by Fauzia Burke
It’s surprising, but authors still ask me if they need a website. The short answer is, “Yes”. I know building and maintaining a website can sound like a daunting, time-consuming task, and if you’re still in the writing or editing process, you may think a website isn’t the best use of your time. But as I've said many times in my book Online Marketing for Busy Authors, you should start building your platform/brand as soon as you have an idea for a book. A website is the foundation of your author brand.
The good news is that today there are many options for building a website. Gone are the days when only web designers could build a website and only webmasters could maintain them. New tools like Pub Site make building and maintaining a professional author website quick, easy, and inexpensive (more info on Pub Site below).
Not convinced? Here are five reasons why I think an author website is necessary.
1. Your readers want to know more about you
In our digitally connected world, you can’t put your book out there in the world, but leave yourself in the shadows. Your readers want to know you. They want to know your interests and values, and they want to be able to connect with you. Your website is a place where you can tell your story—where readers can find out more about you and your expertise. Your website is where you build your brand and keep your content alive in real time. I recommend building a site under your name and not in the book title.
2. Why take a hit on your digital reputation when you can avoid it?
Ever hear the quote, “It's not what you say, but what you don’t say that speaks the loudest?” Well, that applies to your website, too. If an interested reader does a quick search for you and doesn’t find a website, are you okay with what that says about you? Not having a website could be viewed as unprofessional, out-of-date, or not connected. First agents and then publishers may see your lack of a website as a reason not to take you seriously as a writer. If you want to grow your brand, you need to show up with a website. Better still, include testimonials on your site, solidifying your expertise.
3. Other social media platforms don’t cancel out the need for a website
While some players in the publishing industry contend that you can use a social media site in place of having a website, I couldn’t disagree more. Facebook or Twitter often change the user experience and you just have to follow along. For example, Facebook has changed its model to more of a pay-to-play platform, making it more difficult for content to appear in news feeds organically. Do you want to be dependent upon Facebook’s algorithm or functionality to determine who sees your content?
With your own website, you are in control. You get to decide what your audience sees. Your website and each social media platform are totally different entities. Knowing your readers and where they spend their time will tell you what social platforms you should prioritize, but bottom line: You always need a website.
4. Grow your email list
A newsletter is a great way to keep in touch with your super fans, those people who have opted in to hear from you on a regular basis. Your website is the ideal place to collect these names and build a community. While you can converse on social media, your website is a home base where collecting emails and generating content meet. Your mailing list is a big asset, and you should have control over it. Without a website, it would be difficult to collect email addresses on a consistent basis or have a home base for the content you send out in those emails.
The content you’re including in your newsletter can also be housed in a blog; this blog should live on your website because it is a great way to keep your community engaged, as well as bring traffic to your site.
5. Monetize
You may not be there yet, but if you want to sell other products or services down the road, no other social media platform (not Twitter, not Facebook, not Pinterest) can organize the products, books or services like a website. You can integrate your website with shopping cart tools, add new products, and keep them all organized and available on your site.
Pub Site is a website platform that allows every author, regardless of budget, to have a great looking, professional website. Created by the book industry veterans at FSB Associates, Pub Site is the new easy-to-use DIY website builder developed specifically for books and authors. Imagine using the same website platform used by bestselling authors like Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, Janet Dailey, and hundreds more.
Whether you’re an author of one book or fifty, Pub Site gives you the tools to build, design, and update your website pain-free. Build your website with a 14-day free trial (no credit card required) then pay just US$19.99/month which includes hosting. We also offer packages starting at just US$499 to set up the website for you.
Fauzia Burke, author of Online Marketing for Busy Authors, is the founder and president of FSB Associates an online book publicity firm, co-founder of Pub Site a platform for building author websites, and a consultant and coach for authors who need help navigating the book marketing and publicity landscape. Before starting FSB, she worked for Henry Holt and John Wiley. Fauzia has promoted books by authors such as Alan Alda, Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, Melissa Francis, S. C. Gwynne, Mika Brzezinski, Charles Spencer and many more. She is based in San Diego, CA. FauziaBurke.com