Understanding Web Presence

Publishing is about marketing. You make sales when people know about your books. I know, this is a pretty obvious statement, but it is so true. If you think about your buying trends, the odds are, if and when you go into a book store, you will likely gravitate to your favorite authors. And, these people became your favorite authors because you like kept seeing their name over and over again. This is name recognition.

Because we are moving to such a digital view of the world, the more you can do to get your name out there will drive those sales. But, it is important to remember that people are not proactive when it comes to using the web. They only do things when someone on the other end reminds them to do so. Let me explain. When you open up your browser, or you open up a social media platform, you likely only click on the things that show up in front of you. The odds are, you don't go out of your way to go and look for things.

Consider sellers like Amazon. When you log into their site, and you look for a book, you might also follow the links at the bottom when they say, "People who looked at this also got this." You don't likely go out and aggressively look for those other authors. You wait until someone tells you that you should look.

So, what does web presence look like? This will vary for all of you, depending on who you are, what your writing style is, and who your readers are. The key, however, is a constant reminder to your readers to check out what you are doing, to read the latest book and so forth.

I admit, lately, I have fallen down on this here on the blog, and yes, I have taken note from those of you who have reminded me. For the longest time, I had a post coming out daily. That constant reminder allows readers to expect something coming from me. Reading the blog becomes a habit. That is what you want your readers to do.

Now, with all of this said, I do want to stress that for authors who are still waiting to make that first sale, I would not worry so much about that web presence. Be ready when the time comes, but for now, focus on the writing.

Have a great weekend.