In the past, writers would just need a professionally designed suit and a literary agent to become an author. Today, readers are demanding more things. They want to understand your history, the books you intend to publish in the future, and how they can reach you. In other words, you readers desire to access your website. Remember that your author site is your professional base, so you can use it to market your books, connect with your readers, book speaking gigs, and enhance your credibility.
Failure to have an author website can make it hard for your books to sell. If potential readers want to learn about you but you don’t have a professional website, they can believe that you are not a serious writer. To be professional, you need to have an author website. This article discusses what you should consider when building an affordable author website.
Why you should have an author website
You can benefit a lot by creating an author website. You can use your site to build your fan base and then invite them to your email newsletter. In this way, you can continue to build your relationship with your potential readers and alert them when your new book comes out.
If you fail to have a site, there is a chance that you are invisible. When you have a site, it can prove that you are a professional writer. You can also give access to your potential readers to you as well as your books. Even better, it may prove that you take your writing business seriously. Regardless of whether or not it’s just a hobby, it can show your readers that you put care and thought into it.
When a potential reader searches for your book’s title or your name, you want them to find the site and a listing of your book on the market. Don’t allow a search to go back empty or even allow them to come across a bad review. Therefore, you need to introduce yourself to them through your website so that they can meet the real you.
If your potential readers desire to learn more, make sure that you should introduce yourself rather than learning about you through other places. If you create an author website, you can interact directly with the potential readers. Also, your site should have a design that reflects your unique values and style.
If you want to market your book on marketplaces, such as Amazon and Google, then you must have a destination for the visitors who click on your ads. Instead of sending them to the marketplace’s listing like Amazon, you can send them to your site, especially if you don’t use Amazon ads. In this way, you can have a lot of control over your book’s selling process.
Building an author website
The domain name refers to the address that a person types into the URL of the browser. You should note that a domain name is unique to you. Therefore, you cannot purchase a domain name, but you can register it.
Ideally, you rent a domain name for a certain time, often from one to ten years. Once your registration expires, you can decide to renew it. Otherwise, another person can get your domain name.
It’s worth mentioning that you can register domain names from many reputable services like Google Domains, Namecheap, and Bluehost. Some of the service providers, such as Namecheap, usually run sales regularly and allow you to register a domain name at an affordable price.
Before you choose a domain name, it’s a good idea to use your name rather than your book’s title as the URL for the author website. This is because you may write other books in the long run, so using a book’s title is not a good idea. Instead, you should use your name so that you can promote all your books.
In case someone else is using your name, you can add books or authors at the end. Also, you can add your initial or middle name to increase your chances of getting an available domain name.
Once you have the domain name, you can now build your author site. You can choose to build a WordPress.org site and host it yourself through the help of a web host.
The WordPress.org option is more complicated, but it can give you lots of freedom. To use this option, you need to get a web host, such as NameCheap or Bluehost. You can then install WordPress.org and you can complete the process in at least ten minutes. After installing WordPress, you should log in so that you can choose a theme. Thankfully, there are many great themes available out there.
When it comes to the themes, you can opt for free WordPress themes or purchase a premium theme. You should remember that these are drag-and-drop page builders, so they make it simple to customize your site. On the other hand, a website builder has hosting built-in. This also makes it easier to build your author site, though it can be quite expensive.
If you desire to use a free option, then you can take a look at Square. This is a financial processing service that can allow you to accept payments online or in person. Square can also allow you to create an online store for free. Remember that when you want to sell your books, you are in business. Therefore, you need to have payment options for your potential clients. This is the reason why Square makes it convenient for you to sell your books.
In conclusion, it can be intimidating for most authors to build a website. This is because most of them don’t know how to start building their sites. In such cases, you need to hire a web designer to help you to build your author website. You can also decide to use WordPress which makes it easier to create a site. A website can assist you to communicate with your fans and sell your books.
