A very important part of marketing your work is to build author profiles on key sites. This takes quite a bit of work, but will help readers find you and connect with you.
Setting up your author profile is critical, because audiences are very dispersed and are unlikely to find your website. Having multiple channels can really help get maximum reach and exposure for yourself and your work.
We’ve grouped these sites from those we consider Critical to those that are more optional, but still useful. Above all, if you want your work to look remotely professional when you publish on Amazon/Kindle, which is still by far the largest sales channel (well over 90% of sales for most self-published authors), you’ve got to have an Amazon Author Central account.
Critical sites |
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Amazon Author Central |
Author Central allows you to have an Author page that aggregates all of your work. This is entirely separate to your Amazon account and KDP/Kindle Desktop Publishing account. You can add your bio and photo, post news and events, and also edit the details for your books: such as adding external reviews, which can be done in advance of publication. You can also add multimedia and blog feeds. |
Goodreads |
Goodreads (now owned by Amazon) is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations. It has 40 million members worldwide. Once you’ve claimed your ‘Author Profile’ you can post your bio, fans can follow you, you can blog, take questions, post updates about your work, and participate in giveaways and other promotions. |
Desirable sites |
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Personal Website |
These days readers increasingly expect authors to have their own website. You’ll need to buy a domain name and a hosting package: many sites bundle this together for you. You can start with a free WordPress site if funds are tight. |
Facebook Author Page |
Facebook allows authors to set up an Author page that fans can follow, lets you run promotions, and gives you marketing insights into who your fans are. You can also use a regular Facebook profile to do this, if you don’t mind mixing your personal and professional identities. |
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For business authors, having a well written profile on LinkedIn is critical. As a business writer you’re probably already on there. Just ensure your profile is complete, you have a professional, up-to-date photo, and consider joining relevant groups on there. You can blog there directly, or post links to articles on your personal blog or business website. |
Bookbub |
Bookbub is one of the key book recommendation sites for readers, and offers authors a range of advertising opportunities. You can also have a free author profile on there, which will allow readers to follow you and automatically receive updates about new titles you publish. |
Mailing list |
Growing your own mailing list will be one of your most powerful and important tools to promote future works. You can do this with a third party platform, such as MailerLite and Mailchimp as well as from your own email. |
Useful sites |
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Wattpad |
Most useful to YA (Young Adult) and Romance writers, Wattpad has over 65 million users who read and/or write on the site. As an author you can post existing or new work, publish book previews, get feedback on your writing, and see reader statistics for your work. |
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Readers generally expect authors to have a Twitter account these days. It’s not vital, but it can be a useful way to connect with people. |
Other sites |
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Tumblr |
Tumblr is a blogging platform (now owned by Yahoo!) where you can follow and be followed, blog and reblog other people’s posts. In the past it has been quite active for certain younger-skewing audiences. |
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Instagram may be a useful way to connect with certain audiences, such as younger readers. If you’re bringing out health, wellness and lifestyle works, it’s particularly well-aligned. |
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Pinterest is a social sharing website based around images, which has a strong female slant. |