If you’re an author, promoting your books on your website — and making it easy for people to buy them — is a must. You can use widgets to promote your work in different ways, from clickable book covers to links on Amazon. Need ideas? Take your cue from these three authors.
A quick click to your book’s website
Cathy O’Neil, a mathematician who blogs at Mathbabe, is the author of Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in the nonfiction category.
Cathy first uploaded the image to her Media Library, then used a bit of HTML in a Text Widget to display the image and turn it into a link. For more, read Widgets 101.
At the top of her sidebar, Cathy displays a book cover image — in a hard-to-miss yellow shade — which, when clicked, goes to her book’s website. To create this image, she used a Text Widget, a handy tool that lets you add text and HTML to your site.
A clickable image in your sidebar or footer is one of the simplest ways to direct readers to buy your book.
Creatively displayed book purchase links
Kory Stamper, a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, blogs about words and language on her blog, Harmless Drudgery. She published her first book, Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, this past March.
Add a Text Widget like Kory’s on your own site by going to My Site → Customize → Widgets → Add a Widget, then searching for “Text.”
Kory’s blog design — with its off-white, word-filled background and a header image of alphabetical index tabs — is reminiscent of a dictionary. Her right sidebar plays off this theme: each widget title is formatted like a listing in a dictionary, complete with pronunciation and part of speech. Her top widget, for example, is a simple Text Widget promoting her book, with links to various booksellers.
Kory also has a standalone page for her book — accessible in her main menu — which includes reviews and praise, book tour info, and a contact email for media inquiries.
A featured image and a menu of booksellers
Learn all about Image Widgets (and how to create your own custom images, too).
Author and home renovator Amy Haimerl uses her website to promote her writing and editing as well as her book, Detroit Hustle. She compiles her book press and events under the “Detroit Hustle” tab in her menu, but also promotes the book in her sidebar with a combination of an Image Widget and a Custom Menu Widget.
You first need to create a custom menu to use the Custom Menu Widget. Go to My Site → Customize → Menus.
Below this image, Amy displays links to where you can buy her book, including Indiebound, Amazon, and local bookstores like Parnassus Books in Nashville and Pages Bookshop in Detroit. This simple bullet list is shown via the Custom Menu Widget, which lets you display one of the menus you’ve created.
Need more inspiration? Explore other authors with WordPress sites.
A fabulous strategy.
LikeLiked by 11 people
This is great, but I thought that free WordPress sites didn’t allow ads. Did I misread the terms of use? I hope so, because I will soon have books to promote. 🙂
LikeLiked by 8 people
You’re correct — ads are not allowed on sites hosted on WordPress.com. Examples of ads are from third-party ad networks like Google AdSense, OpenX, Lijit, BuySellAds, and Vibrant Media. The widget examples in this post are not ads of this nature.
(Alternatively, there is also a WordAds program for some people who are successfully accepted (https://wordads.co/)).
Other related info (affiliate links, sponsored posts):
https://wordpress.com/support/monetize-your-site/
Hope this helps!
LikeLiked by 9 people
Yes, it does help! Thanks so much!
LikeLiked by 3 people
This is interesting to know but unfortunately WordAds program is limited to PayPal users. If one doesn’t have Paypal – for whatever reason – there’s no way to participate in WordPress advert program. There should be more payout methods including wire-transfer.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Great
LikeLiked by 6 people
Very cool!
LikeLiked by 6 people
I’ve been meaning to fiddle with my layout. Maybe I’ll try this, see what it gets me.
LikeLiked by 8 people
Reblogged this on Gras Publishing and commented:
Promoting your book can be a complicated and confusing task, especially if you’re a self-published author. But, blogs, social media and any other digital platform in existence can be used to help promote your novels. But how? Well, we came across this post on different and unique ways authors are promoting their books and thought it was worth sharing with you. Let us know in the comments if you think these ideas are good, bad or what you yourself are doing to promote your book!
LikeLiked by 4 people
This is a great read! And it has good ideas too! We are definitely going to reblog and share this with our readers!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Fantastic!
LikeLiked by 6 people
This is helpful for all websites, not just for literature. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 7 people
Hey, thanks — that was really helpful.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Wow and great!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you for sharing this beneficial information.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Amazing post 😍
LikeLiked by 3 people
Amazing post 😍😍😍
LikeLiked by 6 people
Very cool insight!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Perfect! Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Great source of knowledge 👌👌
LikeLiked by 5 people
Witty!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Great ideas, I will try one on my site. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I have standalone book pages as well as the clickable purchase links for Amazon and the sidebar for one of my books. I can’t tell how much difference it’s made.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Wow, this is a very useful article.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha, creative 👍🏻
LikeLiked by 2 people
The picture of this blog is magnificent did you take it?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hi there — no, I did not. This is a free-t0-use photo from Pexels.com:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-printer-paper-57761/
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks for your information🙋😊😊
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you for sharing this information!
LikeLiked by 4 people
Your article gave me important information. Thank you. I will follow your ideas for my books and website.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I was looking for something like this! Thanks for sharing- will definitely be using the text widget once my book is released!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Wow… That’s so amazing! Thank you.
LikeLiked by 3 people
So helpful! Thanks. Certainly great ideas. Enjoy your day.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Good advice!
LikeLiked by 4 people
I am in the process of writing so this is VERY helpful! Thank you.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Awesome ideas!
LikeLiked by 3 people
I didn’t know that this was a thing. might be handy one of these days.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I love your article ❤
LikeLiked by 3 people
Widgets all the way. If only I had something worth widgeting.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Your welcome i will be looking forward to commenting on your stories and intrests of your o your life thought of mind
LikeLiked by 3 people
Typo error due to my keyboard duplicate words added
LikeLiked by 2 people
awesome ideas and thoughts
LikeLiked by 2 people
Interesting tips. I’m new to blogging so this is very useful might come handy in the future.
LikeLiked by 3 people
thanks a lot for the wonderful tips.
LikeLiked by 3 people