Utility of a website

[Bebeslut]

I know it's been brought up before, but what do authors think of the utility of a website to promote their books?

 

[sr71plt]

The controlling worth of a Website is it's ability to attract traffic. You can figure out the utility of individual Websites from there. All of my publishers have Websites, which have some use for me and don't need my help much. These are good. Better are the big distribution Websites from my books, which my publishers feed and don't require much of any effort from me. My own Website that I'd have to build and maintain myself and think up elaborate schemes for to entice people to come to and buy maybe a couple of books in total a year (because they can more easily get the books from distribution sites)? No, not much worth the effort for me.

I do have a couple of Websites from my mainstream editing business. But not for my mainstream books--again, here, I let my publishers maintain my books on a broader-appeal Website and I let them feed the distribution Websites as well.

 

[estragon]

I know it's been brought up before, but what do authors think of the utility of a website to promote their books?

Mine is strictly for my day job (taxes), so my writing for Literotica and allied publications would hardly be a feature. Websites require a lot of care and feeding; the Web is more like the oil filter, everything jammed together and a lot getting stuck in the interstices. Anyway, if you can get on Amazon, who needs anything else?

 

[Bebeslut]

Mine is strictly for my day job (taxes), so my writing for Literotica and allied publications would hardly be a feature. Websites require a lot of care and feeding; the Web is more like the oil filter, everything jammed together and a lot getting stuck in the interstices. Anyway, if you can get on Amazon, who needs anything else?

Thing is, I might not be on Amazon too much longer, but I'm not changing my stories to fit their requirements. But I see your point.
Maybe I should just try mainstream lit.

 

[sr71plt]

No one's stopping you from putting up a Web site and trying it yourself, and then you'd be in a good position to tell folks what the utility of a Web site was.

 

[English Lady]

I love my website. I think it's really important to me as an author and I use it as much as I can. I am also mega-lucky to have a web designing genius at my disposal who does all the techy stuff and caters to my every whim. He's my husband. *grins*

People look up author websites. They want to see what you're doing, what you're like. It's a good thing to have.

 

[Bebeslut]

I love my website. I think it's really important to me as an author and I use it as much as I can. I am also mega-lucky to have a web designing genius at my disposal who does all the techy stuff and caters to my every whim. He's my husband. *grins*

People look up author websites. They want to see what you're doing, what you're like. It's a good thing to have.

LOL! I reveal myself enough here! I may not want any closer looks!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I like mine. I not only advertise my work, I also let those that want to know what I'm working on, how I'm doing, etc. I also have links to all my stories on Lit, plus some excerpts from current works I haven't submitted yet.

Oh, and it's not all that tough to do. I use Presentation Manager to design and build mine and a free site to host...my cost - just my time.

Take a look...xaviercarter.5gigs.net

 

[Handley_Page]

I like mine. I not only advertise my work, I also let those that want to know what I'm working on, how I'm doing, etc. I also have links to all my stories on Lit, plus some excerpts from current works I haven't submitted yet.

Oh, and it's not all that tough to do. I use Presentation Manager to design and build mine and a free site to host...my cost - just my time.

Take a look...xaviercarter.5gigs.net

This is what I got back:-
Unable to connect

 

[sr71plt]

This is what I got back:-
Unable to connect

Wow, I got even more than that just now. I got a big red warning page, saying it was a malcious Web site and to back away right now! (And I'm not making this up )

Ole Zeb either has serious problems or is a serious problem.

 

[Loring2]

Wow, I got even more than that just now. I got a big red warning page, saying it was a malcious Web site and to back away right now! (And I'm not making this up )

Ole Zeb either has serious problems or is a serious problem.

I got the same warning .... Zeb has been infected .... The equivalnet of an electonic programming condom is an asset.

 

[manyeyedhydra]

I went for the water wings approach and run a blog on blogspot.com. Not as fancy as having my own web page, but it displays the information I want and requires minimal maintenance.

 

[harding]

It depends how serious you are. Your website does not have to sell directly (easier if you don't), but is a shop window for both your work and you.

Bear in mind it will cost you anything between nothing and about $40 per year to host it, and decide if that outlay is worth what you might get back.

A website it primarily marketing, and it's sometimes difficult to justify it because there is likely no direct payback. But - without it you won't know...

I've just recently started to publish some of my stories (initially a couple originally posted here, rewritten and updated - but several new works which will be exclusively Kindle based) and my website it a link to those and also a resource to keep people updated on what I'm doing. Early days yet, so I'll see.

And I think I've made maybe $0.70 from Kindle so far in a week. Crap!

 

[Bianca_Sommerland]

I think it depends on content. Right now, I'm just using my blog and keeping up with it daily, but I've gotten some really nice emails from people saying they enjoy my posts and my snippets and like coming to my blog because it's not all promo.

How will it effect my sales? I have no idea. But it will give me a good relationship with my readers, which is useful since I'm gonna keep publishing books.

Great topic, Babe.

 

[Bebeslut]

I've got a blog to promote my book, too, but there's a problem.
Most of the blog readers read the blog for the sexually-explicit stories about my M2F crossdressing adventures, which probably means most of my readers are gay or at least bi guys.
However, my stories are about slutty girls -- pitched more toward hetero guys, though I have gotten comments from aggressively kinky women, but they are in the minority.
So the problem is, the content of my blog doesn't really support my book.

I think it depends on content. Right now, I'm just using my blog and keeping up with it daily, but I've gotten some really nice emails from people saying they enjoy my posts and my snippets and like coming to my blog because it's not all promo.

How will it effect my sales? I have no idea. But it will give me a good relationship with my readers, which is useful since I'm gonna keep publishing books.

Great topic, Babe.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

This is what I got back:-
Unable to connect

I got the same warning .... Zeb has been infected .... The equivalnet of an electonic programming condom is an asset.

Wow, I got even more than that just now. I got a big red warning page, saying it was a malcious Web site and to back away right now! (And I'm not making this up )

Ole Zeb either has serious problems or is a serious problem.

It back up.

They are in the process of upgrading the server disk drives and the cpanel software across their server farm so there will be days that it's down and you get diverted to that stupid 109 page which doesn't exist.

 

[Bianca_Sommerland]

You could always start another blog, one better aimed at your target audience. I took a look and you've got some interesting, kinky content, but you're right, it probably won't appeal to your audience.

Have you tried finding groups or websites that have similar content where you can promote yourself? And I mean yourself, not just pure promo of the book because a lot of people aren't crazy about that. You're doing great writing shorts, so you could definitely use that. Also, you could do blog tours with authors who write that kind of books. There’s a market for it, obviously, or there wouldn’t be so many hits on literotica.

Might be a bit harder getting in touch with them, because most people don’t like putting it out there that they like reading or writing incest stories. It’s not considered acceptable. But you made a good point with your post about VC Andrews (I don’t know who Nabokov is). I’m sure it’s been mentioned before, but people are okay with those books because they are considered literature. Same reason sex between minors is okay in YA.

Far as I’m concerned, it’s fiction and as long as it’s well written, I don’t see a problem with it.

Find people who think the same way. Build your platform.

And good luck!

I've got a blog to promote my book, too, but there's a problem.
Most of the blog readers read the blog for the sexually-explicit stories about my M2F crossdressing adventures, which probably means most of my readers are gay or at least bi guys.
However, my stories are about slutty girls -- pitched more toward hetero guys, though I have gotten comments from aggressively kinky women, but they are in the minority.
So the problem is, the content of my blog doesn't really support my book.