|
/pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> |
Websites for Writers ? Why You Need One and How to Get Started Today
It may seem like the publishing industry's equivalent of Beanie Baby madness- everyone is talking about writer's websites. Freelancers and authors everywhere are jumping on the bandwagon, publishing sites to promote themselves and their work. This craze leaves many writers wondering if it's just a fad or if it's really worth the expense and effort. While it may seem like an overwhelming or frivolous endeavor, there are some solid business reasons why you should consider setting up your own website.
? Editors Like Writer's Websites. When querying an editor for the first time, you can add credibility to your writing resume by referencing your website. Instead of attaching clips, you can provide a link to clips on your site. This minimizes paperwork and lets you avoid sending email attachments that can get scrubbed or cause your email to be routed straight to the trash bin. It also makes the editor's job easier- which could cause them to reward you with a new assignment.
? Your Site Can Save You Time. When you put your clips online, you avoid having to copy them over and over again and instead just upload them once to your website. Your clips file can be as current and as varied as you want it to be. This can streamline your query process and ultimately make you more productive.
? Writers with Websites Get More Work. Writers with websites will tell you that they get more assignments as a result. When you start listing your site in writer's databases, job boards, on your resume and in directories across the internet, you inevitably catch the attention of people who do the hiring.
?Your Site Can Promote Your Work. Whether you are writing freelance articles, books, eBooks, copy for corporations or offering editing services, you can use your site to promote your offerings. Corporate clients will be impressed by a thoughtful website with samples and testimonials. Your site becomes a reflection of you and your work and can impress editors, agents and publishers. The more you work to advertise and market your site, the more attention you can expect to receive.
Setting Up Your Website
It's relatively inexpensive to start a website and often the biggest investment will be in your time. You can hire someone to help you get your site up and running, or you can take this on yourself.
If you want to have the flexibility to manage your site and change the contents frequently, it would be worth it to learn how to do it yourself. Microsoft Frontpage and Dreamweaver are two of the most popular software programs for website design. If you don't want to design it from the ground up, many companies offer templates that you can purchase for as little as $15. You can then customize the template to meet your needs.
If you decide to hire a website designer, there are many to choose from. The best way to find one near you is to ask writer friends or business owners in your community for a referral. You can also ask someone whose site you admire to share their designer with you.
Website Hosting
You can opt to use a free website hosting service like the one offered by Geocities, but keep in mind that you won't have your own domain name. Instead, your URL would look something like: www.geocities.com/mywebsite.html.
For a truly professional site, you can register your own domain name and have your site hosted for as little as $12 per month through providers like Yahoo. Yahoo also offers free tools for website design, so if you want to create a simple site with just a few static pages, their tools may be enough to get you up and running.
Though I use FrontPage for designing my business website, I found Yahoo's Site Builder tool easy to use and was able to design my writer's website in just a few hours. Check out the result at www.StephanieChandler.com.
Getting Your Clips Online
If you don't already own Adobe Acrobat PDF Creator software, you should give it some serious consideration. You can use the program to easily convert scanned files and Word documents to PDF format, making it easy for readers (editors) to view your published clips from your website.
The software also makes it easy to publish your own eBooks and other files that can be used for all kinds of business needs. Adobe allows you to create you first three PDF documents for free. You can also sign up for a subscription based service or bite the bullet and purchase the full software package.
Merchant Card Services
If you want to accept credit card payments online, you can attempt to get a merchant services account. Unfortunately, these are difficult for new businesses to obtain from the big banks due to the amount of fraud in the small business arena. There are many merchant brokers that provide credit card services, but keep in mind that you will have to pay a monthly fee in addition to the percentage per transaction. Luckily, PayPal has come to the rescue and now offers credit card payment services that are surprisingly easy to implement and do not involve a monthly fee.
Marketing
Once your site is live, you need to let people know you're there. There are endless opportunities for marketing your site on the internet. Here are some possibilities:
? List your website with all associations where you are a member.
? Trade links with other websites.
? Write articles for publications that reference your site in your bio.
? Write a blog and reference your site with each entry.
Website listings with the major search engines are calculated based on a number of factors. One way to improve your rankings with the search engines is to make sure you link is listed on as many other websites as possible. In addition to the marketing ideas above, make sure to submit your site manually to all the major search engines. You can access a free list of sources at www.BusinessInfoGuide.com/submitsite.htm
Don't Put Off Until Tomorrow?
If you're still not convinced that you need your own website, join some online discussions and talk with your writer friends. I have yet to meet a writer with a website who didn't agree it is a valuable tool.
Stephanie Chandler is the author of "The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide: Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams!" and the founder of http://www.BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of free resources for entrepreneurs. Sign up for the BusinessInfoGuide newsletter to receive hot resources and tips every month.
What Your Customers Say About YOUR Site! Part 1
The following is a list of patterns that many visitors follow, and you can use these suggestions to better your site.
Five Reasons You Have to Stop Your Web Site
That's right. Your method, behavior and strategy you are now using to manage your website may be justifiable reasons to stop it as soon as possible.
How To Get Profits From Your 404 Page Not Found File
"'Page Not Found' on this Server. Check the URL and try again. Or Refresh the page..."
Ecommerce for Beginners
Like most average persons, I wanted some extra money to supplement my regular income. I had considered a part time second job at times, but hated that option because it would take me away from the family, make me more tired and probably just pay minimum wage. I also wanted to be able to work from home.
9 Simple Steps to Create a Background Tiled Image Branded with Your Name
You have seen those web pages where they have the name of the Name Web repeated over over over in square tiles as the background. Now by following these 9 Simple steps you too can create a web page Branded with your Name, or Company Name.
What Hosting Companies Dont Tell You, Could Hurt You?
Did you know that hosting companies overcrowd their servers despite all the issues caused by servers running hundreds of accounts? Are you aware of what happens if your website is hosted on a server that's overcrowded? You're probably thinking to yourself, "what do you mean overcrowd their servers?" Overcrowded servers mean big money for your hosting company, but also big problems for your website.
Have You Got Your Ear To The Ground Or Your Head In The Sand?
What happened on your website yesterday? What about last week or last month? How about in the past hour? How many visitors come to your website as a result of using a search engine? How long do people stay on your website for on average? Which pages do your visitors go to?
CSS - Maximum Benefits
What is CSS?
I Did It: Six Months to a Successful Website
For years now I've been looking to start my own business, but my highest priority has always been to spend less time working, and more time with my family, while still giving them everything they need (and most of what they want). It's a common dream, right? No boss to answer to, less stress, more vacation, more quality family time... I wanted to get away from the 9 to 5 and the traffic. (I bet you do, too.)
How To Convert More Sales On Your Website
One of the biggest mistakes that most online retailers make is they do not take into account typical buyer behaviour. The conversion from real world to online provides many benefits to the retailer, but present some real challenges for the customer because their buying decision is made more difficult in an online environment.
Ten Major Tips to Develop a Multilingual Web Site to Work
If you are living in a country that its native language is something rather than English language, then you may like to develop your website to offer content in the language of your own country.
Find the Purpose of Your New / Proposed Website
Absolutely everything stems from the purpose of your website - selection of hosting, programming, graphic design, copywriting, internet marketing, autoresponder service, and e-commerce. So it's very important to establish the purpose of your business website first. The most common purposes for a business website are:
Do This One Thing to Create a Powerful Product-Selling Web Site
Spend time planning your Web site. Before you design a page or write a word, get a visual, and mental picture of your preferred audience. Your visitors will spend up to 10 seconds on your home page, so plan accordingly.
Art, Artists, and the Web:Part: 2--First Steps in Building an Artist?s Website
What you should do and know if you are an artist and you have decided to have a website.
Trust Us! Sending Credible Messages
A company must earn and keep trust or sales don't happen. Imagine that last Sunday, while you were reading the paper, you saw an ad for a great deal on a digital camera. You'd been considering buying one for a while, and this ad sealed the deal. You went to buy the camera, and the sales person told you they were sold out. They didn't offer you a rain check and instead substituted a different model for a "similar" price.
Preventing Repeat Form Submission Using PHP Sessions
We've all seen those messages on some websites warning not to click a button more than once or negative consequences, like paying a bill twice, may result. Sometimes we can cause these problems by hitting the back or refresh buttons. In this article I will explain a methodology whereby a site can ensure each form is submitted only once, thereby demonstrating that such warnings are unnecessary and, depending on the nature of the problems caused, worth repairing immediately. Let's begin by taking a look at the process we are studying: Form Submission. As pedantic as it may seem, it will be worthwhile to detail each of the steps in this process: Visitor requests a page from the server which has a form on it.Server retrieves form and sends to user.User enters data on form and submits to server.Server processes form data and returns resultant page. The scenario we now need to analyze is when the user re-triggers a previous form submission process. What we need to find or create is something which changes during the form submission process which does not depend on the specific form being submitted and which we can tell changed. That was a loaded sentence which fully details our solution, so let's break it down. Find or create something which changes during the form submission process,does not depend on the specific form being submitted, andwe can tell changed.
Three Way Linking - Webmaster Strategy
Three way linking and concerns.
How to Get a Knock Out Website!
The first step in setting up an online business...
Beyond Web Usability: Web Credibility
If you've been developing websites on Mars for the past few years then you'll be forgiven for not knowing about web usability. You'll still be creating splash intro pages, having pages with massive download times and using more images than you can shake a stick at. Well, back in Earth these days have long gone and today web usability rules the web development world. For those of you who have been on Mars please read some of the things that Jakob Nielson has to say at http://www.useit.com/alertbox and try to catch up.
Website Conversion Rate: More Keywords Equals More Sales
Your website conversion rate should concern you. This simply refers to how many visitors to your website it takes before you make a sale. It is called conversion because you are 'converting' a casual visitor into a buyer. Website conversion should concern you because when you can increase the rate at which your website visitors convert into buyers, you make more money without increase your costs. Let me explain.