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5 Completely Avoidable Author Website Mistakes That Cost You Fans (And Simple Ways to Fix Them)

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5 Completely Avoidable Author Website Mistakes That Cost You Fans (And Simple Ways to Fix Them) | YourWriterPlatform.com

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. [Read more…]

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: Does Your Elevator Pitch Stand Out? (Issue #30)

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The Writer's Weekly Wrap-Up _ YourWriterPlatform.com

This post is part of a weekly series on YWP, aptly titled “The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up”.

Each Sunday, I will endeavour to provide you with a curated list of the best articles I have seen throughout the week that relate to building your platform.

The featured articles cover topics on book marketing and promotion, blogging, social media and self-publishing. (I may even throw in a few inspirational and fun posts, just so that it’s not all work and no play!)

Crafting the Perfect Elevator Pitch

“So, what’s your book about?”

Umm…

Distilling the essence of your book, your author brand, or even your freelance services down into just a few sentences has mentally defeated many a writer.

But, it’s inevitable–and desirable–that people will want to know (briefly) what your work is about, and why they should care.

To help you overcome the stuttering, rambling, discombobulated answer you may be currently giving to the above question, here are a few pointers for creating an elevator pitch that stands out:

Tip #1 Be Succinct

The beauty of having to create a brief, but compelling, elevator pitch is that it requires you to dig deep for the true essence of your book, your brand or your service. In order to concisely share it, you’ll first need to know it yourself. Think sentences, not paragraphs, and keep fine-tuning until you’re certain you’ve captured the heart of your work. [Read more…]

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: Using Google Alerts to Build Your Writer Platform (Issue #29)

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The Writer's Weekly Wrap-Up _ YourWriterPlatform.com (1)

This post is part of a weekly series on YWP, aptly titled “The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up”.

Each Sunday, I will endeavour to provide you with a curated list of the best articles I have seen throughout the week that relate to building your platform.

The featured articles cover topics on book marketing and promotion, blogging, social media and self-publishing. (I may even throw in a few inspirational and fun posts, just so that it’s not all work and no play!)

Get Out Your Spy Gear; It’s Time to Gather Some Intel!

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Google Alerts.

Raise your hand if you know how you can leverage Google Alerts to easily gather knowledge on what others are saying about you and your work online, as well as what they’re saying about other authors, your industry, or your genre.

For those of you with your hands down, I’ve whipped up a quick guide on how to use Google Alerts to flex your secret agent muscle. [Read more…]

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: The Definition of Marketing (Issue #28)

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The Writer's Weekly Wrap-Up #28 _ YourWriterPlatform.com

This post is part of a weekly series on YWP, aptly titled “The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up”.

Each Sunday, I will endeavour to provide you with a curated list of the best articles I have seen throughout the week that relate to building your platform.

The featured articles cover topics on book marketing and promotion, blogging, social media and self-publishing. (I may even throw in a few inspirational and fun posts, just so that it’s not all work and no play!)

Marketing May Have to Change Its Name

Marketing is simply the process and activities involved in creating awareness for a product or service, typically aimed at a specific group.

And, although there can be many definitions and variations on the theme (based on the intentions and the values of the one actually doing the marketing), the core concept itself isn’t especially unfavourable.

Intuitively it makes sense that there be a mechanism for connecting what you have to offer, to the group you’d like to offer it to.

The issue that arises for many authors is the suspicion and negativity associated with marketing that has evolved over time: smarmy undertones, cheesy or self-serving tactics, and the in-your-face aggressiveness of mediocre marketing strategies gone bad.

But, I think ‘marketing’ has gotten a bad rap.

The theory is sound, it’s the application that is–in many cases–somewhat less than stellar.

But, marketing your work as an author is a must, so if it still makes you feel dirty, just think of it this way: [Read more…]

To Blog Or Not To Blog: Is It Really Necessary?

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to blog or not to blog post graphic

“There are millions of blogs out there.

What’s the point of adding another to the mix?

What are the chances that my blog will stand out from the hordes of others competing for the limited attention of readers?”

Sound familiar?

Many writers feel this way, but is it a sound argument?

Go ahead and change “blog” to “book” and re-read the above three sentences.

Uh-oh. See what happened there? You’ve just argued yourself out of a career in writing…

So, let’s assume that if you feel your book has a chance of standing out, despite all those that came before, then so does your blog.

But the bigger question that I think writers are really asking is this: will the results I receive from a blog be worth the time I put into it?

Many articles have been written–with proponents on both sides of the issue–as to whether blogging is a necessary and effective tool for authors wanting to “get known” and sell more books.

In some cases, people share what has worked (or not worked) for them and then attempt to extrapolate that as a general rule for all authors (or all fiction authors, or all new authors, etc.).

In other cases, writers are told to blog “for the love of it”.

And if you hate it, stop. [Read more…]

Authors with Platforms Sell Books.

It’s that simple.

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