Promote Your Book with a Writer’s Platform

When you build and maintain a writer’s platform, it’s easy to give updates to readers and unlike social media, you own the real estate!

If social media seems to work for you, that’s okay. However, the frequent algorithm changes make you realize you don’t own the real estate. You may lose access to your followers at the most inopportune times.

Let’s briefly cover what happens when Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media make changes.

Use Social Media or Invest in a Writer’s Platform?

There’s no single right answer to whether you should promote with social media, build an author’s website, or do both.

However, past changes at Meta delivered the message that Mark Zuckerberg and his minions control what goes in and out of Facebook. The same could be said about Elon Musk and X. That means that whatever works in social media today for promoting your book may not work tomorrow.

Basically, you’re ‘renting a space’ on social media and the landlord dictates what you can share and whether you can stay. Frozen and deleted accounts of many famous people litter the social media landscape, like the landlord forced them to leave and they lost their rental deposit (i.e., the hard work put into cultivating followers).

Worse, you may lose your confidence, reputation, and sales when unexpected changes surprise you and your followers.

What Does It Take to Create Your Writer Platform?

After I studied the gamification of social media and saw firsthand how it skewed the thinking of otherwise rational people, I invested time and money into reaching my target audience through websites.

Fortunately, gone are the days requiring you to become some technical guru to use the website-creation tools. Yes, there’s a cost to building a site, but you’ll also pay a price to reach your target audience on social media. For example, you can spend a fortune on Facebook ads and not see a profitable return.

In future posts, I’ll serve as your guide, sharing what I learned about building and maintaining websites.

A Glimpse of What a Writer Platform Can Do

The uses of author websites range from simple book blurbs to full-scale ecommerce.

With advances in easy-to-use technology, there’s a trend to go all out. Many writers increase their thin profit margins by selling direct to readers (e.g., instead of taking home $.35 to $.70 per dollar of ebook price, a direct sale nets closer to $.90). If selling direct sounds complex, it’s getting easier by combining a WordPress site with a product-delivery company (e.g., Gumroad, SendOwl).

Today, writers can use their cost-effective websites to sell directly to consumers.

Learn How a Writer Platform Can Reach Readers

Shouldn’t you invest as much of yourself into the promotion of your novel as you have put into learning how to write a book?

I know. For some, technology seems above your pay grade. However, the solutions available today don’t demand the effort required for your granny’s website. The hosting companies offer training and support as part of their packages.

Combine that support with YouTube videos, and you’ve got this!

You Have a Choice

I’ve seen countless people complain about their sad experiences with social media.

My uncomfortable situations don’t even compare, but they motivated me to learn which hosting services provide superior support at reasonable prices. With a decade and a half of website building under my belt, I look forward to sharing with you the good, bad, and ugly of setting up a site. Insights into the not-so-good experiences will help you avoid the pitfalls.

From my view, creating a writer platform justifies the time and money, allowing me the freedom to share directly with thousands of visitors.

A Writer Platform Changes Your View of Selling

Those who choose to set up and personalize a site will have an advantage.

However, those who shy away from the opportunity will probably find themselves at a disadvantage. Yes, it’s work, but so is writing a book. When you build a website, you’ll embrace a fact that few dispute…

Showcasing book promotions on your website offers several advantages over social media.

• Current promotions can lift book sales with direct emails to subscribers.
• Past posts can serve as ‘evergreen promotions.’
• You can draw attention to your backlist as you continue to write novels.
• Only your creativity limits the possibilities.

There’s more to come, posts about building an author’s website.

*This page contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, but it won’t cost you a penny more. Learn more in my Affiliate Disclaimer.

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