To Website or Not to Website. That is the Indie Author Question.

Should Indie Authors Have a Website? The Answer is... maybe?

So, your indie books are written. They're sold through or distributed by Amazon, IngramSpark, D2D, Lulu, or any number of available publishing venues. But then what? Marketing is crucial to indie authors. If not for social media and Google's sticky fingers running through our metadata hairs, our fledgling treatises would falter beneath higher publishing monoliths like King or Hoover. However, in today's dynamic literary landscape, indie authors have gained a significant slice of the publishing industry pie.

With the rise of global technology and the ease of independent publishing, writers can now reach their audiences directly. In this digital age, having a consistent online presence is crucial, and one of the most effective tools an indie author can leverage is a personal website. While social media companies like Facebook and Twitter can serve as a firm foothold for an indie author's social presence, they don't offer a true online presence. They're aggregate sites where net-surfers must join to gain information they need. Indie authors can't run them, shut them down, or direct their target market to their page. With a website, an indie author can. Here are a few reasons why a website can serve as an inseverable appendage in the indie author's sales and marketing funnel.

• A website acts as a centralized hub for all of an indie author's content. From showcasing published works to sharing blog posts, short stories, or sneak peeks of upcoming projects, a website allows authors to curate and organize their content. This centralization makes it easier for fans to access and enjoy the author's work, fostering a deeper connection with their audience.

• Websites offer direct communication with readers, fostering a sense of community and loyalty. This is especially applicable for Sci-Fi/Fantasy authors with series books. This genre may contain storylines with dozens of worlds, ethnicities, political strata, and social nuances that can be profiled on a website more easily than on a social media page. By interacting with readers, authors can gain valuable feedback, understand their audience's preferences, and strengthen their relationship with fans.

• Websites enable indie authors to build and maintain their brand. By customizing the design, color scheme, and content, authors can establish a distinct identity that reflects their writing style and genre. A strong brand presence helps authors stand out in a crowded market and ensures that readers can easily recognize their work no matter the platforms.

• While FB, Twitter, and TikTok provide venues for indie authors to share their accolades, websites provide one-stop-shopping for such accomplishments. A dedicated website page, SEO'd correctly, can serve the Google gods and rank higher in search engine results pages. An indie author's portfolio page can be a powerful tool when reaching out to potential agents, publishers, or media outlets, as it demonstrates the author's expertise and success in their field.

• Through their website, authors can promote their books, announce book launches, and organize virtual events such as book signings, webinars, or online book clubs. Well-SEO'd content will drive traffic to the website, helping indie authors to increase book sales and expand their readership.

• My personal reason for creating an indie author website is... control. Unlike social media platforms, a website gives authors complete control over their content and its presentation. We've all seen, heard, or read stories of indie authors being spanked by Facebook or slapped by Twitter. Pages are blocked, banned, or downright shut down. In a time where 'gods in the machine' are running amok, autonomy is crucial. In the ever-changing digital landscape, algorithms and policies on third-party platforms may limit an indie author's reach. With a website, indie authors are not dependent solely on external platforms for their success, providing long-term stability and ownership.

• Cost is a critical part of an indie author's decision in making a website. And while most website venues like Wix, Webs, or WordPress (CMS/Content Management Systems) offer free or low-cost versions, it's important to consider the ROI (Return on Investment) for a paid subscription. Paid subscriptions can offer ecommerce pages where you can sell your books via your own online store. Again, this is another insurance policy against big tech bumping your sales page because they don't like a meme you posted or a joke you made. But factoring cost against potential earnings is a personal choice and should be based on sales and available funds per author.

For me, a personal website is an indispensable tool for indie authors seeking to establish a sustainable career. From fostering readership to showcasing achievements and maintaining creative control, a website enables indie authors to navigate the publishing world on our terms.

Facebook Ads for Indie Authors: My Experience Marketing M.A. Aikens and My Whims of God Novel

M.A. Aikens Whims of God Buy Now

Aw’right, y’all. My Facebook ads for Indie Authors campaign is done and since a few of you asked me to share my experience, I’m doing that now. Consider me your canary in the coal mine. Your pebble in the well. Your cat in the minefield. LOL!

Here we go:

I ran two ads for my Indie Author M.A. Aikens-Plum Lane Books Facebook page and book, Whims of God. I budgeted $25.00 for one Facebook ad at a rate of $5.00 p/day for five days and another budgeted at $35.00 at $5.00 p/day for seven days. These are Facebook's CPC ads (cost/charge per click) which means each click on a Facebook ad takes money from that budget. Now, I made an error and submitted the same Facebook ad… twice. Blame my arthritic fat-fingers and that was probably the day I lost my glasses. Anyway, the same Facebook ad ran twice, which was fine, I just ended up paying an extra $25.00 for an extra ad. For Indie Author business reasons, I put it on a credit card, so the extra amount didn’t cause a panic attack in my bank account. Running an identical Facebook ad didn’t seem to make a difference in either direction. Both ads had nearly the same data sets and measurements after their run. So, as to that detail, my advice is… wear your glasses and don’t fat-finger ‘submit’ buttons twice. Ugh...

Before we continue, lets discuss an often overlooked and underutilized detail that is paramount at the start of any Indie Author ad/marketing campaign. Before writing books, I wore different hats as a web designer/manager, content/copy, and SEO writer. One of those hats was marketing strategies. While I had classes in the ways and means of pushing products, my lessons were old and not terribly applicable to today’s social media trends. The last time I pushed a product online, Facebook’s ad platform was wearing diapers. It was THAT long ago.

But no matter the time, nor the place, nor the marketing options, one marketing element still holds true: What are you trying to gain?

That is, and will always be, a universal question before starting your Indie Author ad campaigns. However, when discussing Facebook marketing, I rarely hear that question asked first anymore. Thankfully, in Facebook’s marketing pages, when you’re filling out your Indie Author to-do list, that question is asked.

My goal was competitive website placement. My Indie Author website (margaretaikens.com) and my book’s title, Whims of God, are shared by others already ranked in search engines. Not a large population, but enough that it makes my M.A. Aikens-Plum Lane Books website and Whims of God book rank lower in a Google SERP (search engine results page) below the top five categories. Not awful, but not great either. Top ten is nice but top five is better, so I had to SEO my website’s pages and run ads that would reflect those changes. Doing so will help my website rank higher. Higher rank translates to more visibility. More visibility translates to sales.

Here's the rub, it won’t last. Someone with a similar Whims of God and M.A. Aikens name and/or keywords will trample me again. And I will, in turn, tweak my Indie Author keywords and make mad love to Google’s algorithms and I will duel with my competitors in a game of ‘King of the SERP Mountain.’ This is the way of the SEO/Google world. It is website-eat-website and it… never… ever… ends.

That’s where Social Media marketing for Indie Authors comes in. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are cheap and fast alternatives to website battles in Googleland. Indie Authors should use them. Use them in place of a website. Use them for ads. Use them for product dissemination. Use them to warble your books. Use them.

So, that’s what I did. I warbled.

I chose Facebook’s marketing option, ‘get more website visitors’, and ran two (technically 3) Whims of God ads. One ad (the fat-fingered ad) was static (unchanging picture/definable information) with one image of my logo and a link to my M.A.Aikens Plum Lane Books website. It ran for five days, $5 a day, at a cost of $24.98 for one and $24.99 for its unexpected twin at a total cost of (because it was duplicated) $49.97. The other ad was dynamic (video/moveable parts) and offered a slide show of ads, including a video I also shared on my M.A. Aikens and Plum Lane Books Facebook page. That ad ran for 7 days at $5 a day for a total of $32.38.

All three ads ran for five and seven days. Because of my fat-finger, the cost came out to $82.35. Had I not fat-fingered, the cost would have been around $57.

The end result of seven-day data and totals:

· Post Reach: 7,944

· Post Engagement: 305

· Link Clicks: 257 (people who viewed ad and opened link to site)

Website Stats/Data During Ad Run (Based on Competitor Sites in Books and Literature/Worldwide):

· Most Popular Traffic Source: Facebook

· Unique Visitors to Site: 212

· Average Session on Site: 9 minutes

· SERP placement: #2 and #3 in Google mobile and desktop search

So, you’re probably asking if this translates to sales. Yes, but not a ton. I’m not buying yachts yet. But I sold three copies of Whims of God in seven days from a source NOT on my M.A. Aikens-Plum Lane Books website. Which was my aim. Although I do sell from my Plum Lane Books ecommerce page, selling via Barnes&Noble or Amazon is easier and so those venues are prominently displayed and hyperlinked (above the fold) on my Plum Lane Books website pages.

For me, the numbers were worth the Facebook marketing investment. My Indie Author website is better placed in searches, I made a few sales, and my branding for Whims of God improved inside FB where my demographic (whose target market was streamlined via these ads… thankyouverymuch) frequents more than other social media venues. But again, this float will not last. Which means, I’ll have to invest again.

So, the endgame for Indie Author marketing using Facebook ads was decent for me. I gained FB followers, my book, Whims of God, was seen more, and that visibility resulted in sales. Not hundreds, but more than I had the week before.

If you consider using Facebooks ads for sharing your Indie Author wares, ask yourself two questions before you begin: “What am I trying to gain?” and “Who are my target market?”

Answering those questions first will help define your Facebook ads for Indie Authors marketing goals.

This Indie Author Went to Market

Facebook Marketing for Indie Authors

So, you’ve written the book and made your indie author’s website and accompanying social media pages. Now what?

I often laugh when those who’ve not written a book remark, “Writing the book was the hard part.”

Uh, no. Writing the book was the easy part. Sure, we struggled. We spliced our commas, argued with editors, and we may have questioned our cover designers once or twice, but outside those general foibles, writing is NOT in any way… the hard part.

Convincing readers to buy the indie book… is.

And at the tip of the indie book-selling spear glints the marketing. Marketing is the hard part.

A few things I’ve learned while pushing washers for Sears and bird seed for trendy aviary stores: Marketing is no longer satisfied with signs on doors or waving flags in front of plate glass windows. Marketing is on social media now. Online. In cyberspace. Comfortably tucked inside Facebook.

As of 2023, a whopping 93% of businesses market on Facebook and indie authors who ignore this marketing outlet miss out on possible sales. Since my target reader market uses Facebook as their primary social media outlet, I’ve geared my indie author marketing strategies to answer Facebook’s applicable trends.

Let’s break down Facebook’s preferred content.

Preferred content is content Facebook’s ever-picky algorithms define as show-worthy, and Facebook affords these posts more reach because they feed the feeds.

Facebook designed its algorithm to prioritize engaging and relevant content for individual users. While the algorithm's workings are not publicly shared, some types of content generally tend to perform well on the platform. Here are some content types that usually receive higher reach and engagement on Facebook:

1. High-quality visual content: Eye-catching images, Reels, and graphics perform well on Facebook. Use visually appealing and shareable content that captures attention and stands out in the news feed. Photos or Facebook Reels depicting indie author interactions with pets, natural surroundings, and family are terrific options.

2. Relatable stories: Content that tells compelling stories, evokes emotions, or connects with people personally tends to resonate with users. Have an indie author writing, editing, or publishing problem? Talk about it. Share your successes and downfalls. Not only can authenticity and relatability generate higher engagement and shares, but you might also get terrific advice from other indie authors!

3. Educational and informative content: Have you learned something fellow indie authors or readers may find helpful in their writing or reading journey? Dish it! Information, tips, tutorials, or industry insights can attract and engage users. Focus on sharing content that adds value and helps your target audience solve problems or gain knowledge.

4. User-generated content (UGC): After experimenting with available shared content (particularly memes shared from other indie author pages), I've discovered Facebook prefers unique content (memes, polls, etc.) generated/created by the page owner and shared via guests on their page. Making your own content and encouraging users to share your UGC—related to your brand or products—can generate organic reach (Facebook loves its organic reach) and engagement. UGC fosters a sense of involvement within the indie author and reader community, which can lead to higher visibility and reach.

5. Live videos and real-time content: While many indie authors are not fans of splashing their faces all over the internet, the fact remains that Facebook's algorithm favors live videos and real-time content. Live videos can create a sense of urgency, generate real-time interaction, and attract more viewers, resulting in increased reach. Smile indie authors! Mug for your iPhones!

6. Interactive content and polls: Indie author polls provide perfect opportunities for community engagement on an author's page. Content such as polls, quizzes, or interactive posts, encourages participation and engagement from readers and other indie authors, and can help increase reach.

Since Facebook's algorithm continuously evolves, tending an indie author's page can be a chore. However, setting aside one day a week to check your content's performance, analyze your audience's preferences, and adapt your marketing strategy is a great way to stay on top of those changes. Experimentation and understanding your target audience's interests and behaviors will help you optimize your content for maximum reach on Facebook.

Now, get out there and sell some books, indie authors!