I must confess … I came across this press release weeks ago, and only now got around to blogging about it. But maybe that’s a good thing. Let me explain… According to the release, author Sandra D. Bricker wanted to do something really special for the final book of her four-part series, which is due […]
A Great Idea for an Author Website (But Poor Execution) Read More »
This week, we feature another author who has drawn a great deal of traffic to his website. His name is Mark Hamel, and he’s the author of Kaizen Event Fieldbook. Most of us won’t understand a word of the book. But that’s okay, because what we really need to know is how he got so
Author Success Story: Mark Hamel Read More »
It’s one of the first questions I ask every author as we prepare for the design process: “Do you have a photo of yourself that we can use on the site?” Surprisingly, a good percentage of the time, the answer to that question begins with hees and haws. Most authors want to have a good
The Importance of an Author Photo on an Author Website Read More »
Websites should be fun places to visit. They should be full of stories, tips, ideas, and things that can improve your life. Unfortunately, most author websites don’t do that. Too many authors use their website more as a portfolio — a place to feature their work and themselves, but not really offer anything of value
8 Ways to Make Your Author Website Less Boring Read More »
It’s one of the most important aspects of building and maintaining a website: creating new content. Without it, an author website is nothing but a static portfolio that people may visit once, but they’re certain not to return. Yes, folks, creating new content is super-important. Not only does it help to get people to return
The Importance of Author Website Content (and How to Create It) Read More »
One of my clients (thanks, Chip Wagar!) sent me a link a few days ago. He thought this article might be a good tool for me to use to stress the importance of author websites in today’s world of Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn. The article is called “Are You Digital Sharecropping Your Book Business.” I highly recommend it.
Why Only Doing Social Networking Can Be a HUGE Mistake for Authors Read More »
On most author websites, it’s the most important thing: the link to buy the book. After all, if you’re not selling the book, then what’s the point? However, too many of the authors I work with don’t put enough oomph in their “Buy” link. Sometimes they create pages with no “Buy” link at all. Other
5 Ways to Make Your “Buy” Link Stand Out Read More »
It’s one of the first questions I ask every author when we first get on the phone: “Do you plan to blog?” Obviously, every author answers differently. But the answer I get most often is something along the lines of, “Well, I’ve been advised to blog, but I have no idea what to blog about
Author Blogging … It Can Be Easier Than You Think Read More »
I came across this article on Publishers Weekly this morning. It talks about a firm’s new marketing strategy for authors, which allows them to promote books for a long period of time — not just the weeks leading up to and following a book’s release. Basically, the idea is this: the marketing firm builds a
7 Steps to a Group Author Website (With Lots of Traffic) Read More »
One of the things I frequently recommend for an author homepage is a “welcome” message, in which you give first-time visitors a good understanding of who you are, what you write about, and what people will get out of your book and your website. It’s Marketing 101: If a visitor can’t figure out the point
Authors: Where’s Your Message? If It’s Not on Your Homepage, You’re Missing Out Read More »
