Websites – Guest Blogger

As promised, I have a guest blogger for you today. Devon Gray is a wonderfully energetic person and her enthusiasm for life really shows through in her writing. I met Devon through my local writing chapter and immediately thought of her when I came up with the idea of having guest bloggers share their ideas on this subject. When you get a chance, click on over to her website and blog. As an unpublished author (as of yet – I honestly feel it can’t be all that much longer before she joins the published ranks), Devon’s site shows that she has a very good handle on where she wants to take her career in the future.

Okay, enough blabbing. Here’s Devon….

Are Websites Necessary for Pre-Published Authors?

Boy, this is the stuff of spirited debates. I know I have participated in this argument (discussion) several times. There’s an obvious question that begs to be asked. If you haven’t had a book published what would you promote through your website? Well, I’ll tell you. Yourself. Have you heard the story yet of a newly published author facing the enormous task of marketing his or her book like a deer caught in the headlights? Realistically, it is probably more like a squirrel in the path of an oncoming car—running around frantically in every direction hoping to make it to the other side without getting squashed. The equivalent of being squashed for writers? Not enough interest in your work. You can guess what happens from there. Of course, depending on what kind of contract you get and the time before the book is released will give you some wiggle room. Personally, I want to do as much marketing before that process begins. Because when (smile) I get a contract, I envision myself busily working on more books—having a large chunk of my marketing taken care of will be a huge weight off my shoulders.

If you build it, they will come…right? Um, no. If you build it, and beat them over the head with it (gently, of course), they will come. How do you kindly persuade visitors? Talk. A lot. Make sure everyone you know (and I mean everyone) realizes you have a website and that you are promoting your writing. Make certain everyone you don’t know is aware of your website as well. How do you do this? Entice. Intrigue. I had very inexpensive postcards printed up that have a teaser and my web address printed on them. Don’t make the website content obvious—make them curious. Vista Print is a great source for promotional materials. www.vistaprint.com I leave these postcards everywhere. I give handfuls of them to friends to pass out. I network. I send out emails to my address book to remind my contacts of the website.

In summary, websites are very effective tools when done properly. If you are considering your own, my best advice is to give it a lot of thought. Do you have the time and discipline to run the site without sacrificing your writing time? Do you have the skills and/or revenue to build the initial website? Would you be using this as a legitimate marketing tool or would you just be “playing author”? Please feel free to check out my website: www.authordevongray.com

Update 03-24-08 from Devon – Searching for your name through search engines

A few months ago when I would look for my name on search engines, both “Devon Gray” and “Author Devon Gray” had me way down on the list. Now on Google “Author Devon Gray” has me at #1 and “Devon Gray” has me at #3. That second statistic is actually more impressive!!!

I would say that is proof that the marketing works!