Authors tend to spend a great deal of time designing and perfecting their homepage. They treat it just like a book cover, as authors often assume that this is the page that people see first, and it’s the one that will determine whether someone decides to stay or go. Well, that’s only partially true… You […]
Why Your Homepage Isn’t as Important as You Think Read More »
I’ve said it many times before: it’s waaaaayyyy easier to market a nonfiction book than it is fiction. The reasons are numerous: 1. People are searching for books on specific topics. They find those books. No one is searching for a good novel, so a fiction book has to find them. 2. Nonfiction writers have
Creative Ways to Market Your Fiction Book Read More »
Talk about a chicken-and-egg situation. You have to design and build a website. You also have to get traffic there. Which should you do first? Which is more important? Well, they’re equally important. And obviously building the site should come first. But here’s the catch: if you don’t build it the right way, all the
6 Ways to Turn Site Visitors Into Readers Read More »
I’ve written posts before about the options for building online shopping carts for authors. But there’s some news this week that gives authors yet another way to sell their books online. Lulu.com, one of the industry leaders in the self-publishing and selling of e-books, launched a new e-commerce platform this week. Their site underwent many
A New Option for Author Website Shopping Carts Read More »
Given the fact that I make a living building author websites, it’s not surprising that I firmly believe in their importance. You hear a lot of people today shunning websites for social networking and/or apps, but I think they’re missing the boat. Thankfully, I was reminded this morning that I’m not alone in feeling this
Why You (Still) Need an Author Website Read More »
We build all of our author sites on WordPress. And if you’re familiar with WordPress, you know that it’s all about plug-ins. They’re what turn a flat site into a dynamic one. They’re how you integrate SEO and social networking into static text. Here is the list of plug-ins that we’ve found to be most
6 Must-Have Plug-ins for an Author Website or Blog Read More »
I have written more posts than I can count on author blogging: how to do it, when to do it, and why to do it. It seems that I’m not alone. A blogger with Infinity Publishing — a self-publishing company with which we have a partnership — thinks the same way. Today, I present you
Why — and How — Authors Should be Blogging Read More »
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
4 Ways to Make Your Author Website Interactive Read More »
I read another great piece in Internet and Marketing Report today. This article focused on the most common mistakes people make using — or not using — social media. I’m going to relay some of this information, putting an author slant on it, of course. Mistake #1: Waiting too long to get started Are you
5 Most Common Social Media Mistakes Authors Make Read More »
Just last week, I posted a blog entry about the various options you have for selling your book online. One of those options was PayPal. Well, sure enough, news broke late last week that may change things a bit … at least if your book is a little bit racy. According to msnbc.com’s Technolog, “In
Warning! PayPal May Be Censoring Your Book Read More »
