Articles

A Successful Author Brand for a New Author
by M.L. Benton

You have a book contracted. Now you need a website. When thinking of a website design there are several factors to consider:

Genre
Personality
Subject Matter
Layout
Color Scheme
Navigation

Naturally, you will want the genre of your books to reflect in your website. If you plan on writing in multiple genres, then you will want to keep a neutral design so that the books themselves reflect the different genres.

Your site should always represent your personality. This is what sets you apart from the other authors who write the same genre you do. Are you fun, outgoing, the life of the party? Or are you the more serious, dependable, stable type? Either way your site should represent you.

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Naturally, you will want the genre of your books to reflect in your website. If you plan on writing in multiple genres, then you will want to keep a neutral design so that the books themselves reflect the different genres.

Your site should always represent your personality. This is what sets you apart from the other authors who write the same genre you do. Are you fun, outgoing, the life of the party? Or are you the more serious, dependable, stable type? Either way your site should represent you.

Subject matter deals with the design itself. You have one main graphic, and your site is designed around it, so subject matter is your main focal point. At this time, think of genre and personality. Would a soft subject matter fit you or perhaps a dark haunting theme—contemporary, historical, romance, true crime, comedy, thrillers, and the list just goes on. Subject matter needs to fit you.

Layout and color scheme is something you think about together. There are several layouts to set up a template. And each is just as good as the other. So you really do not have to be too picky with it…just have one you like and that will work. However, you really do need to be particular on color. I think it would be easier to suggest what not to do with color then what to do with it. Do not use neon colors, black, or every color in the crayon box. Find a color you like. Then use a color palette to choose two coordinating colors to make a color theme. Three colors should be the limit.

Navigation. When visitors are at your site, the first thing they will notice after the design is the use of navigation. You must have a user-friendly interface. Create an easy to use site menu, and your site will be fabulous.

Now you have your site, and you have a design. Now what pages do you add? How many?

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Every author whether brand new or established needs the following pages:

Home page
About/Bio
Blog Link
Press kit/Media
Booklist/Bookshelf
Contest
Contact

Optional pages can include fun pages for site interaction, and this can include games, free wallpapers, puzzles, etc. You can have a free story page and add short chapters of free writings or whatever you want. Optional pages are good but only if you have the time to keep them up. For new authors, these are nice additions but not necessary, especially if you have a blog. With a blog, you will have site interaction.

Your homepage can be broken into three sections: What’s New, New Release, or Coming Soon, and Appearances.

On your About/Bio page you can break this into three sections: About, Bio, and Favorites List.

Press Kit/ Media

List your publishing credits, your publicity contacts any awards or achievements, and any groups and organizations you belong to.

Booklist

List your books here. If you do not have any books yet, place Coming Soon

Contest

This is the page you can add contests to. Suggested contests are newsletter contests to help get you subscribers. There are also scavenger hunts with fellow authors, and the list can go on and on.

Contact.

It’s best to have a contact form, and these can be set up fairly easily. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you want them.

Depending on your design, you really need a newsletter subscribe box. I say your design, because sometimes I build the submit forms right into the design, so they are on every page, and sometimes, I make a newsletter page and just have it there.

If you give some thought and follow these simple guidelines, you will have a fantastic website and a successful Author Branding. Good luck!

M.L. Benton
Moonglade Marketing

M.L. Benton specializes in web design, literary marketing and promotion services. Bringing her experience in sales, a flair for extraordinary promotional ideas and her unique talent in design, she has built an extensive clientele and various Moonglade Divisions. She participates in guest speaking spots for various groups and organizations. You can find her at www.moongladedesigns.com and www.moonglademarketing.com.