It’s early December, but I’ve noticed that while we’re locked and loaded on preparing for Christmas, the fitness industry is ramping up its advertising for the inevitable January obsession with getting in shape and kale. While I am a fitness person, my algorithm already contains this content, yet the volume of ads has increased.
Even though it’s not the time for the fitness industry to shine, exercise platforms and weight loss companies are planting seeds in your algorithms now. They want you to start thinking about your fitness goals, even if you aren’t planning to take action today.
In today’s post, I’m here to plant five seeds in your mind about preparing your website to support your publishing career in the coming year. Your website is your online home and a new reader’s first impression of you. For pre-published people, remember that agents and editors pay close attention to your website. The condition of your online home reveals much about how seriously you take your writing career.
Before we begin: Seeds take time, planning, and often funds to execute, so don’t feel pressure to figure everything out today. You can bless your future self by taking a few moments to read and reflect on which one or two of these you’ll want to prioritize in the new year.
Seed #1: Is it time to reimagine or replace your lead magnet/opt-in?
A clear, compelling lead magnet on the home page of a website communicates that the author understands the importance of building their audience.
If your lead magnet has resulted in few, if not any, sign-ups, or it’s more than a few years ago, then consider this:
- Reimagine: As an author, I have a lead magnet that I’ve used for years that is still effective. Last year, I needed to freshen it up, so I renamed the lead magnet to reflect the book it was attached to better. I also redesigned the cover and the pages. If yours works, you don’t always have to create a new lead magnet.
- Replace: If you have not signed up, consider creating a post on your social media and giving it one last opportunity. If no one responds, then it’s likely time to replace it.
Seed #2: Consider re-writing your bio.
Far too often, I read outdated bios because the proposal bio and the website bio need to match. Website bios should be reviewed annually. If you’re working on your publishing journey, you can add new tidbits about articles published online or your selection as a semi-finalist or finalist in a writing contest.
Even if it was a quiet year or two, an updated bio can infuse fresh energy and creativity into your words to describe yourself. (Hint: This would be an excellent AI task!)
Seed #3: Does your website content accurately reflect your current platform/target audience?
It’s great to have lots of interests, whether food, travel, or certain opinions about matters involving faith, politics, or the church, but does your website content reflect your vision for your audience?
Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, evaluate your website content to ensure that your passions add value to your audience instead of your website acting as a staging ground for your interests or opinions.
Here are some best practices that agents/publishers are looking for:
- Clear branding – Who are you, what do you do, and how will you serve others?
- Consistent content – Websites aren’t memorials. New content should appear at least monthly.
- Look at old content – You may need to remove old content that no longer reflects your writing style or your current audience.
Seed 4: Determine where your brand colors/graphics need updating.
When was the last time that someone complimented your website? If it’s been more than a year or two, then it’s time to think about a refresh. This doesn’t mean that you need to have a total makeover. Just like a fresh hair color can re-energize your appearance, sometimes, recreating your color palette on your website can do the same.
Canva hosts one of my favorite tools for creating brand kits. Once you choose your new brand kit, whether fresh colors, fonts, or logo, they will store the brand kit in your Canva account!
After freshening up your colors, put Canva to work and create new graphics, like headers, images, etc.
If you’re not sure about whether you need to update:
- Look at 3 to 4 websites of your author friends, preferably in the same genre or category. Do your colors and style feel on par or not?
- Select 2-3 websites of authors that you admire. Do you see any similar colors or font styles? What would that work for you?
This final seed is a tough one. Here we go:
Seed 5: What website content/pages must you let go of?
Websites are intended to be dynamic welcome portals to new people. Just like we need to replace outdated furniture that has served us well, most of us have outdated pages on our websites about page initiatives or services that we no longer offer. Other never-visited pages served their purpose, but are past their prime. It’s okay to take down or delete web content that you may love but doesn’t serve your audience.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Which of the five seeds planted do you want to consider in the new year?
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
The only seed I have to plant
is grim determination.
I’d like to look ahead, but can’t,
but I will give ovation
to you, my friends, as you pass by,
on the way to better things.
In joy I’ll see you take the sky
on talent-gifted wings,
and please know that I am now shorn
of envy and conceit;
as here I die, I am reborn
as soon I go to meet
that Holy Savior, bright and true,
and I will speak to Him of you.
Janet Holm McHenry
Excellent suggestions, Barb! Thank you! Updating my website had come to mind in the last couple of weeks, so these ideas will be helpful as I consider changes.
If anyone wants to take a peek at mine, I’m open to suggestions: https://www.janetmchenry.com.
Kristen J Wilks
Thanks so much, Barb! Just went to my website to work on a couple of things! I added a couple of those badge things that contests send you when you win and looked at my bio.