Andy Slinger's Blog
May 27, 2021
6 Ways to make your author website stand out from the crowd.
6 Ways to make your author website stand out from the crowd.
Having an Author website is a crucial element to marketing your books. Whether you’ve released many books or you’re still in the process of writing your first, without an effective author website you’re missing a trick.
In this post I’m going to address why you should have an author website, what it can do for your business, great examples of author website design and how you can optimise yours to make it as effective as possible.
Why you should have an author website?
What are the benefits of an author website?
Should I create a blog?
How do I optimise my site?
What can I do to make it look incredible?
Great examples of Author Websites.
1. Why you should have an author website?
There are three main objectives to choose when you’re putting together an author website and all are important in their own right. I would strongly suggest you pick just one and concentrate on that. This ensures you build a site that’s fit for purpose, doesn’t give your visitors too much to look at and gives you the option to tweak it to improve conversions.
Email list building – Are you in it for the long-game? If you plan to write lots of books and build a loyal army of supporters then this should be your objective. Your site visitors have an interest in your work so why not capture their email address while they’re there. You can then provide value and market your products direct to their e-mail inbox for years to come.
Drive sales – Do you want sales there and then? Well then this is where your focus should be. You have the option of creating your own online shop and distributing your books direct from your site. Alternatively create some stylish images of your books and provide links to Amazon. You can use a free service like booklinker to create universal links. Then wherever in the world your customers are the link will take them to their local Amazon store.
Brand building – Want to show case your work? Then this option is for you! Write articles and bios to give your readers more of an insight into you and your world. Provide links to your social media, accounts, podcast and any other places you are online. Think of it as a personalised hub.
2. What are the benefits of an author website?
An author website is your own personal space on the internet, a space that you own. It’s all well and good building a huge social media following but what if Facebook, Instagram and Twitter collapsed tomorrow or your account got blocked?
Future proof your business and put the work in to create a platform you can be proud of. I like to think of social media as a party and your website is your house. So direct everyone you can to your house and create your own house party. The possibilities really are endless and it’s the perfect way to showcase your creativity
You can craft your own basic site for a really low cost or hire a professional to make your dream come to life. Set aside a percentage of your budget to building a site and it’ll pay dividends in the future. We live in a digital world so why wouldn’t you make digital marketing the forefront of your strategy?
In the end though, the benefits of your website are dependent on you. The more work you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Keep it fresh and updated with regular new content and visitors will come back again and again.
3. Should I create a blog?
There are loads of benefits to having a blog on your site. If you have the time to produce blog content then I’d always recommend as a writer you have one on your site. You want to showcase your talents right?
Not only can you give potential readers a chance to read your work, you can share blog posts to all your social media accounts. This is especially helpful if you’re a member of Goodreads. When you post a blog post on there Goodreads automatically sends an e-mail out to all your followers, letting them know about your new blog post. You can even post your blog to your Amazon Author account. This can draw extra traffic to your site and can help viewers to discover more of your work.
In addition to all this, blogs work wonders for SEO (search engine optimisation). This means a well written blog post can rank on google, again drawing more traffic to your site. If you really plan this well you can create interconnected blog posts which link to each other. Add in high traffic search terms to your posts and you could become a thought leader in your niche. Many writers have used these principles to massively increase their discoverability.
4. How do I optimise my site?
There are so many ways to optimise your site for so it ranks higher with search engines, I could write a book on this. Some include making it relevant, topical, improving the speed of your site, removing annoying ads, making it mobile friendly and selecting the right keywords. A good website designer will cover lots of this for you and should make it super efficient.
However if you can’t afford an expensive web developer you can make a big difference through your content. Add ALT text to all your images, if you include your chosen keyword for the article in this ALT text it can actually help your images rank on google.
Another major thing which will help you is rank is choosing the right keywords. A top tip is to get a google adwords account, this will take 5 minutes top to set up. On there you’ll be able to type in your chosen keyword and see how many people search for it, how competitive the keyword is and also some google suggestions,
Lastly (because I’m not writing a book on this, yet) is backlinks to your site. Lots of links to your website from other quality sites will tell the search engines yours is a trusted place to visit. This is like sprinkling magic dust on your platform and improves your Domain Authority. DA is a search engine ranking score that predicts how likely a website is to rank on search engine result pages.
The key here is to make connections with others and get as many links as you can. Anyone fancy swapping links?
5. What can I do to make it look incredible?
Although I’d describe a great website as one which ranks highly and fulfils the objectives you set out to achieve; a great looking website makes a huge difference when it comes to keeping people on your site for longer.
Pay attention to your colour scheme, make sure you it all ties in and creates the visually pleasing site you desire. If you’ve got a logo then you can use the colours in your site theme. If you haven’t already got a logo then can use a site like Canva to rustle one up quickly.
Use warm colours when you want to add a ‘Call to action’ button, like this…
visit my website
It’s proven to entice more people to click on the link, try it…
For images, videos and even book trailers I’d highly recommend Bookbrush. This is designed by authors for authors and is a really simple way to create some amazing book images. I use it for social media posts, adverts and images for my site. It does cost but in my opinion it’s well worth it.
If you’re tight for cash then there are thousands of royalty free images on sites like Unsplash which you download in seconds and can give your site a real professional feel.
There are tonnes more free resources out there, so do your research and you’ll find so much to choose from.
6. Great examples of Author Websites
Mark Dawson – If you’re looking to build your e-mail list then this is the perfect example. His homepage gives you nothing but an option to subscribe. Is it any wonder his subscriber list is in the hundreds of thousands?
Gretchen Rubin – Gretchen has devoted full pages of her site to resources, quizzes, podcasts and more. The amazing value she offers helps to promote her self-help marketing and fits perfectly with her branding.
Davis Sedaris – David puts his book front and centre of his site and uses negative space on to make a clear and pleasant viewing experience.
J.K. Rowling – You can’t have this list without Miss Rowling on it. With her site she’s created an interactive book world where fans can interact on online.
Judy Moody – This is a fantastic example of a website geared towards kids. Bold colours, playful design and fantastic usability.
Did you enjoy this article? Have you any questions? Please let me know in the comments or contact me through www.andyslinger.com
Having an Author website is a crucial element to marketing your books. Whether you’ve released many books or you’re still in the process of writing your first, without an effective author website you’re missing a trick.
In this post I’m going to address why you should have an author website, what it can do for your business, great examples of author website design and how you can optimise yours to make it as effective as possible.
Why you should have an author website?
What are the benefits of an author website?
Should I create a blog?
How do I optimise my site?
What can I do to make it look incredible?
Great examples of Author Websites.
1. Why you should have an author website?
There are three main objectives to choose when you’re putting together an author website and all are important in their own right. I would strongly suggest you pick just one and concentrate on that. This ensures you build a site that’s fit for purpose, doesn’t give your visitors too much to look at and gives you the option to tweak it to improve conversions.
Email list building – Are you in it for the long-game? If you plan to write lots of books and build a loyal army of supporters then this should be your objective. Your site visitors have an interest in your work so why not capture their email address while they’re there. You can then provide value and market your products direct to their e-mail inbox for years to come.
Drive sales – Do you want sales there and then? Well then this is where your focus should be. You have the option of creating your own online shop and distributing your books direct from your site. Alternatively create some stylish images of your books and provide links to Amazon. You can use a free service like booklinker to create universal links. Then wherever in the world your customers are the link will take them to their local Amazon store.
Brand building – Want to show case your work? Then this option is for you! Write articles and bios to give your readers more of an insight into you and your world. Provide links to your social media, accounts, podcast and any other places you are online. Think of it as a personalised hub.
2. What are the benefits of an author website?
An author website is your own personal space on the internet, a space that you own. It’s all well and good building a huge social media following but what if Facebook, Instagram and Twitter collapsed tomorrow or your account got blocked?
Future proof your business and put the work in to create a platform you can be proud of. I like to think of social media as a party and your website is your house. So direct everyone you can to your house and create your own house party. The possibilities really are endless and it’s the perfect way to showcase your creativity
You can craft your own basic site for a really low cost or hire a professional to make your dream come to life. Set aside a percentage of your budget to building a site and it’ll pay dividends in the future. We live in a digital world so why wouldn’t you make digital marketing the forefront of your strategy?
In the end though, the benefits of your website are dependent on you. The more work you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Keep it fresh and updated with regular new content and visitors will come back again and again.
3. Should I create a blog?
There are loads of benefits to having a blog on your site. If you have the time to produce blog content then I’d always recommend as a writer you have one on your site. You want to showcase your talents right?
Not only can you give potential readers a chance to read your work, you can share blog posts to all your social media accounts. This is especially helpful if you’re a member of Goodreads. When you post a blog post on there Goodreads automatically sends an e-mail out to all your followers, letting them know about your new blog post. You can even post your blog to your Amazon Author account. This can draw extra traffic to your site and can help viewers to discover more of your work.
In addition to all this, blogs work wonders for SEO (search engine optimisation). This means a well written blog post can rank on google, again drawing more traffic to your site. If you really plan this well you can create interconnected blog posts which link to each other. Add in high traffic search terms to your posts and you could become a thought leader in your niche. Many writers have used these principles to massively increase their discoverability.
4. How do I optimise my site?
There are so many ways to optimise your site for so it ranks higher with search engines, I could write a book on this. Some include making it relevant, topical, improving the speed of your site, removing annoying ads, making it mobile friendly and selecting the right keywords. A good website designer will cover lots of this for you and should make it super efficient.
However if you can’t afford an expensive web developer you can make a big difference through your content. Add ALT text to all your images, if you include your chosen keyword for the article in this ALT text it can actually help your images rank on google.
Another major thing which will help you is rank is choosing the right keywords. A top tip is to get a google adwords account, this will take 5 minutes top to set up. On there you’ll be able to type in your chosen keyword and see how many people search for it, how competitive the keyword is and also some google suggestions,
Lastly (because I’m not writing a book on this, yet) is backlinks to your site. Lots of links to your website from other quality sites will tell the search engines yours is a trusted place to visit. This is like sprinkling magic dust on your platform and improves your Domain Authority. DA is a search engine ranking score that predicts how likely a website is to rank on search engine result pages.
The key here is to make connections with others and get as many links as you can. Anyone fancy swapping links?
5. What can I do to make it look incredible?
Although I’d describe a great website as one which ranks highly and fulfils the objectives you set out to achieve; a great looking website makes a huge difference when it comes to keeping people on your site for longer.
Pay attention to your colour scheme, make sure you it all ties in and creates the visually pleasing site you desire. If you’ve got a logo then you can use the colours in your site theme. If you haven’t already got a logo then can use a site like Canva to rustle one up quickly.
Use warm colours when you want to add a ‘Call to action’ button, like this…
visit my website
It’s proven to entice more people to click on the link, try it…
For images, videos and even book trailers I’d highly recommend Bookbrush. This is designed by authors for authors and is a really simple way to create some amazing book images. I use it for social media posts, adverts and images for my site. It does cost but in my opinion it’s well worth it.
If you’re tight for cash then there are thousands of royalty free images on sites like Unsplash which you download in seconds and can give your site a real professional feel.
There are tonnes more free resources out there, so do your research and you’ll find so much to choose from.
6. Great examples of Author Websites
Mark Dawson – If you’re looking to build your e-mail list then this is the perfect example. His homepage gives you nothing but an option to subscribe. Is it any wonder his subscriber list is in the hundreds of thousands?
Gretchen Rubin – Gretchen has devoted full pages of her site to resources, quizzes, podcasts and more. The amazing value she offers helps to promote her self-help marketing and fits perfectly with her branding.
Davis Sedaris – David puts his book front and centre of his site and uses negative space on to make a clear and pleasant viewing experience.
J.K. Rowling – You can’t have this list without Miss Rowling on it. With her site she’s created an interactive book world where fans can interact on online.
Judy Moody – This is a fantastic example of a website geared towards kids. Bold colours, playful design and fantastic usability.
Did you enjoy this article? Have you any questions? Please let me know in the comments or contact me through www.andyslinger.com
January 17, 2021
How to write compelling copy.
If you’d ask me a a few months ago I’d have said copy was something completely different to what I’d understand it to be now. Copy writing or writing copy is the art of writing a short snappy sentence that lures readers in to looking at your book or product and ultimately with a bit of luck and a trailing wind leads to a sale.
As an author for the last year of my life I’ve spent this time working on writing as many words as possible in order to hit my wordcounts. Creating worlds and explaining them in as much detail as possible in order to fill the pages. So to write short, snappy and intriguing copy, where every last word and character counts is a far cry from what I’ve been learning to write. It’s fair to say that this style of writing is an art form and as a result there are many copy writers out there that charge crazy amounts of money to craft a few well written lines for you.
So as a self published author why is this skill so important?
Well the answer is relatively simple, you’ve spent months and years putting your life and soul into your literary masterpiece and then a quick fifteen minutes throwing down a sloppy synopsis or a poorly written advert copy. Don’t pretend you haven’t been there and done it because I know I have. And the result of this is poor sales, crummy conversion rates and customers that scroll on by. The only two things your customer can see is your cover and your copy and you decide to skimp on it. I bet I can guess why as well; it’s a difficult skill, it’s time consuming and it’s the complete opposite of your usual writing style. But it doesn’t have to be like this. It’s a skill you can learn and if done right will double, triple or even quadruple your sales.
So how can I learn to write copy?
Well there are a few resources that I’ve found invaluable that I’m going to share with you as absolute must reads. Firstly I’d urge you to check out Bryan Cohen’s book How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis: A Step-by-Step System for Enticing New Readers, Selling More Fiction, and Making Your Books Sound GoodThis is gold dust for anyone wanting to write an incredible book description. Use his step by step guide, join his Facebook group and the quality of your book description is guaranteed to improve. Another gem of a resource is Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways To Start Any Sales MessageGreat Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message by Michael Masterson. This gives you a fantastic introduction into the art of lead generation, I found it eye opening.
In addition to these two fantastic books here are a few things you can do to improve your copy immediately…
-Less is more, cut your words down as much as possible, the shorter the better.
-Use a thesaurus and make every single word ooze with meaning. I use www.wordhippo.com
-Vary short and long sentences.
-Read your copy aloud, does it sound right? -Think of the rhythm of the words.
-End your copy on a cliff hanger. You want people to buy your book? Then wet their appetite.
-Practice, practice practice
-Re-write, re-write and re-write it some more.
-Finish with a BANG!
I hope that this has been of some use to you. Please feel free to send me your copy and I may be able to give you some more ideas. Sometimes a critical eye and a helping hand is all you need!
You can email me here —> andyslinger@andyslinger.com
As an author for the last year of my life I’ve spent this time working on writing as many words as possible in order to hit my wordcounts. Creating worlds and explaining them in as much detail as possible in order to fill the pages. So to write short, snappy and intriguing copy, where every last word and character counts is a far cry from what I’ve been learning to write. It’s fair to say that this style of writing is an art form and as a result there are many copy writers out there that charge crazy amounts of money to craft a few well written lines for you.
So as a self published author why is this skill so important?
Well the answer is relatively simple, you’ve spent months and years putting your life and soul into your literary masterpiece and then a quick fifteen minutes throwing down a sloppy synopsis or a poorly written advert copy. Don’t pretend you haven’t been there and done it because I know I have. And the result of this is poor sales, crummy conversion rates and customers that scroll on by. The only two things your customer can see is your cover and your copy and you decide to skimp on it. I bet I can guess why as well; it’s a difficult skill, it’s time consuming and it’s the complete opposite of your usual writing style. But it doesn’t have to be like this. It’s a skill you can learn and if done right will double, triple or even quadruple your sales.
So how can I learn to write copy?
Well there are a few resources that I’ve found invaluable that I’m going to share with you as absolute must reads. Firstly I’d urge you to check out Bryan Cohen’s book How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis: A Step-by-Step System for Enticing New Readers, Selling More Fiction, and Making Your Books Sound GoodThis is gold dust for anyone wanting to write an incredible book description. Use his step by step guide, join his Facebook group and the quality of your book description is guaranteed to improve. Another gem of a resource is Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways To Start Any Sales MessageGreat Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message by Michael Masterson. This gives you a fantastic introduction into the art of lead generation, I found it eye opening.
In addition to these two fantastic books here are a few things you can do to improve your copy immediately…
-Less is more, cut your words down as much as possible, the shorter the better.
-Use a thesaurus and make every single word ooze with meaning. I use www.wordhippo.com
-Vary short and long sentences.
-Read your copy aloud, does it sound right? -Think of the rhythm of the words.
-End your copy on a cliff hanger. You want people to buy your book? Then wet their appetite.
-Practice, practice practice
-Re-write, re-write and re-write it some more.
-Finish with a BANG!
I hope that this has been of some use to you. Please feel free to send me your copy and I may be able to give you some more ideas. Sometimes a critical eye and a helping hand is all you need!
You can email me here —> andyslinger@andyslinger.com
December 2, 2020
Will you have yourself a very Covid Christmas?
Now that we’ve officially finally made it to the festive period here are the reasons why Covid shouldn’t spell the end of a fun family Christmas for you and your loved ones.
After a year of isolation for many the Christmas holidays could be the first time some of you can get together and enjoy a drink and some top quality nosh with family and friends. A small minority may not agree with the break in lockdown for a handful of days but I think we all need it for our sanity and mental health.
Tis the season for laughter, joy and goodwill, so let’s make the most of it. Meet with your family, enjoy those stupid party games, drink too much sherry and laugh at Uncle Harry’s dancing while Auntie Doreen snores in the corner. Remember what normality feels like and know that we will soon be back to those days.
Enjoy it all and make it especially fun for the children, we forget that they have had it harder than most of us. Spoil them rotten, feed them full of turkey, mince pies and Christmas cake and see the smiles on their faces. Give them a Christmas that they can remember.
You may be thinking, what about the R rate, what about the spread of Covid and what about further lockdowns. Of course it all matters, but so does our mental health, our children’s wellbeing and happiness. Our Great Aunties, Uncles, Grandparents and Parents who have spent most of the year alone, unable to go out of the house. Let’s give them all a reason to smile, to enjoy every precious Christmas moment and be optimistic of better times ahead.
2021 promises to be full of excitement, holidays, drinks in the pub and shopping without a mask. Let’s think positively, enjoy the fun of Christmas and see those children’s faces glowing with excitement. All within the confines of the law and the constraints of the virus.
Have yourself a jolly, merry, covid Christmas!
www.andyslinger.com
After a year of isolation for many the Christmas holidays could be the first time some of you can get together and enjoy a drink and some top quality nosh with family and friends. A small minority may not agree with the break in lockdown for a handful of days but I think we all need it for our sanity and mental health.
Tis the season for laughter, joy and goodwill, so let’s make the most of it. Meet with your family, enjoy those stupid party games, drink too much sherry and laugh at Uncle Harry’s dancing while Auntie Doreen snores in the corner. Remember what normality feels like and know that we will soon be back to those days.
Enjoy it all and make it especially fun for the children, we forget that they have had it harder than most of us. Spoil them rotten, feed them full of turkey, mince pies and Christmas cake and see the smiles on their faces. Give them a Christmas that they can remember.
You may be thinking, what about the R rate, what about the spread of Covid and what about further lockdowns. Of course it all matters, but so does our mental health, our children’s wellbeing and happiness. Our Great Aunties, Uncles, Grandparents and Parents who have spent most of the year alone, unable to go out of the house. Let’s give them all a reason to smile, to enjoy every precious Christmas moment and be optimistic of better times ahead.
2021 promises to be full of excitement, holidays, drinks in the pub and shopping without a mask. Let’s think positively, enjoy the fun of Christmas and see those children’s faces glowing with excitement. All within the confines of the law and the constraints of the virus.
Have yourself a jolly, merry, covid Christmas!
www.andyslinger.com
