Remember your online presence begins with your Web site.
For almost ten years, Tywebbin Creations has specialized in marketing and design for authors and small businesses. In this guide, we provide 5 Tips to help you plan for your web site. 1. Domain name and webhosting
The first thing you need for online marketing, which I hope you should know by now, is a Web site. On his blog, literary agent Terry Whalin mentioned, “Several years ago, it was OK for an author not to have a website. In fact, there was a great deal of skepticism about anything online and whether it was true or not … in today’s publishing climate, the Internet is often the first place that people turn for information about anything and anyone.” Read the full article Why Author’s Need a Web Presence It doesn’t matter how you obtain a Web site. You can design it yourself (if you have the creative and graphic skills) or choose to hire someone. If you choose to do it yourself, keep it professional. In the next section, I will share some no, no’s when it comes to building a Web site. If you hire someone, compare prices. I purposely keep my prices at Tywebbin Creations for people on a budget. DO plan to include two line items in your budget. For a Web site, you need a domain name and webhosting. If you do not currently have a domain name, go to godaddy.com (or another inexpensive company – hostmonster.com, dreamhost.com). When you find the name that you desire, purchase the name immediately to make sure you have it in your possession. The second thing that most people don’t seem to be aware of is Webhosting. This is just as important as the domain name. Webhosting is basically renting space online for your Web site files to sit for the whole world to see. You can purchase both the domain name and webhosting at the same time on godaddy.com. There are web design companies that will take care of all of this for you, but it’s always a good idea to understand what you are purchasing and why. I always prefer clients to purchase these items on their own. You can also be sure that you are the “owner” of your domain name too, which is very important.
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The domain name is usually yourname.com. For branding purposes, it’s always best to use your name unless you are writing under a pen name. There are other extensions like “.net”, “.tv”, “.us”, etc, but most people recognize “.com” as a company and you are in a sense a company or a brand. When you do a domain name research, sometimes the name you want may be taken so it’s good to have a list of alternatives. For example, author Monique Miller wanted moniquemiller.com for her domain name, but it was already taken. She opted for authormoniquemiller.com. As you explore domain names think about whether people will have a hard time spelling your name or if someone shares your name. Author Tia McCollors ran into this issue and uses not only TiaMcCollors.com, but also TiaWrites.com. Both domain names are directed to her author Web site. If you decide to use a free Web site service like say Blogger.com, I recommend at least purchasing and forwarding the domain name so readers can find you. A NOTE ABOUT BLOGS - Most sites now are run on a blogging system, so I don’t object to people using blogs for their Web sites. I’m actually encouraging people to go this route more and more. I would like to recommend that you consider Typepad.com (pay) or Wordpress.com (free) instead of Blogger.com. It’s a lot easier, especially with Wordpress to make your Web site appear to resemble normal Web sites. Plus if you use the combination of Wordpress and your own webhosting, the customization you can do is truly mind-blowing and fun!
2. Your Pages
Here are a few websites to take a look at sherrilewis.com, rhondamcknight.net, tiamccollars.com, stacyhawksinsadams.com and maritateague.net. Some of the common elements or the basics:
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Home: A homepage is the landing site for your website. First impressions count. Your latest book release should be a focal point when visitors enter your site. A lot of authors still want you to be aware of their other books so they will probably still include those books on the page. Bio/About the Author: It’s up to you how much information you want to include. Definitely not TOO MUCH PERSONAL INFO. It’s the internet and you still have to use commons sense. Books: Always if possible include a description, post an excerpt and have links available for Amazon, BN, etc. If you are selling the book, you might want to look into getting a PayPal account. Tour dates or calendar: This is a must. Include your book signings. Any conferences where you will be speaking? Are you going to be a guest blogger somewhere? Are you going to be on television, radio, participating in a podcast? The key with a calendar – keep it updated. Contact Page: I recommend getting a gmail or yahoo account. Keep it separate from your personal email if you can. Spammers can easily grab or harvest your email address from your Web site. Yahoo and Gmail do pretty good jobs of catching spam. Simply, redirect yourname@yourdomain.com to your personal email account. What are you offering? If you have the time and expertise, consider how you can expand your site to meet a need or offer a service. A great example is Rhonda McKnight’s inclusion of her Legacy Editing
Services on the “For Writers” page.
DO NOT put or request irritating things on the site that will drive visitors away like … • • • • • • flash intros with no skip – preferably no intro at all especially if you want repeat visitors music that loads as soon as the visitor enters the page huge graphics with large file sizes – yes some people still use dial-up blinking animations large fonts clashing colors schemes
I could go on … but you get the idea. ☺
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3. Branding – Your name is the brand
Whenever I sit down to create a mock-up for a site I always start with colors. I like to get a feel for a person so his or her personality shines through their brand. Whatever colors, logos, fonts, etc that you use for your Web site, keep the same concept as you work on print materials and online promos like eblasts. Remember if you are a debut author or if there is a certain amount of time that has passed between your books, you have to teach people your name. Publishers spend a lot of time on creating the perfect book cover. Use those same techniques for marketing your brand.
4. Platform (Nonfiction)
Many writers are speakers. Platform may be more important for nonfiction writers, but it's probably helpful for fiction writers as well. Do you talk about domestic violence, cancer, parenting, divorce, etc in your fiction or nonfiction book? There is a possibility you can speak as an expert on this topic at a conference, on a radio show or on television. You can at least write articles for print or online publications. Web sites to check out: flourishleadership.com, marriagesuccess.org, toniaspeaks.com
5. Audience
You need to know your audience. CamillePeay.com. Camille’s YA book, Brittani, is marketed to young adult females. So, when we talked about her Web site, she wanted something not too cute, but would appeal to a young girl. When you are talking to a web designer or if you are searching for a template, think about your audience. Do you want something that attracts a younger audience? If you write suspense, shouldn’t you think about darker colors versus pastels (even if you really like pastels)?
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Plan for the future. KellyStarlingLyons.com. Children's book author, Kelly Starling Lyons, has mainly written children's books, but when it came time to put together a Web site, she wanted to make sure it would appeal to young adults as well since she’s planning to write for a YA audience. If you are going to write for more than one type of audience, you may have to think about branding yourself two different ways. Several authors who write adult books, have separate Web sites for their YA books. Example: Victoria Christopher Murray Adult Fiction - http://www.victoriachristophermurray.com YA Fiction - http://www.thedivinedivas.com I hope these 5 tips help you as you plan for your Web site. Feel free to request a FREE quote for a Web site or a customized blog at Tywebbin Creations.
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About the Author
Tyora Moody is an online book promoter, graphic designer and writer. For the past ten years, her niche has been to assist authors and writers with establishing an online presence. A teacher at heart, she loves to share quick tips and teach newbies about internet marketing. She also is a social network enthusiast. You can find her online at two of her favorite social networks, Facebook and Twitter. Visit her online at Tywebbin.com.
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