Jan 4, 2016
Welcome to episode 033 of the Write Now podcast! Today I am answering the question, "As a writer, do I need a website?" I am also answering the inevitable follow-up questions of "Why?" and "How?" Stay tuned!
Though as you listen, please note: I am not a lawyer! So please
take what I say in this episode as my own thoughts & opinions and
not official legal counsel. :)
As a writer, do I need a website?
Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Yessssssssssssssss.
Seriously, a website is a great tool for any writer, whether you're a novelist, a blogger, a journalist, a poet, or... you know. Any other kind of writer.
First, I'd like to establish the need for every writer to have an online presence of some type (if not a website). Whether that's a Twitter profile or an Instagram account, there's a community of other writers and (perhaps more importantly) readers online that you can't afford to ignore.
So why would you need a website if you already have a digital presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Ello, etc.?
Because you don't own those properties. Not 100%.
But! BEFORE I GET IN TO ALL OF THAT, just a quick heads-up that I now have a Tip Jar live on my site!
If you feel that the content I provide is valuable and encouraging, tossing a buck or two into my tip jar will help me continue to produce fun, interesting, & ad-free content on a regular basis.
Thank you! :D
All right. Now back to the good stuff.
Home... home on the web...
You need a home on the web -- a digital base camp -- that you own
and control fully. Here's why:
Branding.
You can more fully brand yourself -- you're no longer constrained
by the blue boxes and formatting of Facebook, or the
140-character limit of Twitter. You don't have to worry about being
censored or having posts removed if you're a fan of four-letter
words.
Trust & credibility.
Your own website lends you trust and credibility. You
can refer people to [yourname].com instead of encouraging them
to find you on Facebook/Twitter/etc.
Professional email.
And you can set up email on your domain so that your queries and
correspondences come from something like hello@sarahwerner.com
instead of saucylibrarian82@hotmail.
Blog and write whatever you want.
Your website is also a great place to host a blog, where you
can establish yourself as an expert in your field -- whether that's
novel writing, poetry, book or music reviewing, technical
writing, and more.
Build your audience, readership, or tribe.
Your own website is also a great home base from which to build
your tribe, a.k.a. your audience or readership. Build loyalty,
collect email addresses, send emails to the list you build, and
more.
(For example, check out the black bar at the top of this page,
where you have the option to sign up for the Write Now
newsletter!)
Make the money you deserve from your work.
Finally! With a bit of finagling, you could sell your books from
your website and not deal with the 30%, 60%, 80%, etc. costs of a
middleman like Amazon.
How do I get my own website as a writer?
The awesome news is that you don't have to pay an agency $35,000
for your own website. In fact, depending on what you want your site
to do, it's quite likely that you can make it yourself for a
relatively small investment.
Build it!
Here's what I recommend, depending on your level of comfort with
digital & web-based stuff:
Squarespace.com (beginner)
Wordpress.com (intermediate)
Wordpress.org (advanced)
I built my website on wordpress.org, if you're curious. And no,
none of these platforms is paying me to shill them (sadly). I
actually do recommend them.
Measure your analytics & success.
Web analytics (such as Google Analytics, which is free and easy to
install) provide a treasure trove of valuable information.