Do Authors Need a Website?

"I am a writer, not a business-person. I don't want to have anything at all to do with business," you might think. But how mistaken you can be. As a writer of two books, I discovered the amazing opportunities available to someone who has a website.

What are these opportunities? Here are just seven of them:

1. An online presence shows that you take your work very seriously and are prepared to market to the world!

2. One of the most useful things a website can do is that it can save you time and money for postage, envelopes, paper and photocopying. In today's internet world, more and more publishers are willing to consider submissions using the internet.

3. The moment you have a website up, you have the amazing opportunity to publish your own articles. How may times I have heard people say, "I don't mind not getting paid. I just wanted the publicity!" What better way to get free publicity than to publish articles on the internet?

4. This one is particularly for those who are interested in writing for publications online - having your own website shows that you have the 'know-how', where the internet world is concerned.

5. The moment you are able to structure website properly, it gives your visitors an idea that you yourself are an organized and structured person. Your website should have, at the very least, the following pages:

? Home page

? About Us

? Testimonials

? Frequently Asked Questions

? Anti Spam Policy and Acceptable Use Policy

? Privacy Policy

? A description of the book(s) you are trying to market on the website

? If you are intending to sell the book over the net then a secure method of selling the product to your customers.

6. When having your own website, you may want to consider these tips: ? Make sure that the font in all of your pages are consistent.

? Use as little photography or pictures as possible - this slows the download time

? Use a light background as dark ones are usually quite off-putting

7. As your website will become a part of your business, naturally, there will be tax incentives which you will be able to derive a benefit from.

In conclusion, treat your website like a business tool. Nurture it, look after it and market it. Your efforts will not be in vain and in time you will wonder, "how did I manage without the website?"

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Aneeta Sundararaj, a storyteller, is the creator of the bestselling program "How To Tell A Great Story". Aneeta's "R.P.I. Principle"© technique has been used by many people and offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable universally. She is also the author of two 'traditional' books The Banana Leaf Men and Mad Heaven: the biography of Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. M. Mahadevan. Visit http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com to learn more.