What Jane Austen Teaches You About Your Author Website
Following the success of my collection of website encouragement from Winnie the Pooh, I’m looking today at the wisdom that Jane Austen would share with us about book marketing and author websites.
Yes, okay, clearly Ms. Austen’s savvy insights were not intended to apply to online marketing and your author platform. But we can still have some fun with of what she said!
“It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” — Sense and Sensibility
For your website, let’s spin this to mean, it doesn’t matter what words you use, or what your visitor thinks, but the action they take after visiting your website is the crucial thing.
You always want them to do something.
“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” — Emma
You can’t typically publish a website (your online home) and then lurk quietly in the shadows, hoping to be discovered. Search Engine Optimization can be a powerful source of traffic, but it takes time and a lot of work to get the rankings you’ll need. So, especially if your website is new, you should have at least one solid tactic for how your ideal audience is going to find out about you.
Related: best SEO tools for beginners
Once you get used to the idea that you’ll need to get out and promote yourself, in at least one way that feels comfortable to you, new readers will find you. And then, where are you going to send them next? How will you showcase who you are, your book(s), and other services?
A strong online home is an essential, savvy investment so that you have a piece of real estate that you control, and you can always be proud to send new visitors there.
“Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.” — Mansfield Park
Ooh! Is this a copywriting tip from the great Ms. Austen? There is a certain school of marketing that recommends your website messaging should identify someone’s pain point, and then poke it (hard) until they buy from you. For example, if you’ve written a book containing dating advice, you might remind the reader that, without your help, they could end up dying lonely and alone. Not nice.
Plenty of marketing experts now advocate for a more caring approach: find marketing messages that connect with your reader or client. Show that you understand them, instead of taunting them. It seems Jane Austen was ahead of her time with this one.
“A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.” — Northanger Abbey
Fear not, Austen was definitely intending to mock with this line, so there is no need for us twenty-first century readers to protest. But it is a wry reminder. Although your website should never be all about “you”, if you bring notable expertise to the table, don’t be shy and conceal it. Just be sure to make the connection for how your knowledge and experience benefits your reader or client: you’ll hold their interest and increase the chances that they’ll buy.
“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.” — Emma
Your website design, navigation, and menu items do not need to be clever, original, or quirky. Increasingly, modern websites are placing menus in predictable locations, and you shouldn’t have to hover or click to find out what a mysterious flashing button or icon does. And for the words you choose to describe your pages, keep them concise and obvious, too. It’s much faster for a visitor to understand Book, Services, About, Contact, Blog, than it is for them to figure out the creative nomenclature you pick.
“One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.” — Emma
Your work isn’t right for everybody. Your book isn’t right for everybody. And your website doesn’t need to strive to please everyone, either. It’s perfectly fine for your site to spell out who your ideal reader or ideal client is, and allow other people to quietly move on. The most confident marketers even tell you to aim for the magnet effect: strongly attract the right people, and strongly repel those who are not a good match.
“Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct.” — Mansfield Park
I highly doubt the concept of social proof was around in Austen’s day, but let’s take this quote as a reminder that adding client testimonials, reader reviews, or editorial critique to your website can be a powerful way to influence the buying decisions of a new visitor.
Fun fact: my first novel received a low-star review, with a comment that it read like a Hallmark movie. Far from being devastated, I welcomed it, because the book was indeed light, fluffy, and highly predictable. If a reader was looking for this type of experience, they knew they were in the right place. Other (more literary) readers could move along, with my blessing. So please don’t stress about (thoughtful, fair) reviews: they can be a useful way to strengthen the magnet effect mentioned above. For a book, this keeps your overall review rating high. And if you’re a service business, it increases the chances that you’ll love working with your clients, as much as they love working with you.
“Nothing ever fatigues me but doing what I do not like.” — Mansfield Park
A perfect tip for your overall marketing strategy! If you hate a tactic, you’ll struggle to sustain it. Don’t force yourself to be on TikTok if you hate showing up on video. Don’t venture out to a buzzing industry convention if you’ll need to “introvert” for a month to get over it.
And for your author website, by all means, design and build it yourself if you have the enthusiasm, skill, and time to enjoy it and create a good end result. But if you don’t, please consider hiring a professional like me as your strategic marketing partner. Find out more here.
“I am not at all in a humor for writing; I must write on till I am.” — a letter
All kinds of writers can take encouragement from this, but it applies to your website copy, too. Just get some words on the website page, and know that you’re not carving them in stone. I always tell my clients, wording is one of the easiest things on your website to update later.
The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid. —Northanger Abbey
Let’s expand this statement to include books in general, not just fiction. Remember, your readers are out there, and when you connect with someone who can benefit from your work, it’s a happy occurrence for both of you. With a strong author website, this will happen even when you’re busy writing, living your life, or resting.
•
But where do I disagree with Jane Austen, at least as far as her sentiments as they might apply to your author website strategy?
“Her own thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions.” —Mansfield Park
Hmm, no. Please keep your rambling, journal-like thoughts and personal reflections off your website (or confine them to an occasional blog post, if you must have them there). Many writers are tempted to add far too many words to their websites. Try, instead, to be concise. Give your reader the information they want and need, and make it clear what they should do next. Otherwise, you might find you do indeed end up lacking in (reader) companions.
“Business, you know, may bring you money, but friendship hardly ever does.” — Emma
Definitely not the case. Although you may find that not everyone in your current network or friendship circle buys your new book, a proportion of them will. And forming new friendships online - building community around your work and your message - is a strong and rewarding way to sell more books. The best book marketers will remind you to start building these genuine connections well ahead of your publication date, by being an active and helpful member of the communities that are best aligned with the topic of your book.
•
Clearly, I gathered these quotes for a bit of January fun, and because Jane Austen is such a rich source of pithy material. But if they provide you with a smile and offer food for thought for your author website project, I’m happy.
•
Would you like me to design and build your Squarespace website?
There are dozens of considerations in creating a strong author website. Bringing the right pieces together for you is what I do best.
As a professional specializing in strategic websites for authors and solopreneurs with books, I’m an expert in the features you need for a website that connects with your audience and gets business results. If you’d like niche expertise, top quality design, and your technical headaches solved, consider hiring me.
After careful preparation together, I’ll design, build and launch your site in just 2 weeks. Learn more, and then schedule a complimentary consultation.
