So often, I recommend that an author write a tagline or attention-grabbing intro sentence for their homepage. This helps visitors get a really good idea of whose site they’re on in about 5 seconds. After all, the author’s name across the top — “John Jones,” for example — could be an accountant, a spiritual consultant … or an author.
Plus, these first few seconds are an author’s chance to really grab someone’s attention and whet their appetite, or lose that potential reader forever. Sounds important, right?
And yet, many authors that I work with struggle over this. Sometimes they write three-paragraph soliliquies that are way too long. Other times they write something as uncreative as “Author” to appear right next to their name. And some authors just can’t figure out how to summarize their writing in a way that seems remotely interesting.
With that in mind, I have identified some author websites (some which we built, some we did not) that I think do an exceptional job of introducing the author’s writings in a brief blurb that really grabs people’s attention. Some of these appear right next to the author’s name, others are in a bolded sentence right in the middle of the homepage.
Hopefully one of these can be an inspiration for you.
Life, death and everything in between
Best-selling author in search of all things chic
Writing that is not afraid of the dark
Challenging today’s party politics
Action-adventure, new characters, new places
I write character-driven teen novels with twisty plots–because life is complicated
Fiction for the young at heart
Adventures of an infantry soldier
Words about time
10. FourHourBody.com
An uncommon guide to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman
Is there something in string theory physics that can explain ghosts?
The art of noncomformity
Explore the world of 2nd century Christianity
As you can see, these authors write fiction, nonfiction, YA novels, self-help books and more. A great tagline isn’t limited to one type of author or one type of genre. Think outside the box and come up with the right line for your website.