August 2009

 “People treat you the way you tell them too,” my mother once told me when I was complaining about being given the run around by a potential client while working at a radio station. She was right. I was allowing this client to waste my time by allowing me to age gracefully in his badly outdated waiting room for half-an-hour past our appointment time, or forgetting the appointment all together. He was treating me the way I’d ‘told’ him to treat me. Somewhere along the way, I didn’t present a professional picture and he simply didn’t think me worthy of his time.

My mother’s sage advice hit home and changed the  way I presented myself to future clients and impacted the way I treat people who are trying to earn my business.

Now, let me ask you something: how are you treating your readers? Do you make them feel they’re worth the time or do you unwittingly project a ‘what have you done for me lately’ attitude? Everything you need to know about yourself and how you may be perceived by your readers is one url address away. You are your website.

 

 Your website isn’t about you. It’s about them.

 Your website is your identity. It gives readers insight to who you are as a writer without boundaries or limits. It makes you accessible to a society that demands accessibility and transparency. Writing is a business and not having a website is like a salesman not having a business card. Having a website guarantee's your work will be available to thousands, if not millions, of potential readers.

 

In addition to having web presence, your website should be user friendly, fast to load and most importantly, eye-catching. It must be relevant and updated regularly. Your readers are spending a precious commodity on you; time. They deserve an author who shows them they’re worth the headache of maintaining a website.

 

We live in an instant gratification society. People want everything yesterday and when an individual is ready to access information about you or your work, it’s important that information is readily available to them without a lot of fuss or confusion. A website is a relatively inexpensive tool that enables you to reach prospective readers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Nearly every household in America has access to the Internet and studies have shown less time in front of the television means more time spent in cyberspace.

 

The whole world is your marketplace and a well-designed website is tantamount to expanding your market. Take a step back and evaluate your website as an unbiased party . Does it scream professional or does it look like you let your sister’s friend design it? Is it current? Does your website create an instant, intimate connection with your readers? Will they learn something about themselves as a reader? If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, your website must reflect that desire and amateur websites are a turn off to a razzle dazzle consumer-based society. It’s also a lot harder to tell your sister’s friend that you don’t really like they work they’ve undoubtedly invested several hours in. A website is an investment, but you will find that the returns far exceed the amount you’ve spent.

 

With a struggling economy, your readers are going to be more selective about who they give their money to but they are still going to buy books. My mother told me something else that I’ve taken to heart: “If you’re going to ask for $5,000, you better look like it.”