SPA Girls Podcast – EP014 – Websites for Authors

Posted By SPA Girls on Dec 22, 2015 | 0 comments

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This week we talked about author websites and why it’s vital for self publishing authors to have one, despite the naysayers (mostly from traditional publishers who don’t see the point).

We talk about what you should include on your website, the kind of content you should be writing, and the style of writing you should use on the web. We also talk a little bit about the technical aspects of setting up a website.

Building your website (platform) so people can find you

Why do you need an author website?

We believe your website is the most important platform you can have. It gives you credibility. If someone is searching for you and can’t find your website, it can put them off.
You own the real estate connected with your website name, this is something that you can control unlike other social media platforms. This also gives you the ability to connect to your readers through an email newsletter, or contact you via email, and where you interact with people without worrying about some of your readers not seeing the things you post. Your website is working for you 24/7.
You need to purchase your domain name first (URL) and it should relate to you, i.e. wwwjoebloggs.com. You can purchase your domain name via various sites, see links below.
Start looking at other authors in your genre and seeing what works or doesn’t. Start getting idea of how you want your website to look. Start slow and basic with one or two pages and you can add to the website as you grow. Organic growth is sometimes the best.
Once you decide to have a website remember to keep it updated. There is nothing worse than going to an author’s website and seeing nothing has changed for years. Remember also to make it aesthetically pleasing and not garish. Don’t put fangs and blood all over the opening page if you right gentle regency romances…well you get the picture!

Functionality

Make it easy to navigate, make it simple and keep it well-maintained.
Does the voice, tone, attitude and mood of the site resonate with my ideal reader?
What does the site provide the reader?
Keep elements consistent from page to page.
Remember so many people are accessing websites through their cellphones and other devices so make sure it is always a responsive design concept. Whether you are designing it yourself or have someone else do it, keep this in mind.
Remember quality, not quantity. This site is representing you so keep that in mind.

Content – what information do you want on your website?

Here are a few ideas;

Mailing list sign up.
Author bio, give them a bit of information about yourself.
Competitions page.
Book list with links for how to purchase your books. Short, exciting excerpts of your books. (Not from the opening pages).
Calendar of things coming up.
Contact details.
Social media links.
Links to your Blog.
Try and keep your text shorter like bullet points and headings, it will keep the reader interested. Long blocks of text tend to put people off.
Remember keywords in your text and content, for search engine optimization.

How do I get a website?

You can go to somewhere like WordPress. CMS = content management systems. This is the engine behind your website.
You can design your website yourself if you are just looking for a basic site. It can be daunting straight up, but when you get the hang of it, it’s really quite simple.
If you are on a budget it can be quite costly to have someone design one for you, so doing it yourself is a more reasonable option.
Give yourself time to build your website, there is plenty of help out there. Check out the link below from the Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast.
If it’s too daunting, then find someone to guide you through, and then you can take over when you are confident.
SPA Girls template is through Elegant Themes (appearance of the site), the site is built using wordpress.com, and we host through justhost.com (this is where our site lives).
Look up WordPress beginner or go to YouTube, there is a lot of information out there to help you.
Google Analytics, tracking traffic to your website. Look it up!!