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If you’ve been wondering whether or not you need an author website to further market yourself and your book, I’m here to encourage you to create one! A website is a great book marketing tool and can act as a central location for the readers of your book to find out information including:

– your biography

– upcoming book events

– media interviews and more!

It’s also a great way to get your name and book indexed by search engines.

Some of your readers will be on social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter, but not all of your supporters will have social media accounts or even want to interact with you there. By having an author website, where your readers can stay updated and can subscribe to updates from you, it provides a great opportunity to further communicate. After all, if someone made the effort to visit your website, they’re interested in what you have going on.

Whether you are traditionally published or self published doesn’t matter! Your goal is to use your website as a book marketing tool. Author websites requires a small upfront investment of time and the start up costs are minimal. When a reader finishes your book and Google’s your name, you want them to land on your website. In the event that they don’t have a social media account or any of the popular social media accounts go away, they’ll still have an opportunity to interact with you through your website. I have received numerous emails from people who finished my book and then found my website so that they could email me about my novel.

A website that is focused on your career as a writer can be as simple as a one page website or more intricate depending on your needs.

Tips for authors looking to create a website and use it as a book marketing tool:

– Purchase your domain name whether you plan on using it right now or not. Owning your name or book’s name will prove to be money well spent when readers are looking for additional information on you and your book.

For example, I have owned www.stefanienewell.com for many years. In fact, before I was able to secure www.stefanienewell.com I owned different variations of my name while keeping an eye on the domain name I really wanted.

– Don’t let your domain name expire. There are people who make a career of purchasing domain names and selling them back to their rightful owners at a higher cost.

– Update your website regularly. If you have an upcoming event, make sure to include it on your website. You need your readers support and they can’t support you if they don’t know about your event or interview. Your website shouldn’t be a ghost town. Make sure it appears to be actively updated.

– Choose wisely between a book website and an author website. Author websites are all inclusive. Book websites will limit you to a specific book. That may not be a huge factor to you, but if you aren’t looking to create a new website every time you complete a book, an author website may be a better choice.

Subscribe to The Life Of A Writer channel on YouTube so you’ll be updated on Part II of this video where I’ll discuss what to include on your website and how to promote it.

Do you have an author or book website? Have you been using your website as a book marketing tool? Please share in the comment section below.

NEXT: Book Marketing Tips – How Authors Can Promote Their Website!