Do Authors need a website? Yes, because websites are THE best way for authors to showcase their book.
WHY?
A web presence allows writers to establish a brand, collect email addresses, sell books, blog and much more. What better way to present your book than your very own website.
Even in this age of social media, having a website is really important. A recent study by the Codex Group showed that that websites are one of the key ways people find out about books.
Surprisingly, in terms of new book discovery, Facebook and Twitter are much less influential than author websites because of search engine optimization and keywords. When you type in an author’s name, his/her website is first thing that comes up. To be the first result that pops up in a Google search is reason enough to have a website.
This visibility gives you the opportunity to control your message and to craft the experience that you want the person who has taken the time to Google you — to see.
A very important aspect of your website is that it gives you the opportunity to capture people’s email addresses and to build a newsletter list.
Your mailing list is extremely important, even if you’re a literary fiction writer. People who give you their names and email addresses are telling you that they’re interested in you and your work and want to know more about you; they want to be kept up to date. Even just a 100-person list matters because you can use it as a mini-focus group, testing book covers and plot ideas, and you can easily alert your fans about new releases. And over time that list will grow and grow.
Once you understand how to use your blog well, and you get in the groove (and you build up your mailing list, social networking fan base ) you’ll be able to reach your readers directly whenever, however, you want.
This is powerful because you can invite them to provide their feedback, both publicly through blog comments, Facebook message and Twitter.
Here are reasons why you need a website to promote your book..Check out my video
