There’s not much in the world that’s free. But in the case of the author websites we build, there are actually a bunch of exceptions to that rule — in addition to actually building and launching the website, of course. Here are 10 of them.
1. Submission to the major search engines. When we launch your site, we optimize it for your name and your book title(s). We then submit it to all the major search engines. Within a week or two, your site will be showing up on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc…
2. Set-up of an email address associated with your domain. If your site is hosted on our server, we can easily set up an author email address for you. So if your URL is JaneDoeBooks.com, we can give you the email address Jane@JaneDoeBooks.com at no additional charge.
3. Integrating Google Analytics into your account. Want to know how many people are visiting your website? Interested in seeing which pages or blog posts they’re looking at? Set up a free Google Analytics account, and we will integrate it into your site for free. You can then log in to your Google account at any time to see the latest numbers.
4. The ability to make basic website updates yourself. We build all of our author websites in WordPress. This means that you can log in at any time and easily add/change text, photos, etc… The site is yours to play with … even if you have a moment of inspiration at 2 am! Speaking of which…
5. Training on how to use WordPress. As part of your package with us, we will give you a one-on-one training session on how to make those kinds of updates. So by the time your site is launched, you’ll already know how to add a photo, change text on your bio page, post a new blog entry, etc…
6. Email collection and list management. One of the handy dandy plugins we like to use allows you to collect email addresses in a simple (and legal) way. This means that you can encourage people to enter their email address if they’re interested in updates (or if they want whatever you’re offering as a give-away), and that list is then stored in your system for you to use as you please for marketing purposes. Best of all, it automatically sends out a confirmation email — a legal requirement — giving you double-validation that the person is agreeing to be on your mailing list.
7. Facebook/YouTube widgets. Do you use Facebook and Twitter on a regular basis? Then we can, at no cost, add widgets for each of those accounts on your website. This means that every new post/tweet you add will also show up on your Website.
8. Your site, on mobile. Yup. It’s 2014. A lot of people are on mobile. And at no additional cost, we ensure that your website is attractive and usable on mobile devices.
9. Links to buy your book(s) through Amazon/B&N. What’s one of the main purposes of an author website? To sell books, of course. With that in mind, we include links to buy each and every book on each and every author website. Want to sell through Amazon, B&N, Powell’s and/or your own publisher? No problem. We will include an unlimited number of links. With one click, any visitor will be able to buy your book from their site of choice.
10. Ongoing support. Every author will have questions after the site is launched. Those can include anything from, “How do I add a new page?” to “Can I change my tagline?” We are here to offer that support for our clients. We are always happy to answer questions, offer guidance and more. All for free!
Are you interested in inquiring about having us build you an author website? Contact us today for a free consultation!