Your author website is your home online. It is your platform to share who you are. Here’s how to create a writer website for 2021.
In this Author Website article, you will find tips in the following areas:
- Why creating an author website is vital to ensuring you have a base from which you can build an online platform as a writer,
- How sharing your story is a great way to let people know who you are and what you do, but don’t spread yourself across every page,
- How to use your writer website as more than a book sales platform. Sharing more than your latest work and where to buy it is critical to being diverse as a writer,
- Why a well-maintained author blog helps you to develop Search Engine Optimisation as well as links with readers and fellow writers.
Read the rest of the Author Website article and make a plan to set up an excellent writer platform in 2021.
An author website is our primary resource to reach and develop an online following. By creating and cultivating a writer website, you can connect with readers, fellow authors and the broader world like never before. If you do not already have a website as a writer, it should be at the top of your list in the year ahead.
In the past month, I had a severe website issue that was caused by a significant technical error at one of the leading website domain providers. Therefore, I got zero website traffic, and my author platform was non-existent for almost two weeks.
During this time, I got to thinking about just how vital the author website is in the modern world. As we move further towards a world that is even more reliant upon digital communication for fun, downtime, product browsing and general connectivity, writers must have a base online. By creating a writer website, you can share who you are, what you do and how you do it.
In this creative writing blog article, I look to share some of the critical areas that you can include in your website to ensure it is more than a token gesture. By putting in the hard work and effort, you too can develop your online writer’s platform in 2021 and beyond.
Why Create An Author Website?
The main reason we create an author website is to give us a platform and a home online. By doing so, we can connect with potential readers and fellow writers much more quickly.
There are multiple technical aspects of website design that require much thought, like:
- Purchasing a website domain,
- Choosing a website builder (like WordPress or Wix),
- Having a responsive website to desktop, tablet and mobile, and
- The design of the site itself.
However, as a young writer or first-time author, you need to understand what it is that a specific writer website gives you over the use of social media or a blog page. Yes, social networks are a powerful tool that can be used to reach thousands of people with a simple, retweet, like or a share, but you need a base online; that base is your author website.
Share Your Story On A Writer Website
In the turbulent, noisy world of the internet, it is crucial to get your name out there and share who you are as a writer. By utilising a professional writer headshot, you will be able to put a face to the name. However, understanding where to use such images and information is vital.
When we set out to create an author website, we don’t want to share multiple images of ourselves across every page, or even in the banner image at the top. We need to remember that the vast majority of people who visit our sites will not know or care who we are. This means that by bombarding them with images of us can be off-putting.
Therefore, construct a bespoke About page where you can let everyone know who you are and what your story is as a writer. This means your work can take centre stage and visitors can view the About page if and when they feel they want to learn more about the person behind the book.
By setting out your stall on a dedicated About page, you can introduce yourself to the world and make a great first impression. Therefore, it is essential to take time to consider the voice and tone you wish to put across to readers. If you want to develop a relationship with those who take an interest in your writing, you need to plan what you share and how you share it.
Use your writer website to share your story, build bridges and make connections with people around the world. You never know where those connections may lead.
More Than A Book Sales Platform
There is an element to our author website that is linked directly to selling fiction books or collections of poetry. We take years to plan, write, redraft, publish and then market our books. Therefore, it is only natural that we will want to sell them to those who visit our website.
By including images of our latest releases, ‘coming soon’ banners and links to Amazon on the homepage, visitors will get a clear message about what we’re selling and where to get a copy. However, you don’t want to be too focused on sales. By doing so, you can miss out on creating a multi-faceted tool to promote you as an author and build your platform in 2021.
To develop a brand as a writer, you need to remember to include pages or areas, such as:
- Author ‘About’ page,
- Books page or pages,
- A blog,
- Mailing List sign-up,
- Contact information,
- Social media accounts, and
- A Media page.
A writer website is your passport to showcasing all of your past, current and future works. This much is true. However, don’t just make it about the hard sell. By cluttering your whole website with information centred around selling, it may likely drive visitors away.
Yes, it is essential to sell books, but don’t fall into the trap of making your author website solely for that purpose. Remember to sell yourself and your skill set to build the platform you’ve always wanted.
Utilise An Author Blog Fully
One of the main areas that writers can neglect is that of the author blog. Every month, I get hundreds of visitors to my website through the blog articles I have written over the course of the past three years. However, this is not by accident and is part of a process of content planning and research to write articles for a specific purpose – Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Once you have finalised the body and structure of your main website pages, it is critical to use blog writing to increase the SEO of your website slowly over time. As writers, we all want to spread the word of who we are and what we do, but this isn’t easy if your website doesn’t show up on Google.
By planning and composing a blog that is helpful, informative and promotional, you will get more visitors to your website and have an even distribution of content that will bring visitors back for more. This means you can build up a following over the months and years, which could likely lead to increased sales as visitors take more of an interest in who you are and what you offer on your author website.
Using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Analytics and a content planner, you will be able to compose blog articles that can be shared on social media, read across the world and can introduce more people to your work. By spending time to cultivate an author blog, you can expand your reach and platform like never before.
Author Website: The Takeaway
The author website is your ticket to developing your writer platform and audience in 2021 and beyond. By putting in the hard work, research and planning, you can have a home online that gets you noticed, shares your story and helps sell books.
If you can create a site that diversely showcases your best attributes, there are no limits to what you can achieve. You will be able to gain social media followers, increase awareness of your work and sell more books as a result.
Use the months ahead to plan and research the style of writer website you wish to build for the years to come. Consider who you are as a writer, what makes you unique and how you want to sell yourself to the world.
If 2020 has taught us one thing, it is to adapt, overcome barriers and learn more about what we hope to achieve in life. Make a fresh start in 2021 with an author website that puts you in the shop window.