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Every Writer Must Have … A Website

July 7, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

I published my first book two months ago, but it’s not selling. I’m thinking about building a website. What do I need to know?

Last month, this Facebook group question inspired me to explain how publishing a book is like owning a business. You can’t just create a product, you also have to package, market, and sell it. For authors, there are three components necessary to that process:

  1. A website
  2. A newsletter
  3. A social media presence

Today we’re going to look at what you need on your author website.

Content

Hard truth: just because you passed your college English class doesn’t mean you can (or should) write your own website content.

Harder truth: just because you can write a novel that sells doesn’t mean you can (or should) write your own website content.

Too many people think they can slap any info they want onto a website and it will work. That is not true! Your website is an advertising and marketing tool. As an author, it’s your primary tool, so you need to get it right. If you’re not an experienced marketer (or haven’t taken copywriting courses), then you need to hire someone who has. There’s too much to explain in one blog post, but here are some tips:

  • Less is more (especially on the home page).
  • People like white space.
  • It’s not about you; it’s about your reader.
  • No one cares about your credentials; they want to know how you can help or entertain them.

Design

I would love to believe that stellar content is enough to attract people’s attention, but that’s not the case. Your website has to be visually appealing too.

There are a lot of inexpensive options available to help you create your own website. If you have a background in the visual arts, go for it! Building your author website isn’t for everyone, though. It’s tempting to go for the less expensive options, but it might not be a good idea if:

  1. You have no experience or talent with visual arts.
  2. You’re a perfectionist who will spend more time tweaking your site than writing.

Remember: your website will be one of the first impressions you make on your readers. Don’t scare them away with 1990s clip art and bubble letters.

Your Investment

As is the case with learning to write, as you build your website you’ll need to invest something—either the money to hire professionals or the time to learn how to do it yourself. The only wrong answer is to do it yourself with no experience and no training—that’s like buying a building for a new store and trying to repair it yourself without any construction or remodeling experience: it might be functional, but it won’t be pretty and it will likely turn away more people than it attracts.

Come back next month to learn more about author newsletters and how they can help you grow your audience (and sell books!).

For more tips about writing, publishing, and promoting your fiction, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Sign up for my newsletter to receive your free copy of Simple Tips for Finding the Best Editor for Your Book!

Filed Under: best practices Tagged With: author marketing, author websites, publishing, website content, website design

Tips for Editing Web Content (via Custom Fit Online)

June 4, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Passing college writing classes does not mean you have the tools to write effective web content. Fear not! That doesn’t mean you can’t pick up those tools, you just need to know where to find them.

One such place is Custom Fit Online, where writer Erica Osburn shared a blog post about writing and editing website content. Not business content, website content. Why? Because people who read blogs are not necessarily the same people who read brochures, so you need to know how to reach those people.

As Osburn puts it, “Editing your content for the web requires acknowledging, first and foremost, that people use and read web content for different reasons than print. Once you understand that basic difference, you can edit your content (and, ideally, compose your content) with a focused approach.”

After she helps you identify your audience, her post includes some of the writing tips you (hopefully) learned in school (such as writing actively – don’t let the report be read by Jane), but it also includes online-specific writing tips, including:

  • Chunk It Up
  • Use the Inverted Pyramid
  • Be a Perfectionist … And Give it a Rest

I am, of course, more than happy to help organizations and businesses with their content if this is too overwhelming or you’re not sure if you have the time to learn how to use your new tools properly. Applying Osburn’s tips, however, should help you create quality content that works.

For more advice from Osburn, click here to read “Tips for Editing Web Content.” Or contact me directly to see how I can help you create website content that attracts and keeps your readers’ attention.

Did you find this information helpful? Sign up now to receive more business writing and entrepreneurial tips right in your inbox! And don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook!

Filed Under: content, editing, websites Tagged With: content, copywriting, website content

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Copywriting

Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

Editing

Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

Resources

Fiction Editing Classes (via the PEN Institute) Substantive Editing for Fiction 101 In Substantive Fiction Editing 101, we’ll look at the basics of a well-written novel and learn how to … [more]

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