Hello Blog, Goodbye Homepage.

Before blogging became popular, personal homepages were the outlet of choice for individuals who wanted to create an online presence. Some homepages performed similar functions to today’s blogs – they were updated regularly and displayed the author’s thoughts or diatribes, links to favorite websites, movie and music recommendations, and so on.
Unlike blogs, however, homepages were cumbersome to update. Revising a homepage required the site’s owner to have at least a basic grasp of HTML, and to upload webpages and images to a server using FTP. This didn’t require a huge level of technical skill, but it was a big enough barrier to put off most non-geeks.

This all changed when easy-to-use blogging tools hit the scene. Instead of having to sit through a session of updating your homepage bit by bit, a blog could be updated from any computer with access to the Internet without ever having to tinker with tedious code or mess around with FTP program. Furthermore, the blog’s chronological structure meant that anyone visiting the site could see at a glance what was new.

Whatever you’re using today, whether it be blogs or a homepage, there are some things every writer’s site needs. Here are the must-haves (or in some cases, nice-to-haves) for a site that will wow editors and readers.

All about you. Somewhere on your site-whether it’s the front page or an “About Me” section- should be a bio that lets editors and readers know who you are and that you’ve got the goods.

Your contact information. Don’t forget to tell people how they can contact you. If the content on your site is appealing to an editor or publisher but they can’t easily find your contact information, that’s bad.

A picture of you. While not obligatory, a photo is a nice perk to include on your site.

A press page. If you’re selling a book, a press page can make it easy for the media to spread the word about you and your product. At a minimum you want your book announcement press release, some biographical information about the author, a graphic of the book cover and a headshot.

Testimonials. Testimonials and review can give you even more credibility than you naturally have. “Other people can say things about your qualities that you can’t say yourself.” How to get them? Ask! If it’s a book you’re plugging, include positive reviews you’ve garnered.

Samples of your work. To pique editors’ and readers’ interest, include sample chapters, your table of contents or clips of your articles.


Buying 411. If you’re selling a book, be sure to have a way people can snap it up right then and there, whether it’s through a form on your site or a link to your book’s page on Amazon.com.

Personality. It certainly doesn’t hurt to show a little of your personality on your site as well. (Assuming you have a good personality).


Good luck to my fellow poets and writers in promoting your work.

Keep writing ~ J