Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie discussion

So, today was "work on my website" day for me. I'm a researcher - I need to analyze a problem before I tackle it. And today, during my research (read: googling) I came across an article that I think you ladies and gentlemen might enjoy and learn from as well.

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An author website has a lofty goal: it needs to not just be, but also needs to perform and respond.

No longer just a fancy, static, online business card, it is an author’s ‘homebase‘, a marketing and networking hub and a portal that allows communication to flow between an author and his or her readers

Visiting an author’s website is one of the leading ways that book readers support and get to know their favourite authors better. The stronger the relationship, the more likely zealous advocates will spread the word about the author to friends, family and peers.

And website visits can translate directly into books sold.

Read more: http://www.yourwriterplatform.com/aut...

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If you're curious about what my website ended up looking like, visit: www.alexiswills.com (work in progress/disclaimer: I write erotic romance so adult language and content).

(You KNOW you're curious now. Just go look. Am I a sneaky promoter or what? :D )

Great article. I needed help with that, so between my younger son, took care of setting up the website. It's really important. I had no idea. I recently was picked up by an agent who sells to foreign markets. She contacted me after I had been in both the Frankfort and Bologna Book Fairs with Foreword Review and publishers both China and Bulgaria expressed interest in my cultural series . The reason I'm telling you this, is that I looked at her website and saw that she listed me on hers, with the link to my site. I was both delighted and dismayed. I realized, because I rarely look at it, it needs to be updated. So,, not only do you have to set one up, you have to keep it current.

Carole wrote: "Great article. I needed help with that, so between my younger son, took care of setting up the website. It's really important. I had no idea. I recently was picked up by an agent who sells to forei..."

Yes, that's so true. And you have to keep on adding new fresh content as well to draw readers in, of course.

Alex wrote: "My head has just exploded and I barely got into that article. I know I need a website but I lack the visual creativity to put one together, and can't afford to pay for one.

Thank you so much for ..."

I tried! There are still some stuff I will need to do in the coming months, like adding a media/press kit.

But like the author says at the end of that article:
This is a lot of information, but don’t let it overwhelm you. You are building your writing platform and career, one plank at a time, so there must be some effort involved.

One way or another I am going to get these books noticed!!!

You guys have been just as useful. It's a great big soup we have going here. Each person brings a different flavor, making it richer.

I'm not sure where to say this Carole, but I'd be really if this group had different folders, for example "Promotions", "Articles" and stuff like that. That way we would be able to get to the content that we want without much trouble,

Sounds good. Julie is setting it up. I will send this to her. She is out of touch today- (internet troubles) and once she's back we have a lot planned, like a round robin of blogs (LR's idea), a book club where we can review an indie book in need of reviews. I want to see if we can do ad sharing in some of the better publications when they have the book fairs. We have a lot cooking.

This is article is very helpful. Since I write YA, my site is colorful, and I actually have recently been fiddling with the idea of updating it and using a simple white background.

Carole, ad sharing in book fairs would be incredible! The book club, too.

Awesome! Keep us posted! I'm definitely interested in PW ads.

Carole,
I can't wait to hear more about the book club and ad sharing!

To everyone,
this group is awesome!

I actually just fixed up my website a big tonight. I'll make sure to check out the article and your site Alexis.

ANother great read and reading all the comments here :) I love my blog/author page and update it a few times a weeks but I need to redo a lot of it. But at least having it there is a huge help. Love the idea of the round robin and book club :)

Alex wrote: "My head has just exploded and I barely got into that article. I know I need a website but I lack the visual creativity to put one together, and can't afford to pay for one.

Thank you so much for ..."

Alex I feel for you! I have a creative side so that helps me a lot. I think it is still better to have a web page than not to. I don't have the time to walk you through and I am not tech savvy but have you looked at Wordpress at all? They have great themes and templates, all for free. It can be simply put together and at the very least somewhere that you can send people to. Here is mine: https://jenniferpeacocksmith.wordpres... this is totally free one. I use my own pics because I can but you can choose a theme with pics already on it that you like? I would hate for you to miss out just because it isn't your thing. I can't take you through at a deep level but I am happy to answer questions :)

Justin wrote: "I actually just fixed up my website a big tonight. I'll make sure to check out the article and your site Alexis."

Thanks Justin!!

Everyone else, while you're there, check out my interview with Aislinn Kearns! It's the first one I've ever conducted.

http://alexiswills.com/?p=337

:)