Why You Need a Website

A website is an affordable and effective way to create a professional image for your book.  With so many people using the Internet for business, communication and purchasing decisions, some sort of online presence is essential for the success of your book.  More specifically, a website is an affordable way to promote and distribute books.  A website also creates a sense of legitimacy for a potential reader. 

So where do you begin? What elements should a website have? Since your website could be your first interaction with a potential reader, you will need to determine what information a reader needs to have before they make a purchasing decision.  Even a basic five or six page website can accomplish this task if you take the time to tailor your message to your readers.

Some of the most important elements to your website will be your book cover, a book description, an author biography, author photo, contact information and any links to where your book can be purchased online.  You can even go a step further and list excerpts from your book.  This can help hook a potential reader and encourage them to purchase the book so that they can finish what they started reading.

Have you ever been to a website with so much information splattered on the page you don’t even feel like trying to find what you need?  The rate at which we share and consume information online has created this problem for many people.  For this reason, you’ll want to keep any text on your website brief, as most people do not spend very much time on any one website.  They want to quickly understand what your book is about, why it would be useful to them, and where they can buy it.  Keeping this in mind will give you the greatest chance at making a book sale to any website visitors.

You have options when it comes to creating a website.  You may choose to have Mill City Press create your website or have it developed on your own.  Either way it is important to build a web presence for your book.

At Mill City Press we’ve been building websites specifically for authors for over five years and we have it down to a science.  For examples of websites we’ve built and more information about the types of websites we offer, you can visit our Author Websites page.