Without a website, an author is unknown.
Without a website, an author sells fewer books.
Without a website, an author has limited web presence.
Without a website, an author has limited media presence.
Without a website, an author can't maximize his or her creativity, expertise and talent.

You get the point. An author website is crucial. But too often, authors are simply told to set up a website, yet rarely are they given specific tips on how to make it AMAZING. This article will offer several key elements for successful author websites, in addition to various links to existing author websites that personify those elements.

But before you begin designing your website, remember WHY authors create websites:

*To sell books and/or products
*To be viewed as experts
*To accumulate fans
*To maintain a baseline of all marketing communication
*To be easy to get in touch with
*To maximize their web and media presence

While there are many other goals specific to each author, each of the above goals is paramount in ALL author websites. And if you want to accomplish these goals, consider some of the following tips.

URL
Obtain a domain name such as www. yourname. com or www. yourtitle. com. It should be easy to remember and, more importantly, consistent with you and your work. Also, when you get the website up and running, use the email address yourname@yourname. com. Anything else doesn't look professional. And for the love of God, don't use an AOL or Yahoo account.

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #1: www. sethgodin. com

Pictures

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #2: www. gitomer. com

Payment Options
Make sure your books are available for purchase on Amazon. com. Even though the friendly people at Amazon take a whopping 55% of every book you sell, there IS a credibility issue there. Customers like the idea that your book is available on Amazon. Also, consider having Paypal or a shopping cart as additional payment options. It may seem repetitive, but it does make your books easier to buy.

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #3: www. antion. com

Related Writings

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #4: www. hellomynameisscott. com

Community Builders
You need to create community via your website. This is the number one way to accumulate fans. Publish a blog, ezine, a newsletter, message board or link exchange on your site. And make sure people see a link to your "community builder" on every page.

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #5: www. bob-baker. com

Media Room

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #6: www. parapublishing. com

Testimonials/Reviews
Have you ever purchased a book solely based on a review? I know I have. And third party endorsements show - don't tell - that your work is valuable to the reader. So, try to spread these testimonials throughout the website, or even consider having a whole page of just reviews.

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #7: www. jeffreymagee. com

Contact Information
Readers like the idea of emailing, calling or contacting the author personally. Even if you can't respond to every single inquiry, it's still important to be accessible. Too many authors are stereotyped as being unapproachable. So, make this contact information visible in the same spot on every single page.

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #8: www. drphil. com

Samples

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #9: www. fredgleek. com

Related Services
Most authors are also speakers, workshop leaders or seminar hosts. This occurs for several reasons. First of all, books don't pay the bills (unless you're JK Rowling). Secondly, speaking validates the author's expertise and promotes his or her books. Thirdly, speaking has the potential to pay significantly more money that writing; especially if your work is well known. So, spend some time organizing your writings into modular speaking programs that offer additional value beyond a book. Then position those speaking services on your site on a page called "Speaking Engagements" or "Public Appearances."

AMAZING AUTHOR WEBSITE #10: www. life-after-college. com

It's a lot of work to create an amazing author website. But the bottom line is, if you don't exist on the web, you don't exist at all.

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