Authors, self-published or otherwise, are supposed to have a website. And not just any website. They’re supposed to have a website built by a professional developer, using paid hosting, with a paid domain name.
I had such a site for several years. Oh, I never paid anyone to put it together. I never had an “author” theme with book covers expertly placed on the home page. But I did own a one hundred-dollar Wordpress theme.
And, I paid a webhost and owned a domain name to go along with it.
That domain name expired several months ago, sometime in early 2022. In 2024, my webhosting service is supposed to renew. I’m going to cancel it before then.
Instead, I’m going to make this blog that you’re looking at right now my home on the web. Why?
The vast majority of novel readers never visit the author’s website.
Sure, if you’re Danielle Steele or some other huge-name author, you might make a few extra sales by showcasing your work on a pro site. But for most of us, owning a website ends up being like a beauty contest. Whoever has the most stunning and/or most professional-looking website wins.
Wins what? Oh. Hold on. So, it’s not like a beauty contest, because with a beauty contest, a woman actually makes money for showcasing her appearance.
Most authors don’t. Not directly. How they indirectly make money is by capturing e-mail addresses. But, guess what? An author can put a sign-up form on a free blog just as easily as they can on a paid blog.
I know, I know, there are five hundred sixty-three benefits to using paid webhosting. I’ve heard them all. And maybe for some authors, the benefits truly outweigh the so-called lack of professionalism of having “blogspot” or “wordpress” in your domain name. I happen to not be one of them. I’ve decided that instead of paying a webhost eight bucks a month, and instead of paying $15 a year to hang onto a domain name, I’d rather see a slightly higher profit margin.
Hi, I’m faith-based author, Emily Josephine. I think differently about life than a lot of people. I’m largely a non-conformist.
Including in how I choose to present myself and my business on the Internet. Because I’ve finally realized that I’m not ashamed to have “blogspot” in my website’s domain name.