Over the last few years, dedicated websites for your book have become increasingly popular. If you're wondering why you need one as an author, here are the 4 best reasons:

1. Shareable and Memorable URLs

In today's day and age, the shorter and more memorable your URL, the easier it is to share and spread. Word of mouth is powerful and having a URL that not only you but your readers can remember and easily communicate (written or verbal) is invaluable.

Here are a couple examples using the current bestseller: The Girl on the Train. Go ahead and say these URLs out loud as if you're telling a potential reader where to buy your book.

Amazon Default URL: "amazon.com/The-Girl-Train-Paula-Hawkins/dp/1594633665"

Bitly URL Shortner: "amzn.to/1K9SYOo"

​Booklaunch URL: "booklaunch.io/PaulaHawkins/The-Girl-On-t​he-Train"

Custom Domain: TheGirlOnTheTrain.com

How much easier is that last option to remember, to say, to share? Say it in a sentence: "To get my book just go to TheGirlOnTheTrain.com." Now, we have a memorable URL that's incredibly simple to say that directs everyone to our sales page. Boom!

2. Purchase persuasion

Not everyone that hears about your book or even sees it online will be ready to buy. More often than not it will take some serious persuasion to move someone from a "browsing mindset" to a "purchase mindset". There are a few crucial elements that can help move people to buy:

Professionalism - People want to know that they are not wasting their money. By having a professional looking, highly attractive website, you put your best self forward. It's a subtle but powerful factor that lies in a potential readers subconscious. People will associate your book's quality with the quality of your website.

Testimonials and Endorsements - You need to establish trust with a potential reader. A great way to do that is by showing that other people trust you. Highlight your raving reviews, personal endorsements, and exceptional testimonials. Let people see how great other readers and critics think you are. With a dedicated sales page, you control the reviews that show up.

Different types of media - The more a potential reader can engage with your book and get a positive experience prior to making a purchase, the more likely they are to make that purchase. Give them a video trailer or audio book sample so they can take another step deeper into your story.

People's faces - Potential readers are much more likely to purchase from a page that has smiling happy faces. If you have endorsements, be sure to include a good quality image of the endorser. Also, be sure to include a great image of yourself in an author section. People buy books from other people. Readers want to know you the author, so, let them see you and connect with you.

3. Focus, Focus, Focus

One of the biggest issues in today's day and age is capturing people's attention. The way we skim and browse with furious clicks is terrifying. You've worked hard to drive people to your book, make sure to keep them there as long as possible.

If you drive traffic to a major retailer like Amazon or online bookstore, you are bound to have sidebar ads, top headers, and recommendations that are positioning other books next to yours. This is immediate attention leak.

With a dedicated sales page you own the attention and focus. This page is about your book and your book alone! You decide the content of the page and you direct people's eyes. With a dedicated page there is no attention leak, no confusion, and no other books to compete with. This lets you maximize your visitors time and convert them at a much higher rate.

If you want to position your book alongside millions of others, then drive people to a major online retailer. If you want to position your book for success, drive people to a dedicated page.

4. Use analytics to know if your marketing is actually working

Wouldn't it be nice to know if the traffic you're driving to your Amazon page is converting to a sale? If it's not, wouldn't it be nice to know why? How long were they there? Did they click "buy"? Did they preview?

With dedicated book sales pages, you control the analytics. You can see where people come from, what they click, how long they visited, and get an overall sense if your marketing efforts are being successful.

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It used to be that creating these sites was expensive, technologically challenging, time consuming, and simply unattainable for most authors. Now with a service like Booklaunch, you can create a beautiful and effective book sales page with all the bells and whistles, but without the headaches, hassle, and expensive cost.

Get started today with your book's sales page using Booklaunch.