The Importance of a Website in Self-Publishing
Why Writers Need a Website.
Do you want to make money from your writing?
Do you want editors, literary agents, publishers, and clients to know what you can offer?
Do you want to succeed as a writer and have people become interested in your work?
Do you want to self-publish?
Do you want your readers to know what you write and what you can offer?
If the answer to any of these is YES: You need your own writer’s website.
There is no point working hard, writing line by line, page by page, hour by hour, and slogging over ideas as you consume tea, coffee, sweets, crisps, or your comfort food of choice (salted peanuts for me) only to sit back and hope somebody, someday, will discover your talent.
Writers need to get themselves out there…scary as that may seem. Thankfully, long gone are the days where you must travel over mountains and across oceans and deserts, taking the risk of ending up as fish-food or a tiger’s supper to sell your wares. The global internet is at our disposal. It is a worldwide advertising medium to sell books and writing, a platform for your business, and an opportunity to get in the spotlight and succeed. Self-promotion involves work, time, and a belief in yourself. As a new kid on the block waiting to publish and sell, there is no shame in saying… I am a writer.
So, why a website?
A website is simple to set up and it costs you nothing. I have a WordPress site (1).
Social Media is an important feed into your website with over two billion users (2), but a website does all the heavy work. It is a destination to direct people from your Social Media platforms into a central hub which acts as a showcase of work.
A website can provide more diverse and interesting information about yourself and what you have to offer as a writer.
Sales can be made from a website. This is not face to face selling.
There is more creative freedom to use animations, videos, and adapt a website to mobile and other media devises.
There will be more scope to engage readers and organisations that may want to work with you.
You can collect reader’s email addresses and use automated systems to keep in contact with your customers and keep them interested.
A website creates your own brand and is a self-marketing platform.
It allows a more personal and bespoke relationship with readers.
A website can display the sum of your creativity, it will grow with you as a writer and gives a professional online presence and identity. This gives credibility to any business plan of a professional writer.
Companies and professional organisations will expect writers to embrace and utilise to their advantage, all the technological platforms available. It shows you are a professional, who can promote and expand their horizons, and is serious about being a successful writer.
These are your potential customers:
In 2018, 90% of adults in the UK are using the internet 3. Worldwide there are 4.2 billion people on the internet (4).
Convinced yet?
The term BLOG is a short word for the word weblog. What is Weblog? A software designed so that you can publish in sequence and in categories. So, this leads me onto a technical selling point:
Weblogs allow you to tag words and themes, and because each post is catalogued as an individual page, search engines will direct people to the matching keywords within your website and weblog. Therefore, all pages become easily indexed, searchable and accessible. Google and other search engines are prioritising this tag search facility from websites over Social Media profiles 5.
From a website you can drive traffic to Amazon Bookstore 6. Anybody can use this platform to get their work out into the world. Many have chosen this option due to the profit potential of up to 70% in royalties, its ease of use and it costs you nothing.
Have you considered self-publishing with Amazon Bookstore? According to Bookstat there were 240 million self-published eBook units sold in 2017 (7).
Would you like a slice of this yummy pie? I’m feeling hungry already and the salted peanuts just don’t seem to be doing it for me right now.
Make sure some of those 4.2 billion people on the internet know who you are and what you have to offer. Join the Indie authors as a writer, and become your own editor, designer, marketer, advertiser, and say… I am a writer.
Sources:
1. https://wordpress.com/create-website/
2.https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2018
3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/
4. https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/
6. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US?ref_=kdpgp_p_uk_psg_kw_ad59
7. 5.https://qz.com/1240924/are-ebooks-dying-or-thriving-the-answer-is-yes/
