Christina Hills With Publisher Reid Tracy and Christian Mickelsen
Several years ago, I attended a live event with Christian Mickelsen. Christian is a recognized authority on personal development and coaching, as well as a best-selling author.
While at the live event, we had lunch with Reid Tracy, President and CEO of Hay House Publishing. Reid and I had a fantastic discussion about authors and their websites.
I want to share the biggest takeaway from our conversation. During our conversation, he told me something unexpected: authors shouldn’t build websites just for one book. Instead, they need an Author Website, and here’s why…
Author Website vs. Book Website
If you create a website just for your book, visitors will only see information about that one title. That may sound logical—especially if you’re launching your first book—but it actually limits your long-term potential.
Instead, you’ll get much more value by creating an Author Website that showcases everything you’ve written, plus any related programs, articles, or events. This type of site grows with you as your body of work grows, and it gives readers more ways to connect with what you offer.
Three Big Advantages to an Author Website
1) You Build a Stronger Personal Brand
Your website becomes a hub for all your writing, not just one project. Readers get to know you—not just your book—and they’re more likely to follow you, subscribe to your list, or come back for your next release.
2) You Keep Readers Engaged Longer
Just like browsing in a bookstore often leads to finding more than you planned to buy, your Author Website can lead readers down a “rabbit trail” of discovery. They might come looking for one book, but stay to explore others.
3) You Can Promote More Than Just Books
Have a blog? Speaking events? Online courses or coaching programs? An Author Website gives you space to highlight those, too, all under your own name and brand.
Quick 5-minute video to explain the concept
Setting up Your Author Website
Here’s a simple website strategy I recommend:
- Purchase your name for the domain of your website (ex., https://yourauthorname.com)
- Build a page within your Author’s Website dedicated to one book. (ex. yourauthorname.com/yourbooktitle)
- Buy the domain name for that book. (ex. yourbooktitle.com)
- Forward that domain name to go to the book page on your Author Website. (You can set this up with your domain company. In this example, people who type in yourbooktitle.com in their browser will be automatically taken to yourauthorname.com/yourbooktitle with this setup.)
Final Thoughts
Regardless of the industry you’re in, your website is a key marketing tool. If you’re an author, be sure your website is about YOU and not just about one of the books you wrote. I know this sounds counterintuitive. After all, remember it’s not about you...
However, according to our publishing expert Reid Tracy, writers who build an Author website will also build a bigger and more loyal audience. It makes sense. If the visitor enjoyed your work enough to do the initial search, they’ll probably enjoy other books you’ve written as well.
For more author website inspiration, check out Six Great Examples of Author Websites that my students created from taking the Website Creation Workshop™!
For help with learning how to build your own author website yourself, join our next Website Creation Workshop™.
(Originally published Feb. 2015, Updated July 2025)
For Christina Hills,
I enrolled in Ryan Ellison’s program last year. One of the bonuses was working with you to create a website. When the two day training you provided, I was not able to participate. I was wondering if that opportunity is still available to me? I look forward to hearing from you as time permits. Thanks in advance!
PS…this video was amazing and insightful.
Michelle,
Glad you liked the video!
Do contact our support department regarding the 2 day training that has now passed
they can help you out. Send a message to: support at website creation workshop dot com
Exactly I tell my clients this all of the time….
Brilliant Idea! You just answered one of my q’s – do I need a book website….but now I’m wondering how that will integrate with the main website I’m creating which is http://www.TotalBrainOptimization.com. Perhaps I have a link to it? People don’t know me or how to spell my name well (yes I did buy the http://www.RuthDeutsch.com) I have planned to hold off with my own name turning into a website until I have enough of a following. Thanks.
Ruth,
Since you are just starting out, I’d go ahead and start developing ruthdeutsch.com as your author website. And then have the name of your book point to a page on your site.