Your author website is all about YOU and your book, and needs to contain certain essential elements to be the most effective, but it can also be fun. Especially if you’re a children’s book author, humor writer, or being not so totally serious is part of your brand.
Here are some fun things you don’t necessarily NEED for your author website, but they’ll keep visitors intrigued and help you sell books!
A Q&A Section on Your Author Website
Having a Q&A section on your author website is a great way to make it easier for anyone who may want to interview you, review your book or just get to know you better. The questions you have there, and there answers also tells visitors a lot about how you operate and what you’re all about.
10 Things You May Not Know About Me
Here at MCM, we love suggesting this addition to author websites. It’s less formal and a little more personal. Outside of your bio, which is somewhat limited for word count and space, this is the place where you can really show who you are and what makes you tick. Plus, lists are easy to read and pack a lot of information. Visitors will feel more connected to you when they learn things about you that can’t be found in your professional bio or other online platforms.
Photos Besides Your Headshot and Book
You always need a clear, professional looking headshot on an author website and it’s a given that book graphics will be included. But it’s totally fine, and even fun, to add more photos. Like a Q&A section or a list of things readers may not know about you, photos tell a story of who you are. And when your audience feels connected to you, they become invested. So don’t be afraid to have some stellar shots of you at work. Or you and your pet. And maybe the things and places that inspire you! Just make sure they’re quality, high-resolution images and they fit well where they’re placed.
Other Cool Things You Can Do
This all kind of fits in with adding photos and fun facts to your website. If you do things that are directly related to the topic of your book, this is almost necessary. But you can also add bits of information and photos of your other passions, your volunteer work, or even your hobbies. It depends, of course, on your style and the type of book you’ve written but dedicating a whole page to your other work, writing or whatever is not uncommon or unprofessional.
Add Some Merch to Your Author Website
If you have any merchandise related to your book( and hey, why not?!) you can add that to your website! You, of course, will need to add a shop and have merchandise to sell directly from your site. But here’s the thing, there’s an opportunity for selling merch for more types of books than you think.
- Sell coffee cups with your logo
- Or t-shirts
- Offer prints of drawings of your characters
- Have a branded notebook or organizer
The possibilities are endless. Or maybe you make art on the side? You can sell it on your author website! Plus, selling fun, branded material is a great way to get more visitors to your website!
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