Creating one new website was daunting enough. But two new sites, mere months apart?
While I wrote two books and traveled constantly? Only a crazy person would attempt such a thing. I definitely qualify.
Even so, Author Media made it happen. And they made the process fun.
Why two websites?
My historical fiction readers are a different breed from my nonfiction/Bible study readers. Of course, there’s some overlap, but over the years, when women have signed up for my quarterly newsletters and shared what books of mine they’ve read, it’s invariably been all my Bad Girls of the Bible series or my Scottish historical fiction—not both.
So, it seemed wise to create two different online presences. I have a separate Facebook page for each one and two Twitter accounts as well.
Author Media’s in-depth Website Worksheet forced me to:
- Think through my goals for each site
- Sort out the most important elements of each home page, and
- Identify each distinct audience and how best to reach them.
LizCurtisHiggs.com
I started with my Facebook page stats. Since I write for and speak to women, the FB breakdown is 95% female, 5% male. No surprise there. As for their age span, 66% of my followers (and readers) fall in the 25-54 bracket.
When I told my FB followers I was working on a new website, and asked them what words they might use to describe my nonfiction writing and speaking, their 300+ responses provided great direction for my Author Media designer, and gave me a clearer understanding of how my audience perceives me.
This was my favorite question on the Author Media Worksheet: “What do you not want from your website?”
Sometimes it is easier to identify what you don’t want, and in the process figure out what you do want.
For me, I didn’t want something that looked cluttered. I didn’t want ads. I didn’t want it to look like a corporate or business site. I didn’t want long, wordy content [oops, never mind that bit!]. I didn’t want to look like I’m a celebrity, which meant any praise needed to come from others.
I also didn’t want family info or photos—just enough personal stuff to assure my readers I’m a real person with a real life outside of speaking and writing, yet without invading my family’s privacy.
Here’s the finished product, if you want to check it out: http://www.LizCurtisHiggs.com.
Tweetables:
- If you write two different kinds of books, do you need two different websites? – Click to tweet.
- Liz Curtis Higgs answers one of the toughest questions writer’s face in blogging. – Click to tweet.
- Liz Curtis Higgs has TWO websites. Here’s why. – Click to tweet.
- Do you need two different websites? You might. – Click to tweet.
- I thought I had trouble keeping up with one site. Liz Curtis Higgs has TWO. – Click to tweet.
- Get a free website consultation from Author Media. I’m going to! – Click to tweet.
MyScottishHeart.com
Finding content for the second site was easy enough. I’ve been to Scotland a bunch of times to do research for my historical novels, so it seemed the right place to share photos, discoveries, and interesting bits about bonny Scotland, as well as point readers to the books I’ve set there.
Sifting through thousands of photos took longer than expected, and choosing quotes from my books to use for captions was a time hog too, but I’m happy with the results. See what you think: http://www.MyScottishHeart.com.
You’ll notice that I’m not a very consistent blogger on MyScottishHeart. Though I have 30+ solid ideas for blogs waiting to be fleshed out, finding the time to write them has been a challenge, especially with a long (1,500-2,000 word) weekly post on my other blog.
An important note…
If I were starting a new website today, I’d have 10-15 blogs already written before I went live with the site, just to establish a consistent pattern from the start.
I had the same problem on LizCurtisHiggs.com, until I chose a definite focus for my blog—namely, a Bible study. Once I announced that first 12-week series, promoted it widely, and posted consistently every Wednesday, my blog followers went from 600 to 2,400 in 3 months, then to 4,500 in another 3 months.
I’m encouraged by the growth and am convinced that focusing on something I’m truly passionate about has been the key.
Kudos to Hannah Hill at Author Media for guiding me through the website building process. Both sites are easy for me to update and easy for people to navigate. My business card is two-sided, so I can invite anyone I meet to stop by the site that suits his or her interests best.
Ready to get a new (or two!) professional author websites? Author Media can help. Just request a consultation to begin the journey.
Do you write two different kind of genres? How do you manage the gap?
Liz,
A great post. Thanks for your insights.
I have two different disciplines (art and writing) so having two blogs was a no brainer. I’ve been doing it for about five years, now. The blogs are based on the same template, but the content is different, as you might expect.
However, I have been thinking about what happens when I get published, because I do work in two different genres. Your comments on why you went with two blogs and how you maintain them is useful as I try to sort things out.
So are your comments on Author Media and their worksheet. I’ve been thinking about getting a consultation, but have done nothing more so far. Perhaps now is the time….
Thanks for sharing!
Glad it was helpful, Carrie Lynn. By all means, get a consultation. Author Media is great to work with, and will guide you through the process. Blessings on what’s next for you!
The awesome folks at Author Media have been designing my websites for years! I started with one website, wayyyyyy back when when I was focused solely on my first book series: GOD ALLOWS U-TURNS. Then, I realized I really needed something with my own name on it, as I branched into fiction and other forms of non-fiction. When the SETTING BOUNDARIES series started to grow like Topsy, I realized I needed a site to establish that brand. Whew….all of this seemed overwhelming (and yes, sometimes it is…) but the folks at Author Media helped me look at my strategy (or lack thereof at times) and hone in on my needs and priorities. Both of your websites are so eye-catching, Liz! Love the bold simplicity of your author site and the breathtaking panorama of your Scottish site…wow! I wanna go to Scotland in 2014…wah!!! Bravo on your new websites and on a writing career that gets better every year!
Loved this post, Liz.
I am trying to get into 2 kinds of writing at the same time. Trying to start a business ghosting blog posts and website articles.
I also want to dabble in Christian speculative fiction. You probably will agree different kinds of websites and blogs are needed.
I was afraid I would have to choose between my writing that I enjoy and paying the bills. Now it looks like I won’t have to.
Good article — thanks! As I write kids books AND paranormal/historic women’s fiction (ghosts) that are set in a real hotel that we are trying to save from demolition, I obviously draw totally different reading audiences to my site.
I’ve been trying to manage one site with different tabs, http://www.BonSueBrandvik.com, but it really just doesn’t work. Love the idea of asking readers what they would like to see on my sites.