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Friday, April 4, 2008

Free Website Services for Book Promotion

Have you visited unprofessional promotional websites? There are some I’ve seen, but I won’t post the links. Some sites were designed by amateurs and it shows. I’m not saying that amateurs can’t design sites. We were all beginners at one time. An unprofessional appearance can drive people away from a site. I’ve talked to many business people and one thing most of us agree on – is that a business should avoid using a free site – that looks like a free site. Let me explain that in more detail.

Free Promotional Websites For Authors

Some free sites include their name in your domain name.

For example:
www.geocities.com
www.angelfire.com
www.freesite.com
www.bravenet.com
and many more

How Will Readers View Your Free Author Website

The majority of website users know these sites are free. I personally have 6 sites online and each costs less than $60 a year for my domain name and hosting. For $5 a month you can have a website which has a more professional appearance. There are other service that are even less. Isn’t it worth $5 a month to look like a serious business? Two of the big benefits are that there are no pop up ads and the word “free” does not appear in the URL.

Create An Effective Author Website To Promote Your Books

Recently, I was working on a promotion for local bed and breakfast business and I visited all of their websites. One was cute, but looked like a family website that was targeting children.

Several others were very attractive and professional. One was an award winning site. I should add that the area is expensive, influential and targets wealthy tourists who want a quality location for their vacation. If you were going to spend good money, which one would you choose?

Think about how visitors will view your site. Also, think about what you want to sell to your visitors. Does your site have the appearance and presentation that you want? If not, it is important to make adjustments in order to create the web presence that offers the best exposure for your books.

Nikki Leigh - Fiction and Non Fiction Author
Author of the Book Promo 101 Series
www.nikkileigh.com/book_promo_101.htm

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