An Author Website is not a Bicycle!
Forgive the curious title of this piece. I’ve been trying to articulate this concept for months, and this is the best I can do!
Many of the authors who come to me are committed to giving their new book the best possible chance of success. They’ve taken some time to research and absorb some book marketing advice, and they know that “establish an author website” is on their to-do list.
Hurrah! This a website is an excellent, foundational piece of an author platform.
However, what I’m increasingly noticing, is that their big picture book marketing strategy is hazy at best. In website terms, these new authors are paying attention to the what, and sometimes the when, and for that, I applaud them. But what they’re often missing — and I can tell this quickly during our initial conversation — is why, and how they will use their new website.
“Author website” has become an item to check off their shopping list, but they don’t have a sense for how it will propel their author journey.
Time to introduce my analogy.
Let’s say you’re going on a journey of several miles, and you know you could probably walk. But you’ve also heard that a bicycle is one of the most efficient ways to convert human energy into distance covered. You’ll get to your destination faster, more enjoyably, and with more energy remaining. Great, you think, you’ll get yourself a bicycle.
Now, here’s the disconnect. An author website is not a bicycle.
Although I do feel it’s essential for your author journey, I suggest your author website is more like your bicycle saddle:
In simplified terms, your success as an author could be likened to these bicycle parts:
Bike frame : your overall book marketing strategy
Wheels: one great book (you have a unicycle!), but preferably more (now, you have a bike that most of us could balance on)
Bike handlebars: direction and awareness of where your author goals lie
Bike basket: clear links to where people can actually buy your books
Chain mechanism: tactics for getting your book sales rolling
Bicycle bell: willingness to make a little noise about your book, when appropriate
Bike saddle: your author website, serving as your mission control and, frankly, making everything more comfortable.
If we take away the book (=wheels), obviously, your bike can’t function. If you take away the handlebars (=direction), who’s to know where you’ll end up?
And if you take away the author website (=saddle), you could still put your luggage on the bike and wheel it along. You could still use the contraption like a scooter, and make progress toward your goal. But most of us agree, a bicycle needs a saddle.
Your author website is an integral piece, but it’s not the whole bicycle
Too many of the debut authors who come to me seem to think their author website is the entire bicycle. While I honestly feel you need a website — and, just like a bike saddle, the farther you plan to go, the more important it is to get it custom fitted for you — your author website does not, on its own, get you very far.
Results happen when you combine a strong author website with the other pieces of your book marketing strategy.
Things like:
A fantastic book (preferably, multiple books)
Clear, pragmatic goals
Marketing tactics for getting your book in front of people who’ve never heard of it
Easy ways for readers to buy
A lead magnet to grow your author email list, so you can sell the next book too
Related services, workshops, or programs (multiple streams of income)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy, which is usually viable when you’ve had your website a while and you’ve deliberately put the effort in to create enough, intentional content to get traction with Google
Sustained energy, to keep going
The bottom line is, alongside your author website, you need other pieces if you’re going to succeed.
And, while it’s obvious in the bicycle analogy but it doesn’t seem obvious to some of the new authors I talk to:
You still have to pedal
Often times, these conversations leave me feeling frustrated. I passionately believe you need a good author website. But it’s not the whole story: it’s essential that you understand how it fits into your overall book marketing strategy, and that you consider how you will use it to power the results you want.
And it's imperative that you realize, you still have to pedal.
Even though I mentioned SEO above, it would be extremely unusual to launch a new author website and to get significant traffic from Google in the short term. SEO is almost always the result of sustained, thoughtful effort. In biking terms, it’s the gentle downhill slope that comes after you’ve pedalled for many miles … rarely do you start out on your author journey and find that easy slope, to take you all the way.
Related: SEO tips and tools for beginners
How to get the most from your author website
I have many more articles (see also “other resources” listed below) that go in-depth on how to leverage your author website. But in broad terms, my clients who get the most from their site understand:
Your author website is an important part of your book marketing strategy, not the whole story
It’s not a passive brochure, but one that you actively use as a key business tool
You need complementary tactics for how you will get your book(s) in front of your ideal readers
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Need help with your author platform strategy?
If you’re thinking of investing in an author website, you’ll save both time and money in the long term if you get clarity first on your overall author platform strategy.
Before jumping into a custom author website project, I lead my clients through an in-depth strategy phase, where we consider the big picture of your author goals, and how you’re going to get there.
The result is your Author Platform Blueprint: a comprehensive strategic plan not just for your author website, but the integral tech you’ll need and your tactics for making it all work for you.
Learn more here about my Author Platform Blueprint service, and schedule yours today.
