Writing a book requires many skills:
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The ability to write.
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The perseverance to finish a manuscript.
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The vision to construct an entire story.
Writing a book, however, does not require to you know how to put together a website. Being a successful author, on the other hand, does.
This article was put together to share 3 simple ideas that should guide your decisions in constructing your author website. Whether you hire a service, use a point-and-click platform, or learn to code it yourself, these principles will help you create a website that your reader’s love.
1. Your Website and Your Writing Must Share An Aesthetic
Your website is many things:
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An advertisement for your book/brand
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A place for potential readers to research your book
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A homebase for your fans
In order to do any of these things well, your website’s aesthetic needs to be consistent with your aesthetic as a writer.
If you write grizzly horror, having a polished, business-y site is going to put off your fans, confuse potential readers, and do a terrible job of advertising your brand.
Similarly, if you write fantasy novels, the images, colors, and fonts on your website should reflect the same fantastic creativity that your stories are made of.
Lemony Snicket’s website is a fantastic example of this:
The site keeps the fonts and stylings of the book, uses the same alliterative wordplay in its titling, and plays up Snicket’s old routine of asking readers not to read any more of his depressing, unpleasant stories.
Pro-tip: Keep your website uncluttered. Use a uniform font and uniformly sized images. This doesn't mean they all have to be the same, but try to keep it similar.
Like you, your fans don’t want to be overloaded with information or graphics, they want a clean, simple way to understand who you are, what you write, and where to buy your book.
2. Make It Easy To Buy Your Book
Why do you have an author website in the first place? My best guess is that you’re promoting your books!
With that in mind, it’s incredible to me how many authors throw up beautifully designed sites, but make it nearly impossible to purchase their books through their site. If your readers have to click through 5 pages to find a way to buy your book, they’re not going to buy it.
Your site’s navigation bar should include a button that says something like “Buy The Book” or just “Books”. Along with this, images of your book and references to your book’s title should be linked to your book’s purchase page.
You want to make buy your book completely frictionless. There should be no confusion on the reader’s part when it comes to finding and buying your book.
Pro-tip: Offer a free sample of your featured book on your website, in exchange for the reader’s email address. It gives readers a no-risk way to see if they like your book, and it gives you a way to contact them not just about your current book, but about any books you write in the future.
3. Make Yourself Available To Your Readers
As writers, many of us have hermit-like tendencies. However, if you want to build a rabid audience, then you have to fight those reclusive urges and engage your readers regularly.
Having a social media presence on the most popular platforms—Instagram, Facebook, Twitter—is an absolute must, and having a contact form through which readers can email you is equally as important.
Now, when it comes to communication with your readers, the devil is in the details. It’s easy to setup a “contact me” form that auto-replies to emails with a cold “Thanks for emailing me. I will respond in the next 5 business days.” It’s also easy to hire a service to send customer-service-y responses to all of your inbound messages.
However, that will not turn casual readers into loyal followers.
Create a schedule for yourself to respond to reader inquiries. Every day from 11 to 12, for example, dedicate yourself to clearing out an inbox dedicated solely to reader messages.
It’s a time commitment, but you’ll find it rewarding not only in terms of the feedback you get, but in the bond you create with your audience.
Pro Tip: For your social media, use a tool like Buffer to schedule your posting in advance. That way, you only have to log on to social media to engage with your fans, and it can all be done according to a neat schedule.
