This is an easy way for people to join your email list—the foundation of your writer platform. Then, when you have something to share (a new blog post, a giveaway, a launch date for a new book), you can let the people on your email list know about it.

3)    Bio and Photo. Include a professional photo and some info about yourself: how you spend your time, your favorite books, special talents, etc. Include details from both your professional life and your personal life. If you’re comfortable making videos, you can include one here so people can see you in 3D.

4)     Your Book. Include a brief description of your book (cover flap copy) and the cover, if you have one.

5)    Free Content. You might consider giving the first chapter of your book away. Or maybe you’ll write a bonus chapter or a short story that features a minor character. You could set up a blog. If you don’t want the responsibility of blogging regularly, you might just post an article or two, an interview you’ve conducted, or reviews you’ve written on other books in your genre.

6)    Buy Button or Link to Booksellers. If you have published books, set up a page where visitors can browse and click to buy them, whether its directly from your site or via a link to one of the booksellers.

7)    Calendar Dates. Webinars and conferences and other in-person appearances (hopefully these will be possible again soon): list them on an Announcements or News page.

8)    Contact Form. Provide a way for visitors to easily send you a direct message.

9)    Links to Social Media. Encourage visitors to share your website with their friends.

Now that you know what to include on your website, start gathering materials. You have a home to build.  

 My next blog post will be about designing a cover for your book.