Instead of discussing what you need to do for your website, we will profile the seven different kinds of readers who visit and how you can thrill them. If you can thrill them, they’ll leave your website happy and may even purchase a copy of your book.

Each visitor I describe has a fictional name, but they represent millions of readers.

Website Visitor #1: Curious Cathy

Curious Cathy has a lot of questions related to your book, and she’s visiting your website to get answers.

Answer Questions

Readers of nonfiction books are curious about your area of expertise. If you’ve written a book about vegetable gardening, you can use your blog to answer people’s questions.

Fiction readers are curious about your next book. Curious Cathy may not be ready to buy, but she wants to explore your website to find out when your next book will be done and what storyline it might expand.

Years ago, movie DVDs came with deleted scenes and interviews with actors and directors. Use your blog as a place to offer that type of bonus content:

• What’s the background on why you wrote the book?
• Why did you develop your compelling character?
• What inspired the setting?

If one person had the courage to email you a question, there are hundreds more who didn’t have the courage to write. You’ll thrill the one and hundreds more if you answer that question.

If you want to have a successful blog, answer people’s questions.

Contact Form

Make it easy for Curious Cathy to contact you through a contact form on your website. You can easily answer her question via email and turn your response into a blog post.

Kindle Instant Preview

Curious Cathy might be wondering about your writing style. Kindle Instant Preview allows you to embed an interactive preview of your book on your website. Cathy can get a sampling of your writing style and voice. If she reads a few pages of your story, she may get hooked and want to buy the whole book, which she can do through the button on Kindle Instant Preview.

If you have the WordPress plugin MyBookTable, you can easily add Kindle Instant Preview. If you don’t have the plugin, learn how to add Kindle Instant Preview to your website manually.

Website Visitor #2: Book Buying Betty

Betty wants to buy your book and browse your backlist.

Book Buying Betty is the website visitor you probably want most, but she’s also the one most authors irritate. She will be irritated if it’s hard to buy your book on your website.  

Make the Purchase Process Easy

Make sure that every image of your book cover on your website is clickable and goes to a place where she can buy it.

What if an older lady sees your book cover image on your website and clicks on it, but nothing happens? She will think your website is broken because everywhere else on the internet, book cover images are linked to a place where she can buy.

We developed MyBookTable to make book buying easier for Book Buying Betty.

Offer Special Features

Book Buying Betty has probably already purchased some of your past books, so she wants those DVD special features like

• Deleted Scenes
• Trivia
• Alternate Endings

When I finish a great movie, I’m a bit sad because I want more. I will jump through all kinds of hoops to get more, so I love the extra content and special features at the end.

I also love alternate endings. Some movies will film several versions of the ending, allowing test audiences to choose the best one. I’m often curious about how else the story could have ended. Book Buying Betty will be thrilled if you incorporate these elements into your website.

Author James L. Rubart includes Easter eggs in his novels. Readers familiar with his past books will notice these inside jokes, recurring objects, or bits of novel trivia, but new or one-time readers won’t. On his website, he offers Easter egg cheat sheets so every reader can find them if they want. That’s another way to thrill Book Buying Betty.

Notification About New Books

Betty wants to know when your next book is coming out. Provide a sign-up form on your website so she can sign up to be notified when your next book is due to release. You could also include a progress bar feature so she knows how far along you are in the process.

Website Visitor #3: FANtasia

If you’re a beginning author, you may not have any fans yet, but you’ll eventually get some who want to learn more about you as an author.

You want to thrill FANtasia, but you don’t want to give her everything she wants. You must remain a bit mysterious and let information about you and your life trickle out.  

To keep her mesmerized, include links to your social media profiles so she can follow you.

Respond to Her

When she pings you on social media, let her know she is important by acknowledging the tag or the shout-out. When you do that, she’ll tell others that you interacted with her post, and all her friends will want to know you as well, which grows your platform.

As your readership grows, you won’t be able to respond to everyone, so the principle is to “do for the few what you wish you could do for the many.”

Celebrities interact with individual fans so that the larger group is thrilled. For example, Justin Bieber has millions of followers. At his concerts, he’ll bring one girl on stage and sing to her. All the other girls empathize with that one girl, and everyone is a blubbering mess. He can’t do that for 10,000 fans, but he can do it for one.

Taylor Swift did something similar with Christmas gifts. She showed up unannounced at the door of five fans with a Christmas gift for each. She couldn’t do it for everyone, but every Taylor Swift fan can picture themselves being the girl who opens the door around Christmas time and sees Taylor Swift standing on their porch. Watch her method and apply the principle.

Website Visitor #4: Impatient Irene

The only time I visit an author’s website (outside of my work) is to find out when their next book is coming out. Sadly, most authors don’t even include that information on their websites. That frustrates Impatient Irene. She wants to give you money and buy your book, but she can’t find any information about when she’ll be able to buy it.

Impatient Irene needs some sort of acknowledgment that you haven’t died.

To thrill Irene, simply put a progress bar on your website. MyBookTable makes it easy. Under the progress bar, it says, “Get Book Updates.” When Irene clicks that button, she’ll get an email as soon as she can buy your book, and she’ll be very happy.

Website Visitor #5: Reading Club Rhonda 

Reading Club Rhonda organizes a book club. Millions of books are available to her, but she’s considering choosing yours.

Discussion Questions

To get Rhonda to choose your book over Brandon Sanderson’s, you can offer discussion questions on your website. Your questions will make her job easier and will make the book discussion more engaging.

If she’s deciding between your book and another, but you have great discussion questions, and the other person doesn’t, she’ll definitely choose your book.

Videos

If you write nonfiction or anything religious, consider recording video lessons to upload to YouTube and embed on your website. Design them to be played in a group discussion setting.

Bulk Orders

Reading Club Rhonda wants to be able to order 20 books at a discount. Whether you offer the discount yourself or connect her with your publisher, you will thrill her with your discount.

Visit the Book Club

You don’t have to travel to book clubs and visit in person unless you want to. These days, it’s very easy to join a meeting by Skype or Zoom.

Don’t make a blanket promise to visit every book club because that could get overwhelming. You might say, “If my schedule permits, I’d love to join your book club via Zoom if you’re interested.” You can thrill them by calling in and talking to them.

James L. Rubart was invited to an in-person book club by Reading Club Rhonda, but they decided not to announce or introduce him ahead of time. When he arrived, he listened for a while, and when he was finally introduced, the whole group was thrilled.

If you don’t have time to drop in on a bunch of meetings, record a short video message Reading Club Rhonda can play at her meeting. You might say, “Hey, thanks so much for reading my book. Here are a few bits of trivia about it.” Even something like that will thrill them.

Learn more about How to Get Book Clubs to Pick Your Book.

Website Visitor #6: Event Coordinator Connie

She is thinking about booking you for an upcoming event, and she is looking for specific information. Most authors have the information she wants, but it’s scattered throughout their websites or outdated.

In a perfect world, you’d list talks you’ve already prepared and delivered, but there’s a first time for every talk. Offer a list of talks, topics, and teasers on your website that would interest Connie and her audience.

Learn more about adapting your writing into a captivating speech. Or check out the following episodes:

• How To Sell A Ton More Books With Public SpeakingPublic Speaking for the Introverted Writer
• How to Get Better at Public Speaking 
• How to Get Your First Speaking Gigs

A friend of mine who is a New York Times Bestselling author uses her local church as a test audience. Before she takes a new talk on the road, she’ll deliver her talk at church in exchange for listener feedback. After she makes adjustments based on that feedback, she tours the world with her talk.

She’s one of the highest-paid speakers I know. That’s pro-level stuff.

Consider listing the following on your website:

• Talks that you are ready to give.
• Previous places you have spoken.
• Audio and video sample of your speaking.
• A speaking-introduction-length bio.
• High-resolution headshot.

Don’t go overboard with speaking samples. Event coordinators typically want to hear a snippet to determine whether you’re a good speaker. You may also want to include a snippet that records the audience responding to you so the event coordinator knows you can draw a reaction from the crowd.

You can still offer the entire recording of your talk, but be sure to offer the short snippets as well. 

Event Coordinator Connie is also looking for the following:

• A high-resolution headshot for her printed program.
• An introduction-length bio she can read.
• Your speaking highlights reel.
• A way to contact you.

Website Visitor #7: Journalist Jessica 

Jessica might be working on an article and hoping to mention your book. Maybe she’s considering interviewing you on her radio show. If you thrill Journalist Jessica, you’ll get booked for more media engagements, which turn into more media engagements and can change the trajectory of your career.

The number one thing Journalist Jessica is looking for is you.

High-Resolution Headshot

She wants a high-resolution photo of you for her article or blog. She may be using your photo for print, which requires a large, high-quality image.

High-Resolution Book Cover Image

She also needs a high-resolution image of your book cover. It’s often hard for Journalist Jessica to find a version of your book cover that’s not a thumbnail. She can always shrink an image, but she can’t make it bigger without making it blurry.

Include those high-resolution images on your website’s media page.

Author Bio

Journalist Jessica wants to see your long bio. She’s researching and building a story about you. Your long bio has information she can work into her story, and aspects of your bio may even lead her down various avenues for her article or blog.

Include your short bio on your website’s speaking page and the long one on your media page.

Learn more about How to Write a Crazy Cool Author Bio.

Previous Media Mentions

If you’ve done a lot of media interviews in the past, Jessica will see that you’ve been interviewed in 40 newspapers, 20 TV shows, and 70 radio interviews. Your list of past interviews will tell her you have a lot of experience. She’ll understand that if all those media outlets have interviewed you, you must have something at least mildly interesting to say.

Media Kit (or Press Kit)

These assets can be listed on your Media Kit page on your website. You can’t have to put it in your main menu to draw attention to it. You can simply put it in the footer. Journalists visiting your website will look for that.

Learn more about How to Create an Online Author Press Kit.

Bonus Visitor #8: Tom the Troll!

You do not need to thrill Tom the Troll! A troll is somebody on the internet who wants to pick a fight. They’re typically obnoxious, mean jerks. They’re sad about themselves and take that out on you, the public figure.

Don’t feed the trolls.

If you find trolls hanging around your blog or social media channels, trying to bait you into a fight, don’t bite. Learn How to Handle Negative Feedback, Haters, and Trolls as an Author, and you will be much happier, more productive, and able to produce more great writing for the people you actually do want to thrill.