Your author website is the cornerstone of your writer platform and media presence, and it’s the one piece of real estate online that you can (mostly) control. In this guest post, David Loy (Co-Founder and CEO of Leverage Creative Group) outlines 5 mistakes writers often make on their sites that undermine their ability to build an active and supportive community around their work. He also includes simple ways to fix these mistakes. Enjoy!

Let’s say you’ve just read an amazing book or watched a captivating speaker.

They’ve drawn you in, and you want to learn more about them.

So, with high hopes and anticipation of more great content, you go to their website.

The page loads and then…

“That’s it? This bio is from four years ago, and there’s no mention at all of the book I just finished.”

In a matter of seconds, you went from hopeful to disappointed. That author had the opportunity to turn you from a reader into a fan… and they missed it.

Why is that?

Well, there are several reasons, and none of them have to do with you, the visitor.

In fact, you deserve better. It’s all on the author.

They’ve mastered the art of communication through their books or in their speeches, but their website fails at its intended goal —

Turning readers into fans.

And that’s a problem because readers are temporary.

They might buy a book here and there, but they’re not dedicated to your mission, nor are they active promoters of your brand or your message.

If you want security and long-term success as an author, you need more than readers. You need fans.

Fans buy nearly everything you put out. They give your books to friends as gifts. They quote you on social media. They tell anyone who will listen about you.

Readers put money in your account occasionally. Fans put money into your account often and turn you from a one-hit wonder into a career author.

And your author website can help turn readers into fans, but only if it’s set up correctly. [Tweet This]

Many authors are making at least one of these five mistakes on their website. Mistakes that are costing them fans, security, and money.

The good news is that these mistakes are easily avoided — if you know what to look for.

In this post, I’ll tell you what these five mistakes are and exactly how you can avoid them yourself.

1 // There is no clear call to action.

People visit websites to learn and engage.

In the example above, when you visited the author’s website, you got there and you weren’t given the chance to do anything.

You weren’t offered more help immediately.

There wasn’t an immediate “Click here, get this” offer.

Instead, you saw a photo of the author (you already knew what they looked like) and a picture of their book (which you’ve already read).

You weren’t given anything to keep your attention.

And when that happens our brains immediately check out. We know there are countless other options for websites that will keep our attention, so we move on.

Jerry Jenkins (one of several authors we work with at Leverage Creative Group), does a great job of including a clear call-to-action (CTA) that immediately signifies value to website visitors.

The WORST:

When there actually is a CTA but it’s all about the author and not about you as a website visitor.

Something like, “Click here to hear how awesome I am,” rather than trying to give value to the visitor by saying “Take a free assessment here.”

How to Avoid This Mistake:

Have a clear CTA that gives immediate value to the website visitor.

2 // The little things are overlooked.

Have you seen a website without a favicon?

(It’s the little image in your browser tabs with a logo that is reflective of the site you are visiting.)

When it’s there and correct, it’s a nice little “extra”. You hardly even notice it most times.

But when it’s missing or something is wrong, it sticks out and makes the website look amateur. Or maybe the favicon is good but there isn’t a tagline or website description next to it.

The WORST:

When someone hasn’t taken the time to make sure their website looks good and is functional on mobile devices.

Nothing says “Go away!” to a visitor better than a site that clearly doesn’t work on your phone.

How to Avoid This Mistake:

Pay attention to the details and make sure someone other than yourself, your spouse, or your mom double-checks those elements before other people start visiting your website.

3 // There are too many distractions.

This one happens all the time.

You get to a website and you are overwhelmed with options. There are 12 header links at the top of the page, and because there are so many, the font is small and you can hardly read what they say.

Another example of this is when an author tries to communicate everything about themselves on the home page.

They are an author, CEO, speaker, entrepreneur, blogger, thought leader, dog lover, social activist, wine enthusiast, etc.

None of those things are bad, but they’ve overcommunicated too quickly.

A distracted visitor is a confused visitor. Confusion rarely leads to conversion.

The WORST:

There’s a floating social media bar that follows you everywhere as you browse the site.

If I want to follow someone on social, I’m savvy enough to figure that out. In fact, if you have a floating social bar, that guarantees I won’t be following you.

So, take that!

How to Avoid This Mistake:

Think “visitor first”.

Everything you do is about the visitor, not about you.

Don’t try to impress your visitor by throwing everything at them immediately. Be direct and concise.

When in doubt, go with less information and fewer options. Typically, the more someone has to absorb from a website, the more likely they are to be confused.

4 // There’s too much irrelevant information.

I can’t emphasize this one enough.

As a visitor, I want to know three things (in this order):

1. What I should expect from you
2. How and when you are going to give it to me
3. Info about you personally

Don’t violate the order, because I (and most others) will leave.

Tell me what I need to know and don’t tell me anything I don’t need to know before I need to know it.

When writing, you’re taught to think reader-first.

People engage with you because your writing gives them value. It teaches them something. It helps them. It entertains them.

Your website is no different. Show people how you can help them before you talk about yourself.

Sounds simple right? But so many writers miss it.

Guide someone along and tell them what to do next in a clear and concise way. (Remember, confusion rarely leads to conversion.)

If that is done correctly, they will be much more likely to keep going and learn more. After that, they will engage on social or sign up for an email list, but not before.

The WORST:

When someone uses the top of their homepage to give only stats and accolades rather than value.

It’s fine to list accomplishments early but if that is the focus or if it’s not quickly followed by a great value statement or offering, the audience is on their way out.

How to Avoid This Mistake:

Be clear and to the point. Say only what needs to be said.

5 // It uses an old bio and picture.

What about the bio from six years ago and the photo from 60 pounds ago?

“John Q. Author is thrilled about his upcoming book, releasing in March 2013.”

This tells me John doesn’t care much about his website, so why should I? And how hard would it be for John to make some minor tweaks each January to keep the bio page fresh and current?

The WORST:

The bait and switch.

Let’s say, hypothetically (it’s a true story, but I’ve been advised to say otherwise…), I worked with an author once who used the same headshot for well over a decade.

When they were asked to speak, clients were sent a photo to use in promotional material. But when the speaker arrived at the event, the client was surprised to see MUCH less hair (and what hair was there was a completely different color than what was advertised!).

Some clients had to double check to make sure the speaker was the person they’d hired!

How to Avoid This Mistake:

Stay current.

Either update your information every six-months OR present your information in a way that doesn’t need to be maintained.

The purpose of your author website is to turn readers into fans.

If you’re making any of these five mistakes, you may be costing yourself fans and leaving money on the table.

But the fixes are simple.

Carve out some time ASAP to patch up your website and transform it into a fan-generating machine.

David Loy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Leverage Creative Group – a digital marketing agency that works with brands and authors to spread their message to the masses. He is an in-demand consultant who has helped authors to create New York Times Best Selling books, as wells a numerous six-figure online product launches.