I’ve posted many times before about why an author needs a blog and how it can really help in terms of site traffic, book sales, etc… But many authors aren’t sure what to do with a blog. “What should the theme of my blog be?” … “How do I get people to comment?” … “How […]
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Michael Thomas Barry, author of Final Resting Places: Orange County’s Dead and Famous — and SmartAuthorSites.com client — has been ranking well this week (even broke the top 10!) in Amazon ratings for new releases on the west coast! Follow the action on his Facebook page. And, of course, don’t forget to check out his
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Just a quick tip today for authors who still haven’t built their websites yet … It may be tempting to have your author web site be flashy and dramatic with music and moving words and such. But avoid the temptation! The problems with sites like that are many. Here are just a few of the
Stay Away from the Bells and Whistles! Read More »
Thanks to Bookseller Jolie at DearAuthor.com, we now have the Top 10 Peeves from Booksellers and Readers About Author Websites. Here’s what they are and, of course, my two cents on each of them. #1 – Series links are not easily identifiable. This should be its own special link on the home page! When readers
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I came across an author website that organizes its content in a really interesting way! Sarah Susanka, author of “The Not So Big Life” has a secondary navigation on her website which runs down the right hand side. It breaks down her book by chapter. For each individual chapter, she has an audio bit, in
Your Author Website … by the Chapter! Read More »
Thanks to a blog entry from a graduate assistant at the Masters in Fine Arts – Literary Fiction & Nonfiction program at Southern New Hampshire University (Writing in the SNHU-MFA), I came across the website of an author who really is using social networking to her advantage … even before her book is published! Maria
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No two author websites are the same. But there are certain things that should be on every site. Notice I say “should be” … Search the web and you’ll find some authors’ websites that are missing some crucial information! While I’m a big supporter of making every author’s website unique, here are the no-brainers for
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Look at a dozen author websites — and websites in general — and you’ll find vastly different types of homepages. Some are flashy and exciting … some are informational … some are promotional. So what’s the best type of homepage for you? And what should the ideal homepage accomplish? Here are some ideas: The Flashy
What Should an Author’s Homepage Accomplish? Read More »
Like it or not, an author website really is a sales tool. And whether you’re talking about selling the book or “selling” the author, the philosophy is very much the same as any other sales tool. People like special offers. But this isn’t a Macy’s holiday sale. How exactly can a writer’s website use special
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Still not convinced that you should have your own author website or book website? Phyllis Zimbler Miller, marketing guru, book author, and owner of the Internet Marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com, recently wrote an article called “Why Book Authors Need Their Own Websites.” Here’s an abbreviated version of the list of reasons she gave: If you use
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