When it comes to marketing a book to a wider audience, there is no better tool than an author website.
Think of it as an author’s hub where you can advertise your works, interact with the audience and grow your personal brand.
With the proper techniques employed, it is possible to increase one’s visibility and foster valuable interactions with one’s audience.
Today we will be discussing 11 actionable tips for marketing books through an author website.
There are plenty of tips and tools available at your disposal, let’s explore this one!
1. Ensure a Clean and Professional Layout and Design
First impressions count and the first impression one receives of your business happens to be your website.
Treat it like the business card of your company!
Align Your Website to Your Brand: Your website must be filled with words that reflect your brand!
The colors, the fonts, images-everything has to correspond to the tone and genre that you write in.
Are you an author/reader of the mystery genre? Get a dark and rather intriguing theme up.
More of a romance writer? Choose soft inviting colors.
User Friendly Structure: Keep it basic.
It is easy for the potential customers to locate what they are searching without further irritation when the site has a clear and tidy structure.
Phone Friendly: Same goes for mobile devices.
Almost everywhere people are seen going through their phones.
Therefore having a mobile responsive design for your website is a must.
2. Put Your Books out there
Your books need to be center stage as they are basically the whole point of your work so treat them like the stars they are.
Memorable Cover: Being the first visual a reader sees, use great graphics to showcase your covers.
Your homepage can look quenched by using sliders or a grid format.
Where to Buy: Books should not be difficult to buy through your platforms regardless.
There should be one button that makes it easy and goes to any store such as Amazon, B&N, and even your own.
Make sure the buttons are well visible.
Elaborate description and excerpts: Take readers of your work with the help of detailed description and the right content that is able to impress them enough to make their purchase decision.
The goal is to surgically implant the urge to buy in the prospects mind.
3. Use an Engaging Author Bio
It is an opportunity to engage with your audience on a personal level through this bio of yours.
It is also probably the best hook and therefore is more than just a few sentences roughly explaining your life.
Talk about you and your work: When getting into deeper details about you as an author, talk about why you got into writing, and what your writing covers.
It sounds like a simple thing but it makes a difference as it connects you with your audience.
Professional Photo: In order to establish credibility in this field and earn people’s trust, you should use a professional photo as your profile image.
Upload an image that asserts your attitude and approach.
Highlight Achievements: Impress your audience with some modesty.
Let them know of your awards, recognitions, or any major milestones you have achieved.
It instills trust and interests in your people about your work.
4. Utilize Email Marketing
Whether it be an email newsletter or an email list, protect it jealously like a club membership for your readers!
Signup Form: Sign up forms should be available to visitors without hassle.
Position it in a visible spot on your homepage or as a pop-up that is hard to overlook.
Exclusive Content or Freebies: First and foremost, free things are adored by all!
You can add a free chapter, a short story, or extra material to entice readers.
Regular Communication: Maintain a communication channel with all your readers through emails.
Discuss your writing, behind-the-scenes details, or when new books are expected to be available.
5. Create A Blog On Your Website
Maintaining a site that is active is blogging and it gives readers another reason to visit it.
Topics of Interest: Talk about your writing style and approach, help with tasks like those of a writer, or share some amusing stories from your experience.
Use of Related Terms: Use words and phrases like websites for marketing authors in the right context in the body of your blogs so that they can easily be located via search engines.
Social Media Posting: Use your social networks to post links to your blog posts in order to get readership and interaction.
6. Add Sociаl Proof
So go ahead and get people to recommend you instead of you doing so by yourself which is always better!
Add Reviews and Testimonials: Display positive comments and reviews from readers or even critics right on your front page.
Nothing increases trust more than positive feedback.
Cite that Reviewer: If any of those who have read your work and are well-known provided a positive review, make sure to include that word — your reputation will be improved by that.
Media Features: Use interviews or podcasts in which you participated, or mentions in the media about you, to increase authority.
7. Work On SEO
It sounds complicated but SEO is about making your website visible in searches.
Utilize Relevant Keywords: Employ the phrase such as professional author website design into your title, heading and explain it, yes, use it naturally though!
Optimize Images: Provide specific names and alt texts of your images for better understanding by search engines in the end.
Fast Load Times and Security: Nobody loves having to wait, so don’t make people have to do so.
Also, always incorporate HTTPS while making sure that the website loads very fast.
8. Include a Call to Action in Every Page
Every single client that browses your page should be escorted in a very gentle way to press that button that shows them to the next step.
Encourage Engagement: Encourage signing up for your newsletter, making an order for your book.
Additionally, you can let your readers follow you on social platforms.
Clarity is Key: Let your call to action be clear and concise and easy to find.
Rather than saying, “Join the club,” try this instead, “Click here to load up your free chapter,” and the return will be greater.
Experiment with Different CTAs: Each of your readers will connect with the messages, and only then shall you decide which works best.
9. Add Links to Social Networks
Having your social accounts and websites operate smoothly together is a hit especially for author website marketing.
Add Social Media Icons: Incorporate buttons linking to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook accounts, etc.
Encourage Sharing: Post share buttons on your blogs and book pages and have your readers do the promotion for you.
Cross-Promote Content: Use social media to promote your website and your website to promote your social media.
10. Use Analytics Tools
It is said knowledge is power.
Improved understanding of customers comes with better insights from analytics hence better author website marketing.
Track Performance with Google Analytics: Understanding the audience needs and taking the correct course of action is key to a successful business operation.
Identify Popular Content: Check which pages snag the most ‘likes’ and produce more of that material!
Adjust Strategies Based on Data Insights: How you use the insights can range from modifying your design to better CTAs to deciding the theme of your next blog article.
11. Update the Content on Your Website Regularly
A website that is not updated makes the visitors discouraged, ensuring the site is always attractive and interesting.
Add Fresh Content Regularly: Let people know about your recent book, events, or amazing undertakings.
It compels them to visit again.
Update Book Information: Ensure that the links and information you have provided regarding your book are updated and accurate.
Refresh Design Periodically: Change the design of your website from time to time, after a few years, so that it remains trendy.
Conclusion
It is correct to conclude that nowadays, when many battles clash over the marketing strategies, an author website can and should be turned into the closest point for the readers.
Through synthesizing the 11 tips presented in this article you will be able to develop a website that is presentable, professional, and refrains from being overly dry.
Having strategies is crucial if one wants to gain visibility as an author.
Alternatively, you could want to distinguish yourself on social media.
This includes crafting an author bio that accurately depicts one’s self and enhancing the ability of his SEO to be found.
However, that isn’t all a website is about.
It is also a platform to interact with audiences in so many aspects such as sharing strategies, writing insights or other works.
Regardless of the features that you use and the focus of your site, remember to be flexible and be willing to assess your visitor analytics and the comments of readers and learn from them.
It is possible, with some creativity and perseverance, to transform a website from simply one that presents your works into a site that generates followers.
Thus it enables one to sell more books.
So do not hold back, use these tips and begin the promotion of your book in a professional manner.