7 Reasons Why You Need An Author Website

I’ve been working with authors for over a year now. The first author I worked with was Kim Kupiecki. I set up Kim’s website Kimmy Bean for her upcoming book Lead, Laugh And Let It Go. (I’m still working with her today as her Virtual Assistant/Social Media Manager!)

And thanks to Wise Ink (shout out to Dara!) I also work with other fab authors like Julien Bradley and Katherine Quie.

Believe it or not but there are some authors who feel they do not need a website. But I have 7 reasons why it’s a necessity and if you’re an upcoming author or established author still on the fence about it, keep reading. The following reasons might help make up your mind.

Why You Need An Author Website

#1 To Showcase Your Book

You can add graphics for your book(s) along with a synopsis. And if you have other products like apparel or coffee mugs for your brand, you can set up a shopping cart for fans to purchase your products.

#2 To Sell Your Books

Let’s be real, you want to sell your book, right? Well, having a website will make it easier for your readers (and new ones) to purchase your book and other products by creating a shop on your website. And the best part is, you don’t have to pay any fees, you get 100% of the sale!

#3 For Building Relationships With Fans

Writing blog posts will connect you with your fans. They want to know more about you. And with topics like your writing process, about characters in your book and personal stories like why you started writing, a website is exactly the place where you want to share these stories and build a relationship with your readers. I’ll talk more about blogging in a later post.

#4 To Show ‘Social Proof’

HubSpot defines social proof as the idea that consumers will adapt their behavior according to what other people are doing. And since you are a brand, this would definitely apply to you!

Social proof can be in the form of a book review, testimonials and endorsements. And in case you’re wondering how much weight social proof carries, 88% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations (found in the same HubSpot article).

#5 Keep Fans In The Know

A website will provide your fans with information like any upcoming events, book promotions and other information you want to share with your fans.

#6 To Keep Your Content In One Place

Some authors I’ve talked to were satisfied with sharing their content on social media. But there’s the thing, with algorithms every-changing, your content will eventually get lost in social media feeds.

And unless a fan has liked your page and follows you, for example for Facebook pages, they will not see your posts on their feed.

With a website, your content is all in one place your fans can easily get to.

#7 To Build A Community Of Loyal Readers

One way to build a community of loyal readers is with a mailing list. This is the group who wants to know about the books you’ve written and what events you’ve got going on. By signing up to your mailing list, it shows they have a genuine interest in your brand.

Where an author website comes in is you can place opt-in boxes throughout your site for fans to subscribe.

Wrapping Up The Reasons Why You Need An Author Website

I sure hope the reasons convinced you to get a website of your own. And if it has, I would love to be the one to set it up for you! Contact me so we can set up a time to talk!