Services
This service is for authors who would like to establish their online presence and create a professional author brand for themselves.
When it comes to most genres of writing the author is as important as the book. Therefore, it is essential to build your platform as an author. We’ll help you establish and maintain your author brand, a persona that’s organic to you but that also connects with your readers, and remains consistent with the publication of each of your books.
Depending on your current online presence our services include:
Let’s discuss your platform today!
- Website Design and Development – We will create a content-rich, visually pleasing, mobile-friendly, responsive author website to showcase your book(s) and your author brand. Your site will be easy to navigate and dynamic. We can integrate social media, audio, and video content into your website.
- Press Kit Creation – We will design a downloadable and printable press kit that works with your author image and includes all the information members of the press and bloggers need to decide whether to interview you and cover your book.
- Copywriting of website content if needed
- Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) services to rank your website for keywords relevant to your genre and book(s)
- Website directory listing and submission to search engines, as well as other promotional services to make your website easy to discover
- Website Hosting and Maintenance – We will host and update your site any time to include events and appearances, book-related announcements, and any other news you’d like your fans to know — just give us a call or email us.
- Social Media Setup, Optimization (SMO) and Marketing (SMM) – We will set up your author profiles on social media sites of your choice, such as Facebook (author page), Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc., keeping the style (graphic design, tone) in line with your website’s for brand consistency. We will also work on improving your existing social media presence and design campaigns to gain followers if needed.
- Social Media Management – We will identify your audience and engage them. This includes content creation specific to platforms, posting content, and gaining you more followers through interaction with them. Our copywriter will create content that promotes your book, your expertise, as well as your upcoming releases, events, and news. Our graphic designer will create social media graphics that match your brand and resonate with your readers. Our office will post it on an agreed-upon schedule. We will work on increasing your reach and getting you new followers. And if requested, we will also interact with your followers.
- Social Media and Website Analytics – We will track and analyze the reach of your website and your social media posts to see what is working and amplify the effects of successful pages and posts.
- Amazon Author Central Profile Setup – We will set up and optimize your author profile to make it easy for your readers to find you based on your genre, book titles, and name.
- Amazon Book Pages Setup – We will optimize the description of your book’s Amazon page to make it easy for your readers to find it based on genre-specific keywords.
- Goodreads Author page – We will set up and optimize your author page, and your book(s) pages.
- Speaker representation – We will actively search for speaking opportunities for you at conferences, festivals, and other literary events, to help expand your reach as an author and to connect you with your audience. We will also negotiate fees and terms for you if you require this.
FAQ about our Platform Building Services
Why do I need an author platform?
Simply put, a platform is a thing you have to stand on to get heard: it’s your stage that makes you accessible to current and potential readers, and also to agents and publishers.
It’s where we’re going to promote your books and build a lasting relationship with your readers. It includes your website, your mailing list, as well as all your social media accounts and other online locations where you communicate with anyone about your books.
A strong platform is also a great selling point when the time comes to pitch your next book to agents and publishers. Publishing industry professionals know that the larger your platform, the more built-in readership you have, making your book less of a risky investment for them. We can evaluate your existing author platform and suggest changes or help you build a strong author platform from scratch.
Why do I need a mailing list as an author?
Email remains the fastest, most powerful, and cost-effective way to engage with your readers and to promote your books. With emails, you have full control over your content and unlike on social media platforms, the ever-changing rules do not limit you. We can help set up your mailing list, draft messages for you, and reach out to your fans via your mailing list to share news about your book. We can also actively build your mailing list and grow your fan base, which will help you sell more books.
Why should I care about my Amazon Author page?
Since Amazon is the largest bookseller in the world, your presence on their platform is crucial. Your Amazon Author page is where people can learn more about you, see and buy all your books, and find your website, blog, or social media all in one place. When your author page is not set up properly (or at all), your chances of being found among the tens of thousands of writers publishing books on Amazon are slim.
Optimizing your Amazon Author page helps build your legitimacy as an author and helps your fans connect with you in more places. Also, thanks to Amazon’s ‘Follow’ feature, if your Author page is compelling, fans are more likely to follow you, and followers will be notified when you release a new book. We can help you set up your profile in a way that readers looking for authors in your genre or authors similar to you will find you more easily. This will help build your follower base and increase your book sales.
Why do I need to optimize my Amazon book pages?
Optimizing your Amazon book pages by choosing the right categories, adding the right keywords, and using an engaging book description, as well as other page copy, will assure that your book will appear to the right reader. Once the reader is on your page, your copy must compel them to buy. We will make sure that’s the case.
Why does my author website need Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective and sustainable ways to build your online presence. SEO can improve your website rank, which means more visitors will find your page so you can effectively promote your book and connect with readers. We have certified SEO professionals on our team who can help analyze, then optimize the content of your author site.
Why do I need Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?
SEM is the practice of using digital marketing to increase the visibility of your website in search engine result pages, generally done through ‘pay per click’ (PPC) advertising. No other advertising medium can target this precisely and effectively, and you can see the placement of your listings almost immediately. SEM can make or break a book launch campaign and can make the difference between a book getting lost among the 8,000 books being published every day, traditionally and independently.
We have expertise in SEM and can help make your book easier to find. We can also use your book to get you speaking engagements, other writing opportunities, or business deals, through the power of SEM.
Why do I need Social Media Optimization (SMO)?
Social Media Optimization (SMO) is the SEO of social media, or the ideal set up of your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and other social media accounts. Optimizing your social media profiles and content allows us to establish your author brand online and promote your books to potential readers. We have the knowledge and experience to help you with social media optimization and will be happy to create a plan of action for this.
Why do I need Social Media Marketing (SMM)?
Social Media Marketing (SMM) puts you out there, proactively shaping your online and offline author brand. Creating a social media presence allows you to connect with your readers in a more personal way than traditional media allows for, and gives you a great platform to promote your books. We would love to create a customized social media marketing campaign for you to meet your goals and help you sell more books.
