The Top 10 Author Website Mistakes That Could Be Costing You Readers
Your author website shouldn’t just be a pretty place with a couple of links to your books. It should be a gorgeous, strategic powerhouse that is a driving element in your business. Because remember, being an author makes you an entrepreneur. Time to start thinking like it.
Your author website should be the headquarters of your author marketing platform.
Think about everything you do to build your author career. You create content. You post on social media. You pitch to appear on podcasts. You send emails. You speak at events. You publish books. You connect with readers. Where should all of that activity ultimately lead?
Back to a place YOU control: your author website.
Your website is home base. Unlike social media, you aren’t dependent on an algorithm deciding who sees your content. Unlike a retailer’s website, you control the experience and the relationship you’re building with visitors. Unlike KDP, it won’t mysteriously alter itself overnight.
But simply having an author website doesn’t mean it’s actually helping you market your books.
In fact, many authors have websites that are unintentionally making it harder for readers to discover their books, connect with them, or take the next step.
The good news? Some of these mistakes are surprisingly easy to fix. Here are the 10 most common author website mistakes I see, along with practical ways to fix them.
Table of Contents
- 10 Author Website Mistakes (How To Fix Them)
- Treating Your Website Like an Online Business Card
- Making It All About You Instead of Your Reader
- Hiding Your Books
- Forgetting The Email List
- Having No Clear Call To Action
- Ignoring Mobile Users
- Using Generic, Forgettable Copy
- Ignoring Broken Links and Outdated Information
- Neglecting Search Engines and Useful Conent
- Letting Your Website Become Outdated
- Your Author Website Should Be Your Marketing Headquarters
10 Author Website Mistakes (How To To Fix Them!)
Treating Your Website Like an Online Business Card
One of the biggest mistakes authors make is thinking their website’s only purpose is to tell people who they are and what books they’ve written. Or to check off the box that they “have an author platform.” This is like when my kiddo says he made his dinner. Did he make it? Yes. Is a handful of cereal the same as a dinner with protein and a vegetable? Absolutely not.
Your website can’t just exist to exist. That baby has to sing for its supper like the rest of us.
A business-card website might contain your headshot, a short bio, book covers, and a contact page. An author marketing headquarters (aka a real author’s website) should do much more.
Your website should give readers a reason to stick around and a reason to come back. It might feature your latest blog posts, reader resources, bonus content, downloadable freebies, upcoming events, behind-the-scenes material, and an invitation to join your email list.
Think of your website as the hub. It’s the infrastructure of your business. Your social media posts, podcast appearances, interviews, guest articles, speaking engagements, and other marketing activities can all point people back to your website.
Instead of asking, “What information should I put on my website?” You should be asking,“What do I want a visitor to do when they get here?” That simple shift can completely change how you approach your website.
The easy fix:
Even if you’re happy with your current website, look at your homepage today and identify its one primary goal. Should visitors buy your latest book? Join your email list? Discover your series? Book you to speak?
Make that action obvious. You may not need a redesign. You may simply need clearer messaging and a more prominent button.
But, if you neither have a website or literally can’t bring yourself to deal with it, it might be time for an author website built for your needs. Check out my author website templates that were made for authors and for their marketing needs! (Pssst – if you sign up for my email list, there’s a discount code you can use on a template purchase…)
Making It All About You Instead of Your Reader
Yes, you’re an author. Of course your website needs to be about your books, your writing, and your story. But your website also needs to let the reader know what’s in it for them. It sounds weird to put it that way, but that’s how we’ve been trained to think when we get on a website. What do I do next when I get here? What is my purpose here?
A website filled with information about your publishing journey, awards, appearances, and accomplishments may be impressive, but it doesn’t necessarily create a connection with a potential reader.
Instead, think about what your ideal reader wants and change the way you present those items. You’ve gained experience and won awards, which means they’re not going to have to question if your books are worth reading.
If you’re a fiction author, they may want to know what your books are about, discover what to read next, meet your characters, explore your fictional world, or get exclusive content.
If you’re a nonfiction author, they may be looking for helpful resources, practical advice, additional information related to your book, or ways to work with you.
Your website should make it easy for visitors to understand why they should become part of your audience.
The easy fix:
Read the first section of your homepage as if you’ve never heard of yourself.
Does it immediately tell a new visitor:
- Who you are?
- What you write?
- Who your books are for?
- What they should do next?
If not, rewrite those first few sentences. That’s a copywriting fix, not a website redesign.
Hiding Your Books
It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many author websites make it difficult to find the author’s books. Feels crazy, right?
Your books should not be buried three clicks deep behind a vague navigation label. Make your books easy to discover. All of my author website templates include a latest release as well as a section to discover more books on the home page. Then, there is a dedicated books page where all your books can live. AND, then, to help grow your SEO, each book gets its own time to shine.
On these individual book pages or sections, I include:
- The book cover
- A compelling description
- Reviews or endorsements
- Information about the book
- Reader questions or discussion material
- Links to purchase the book
Your website shouldn’t be a scavenger hunt. If someone arrives because they heard you interviewed on a podcast or wants to check out your book, they should be able to find it quickly.
The easy fix:
Open your website in a private/incognito browser window and pretend you’re a new reader.
Give yourself 10 seconds.
Can you find your latest book?
If not, fix your navigation, homepage links, or book page links today.
Forgetting the Email List
If there’s one mistake that can significantly limit an author’s ability to build a long-term audience, it’s failing to build an email list. Social media followers are valuable, but you don’t own that audience. Your email list is different.
When readers voluntarily give you their email address, you’re building a direct communication channel with them. Your website should make joining your email list a natural part of the visitor experience.
But simply putting “Join My Newsletter” in your footer isn’t necessarily enough. Give readers a compelling reason to subscribe. The industry term for this is a Reader Magnet. It’s essentially a freebie you give someone for trusting you with their email address.
The easy fix:
If you need ideas for a Reader Magnet for your author website, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Check out this blog post chock full of ideas.
Or, maybe you’ve got one and you’re having a devil of a time connecting it to your website. If you use Showit as your website platform (which you really, really should and here’s why), then I’ve got you covered again. Here’s a blog to how to connect your newsletter service to Showit.
Having No Clear Call to Action
What should someone do when they land on your homepage? If the answer is “I don’t know,” your website may have a conversion problem. Every important page on your website should have a purpose.
Maybe you want visitors to: Buy your latest book; join your email list; read your latest blog post; book you for a speaking engagement; explore your other books; download a free resource.
You don’t have to tell visitors to do everything at once. In fact, giving people too many choices can make it harder for them to take action. Instead, identify the most important action for each page and make it obvious.
A button that says “Get the Free Reader Guide” is more useful than a vague “Click Here.” Your website should guide visitors rather than making them figure out what to do next.
The easy fix:
Go through your five most important pages and ask:
“What’s the next step I want this reader to take?”
Then add one clear link or button that points them there.
This is one of the easiest website improvements you can make, regardless of where your website is hosted.
Ignoring Mobile Users
Your website might look fantastic on your laptop. That doesn’t mean it looks fantastic on a phone. Can you believe we’re still having to remind each other to check our websites on our phones? Me either. I have lots of philosophical thoughts on this, but we can get to those later.
For now, take a deep breath and look at your website on your phone. Be honest, is it ugly? Ugly mobile websites just don’t cut it. You’re pretty and smart and your website should be too!
If your website is difficult to navigate on a small screen, visitors may simply leave. Mobile responsiveness isn’t a luxury anymore. It’s a basic requirement for an effective author website.
One of the many, many reasons I love Showit as a website platform is that you can design the mobile version of your website independently of the desktop version. And, if you’re using one of my author website templates that’s already done for you so all you have to do is plug in your photos, copy, and book links!
The easy fix:
Take five minutes and actually use your website on your phone. Don’t just look at the homepage. Tap your navigation menu. Open your book pages. Try your email signup. Click your social links. Look for anything that’s difficult to read, tap, or navigate.
If your platform allows you to fix those issues, do it.
If it doesn’t, that’s valuable information to have when deciding whether your current website platform is still serving your needs.
Using Generic, Forgettable Copy
“Welcome to my website. I’m Jane Smith, author of three bestselling novels. Thanks for stopping by.” There’s nothing technically wrong with that introduction, but you’re an author so it’s basically unforgivable.
You’ve not only written books, you’ve had to write query letters. Think of your website copy as a query letter to your ideal reader. Attract them! Connect with them! Make them want to keep reading and then pull out their credit card and buy your book!
Your author website should sound like you. Like the same gorgeous, interesting, compelling voice you use in your books. Let them get a taste of your genius and want more. For heaven’s sake, help the right readers recognize that they’ve found their author. Then, we will follow you into all your literary escapades.
The easy fix:
Rewrite your homepage headline and introduction as if you were recommending your books to your ideal reader in person.
Don’t try to sound “professional.” Try to sound recognizable. Try to sound like your author self.
Your personality is one of the things your website can offer that a book retailer can’t.
Ignoring Broken Links and Outdated Information
Here’s one mistake that is incredibly easy to make and incredibly easy to fix. But I won’t lie, it’s freaking tedious.
Broken links.
Maybe you changed your Amazon author page. Maybe your publisher changed the book’s sales page. Maybe you stopped using a particular social media platform. Maybe your newsletter signup changed. Maybe an old book page still points readers to a retailer link that no longer works.
Every broken link creates friction.
And sometimes it’s not even an obvious broken link. You may have a button that technically works but sends visitors somewhere outdated or irrelevant.
And the bad news is that these broken links are just bad for causing friction in the sales journey for your potential readers, they’re also bad for your SEO. So, it’s really worth digging into and checking every single one of them.
THE EASY FIX:
Do a website link audit. Click every important link on your site.
Check: Book purchase links, email signup forms, social media links, contact forms, free downloads, podcast links, speaking pages, event information, publisher links.
Then update or remove anything that is outdated. Put a reminder on your calendar to do this every six months. You don’t need a new website for this. You just need 30 minutes and a willingness to click around.
Neglecting Search Engines and Useful Content
You don’t need to become an SEO expert to benefit from search engines. But you should understand that your website can help readers discover you. Think about the questions your ideal readers are already typing into Google.
They might be searching for: Books similar to yours, information about a particular topic you write about, reading recommendations, book club resources.
This is where blogging and useful website content can become powerful. Instead of publishing posts simply because you feel like you “should blog,” create content that answers questions your ideal readers actually have.
Over time, useful content can bring new visitors to your website through search engines—and those visitors can become readers, subscribers, and fans.
The easy fix:
Start with questions your readers already ask you.
If someone asks you a question in an email, at a book signing, on social media, or during a podcast interview, consider turning that question into a blog post.
You don’t need to publish every week. One genuinely useful article can be more valuable than five generic posts.
Plus, stick the graphics for your blog into Pinterest and thank me for all that web traffic later.
Letting Your Website Become Outdated
Imagine discovering an author’s website and seeing a homepage announcement for a book release that happened three years ago. Or finding an events page that lists appearances from 2022. Or clicking a link to a social media account that no longer exists.
As a reader I hate this because it makes me think that you’ve stopped writing or given up on a series. Don’t do this to me! It immediately creates the impression that the author isn’t active.
Your website doesn’t need to be updated every day. But it should feel alive.
At minimum, periodically check:
- Your social media links and feeds if you’ve got them appearing on your website
- Your events. Even if they’ve past but you want to keep them on the site for social proof, just add line of copy that says “Previous Events.”
- Your homepage. Don’t let it get obviously out of date.
- Your latest content. If you haven’t posted a blog or event in a while, just add it one more recent one so your site looks cared for.
- Your featured book. Please keep this section the MOST up to date!
The easy fix:
Create a recurring calendar reminder called “Author Website Checkup.” Once a quarter, spend 30–60 minutes reviewing your website.
Ask: What’s changed in my author business since the last time I looked at this?
Then update your website accordingly. New book? Add it. New lead magnet? Add it. New speaking topic? Update it. Old book no longer available? Update the links. New social platform? Add it if it matters to your readers.
Your website doesn’t need constant attention. It just needs intentional attention.
Your Author Website Should Be Your Marketing Headquarters
Your author website isn’t just another item on your marketing checklist. It can be the headquarters of your entire author platform.
All of the marketing work that’s spread across real life and the digital world should funnel traffic back to your website! And when they arrive, your website should be ready to turn that attention into something more valuable—a relationship.
That’s why avoiding these 10 mistakes matters. And most are changes almost any author can make today.
But there are other challenges that are harder to solve when your website wasn’t built with authors and marketing in mind.
If your website structure makes it difficult to showcase multiple books, grow your email list, create content, guide readers through your platform, or consistently promote what you’re doing, you may eventually find yourself working around your website rather than having your website work for you.
That’s where having a website designed specifically for authors can make a difference.
You need a website that is intentional. One that clearly communicates who you are and what you offer. One that makes your books easy to discover. One that gives readers a reason to connect with you. One that helps you grow your email list. And one that can grow alongside your author career.
Your website should work as hard as you do.
Don’t build an author website just to say you have one. Build your author website as the headquarters for your marketing platform. Check out the author website templates I built specifically for this.
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