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Having a website can give your book a sense of validity and professionalism. Remember that a website is also a place where you can retain more control over your content, meaning that you cannot be affected by site changes, such as Facebook algorithms. Websites for authors play a huge role when it comes to your marketing efforts.

It’s great to have a social media presence so that you can put your book on websites to gain reviews. But your website can act as your online business card. In this way, you can put information about your book like where to buy it to your potential readers. This page discusses why authors must have a website.

Marketing tool

You should note that marketing usually starts with discovery. There is no person who can become your fan or purchase your book if they are not aware that you exist. A website is only a small piece that is in the discovery stage of marketing, though they still play a significant role.

There is a chance that a potential reader may be looking for a book to read, so they can find a blog post that you wrote on a subject that interests them. A friend can also share something on social media or they can see your ads. Regardless of how they can get you, they may still buy your book by visiting your site to learn about you and your book. This can generate followers for you and sales.

Therefore, when building a website, you should figure out what the potential readers expect to find on it. A reader can be looking to find out whether or not you are a good writer and many other things. They can find your writing style in your blog post, especially in your About Me page or in your privacy policy. You can also consider putting a downloadable article on your website that they can read. You may showcase excellent covers that can be appealing to your readers and pull them into your sales pages.

Take note that your style promise is a crucial element of your author brand. You need to show your brand and your style. If the visitors to your site are not interested in your style, they have to know it immediately and leave. You don’t want to waste their time or even your marketing money on people who don’t want to be your fans.

It’s hard to appeal to everyone. Therefore, you just need your site to show what you can do so that people may be attracted while others who are not attracted should be filtered out.

Conversion and relationship

Conversion means that the potential readers are buying your book. Conversion can also refer to signing up for the mailing list. During this stage, the potential reader can become an actual buyer. They can start interacting with your writing, so they may decide that they want to know more about you. In other words, they love what they see in your content, and they want more.

When your potential fan finishes reading your book, they can start thinking that they like your writing. This can lead them to have some questions for you. They need to find answers on your site and an invitation to connect and a chance to become a true fan. In such cases, you need to invite these fans so that you can build a relationship.

This means that the fans can sign up for the newsletter so that they can be notified once your next book comes out. Also, they can follow you on social media and remember to put them on your mailing list. You should note that your newsletter is also the most crucial sales tool you can use.

Some studies indicate that more books are sold via direct emails than any other channel. Therefore, you need to fill this list with true fans. The fans should be excited about your book that they have to rush it pre-order, inform their friends, and leave reviews.

Your mailing list doesn’t need to be long. A small mailing list can have true fans and can outperform a long list that doesn’t have true fans. You want to have fans who like you on your list. You can offer gifts to your fans, such as drawings, short stories, and sneak peeks. An email to your fans can please your fan. If they send you comments or even reply to your email, make sure that you respond.

Retention

Fans who feel valued and respected can stay around. If you decide to send a newsletter that doesn’t have interesting things in it to your true fan, they can unsubscribe and spend their time doing other things. Therefore, you should avoid boring your true fans.

Instead, you need to engage with your fans and build a following. In such cases, they may desire to interact with you and your book more. Even better, they can choose to bring their colleagues or friends to your site. Your fans can know other people who may be interested in your book. Therefore, you need to showcase fan art and fan fiction or even create polls to offer your fans a connection to your next book. you have to make them feel cherished and valued.

In conclusion, it’s only a website that can give you complete control over your writing and your customer interactions. This is because social media companies tend to change the rules, so this can interfere with the interactions with your potential readers. Worse still, they can sometimes control your ability to advertise. On the other hand, an author website allows you to build a home for your potential readers and fans. You can make the rules as this is your site, but you need to make it entertaining and welcoming.

If you cannot build an author website yourself, it’s a good idea to hire professional site builders to help you. You need to have a website that has the right content. Keep in mind that you can use your website as a marketing tool, so make sure that it’s appealing to your potential readers.