Resources and tips for the self-published author.

You may have participated in Bibliocrunch’s webinar full of tips on helping your website become more visible in a Google search. If not, you are in luck, because there is another one today at 4pm EST and it’s not too late to register!

But once you get potential readers to your site, how can you keep them there and drive them toward your books?

Here are some simple and effective elements every author should have on their site. When designing your site and adding content, be sure that you are considering the goals of your site. Your web page should function as another employee. I heard that great bit of advice from the awesome team over at Being Boss. Be clear on your website’s purpose and then select your content accordingly.

1. Landing Page – If the goal of your site is to sell more books, then you need to have info about your books on your site. Be sure to include a headline welcoming visitors, the title of your book, an image of your book cover, and a blurb of your book. In addition, you should have a form to capture their information so they can be added to your email list. Another great bit of content for your first page are snippets of book reviews for your book.
2. Simple Navigation – Be sure to keep your main navigation pages simple and clean. You’ll want to be sure you have About the Author, Book Excerpt, Book Reviews, Media Inquiries, and a Blog where you can add additional content. Think of your site as a store front. Where do you want your readers/visitors to go? By designing a clean, informative website, you can help point readers right where you want them to go.
3. Offer Awesome FREE content – This could be anything from a free book, a short video of you discussing your book and your writing process, a short story, a free chapter of a book. The sky is the limit for options for free content. Be sure and collect their email in exchange for the free content so you can build your e-mail newsletter list and announce new releases to your audience.

Bonus Tips: Don’t be afraid of color and if web design is not your cup of tea, find a designer that can rock an awesome site for you. You can connect with designers and other publishing professionals at biblicrunch.com Don’t make your site more complicated than it needs to be. Remember, when a new visitor comes to your site, you want to either 1) sell them a book or 2) add them to your newsletter for upcoming books. Everything on your page should point them to one of those two outcomes!

Good luck, writers!

And if your site could use a little SEO love, don’t miss the FREE webinar TODAY!

About Auburn Seal

Auburn Seal is the author of eight books including historical fiction, cozy mystery, paranormal romance, and science fiction. She doesn't believe in dipping her toe in the water of experimentation, but rather jumping in and making the biggest splash possible. Her first book, Roanoke Vanishing, was published in 2013. Discover more about Auburn and her various projects at www.auburnseal.com