I sincerely hope that the information presented here has been of assistance to you; over the homepage website course of the next few weeks, I will be offering more specific assistance for each of the primary pages that can be found on your author website. Because you are a writer, producing the content that will be featured on your website ought to require little effort on your part, right? On the other hand, there are those authors out there who believe that it is a challenging undertaking. In the end, the level of expertise necessary to do so is completely different from that which is necessary to write novels. In the coming weeks, I will publish a series of blog posts that will define what each page of your author website ought to contain in order for it to work as hard as it possibly can for you. This will allow you to make sure that your website is working as hard as it possibly can for you. This will help ensure that your website is as successful as it possibly can be, which is something that will be beneficial to its users.
Therefore, let’s begin with the most essential page: your homepage….
What to include on your webpage
Typically, your homepage is the first page that visitors view.
Instantaneously upon landing on your website, they must be informed of the following:
1) who are you
2) your written work
3) How people may learn more/purchase your books
Therefore, ensure that your site includes a quick bio/summary of you and you’re writing at the top.
You may want to write this in the first person if you like a more informal tone.
This brief description should be followed by an image and the blurb for your most recent release.
You must ensure that the covers of your books are clearly displayed everywhere they are sold in order to make the most of the most important marketing weapon you have access to, which is the covers of your books. One way to accomplish this is to make sure that your books are displayed in areas where they are clearly visible to your clients. In addition, you should make sure that there is a link to the Amazon page for each book that is located on your site. This will allow visitors to either get extra information regarding the book or purchase it directly from Amazon.
Emphasizing your primary calls to action
On each page of your website, not just the homepage, you should consider what you want the visitor to do and organize the page’s information properly.
With your webpage, we wish to highlight the most crucial aspects.
For the majority of authors, this will be your most recent publication, or you may be encouraging pre-orders for your future book.
If we provide too many alternatives up early, it might be overwhelming for the visitor; we want to guide them slowly through your website (like weaving a path, making sure they see the most important things first).
First things first: write out the key “call to action” that you want viewers of your website to carry out after reading it. This is the primary activity that you want them to take. The following thing that needs to be done is to arrange the content that is currently on the page in such a way that it contributes to and promotes this objective.
On the homepage, a few properly chosen testimonials are very effective. These are known as “social proof” in the field of web design, and they may be extremely compelling to others unfamiliar with your work.
But what is the most essential aspect of all?
That it is clear from your homepage who you are and what you have published. Avoid being cryptic!
Checklist of essential homepage elements
- A banner image that complements the subject matter of your books
- text that promotes your writing (as discussed above)
- A catchphrase, such as “Sunday Times best-selling author”
- Mention any awards you’ve received or been nominated for.
- buttons or clear links to purchase your most recent books online
- a distinct call to action (order my latest release, email sign up, join a Facebook group)
- endorsements from other writers (a few of your best ones – snippets only if they are long)
- press quotes
- ‘As seen in’ logos if you’re featured in newspapers or magazines, link to online articles.
- newest blog post teasers
- a newsletter sign-up form
- Social account links for active social networking sites
A media package, together with your contact details
Visitors to your website won’t just be your readers. Reaching out and posing some questions will be of interest to journalists, media organizations, and even podcasters. For you, that has two implications.
First, you ought to include a media kit. It doesn’t matter whether I’m on your contact page or a different page altogether. It’s crucial that you offer materials (facts, statements, and photos) that journalists from other publications can easily utilize when writing about you.
I’m positive that the information in this post was helpful to you in some way. In two weeks, I’ll make suggestions for your author website’s main pages. The author’s website has these pages. Separate versions of these pages should be on your author website.
