Devoted to small businesses and those who run them

Welcome back to Small Biz Mentor!  I'm thrilled to see that our dialog has already begun.  Eleanor has asked some great questions regarding marketing for freelance writers, but I believe the answers apply to any business these days.  Let's take a few minutes to break down Eleanor's comments into bite-sized chunks, shall we?

Let's start with her last question first: "...Is having your own website even necessary, or a good idea?"

In my opinion, creating a website is an investment each and every small business owner/operator should strongly consider.  While this may seem obvious to those who are running retail or wholesale operations where they have a tangible "product" to present to buyers, it doesn't always appear as necessary to those who "only" offer services or those who are consultants or freelancers.  Frankly, I believe that owning your own website is vital to the growth of a writer's career.

The reasons for this are four-fold. 

1. Websites offer you a portfolio for your "clips" that anyone can access at any time.  Providing an editor or potential client with your URL allows them to peruse your published works with the touch of a button.  This is especially handy if one is submitting queries on line via email.  It is VITAL that you keep your queries short and snappy.  Offering the editor the option of reading your 157 clips on line rather than bogging down his inbox with attachments makes his day run smoother...and editors like smooth days, just like the rest of us!
2. Websites offer your potential clients the opportunity to "meet" you and contact you even when you're asleep.  Creating a professional website with well-written copy and a bit of your personality will go a long way toward catching the eye of a client and letting them decide if they want to work with you.  Why waste time in an hour-long interview just to find out that your client wants someone to ghostwrite a 700-page novel and you only focus on non-fiction e-books?  Let the visitor know your focus and areas of expertise and she'll contact you if she feels you'll be a good "fit" for her project.
3. Websites offer you the opportunity to sell your products.  Too many writers still think they shouldn't write a piece until they've been slated for it.  Pish-tosh!  If you've got an essay about the day your daughter weaned herself from the bottle that brings you to tears each time you think about writing it, WRITE IT!  Post that baby to your website, either as a sample in your portfolio or as content for sale to the highest bidder.  Heard about e-books?  If you've got a few rambling around in your brain, get them out on paper (er, into .pdf, rather) and sell them!  Create a shopping cart where visitors to your site can purchase your e-books or rights to your works and download the applicable file.
4. Websites can create additional income, outside of your primary focus as a writer.  For instance, as you come across resources at other writers' sites or through companies whose products you enjoy and recommend to your colleagues, check to see if they offer an affiliate program.  Sign up, place the appropriate links on your site, and market the resources or products you love...then earn some extra funds while you write the "Great American Novel".
5. Lastly, websites are an excellent method of creating good public relations.  (Okay, I know I said it was four-fold...don't argue over an extra shot!)  Create a "Press Room" page on your website so that members of the media can read releases about your latest endeavors.  Share information with your fans (because you will have them!) so they feel attached and involved in your career.  These people, both the media and the fans, will be the ones who will skyrocket your first book from the ranks of the self-published-and-hoping-Gramma-buys-ten-copies to number one on the bestseller list.  Get yourself some face time...any time, all the time.  You can't do that in person, but you can do it on the web.

Next up: What to look for in a host and low-cost ways to build your site.