Happy Spring!
Yesterday was one of those glorious days where winter was nowhere to be found. Ironically, that’s pretty much how winter was here this year, so it was no surprise to have 78 degrees, blazing sunshine, and daffodils gleaming in the sun. Oh yes, I played hookie. I did some writing on a manuscript in the morning, then spent a long lunchtime outdoors.
Over on the Five Buck Writer’s Forum, we’re discussing, among other things, what a writer should do in order to have a web presence. Websites were mentioned, as were blogs. I’m not a big fan of thinking all writers need blogs — clearly, many don’t want them, nor do they want to be tied to them. It’s work to blog every day.
Websites, however, are a different story. If you don’t have one and you can still conduct business, great. I just wonder how much business isn’t coming your way because clients can’t find you.
In my opinion, you do need a website. Here’s why:
They’re easily accessible portfolios. Where else can you show your clients your samples without having to print them, copy them, mail them, or fax them? Much of your work will probably be online already. If not, it’s quite easy to create a PDF and upload it to your site.
They’re proof that you’re serious. If your potential corporate client says “What’s your URL? We want to see your samples” and you say “Sorry, I don’t have a website”, will that kill the deal? Maybe. Clients work with writers who are serious about their business, and they want to work with people willing to invest in their image.
They show you’re permanent. Without a website, you look like you’ve started working yesterday. You look like you’re not giving your business enough confidence to spend about $30 and change annually.
They’re cheap. Seriously. I registered a business blog site yesterday that cost me $19 and change for the site hosting and the domain. The template is free. With a few hours of work, you could be online tomorrow.
They’re better ways for clients to get in touch. I received three emails through my site’s contact form in the last three weeks. These are clients who wouldn’t have found me otherwise. How would they know that you write, that you’re living where you are, and that you have been working in the industry as long as you have?
Writers, why do you need a website?
12 responses to “Why Writers Need a Website”
You nailed the reasons. It also gives your prospects an opportunity to see more of you in your writing (as opposed to your portfolio)-especially if you don't have a blog attached to it.
I have had more than one client tell me that they liked my simple website and my philosophy about business communications.
I recommend creating and taking care in writing an About and Services page. This gives the reader insight to your personality and style.
I need a web site to sell my books. This week it was brought home to me how important it is to clearly communicate info about the books I've published. Over the weekend I reorganised my blog and included Our Books page, then loaded covers and summaries of my and my co-blogger's books. Today I received an email order from a library for my co-bloggers full collection of books (children's boks and a romance novel). That's a sale of 14 books in total ( 2 copies x 7 titles). It made me wonder how many potential sales we lost out on because we were not showcasing our books properly.
Wow-congrats, Damaria-and what a great validation of Lori's post. 🙂
Good work, Damaria! I've got to reorganize my website to be more efficient, especially when it comes to book sales. Certain titles are being pulled and redone, and the websites need to reflect that.
I don't have samples on my site, but I do have information about what types of writing I do. The website shows a broader spectrum of work than the pitch.
Also, I keep my blog and my website separate. I know it's "conventional wisdom" that they should be all on the site, but I don't like to have all my eggs in one basket. If the site goes down for whatever reason, the blog still runs and has the information, and vice versa.
For me, that's worked much better.
I enjoy having blog(s), but I don't think it's the right choice for everyone.
The big "don't' for me in blogs is "don't ever say on the blog you don't have time to blog". As a reader, that's a slap in the face — a writer telling me that I'm not worth the time. If I'm not worth the time, why should I spend hard-earned money on the writer's book?
It's one thing for someone to say, "I'm swamped with deadlines, I'm taking an X week break — see you then" or deciding to stop a blog for whatever reason — but you can do that without insulting people who've invested their time and energy in you.
Great insights yourself, Cathy! I've found the About section to be where you can really show your style. I don't have a blog attached to mine — I should for traffic reasons — but I'm just used to it this way. That may change.
Damaria, congratulations! Yours is an inspiration. I'd love it if you'd write a blog post for us on your publishing experiences. You up for it?
I tend to think your way a bit, Devon. I kept it separate because I wanted the designs to match up and my website was going through an overhaul. However, I just never linked them. Maybe I will, but I want to keep it here for some reason. I know traffic-wise it's a bad idea, but I'm probably less concerned with that than I should be. 🙂
Good timing, Lori. In the next few weeks while my sister is recovering from surgery, she said she might (finally) design a website for me while I'm taking care of her dogs. We've been discussing what to put on it and not.
Quick question: How far back do you go with listing credits or posting clips? Is it just the past year, past five years? Ten?
I list about six years back, but even that depends. I like to show diversity, so if I have a clip that's ten years old (like a white paper or a manual), I'll include that so as not to lose the experience off my portfolio.
A website for writers is your online storefront. It's necessary–and it's usually the first thing I tell new writers to do when they want to know how to get started. You really can't market if you don't have a website, because possible clients won't have anywhere to go to learn more about you.
You're one smart cookie, Jen!
Another thing — a website helps you sort out what it is you're offering. As you're creating those pages, you have to think deeper into what it is you do. That's never a bad thing.
Amen… I've never ever understood why writers don't have site, truly. And with wordpress it's sooooo easy… and even cheaper in some places than that… I pay $60 a year.
As far as how far back to go with credits – wrong question. What do you have that will show you know how to write? That you can handle what's needed? Pick the best to show off and make a list of others.
And just to prove the point, I have a copy editor I use but she doesn't have a website (believe me, I've tried.) Just today I referred her and my client came back and said "I can't find her on the web."
Thanks Lori and Ann. I'm already planning to break my clips up by types, now I'll try to come up with a good assortment of sub-topics and lengths…maybe throw in a couple slightly older pieces that have held up over time.
I'm sure my sister and I will be checking out all of your sites to see what ideas we can steal – I mean borrow – in terms of formatting.
I just started a blog, but it's separate from my writer site. I might add a link between them at some point, but I'm not terribly concerned right now. For me, my writer site is exactly what Jennifer said – a storefront. I tell a little about myself and show what I've done in the past. I spent some time on it and I think it looks good despite that I'm not an expert at WordPress. I can handle it at least! Plus, I figure if I tell clients I can write web copy, what better way to show them than to have my own website? 🙂