Want to know 9 secrets to build a great author website?
I’ve seen a ton of great author websites. I’ve also seen a fair share of meh websites. Most of us are writers who DIY our websites without much know-how, so it's no wonder our websites are a little lacking. Our custom websites are expensive, so I’m sharing what makes a great author website in this post.
In this post, you’ll learn:
The importance of having a call-to-action button on your author website
What’s a lead magnet and how to use it on your author website
Where should you place reviews on your author website
Why including photos of you is so important on your author website
Why your audience wants to know about you from your author website
How you can talk about your work on your author website
How adding a blog can help grow your author website
How to make your author website user-friendly for your reader
Why it’s so important to keep your author website updated
Did you know?
94% of a brand’s credibility is based on website design, 56% of people don’t trust a business without a website
That means if someone’s coming to your website, they want to get to know you, see if they like you personally, and trust your work.
Your website’s job is to get your readers to know, like, and trust you. So how do you do that?
Follow the steps below to understand how to build an effective website that gets your reader to know, like, and trust you.
(1) Use a call-to-action button on your author website to get your audience on your email list so your audience can get to know you
94% of people who land on your website aren’t ready to buy.
That means asking your audience to buy your book on your website not only looks salesy, but it’s likely ineffective. The more effective way to meet your audience where they are and to get them to buy your books is to ask them to sign up for your newsletter.
Email marketing is the key to selling more books.
Email marketing, or newsletters, is still one of the most effective marketing strategies. According to management consulting firm McKinsey, email marketing has the highest return on investment, second only to search engine optimization (i.e., being found on Google search).
Every dollar spent on email marketing yields an average of $44 in earnings. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to grow your audience and increase engagement.
What do we mean by email marketing? Email marketing means sending weekly emails to your audience that provide valuable content that’s either informative or engaging. You can promote your work explicitly every 4 or 5 emails. This is a subtle way to stay connected to your audience and build the know, like, and trust factor while promoting your work.
Email marketing is essential for authors because you’re trying to cultivate a community of lifelong readers.
Kevin Kelly popularized the 1000 loyal fans concept. Kelly argued that an artist, author, or creative could make a living if they could attract 1000 true fans who will buy and support their work.
As an author, you likely need several thousand fans to make a living. Building an email list is critical to building your community of loyal fans because it enables you to get to know your audience and be in touch with them weekly.
By building an email list and staying in touch with your audience, you can cultivate a community of lifelong readers who will be loyal supporters of your work.
It's important to remember that your email list is just as valuable as any other asset, so be sure to treat it with respect and give your audience valuable content.
Add a call-to-action button to sign up for your newsletter throughout your website.
The best way to get your audience to sign up for your newsletter is to place a call-to-action button at the top right of your website header navigation, throughout your website, and in your footer. Having these buttons in multiple places makes it easy for your reader to identify what you want them to do (sign up for your newsletter) and how (click this button conveniently located throughout the website).
Here’s my call to action: Let’s Connect!
I’ve placed this call to action in multiple places. In the header of my website navigation:
In the footer:
And throughout the body of my website:
This ensures that my audience knows what I want them to do (get in touch), which they can quickly get in touch with because of all the easy-to-reach buttons.
(2) Offer a lead magnet on your author website in exchange for signing up for your newsletter so your audience can get to know you
While asking your readers to sign up for your newsletter is helpful, it’s even more persuasive if you incentivize your audience to sign up for your email list. These incentives are lead magnets, freebies, or opt-ins in the digital world. Lead magnets can include a free chapter of your book, an audio version of a branch of your book, a related workbook or PDF, or related training, in exchange for signing up for your newsletter.
Lead magnets can increase email signups by up to 50%.
Here are a few suggestions for lead magnets for authors:
A discussion guide with questions
A few personal thoughts on what it was like to write the book
A quiz that connects your reader to your fictional characters or non-fiction book
A free chapter of your book
A free copy of your book
A free Q&A session with you
Free access to a video of you discussing your book
A free copy of an unpublished short story, essay, or book
Free access to your book club
A free guide of something that could accompany the book - maybe recipes, games, worksheets
A free audiobook
A free workbook related to your book
Free access to a private Facebook group for discussion and/or advice
Lead magnets should be related to you and/or your content but don’t have to be long or very substantive - think of it like one of those free samples you get at the farmer’s market or a grocery store. The lead magnet should be good, and the marketing should be enticing.
Online entrepreneurs often offer multiple lead magnets and include signups for each lead magnet in their blog posts and their “link-in-bio” on Instagram to encourage people to sign up for their email lists.
Here is an example of my lead magnet:
(3) Include reviews of your work on your author website so your audience trusts you.
Nothing sells your work more powerfully than someone else’s words. In the age of Amazon, we’re all accustomed to reading reviews, so you should include testimonials and reviews of your work on your homepage and throughout your website.
This will help show that your work is well-loved and trusted by a variety of people and encourage potential readers to decide to purchase your work.
On May Cobb’s author website, we added several reviews on her homepage for her new book. Check out May’s author website in our portfolio section.
(4) Include photos of you on your author website so your audience can get to know you and like you
Including photos of you on your website is a great way to capture your audience's attention and build the know, like, and trust factor. Consider adding images of you posing and smiling and photos of you doing things you like that represent your brand. Maybe those are pictures of you engaging in hobbies, spending time with kids, working, or traveling. It can be anything if the photos are authentic and represent the image you want to showcase to your readers.
You may also want pictures illustrating the concepts you’re trying to convey if you’re a non-fiction author. This will help bring your website to life, humanize you, and hold your audience's interest.
We added several photos of Chandler in professional and casual wear on Chandler Baker's author website. Chandler writes about modern women at home and in the workplace, so the images resonated with her work. Check out Chandler Baker’s author website here.
(5) Include personal information on your author website so your audience can get to know you and like you
Remember, if your readers visit your website, they want to get to know you better. They’re into your work and want to meet the person behind the books!
That means you should include personal details about yourself on your website. For example, you could include your hobbies, favorite foods, the latest books or movies you’re watching, favorite travel spots, or pictures of your pets or family. Choose 3-5 things from your personal life to include throughout your website and feature more prominently on your about page.
(6) Include access to your most important work on your author website so your audience can trust you
Your website should be a hub for your most important work - books, writing, media mentions, podcasts, etc. This will help your audience get to know you and your work and make it easy for them to trust you.
You would be shocked at how many author websites I encounter that don’t include all the books the author has written, links to purchase those books, or all the other writing the author has produced. This could be book reviews, essays, interviews, or fiction writing.
(7) Add content to your author website so your readers can get to know, like, and trust you
Producing regular weekly content is the best way to stay connected with your audience and build the know, like, and trust factor. You can send out your content to your audience via your email newsletter.
Content can come in various formats, such as blog posts, podcasts, and videos. Blog posts are the most popular and effective way to stay connected to your audience because they are easy to create, update, and share. You can also repurpose blog posts into videos and podcasts, further expanding your reach and engagement with your readers.
Your blog posts should be related to your work and the topics you write about. You can also include personal stories, book reviews, and other related topics. Be sure to promote your posts on social media and link back to your website.
(8) Make your author website user-friendly so your readers can get to know, like, and trust you
Your website aims to capture your readers and make it easy for them to find the information they want. To do this, your website should be organized and easy to navigate.
Here are tips to make the website user-friendly:
Include a header navigation that has ideally five and no more than eight links at the top
Make sure the navigation bar is easy to understand and navigate
Include a search bar in your footer so your audience can quickly find what they’re looking for
Ensure the website is mobile-friendly so it’s easy to navigate and use on the go
Include contact information so your audience can quickly contact you
Make sure the fonts and colors on your website are easy to read in terms of style and colors
(9) Keep your author website updated so your readers can trust you
Google only sends traffic to 10% of websites.
That means that not only do you need a great website, but you also need to keep your website updated with fresh content. This lets your readers and Google know your website is active and engaged.
Dedicate at least one day a month to update your website with your latest content - press mentions, podcast appearances, media mentions, events, or new blog posts.
Too busy or too bored to update your website? No problem.
Summary:
To summarize, here are our nine tips for building an effective author website:
Use a call-to-action button on your author website to get your audience on your email list so your audience can get to know you
Offer a lead magnet on your author website in exchange for signing up for your newsletter so your audience can get to know you
Include reviews of your work on your author website so your audience trusts you.
Include photos of you on your author website so your audience can get to know you and like you
Include personal information on your author website so your audience can get to know you and like you
Include access to your most important work on your author website so your audience can trust you
Add content to your author website so your readers can get to know, like, and trust you
Make your author website user-friendly so your readers can get to know, like, and trust you
Keep your author website updated so your readers can trust you
Your action step:
I’d love to know if you found these tips helpful. What’s one tip you will implement this week on your website?
Conclusion:
These tips help you create a great author website and get your readers to know, like, and trust you. Your website should be your hub and the place to showcase your work, build your email list, and engage with your audience.
With these nine steps, you can create a website that sells your books and turns your website visitors into loyal readers.
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