by D K Wilson-Viola, Hosting For Writers
Hi!
When Patrick and I discussed his new website, he asked me to write an article about why authors might need a robust website, and graciously allowed me to post it as a guest post.
If you’d like to offer a guest post that might be useful for Patrick’s readers, please submit your post here.
A question I’m often asked as an author and web designer is why authors need robust websites. With the glut of social media sites out there, which cater to almost every traditional style of posting, newsletter providers, author pages on various platforms and more, why SHOULD an author maintain a site?
And my answer is simple. If you have your own domain, your own design, your own content, you’ve truly made a space on the web, branded for you, and designed around the needs of you and your ideal customer. In short, it comes down to your brand and your perfect reader. When you combine both, the results can be explosive.
Your brand
It might seem like a weird thing to point out, but your brand is one of the single most powerful tools that you control. If you’ve ever worked for a large company, you’ll know there’s a consistency in how they present their logos, and sometimes, there’s even a style guide for how their social media should look, the language they align with and more.
And when looking to gain any edge possible, having a ‘style guide’ for your own brand is probably less of a time investment than you think, and will reap you dividends for the duration of it’s use.
And a critical part of that is your website.
What logo you use, what colours you like, how often you update – that’s all part of your brand. That consistency will build into a palpable element of the things that people interact with.
Patrick’s brand for Cops and Writers is instantly recognisable. His logo and colors are used throughout the site, and it’s such a great thing.
As anyone that’s seen his non-fiction books can attest, this brand is shared with those books. Instantly recognisable, and strongly branded, the site echoes these colours too. The badge, pencils and crime tape, along with the colors, set the expectation of the content, at a glance, which is the sign of a strong brand. and will instantly align to the ‘perfect’ customer.
Brand and your perfect customer
Your brand signals to your potential customer, when used correctly, what to expect – it’s a complex process sometimes, but again, the work you put in to set it up is often multiplied back.
I’ve been thinking about my brand since 2004 – while I’m still not married to my partner (and though we’ve been together since 2004), I set up my main pen name, which is my sci-fi and fantasy pen name matches reader expectations – D Kai Wilson-Viola is how I’ve branded myself for years, though the abbreviated name, Kai, is also my brand (Kaiberie). Both are designed for people to find me wherever I am writing or interacting.
So. Whether your brand is as complex as a complete palette and logo that ties to your books, or as deceptively simple as your name, use your brand to attract your customers and make you instantly recognisable, create an impression on people just encountering you, remain relevant and memorable, and most of all, attract your ideal customer.
About the author
D Kai Wilson-Viola is a writer, designer and social media VA that spends her days supporting authors, working with people on social media to build their own platform. She’s currently offering 12 tutorials for 12 different points of brand or social media to her newsletter signups, from mid-April. Her first sci-fi book, Glass Block will be reissued soon from her backlist.
When not writing or supporting others, she can be found coding, designing sites, or playing games of all kinds with her beloved.
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