In last week's blog, we talked about the basics of creating the homepage and blog for your author website. Now, let's look at the other important pages to include: About; Contact; Press/Events; and of course, Books!
Read on for my advice:
About
In last week's blog, I suggested that you add a short Author Bio to your Home page. Now it's time to expand on that, as much as you want to, and let readers get to know you!
Answer the questions your audiences wondering:
What's your background?
Why do you write?
What do you write, and why do you connect with the genre/characters?
Where do you write?
What inspires your stories and characters?
What are your hobbies?
What do you love about writing?
What do you love about your fans?
Don't get too personal, but include any stories or facts your audience may find interesting, especially if they relate to your writing! And if you aren't too camera shy, it's always great to add a photo of yourself.
Contact
This is the easiest page; all you have to do is create a contact form that's easy to use and looks good. (These are different in every website builder, but there are typically templates to choose from.)
Include as much contact information as you're comfortable with. Be cautious adding personal details like your phone number and address, in case of fans who get too excited. But if readers want to talk to you about your book, make sure to welcome them to contact you via email.
Also include your social media widget with links to all your platforms.
Press/Media
Even if you don’t have a lot of press or events going on, having this page (with at least some posts) will highly increase your credibility as a ‘real author’. This is also a place to add news and press releases that don’t fit on your blog.
Add a contact form for press to contact you, and mention that you are always happy to have your book reviewed (bloggers may also contact you, asking for a free copy in exchange for a review, which can be a great exchange).
If you have a separate publicist or assistant who handles enquiries, make sure to add their contact details.
Books
Finally, this is the page it's all about!
Lay it out like a regular online shop (there will be widgets for this), with links to separate pages for each book with more info, and a link to buy.
On the main book page, include book covers, titles, years, and a hook (if you have space). Each book needs a Call to Action button, such as 'Find out more' or 'Buy now'.
The individual pages should look similar to how they would look on Amazon (or wherever your book is available), but here you have more creative freedom. Copy your blurb over but tweak it if you wish to, and make sure to include the link to buy. Like the main page, have a Call to Action that helps to convince the user to buy it now.
I hope you enjoyed this mini blog series! If you need more assistance with your author website, be sure to contact me.