Every author needs a website; at the very least a nice looking landing page. But setting up a website, choosing a theme or design, and deciding what to actually write about can be a huge challenge. That’s why the overwhelming majority of author websites are broken and ugly – but it doesn’t matter because they’re also getting zero traffic.
A few years ago I made a video series on setting up an author website with WordPress, and also made a huge list of best WordPress themes for writers. But that was in 2014. At the time, I recommend simple, clean WordPress sites with minimal distraction, because I focus on content marketing.
I want my words and content to attract readers, so I need my site to load quickly. HOWEVER, in the past few years I’ve reviewed thousands of author websites, and figured out the best and coolest features to maximize your site traffic (more likes and shares, more social media followers, more traffic and more subscribers).
I think I can do much better, and am going to redesign/rebrand this site as an example of a “perfect author website.” I’m also going to put together a free video series explaining exactly how to set it up and do it yourself. BUT, I know mostly authors want to get something set up quickly and aren’t tech savvy… so I’m also going to try to build something custom made just for you.
Over the years I’ve watched people launch WordPress themes for writers or websites for selling books, but none of them had all the features I wanted. There are a handful of plugins that kind of work, but getting set up can still be a pain.
ALSO, getting the website set up is just the first step! You need to add the right kind of content to easily get long term organic traffic and visibility for your books (which means, free promotion, forever!).
A WordPress theme for authors?
The current plan: I’m going to partner with some friends to build a modified version of the Divi theme, which is easy to change and customize, and put together a perfect author website with exactly all the features your website needs.
I’ll include:
- Customizable graphics so you can easily make header or sidebar images
- A swipe file with templates for a blogging plan so you know exactly what to write and when
- Easily add your book covers, stylish book reviews, and buy buttons to online bookstores
- What to write in your author bio to instantly resonate and attract your target audience
- A 3D book cover generator for awesome online graphics
- Cool preview features so readers can start reading your books immediately
BONUSES:
- The KingSumo and BookFetti giveaway app so you can run your own giveaways
- A network of high-authority sites you can post on to quickly rank your pages in Google (along with step-by-step explanation of how to do that)
- A content marketing and guest-posting strategy to make you famous overnight
- Beautiful email forms and optin boxes (along with a detailed guide on exactly what to offer your audience).
- An email marketing strategy, to help build your list quickly and know exactly what to tell them to turn them into loyal fans
- How to use your website to launch a #1 bestselling book (or get a book deal)
- How to instantly boost trust and authority, and get people to like you right away (before they even see your content)
- Just enough sales copy to make them want to buy your book
- A sidebar app for work in progress
- How to get featured on news sites and media
So basically, it would be an online course on blogging for authors and setting up an author website that looks awesome and actually sells books, but ALSO – it would be an actual WordPress theme, with pre-constructed pages and scripts so you know exactly what to write on each page. Just install it, change your content and books and pictures, and you can have an amazing website set up in one day.
BENEFITS:
Most custom made author websites cost an average of $5000, and they don’t work! By that I mean, famous authors can have design-heavy sites that look cool but aren’t intuitive and don’t sell books. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen authors spend months obsessing about getting their website just right, and then never figure out how to drive any traffic to it (or, even if they accidentally get a little traffic, the website doesn’t get anyone to optin or buy books).
You need a website that actually works, which means it turns COLD traffic into eager fans; builds your list quickly; puts your platform building on autopilot, and boosts your book’s visibility and organic reach (so it sells itself while you’re sleeping). I can build it FOR you, but I understand that my “how-to” videos aren’t enough either.
So we’ve made this perfect author platform template you can install. We’ll recommend the hosting and email service providers, we’ll give you the theme, as well as 20 different styles for specific genres or subjects, so you can easily use fonts, images and colors proven to attract your ideal audience.
You can get lifetime access to all this for just $297.
There may be cheaper themes, and you could just buy Divi and set it up yourself, but you’d be missing all the custom features, plugins and prebuilt modules that we’ve built specifically to help authors sell books online. You’d also miss all the templates, cheatsheets and scripts I’ve developed after studying thousands of websites (it doesn’t matter how good your site looks, it matters how well it attracts your readers and gets them to take action).
So far all that, $297 is a steal.
And don’t forget you’d be getting specific styles and fonts perfect for YOUR genre, rather than some default template that’s the same for everyone. This is an easy way to let readers know they’re in the right place and feel comfortable as soon as they land on your site.
MORE BONUSES
First 1000 subscribers course + giveaway apps ($97)
Reach your readers book marketing course ($297)
Need more help? We’ll do it all for $997.
If you’re not comfortable setting up your hosting, installing WordPress, uploading the customized theme and demo content, or editing the text and adding your own pictures or book links, we can do everything for you. We’ll guide you through choosing a hosting plan, then login and setup your set for you. We’ll make it easy – you can just fill out a simple form and upload your pictures, and we’ll make everything look awesome and get things set up. You’ll have a finished beautiful website you can proudly show off to the world.
*This does not include long-term website management; you’ll still need to learn to add new blog posts and learn the basics of using WordPress. Don’t worry, we’ve got tutorial videos that will walk you through things and make changes or tweaks to your site later, when you need to. With Divi, you’ll have total, full control of your site and can easily make your own changes, without having to learn any code.
