On Writing : Does My Website Suck? by Morgan Aitken

I don't know, Morgan Aitken, but I'm excited to hear the answers. :)

Marketing is marketing. A good way to connect with your fans. You need an internet presence these days for any product you sell. And it is pretty cheap as far as advertising goes. But lots of authors don't have websites and do fine.

Right you are Steven Hopstaken Web presence is cheap or even free... I'm just wondering if it has any affect at all, and if so, is it good or bad?

Just to be clear: I'm talking about book websites, not author sites. Authors all need sites... I don't know why: I mean, who gives a rat's arse what I had for breakfast? But I ken the need to appear on social media (or at least fake it, so you don't get profiled as an antisocial subversive). But books--individual titles themselves--having their own website/domain... is that a little much?

If there is nothing more to add to the book: errata, citations, evidence, un-redacted info, that sort of thing... what's the point to having a website for the book? I suppose it couldn't hurt, but what if it does?

Definitely has an effect. My website/blog allows people to see samples of my work and this leads on to them buying things from my collection. The trick is to keep updating the blog on a regular basis - not so regular as to spam/piss off people. I saw once the recommended intervals for social media/website broadcasts. Twitter - daily, Instgram - two/three times a week, Facebook, TikTok - weekly. Blog - Weekly/Fortnightly/Monthly - depends how much you have to share. Or something like that. Regular engagement is the key.

One thing I will say, is having an ad-free website (paid for) is definitely a boon to those that peruse/browse my site. When it was riddled with ads, I had a lot fewer followers.

I suggest each book can live on the author's site with it's own unique url - I think that's the most "bang-for-the-book" you can get! You'll come up in more searches and if someone knows you for only one book, they can discover more.

Great advice, David E. Gates. I've been to websites that had so many ads, I couldn't scroll because the sites kept freezing, so I had to leave.

Steven Hopstaken's advice is spot on. Marketing, crowdsourcing, building an army of support should begin months before the book is published.

Don't get me started. Also, authors need media training for interviews so they stop saying "my book, my book." It's about the story, the message, and that should be the number one focus on every marketing/interview message. You can use Wix for free and get a decent website, but paying for hosting and domains is better for SEO, that is if you optimize the back end with metadata, etc. Feel free to message me if anyone needs help or direction. Google.com has tons of tips on best practices, and I also recommend looking at Yoast.com.

That's a mic drop right there, Deb.