It’s one of the greatest challenges of an author website: keeping it both active and interactive. It’s easy to just build a site with your bio, your book descriptions, etc…. But why would a reader continue to come back to a site like that? That’s where interaction comes in.
It’s important that an author continue to keep their site updated with news, events, and commentary (enter the blog). But it’s equally important that an author allow a reader to also feel involved in the site. It’s only those readers — the ones who really feel like they’re interacting with the author — that turn into your loyal fans for years to come.
So how can an author make their site interactive? Here are some ideas:
- Encourage reader reviews. Allow people who have read your book(s) to submit their own comments on it. Approve anything that’s appropriate to appear on the site … even if it’s somewhat critical.
- Ask and answer questions. Pose questions to your readers. Ask them what they thought of certain parts of the book. Encourage them to submit questions to you, too … and answer them. Create a conversation.
- Hold contests. If you write for kids or teens, then allow children to submit their own short stories for possible inclusion on the site. Ditto for adults. Come up with a creative way to tie a contest in to your book and your genre, and offer a sweet reward (like an autographed copy of the book) for the winners.
- Let readers contribute to your next book. Working on another book? Ask your readers to submit ideas for character names, locations, etc… Not only does this excite readers, but it may help you come up with new and interesting ideas, too.
Have you done other things to make your author website interactive? Share them with us in the comments box below!
And if you’re ready to get started on your author website, contact us today for a free consultation!