Why Have a Website as an Unpublished Author?

Google me and see what you get:  "Judi Fennell"  Go ahead. I’ll wait.

First thing you’ll see is the link to my website.   www.JudiFennell.com   I paid a designer to design the basic format, but I taught myself enough of FrontPage to be able to build the pages and update them when necessary. There are no meta tags built in anywhere - not that I even know what meta tags are. I’ve heard people talk about them and how to get them attached to your website so that you’ll show up higher in the search engines. I didn’t do that for my website.

What I do with the site is update it often--even if it’s just removing a comma and re-publishing it to the web. The more “active” it is online, the quicker it moves up to the top of the list, I’ve found. I’m not a techie and I’m sure they can give a more detailed explanation. This is what I’ve found out without spending the big bucks to have a web presence.

If you scroll down the list of what you find when you google me, you’ll see other authors’ blogs/websites. You’ll see contest listings. Last count, I had 6 1/2 pages on Google before you get to the salon owner, who isn’t me.

Why should anyone care?

First and foremost, I believe there is some advertising/pr research that shows a consumer needs to see a brand/item/name 10 times for it to make an impression. 6 pages with 10 instances of my name is pretty good exposure. The links to other authors’ sites ensures that people visiting those sites will see my name and perhaps then google me. The fact that my website shows up first, means they don’t have to dig to find me.

With a website, I’m building a web presence. I have a “Newsletter” and “Contact” link on my site - people have contacted me. They’ve hung around my site, liked what they’ve seen and asked to be put on my newsletter list for the day when (if) I sell. Instant audience! That’s a nice plus to be able to bring to the querying/sale/negotiating table as well.

Another reason to have a website is, and I do know of people this has happened to (though not me), an editor or agent they’ve queried has gone to their website and actually requested/bought something else they’d seen described or excerpted there.

Cost-wise, it doesn’t have to bankrupt you. Of course, the more gadgets and what nots you put on your site will affect your bottom line. Many hosting companies have templates you can use. Comcast has free webpage links for its customers with templates. Before I bought my domain name I used this.

As for domain names, I’ve heard stories of where someone announced in the morning on a loop somewhere that they’d sold, and by afternoon when they’ve calmed down enough to think about promotion, someone else has bought their name - and is, of course, more than willing to sell it to them, but at a much higher price than they would’ve been able to buy it for outright. The minute I learned of this, I bought my name and several variations of the spelling.

I bought mine through GoDaddy, but I know there are others. GoDaddy.com came recommended to me from several people and I’ve found their staff very helpful, except for the fact that they don’t have an 800 number, so it will cost you to call them. But the prices are reasonable for site hosting and linking all the variations of my name to my site.

I did teach myself how to use FrontPage because I wanted the flexibility templates didn’t offer. Did I start out this way? No. But as I built my site, I saw other options I’d like to be able to have.

The reason I wanted a website, was two-fold. One, it gives me a web presence and attracts an audience before I sell. I’ve got it in place for when I get “The Call.” One less thing to worry about. Talking to friends who have sold and how much promo they’ve had to do, they’ve all been thankful to have had a website in place before-hand.

The other reason is, it acts like an online resume. I have business cards with the site listed and hand them out at every opportunity. You just never know. I include the link when I query for one manuscript. Again, you never know.

It’s a great way to get your name out there if you’re serious about becoming published and it shows you are in this for a career.