Excuse the rather glib title to this post - but recently, it occurred to me that some authors come to me because they want an author website, but at the same time, they aren’t exactly sure why they want one.

Most of the time, they just think they must need one (which is true!) because they’ve recently signed a book deal, or they’ve noticed that many of their author peers have one, or it’s just something that’s been on their to-do list for ages and they never quite got around to ticking it off.

But they aren’t always exactly sure why they need one.

Which is fair enough! We work so hard to write our novels, edit them, catch the interest of an agent and then hopefully a publisher, that often the business side of things isn’t something we’ve had time to give much thought to.

So, the first questions I ask potential clients are: why do you want a website? What will your new website actually be for? How are you going to use it? How would you like it to help support your writing career?

It’s all well and good having a beautiful author website but if it’s not actually doing much other than sitting on the internet and looking nice, then it’s a real wasted opportunity.

The truth is that being an author is like running your own business. You have to wear many hats: creative, admin, marketing, sales, publicity… they all fall under our remit, even if you are traditionally published.

And very few businesses these days don’t have websites.

Having this strategic chat with my clients helps them think a little more strategically about how their new author website is going to fit into their overall marketing plans.

I’ve talked before about the main advantages of having an author website, but in this post I thought it might be helpful to break down some of the most common goals, in case it helps you think about your website in a more strategic way too.

So, in answer to the question:

What's your main aim for your author website?

Here are some common responses…

1) I want an online presence to make me look professional when people google me / offer a way for professional contacts / media / TV agents to get in touch

This is definitely the most obvious goal of an author website - to have a little corner of the internet dedicated to you and your book, which means that when people google you, they can easily find out everything about your writing career.

Including and most importantly of all, your professional contact details!

You don’t want people who are potentially interested in, for example, optioning the film rights to your novel having to DM you on Instagram because they can’t find a better way to get in touch.

So this really is the number 1 most basic reason to have an author website, and in my mind it’s the reason that all authors need a website.

Even if it’s just a single page with all the basic info on there.

Is a one-page author website right for you? →

It’s also worth saying here that if you’re a debut, you don’t have to start out with an all-singing, all-dancing author website!

Securing your domain name and getting all the most important info up there and onto the internet is a great start and shows that you take your writing career seriously.

Your website can grow with your author career and as your marketing plans and business goals solidify.

2) I want to build a mailing list and start an author newsletter

This is the biggest benefit your author website will ever bring you - the ability to easily build your mailing list!

It’s also the goal that I tell people who aren’t sure what they want to get out of their author website to focus on.

Email marketing is still by far the most powerful and effective way of connecting with readers and building your fan base.

And although it’s not impossible, it’s very difficult to build a mailing list without having your own website.

Why Substack not a replacement for author website →

I’ve got a 30 minute video all about author newsletters in my Resource Library - so if you aren’t already signed up, then you can do so here to watch it for free.

And if you choose to build your author website on Squarespace, you’ll find it’s super easy to get your author newsletter up and running - you can embed sign-up forms into your site with one click and save all the data directly in Squarespace.

You can then use Squarespace Campaigns to send your newsletter too, keeping everything in the same place!

Why I use Squarespace (not Mailchimp!) for my author newsletter →

Sign up to watch my FREE training on how to build your own author website →

3) I want to start a blog to help market my book

Again, another common reason many authors want a website is so that they can start a blog.

I love blogging - it’s incredibly powerful and a brilliant way to keep your author website alive and updated, which helps bring in new readers from Google and social media.

Most of my traffic to this website comes from people finding my blog posts on Google.

I blog once a week religiously and have done since I started my web design business.

Squarespace has built-in blogging functionality included in every plan and it’s pretty intuitive and easy to add a blog to your Squarespace author website.

There are a few things to bear in mind when it comes to blogging though.

If you want to see a worthwhile return on your time spent writing blog posts, you will need to be consistent - blogging at a minimum twice a month - and it does take some time for traction to build so you won’t get overnight results.

Also, writing good quality content that Google and readers love takes time.

It can easily take me a whole day to research, write and upload a blog post.

So if it’s not something you’re BURNING with desire to do, then you’ll be better off focusing your efforts on your author newsletter.

Again, I have a video all about blogging you can watch for free in my Resource Library.

4) I want to sell books directly to readers

One of the things I love the most about Squarespace is that it offers so much extra functionality - including the ability to sell signed copies of your books directly to readers.

This is something a few of my author website clients offer to their readers and it’s a really nice touch.

6 great Squarespace features for authors →

It’s also imperative if you are independently published and can be a major source of your income - the margins are obviously much higher when you sell books directly rather than going through a middleman like Amazon.

5) I want a website to help sell my book-adjacent services (such as speaking, coaching, editorial services) as well as my book

Many authors do other work alongside their writing, and this is especially true when it comes to non-fiction authors.

Having a website is again vital for these authors to ensure that people interested in hiring them as a speaker, coach or an editorial consultant are able to get in touch easily.

If you’re an author with a website and you haven’t thought about this side of things, do take some time to consider what services you might be able to offer people.

Manuscript reports are a popular source of income for many fiction authors, but you can also offer teaching or even online courses (yes again, Squarespace has you covered!) through your website.

Get access to my Resource Library for free here →

6) I want to showcase my upcoming events to readers

Again, this is a great use of your author website!

If you do lots of events then having a website that - crucially! - you keep up-to-date with all your upcoming events and talks and opportunities for readers to come and meet you is really helpful.

And again, Squarespace has a great built-in Events functionality.

How to add an Events calendar to your Squarespace author website →

7) A little bit of most of the above!

For my authors who’ve had a few books published, their author website is a hardworking powerhorse that helps them out with many of the things listed above.

You can pick and choose the goals that seem right for you and your author career.

As I said, the best thing of all is that your author website is a living thing that can evolve, grow and develop with you as your business goals change.

8) I'm not sure - help!

Many authors give me this answer when I ask them why they want an author website, so if this is you, then please don’t worry. You’re so normal!

I hope the above ideas give you some food for thought. I hope they also help you see that every author is different, and every author’s goals for their website will be slightly different too.

Yes, an author website is a big investment, but it’s also a statement of faith in your work and your commitment to building a long-term career as an author.

It’s also a crucial part of your business and with some careful thought and planning, it can become a revenue-generating asset that pays for itself multiple times over!

If you’d like to chat more about this kind of thing, then I would love to hear from you!

My greatest joy is talking to authors at all stages of their careers about how they can make the most of their author websites.

So please do get in touch, and let’s figure out exactly what your author website is for! 😊

Want me to build you a website?

My streamlined yet personal approach, perfected over the past 6 years of building websites for ambitious authors just like you, means I can create your dream author website without overwhelming you with tech jargon or confusing decisions, supporting you throughout the whole process and gently guiding you with my expertise.

Find out more, then get in touch. I would love to hear from you!