We’ve talked before about self-promotion, especially in this social media-saturated age, but there’s one thing that can be easy to forget in all the talk about building a brand and cultivating an online presence. While just hammering people to buy your book is never going to work, at the end of the day, all self-promotion ultimately has that very goal in mind: getting people to buy your book. Which is why it’s so perplexing that many writers make it unfortunately difficult for their readers to do just that.
So what’s the best way to get readers to buy your book? Simple: Make it easy for them to do so. After all, getting somebody to buy something is always going to require you to overcome their inertia. It’s always easier not to do something than it is to do it. So you want to make it as easy for readers to find, buy, and, ultimately, read your stuff as possible. The less they have to go out of their way, the more likely they are to actually drop that cash, swipe that card, or hit that “buy now” button.
And one of the best ways to do that is to make sure that all your publications are listed on your website, along with easy links to buy your books from various retailers. Some readers refuse to shop at Amazon.com, while others refuse to shop anyplace else, so the more options that you’re able to give, the more likely you are that each person who’s tempted to pick up your book goes ahead and makes the plunge.
Attractive and easy-to-navigate listings for all your books–along with links that make it easy to buy those books with just a click or two–should be a must-have for any serious author website. You should fill the rest of that website out with interesting blog posts, glimpses behind the scenes of your writing, special materials that add value for your fans, and whatever else makes your website uniquely your own, but all those things should always be accompanied by a way for readers to easily make the plunge from reading about your books to actually reading the books themselves.
Here at Clockpunk Studios, we specialize in author websites, which means that we’ve developed a host of tools that can help make it easy for your readers to find your books, and easy for you to keep listings and sales links up-to-date without spending a lot of time fiddling with settings. So if you’re ready to see what Clockpunk Studios can do for your website, contact us today.