Have you ever gone online to look someone, or something up and found it difficult to find any information without serious sleuthing? Isn’t that a bit irritating? Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some central space where you could find out about your favorite author, learn more about that thought leader whose article you read, or find out about the person behind an emerging company a colleague told you about? Well there is, and that space is a website!
A Website is Where Your Audience Finds You!
That’s why a website is essential for authors, thought leaders and entrepreneurs. If no one can find you easily, they tend to give up. A website is a powerful tool that allows those seeking information on you, your industry, and what you do in it, to find that information. A website gives you an advantage over those that don’t have one. It is the starting point for building your brand and your most powerful marketing tool. Below we’ll explain why having a website is essential, and what you need to make the best website possible.
Why a Website is Essential for Your Marketing Strategy
You may think that with all the social platforms out there, you don’t need a website. While social platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook allow you to customize your page, add your bio, and share your thoughts, they should be thought of as supplements to your branding and marketing, not the core. Why? Because unlike social platforms, a website allows you to retain your autonomy and have control of your brand in a way that social platforms do not. YOU own your website and control what visitors see there, and when. This is not left to algorithms or limited by the structure of other online platforms.
Some Other Reasons a Website is Essential for Authors, Thought Leaders and Entrepreneurs
Discoverability
Your website is always there. You can use SEO to drive more traffic to your website and you have a URL that is instantly and easily searchable.
Professionalism
Another big bonus of a website is the sense of professionalism it conveys. A professional website makes you look more professional. It relays a sense of being established, and therefore, of being more trustworthy and reliable.
All this leads to consistency in your brand, control of your biggest marketing asset, and a hub where your audience can always find you.
Using Your Website Effectively
A website is also not meant to be static. Unfortunately, it is not a set it and forget it type of project. Think of a website as a living thing. Creating regular content and updating a website is essential too.
Your website is your starting point for all of your marketing and branding efforts. All things should lead back to your website, in other words. Your website is where you have the control to establish your brand, share your voice, and prove your level of expertise. The content you create there should be shared.
You’ll want to share your website URL everywhere you can. So add it to:
- Business cards(digital and print)
- Social media pages, especially LinkedIn
- The back cover of your book
- All print and marketing materials
- Email and newsletter footers
- Other online bios
- Amazon author pages
- Any published articles and guest blogs
A Polished Website is Essential Too
A good website for authors, thought leaders and entrepreneurs will first and foremost be designed with technical SEO within its structure. It must also be optimized for mobile and the user experience must always be taken into consideration. The more elaborate your website, the more these things need to be considered. It should all be cohesive, modern and slick looking, and optimized for security and functionality.
Of course, the webpages you include and the content of your website is up to you. The colors and style are as well, but they need to be consistent with your branding. But we always recommend a few things to always include at a minimum.
These pages of your website are essential for authors, thought leaders and entrepreneurs
Bio/About Me
A bio on a website is essential. This is where you can tell the world about yourself and what you’re all about. You can show off your accomplishments and note your experience. What you include in your professional bio, ultimately, is up to you. That will depend on your industry, your personal style, and preference among other things. Don’t be afraid to have fun with it! You can make it reflective of your personality. But remember, it needs to be polished and professional, and the important stuff should stand out.
Blog
Having a blog, filled with high quality, SEO optimized content is not only important for sharing your ideas and expertise. It also lets you speak to your audience and allows them to find you. A regular blog will be the biggest driver of traffic to your website. So, it’s worth the effort to put together a strategy for regular blogging, and if you need to, find someone to help you with that.
A Book and/or Speaker Page
If you’re an author, thought leader or entrepreneur, having these pages on a website is essential as well. You want these pages to be optimized on page, so those seeking you can find you. On these pages you will want to include your one sheet and your press kit if you have one. This makes it easier for the press, conference organizers, and anyone else wanting to give you attention or seeking your expertise an easy way to contact you and get all the other information they need.
As a final thought, we’d like to remind you how important it is not only to have a website, but to remember it is a living thing. It needs to be updated and optimized for functionality at least every few months and you should add content regularly so that your website appears higher in search results. Yes, just having a website is essential if you’re an author, thought leader or entrepreneur. But you also need to make sure it’s the best website it can be.
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