When creating an author website, most designers focus on big branding moments that offer the most real estate and visibility. This makes sense, since the website’s header and hero sections are large, focally placed elements where visitors will first look for your author brand, contact information, and more. But the design experts at Web Design Relief know that the smaller elements on your author website also present great opportunities for branding moments. Including your branding identity in less prominent spots gives your website an extra touch of professionalism and helps reinforce your writer identity. Here’s how to best utilize small branding moments on your author website.

Small Branding Moments To Include On Your Author Website

Unlike commercial businesses and retailers who use branding to attract clients and build sales, author branding moments are much more personal. You want to establish your reputation and build trust with readers, and this is when small branding moments are most effective. These branding moments can be anything from a simple logo with your initials to longform marketing content like a press release. All of these moments work together to create a consistent impression for your website visitors—one that makes you stand out from other writers and encourages readers to engage with your content. There are several opportunities on your author website where you can feature small branding moments to make a big impact on your visitors.

Footer Bar: If your website visitors have scrolled all the way to the bottom of your website, you shouldn’t squander this opportunity to build brand awareness. Your footer is the ideal spot to have your full name or pen name, logo, email address, social media icons, and other brand identity elements—just on a smaller scale (keep your footer bar relatively thin). It should feature everything your website visitor needs to interact with you.

Sidebar: Just like your footer bar, the sidebar is typically a less prominent element of your author website design. You can use this space to advertise your latest projects, collect contact information through a sign-up form, or even feature your author headshot so that readers will recognize your face. A sidebar won’t distract from your main page content, but it can effectively sprinkle little branding moments across your website.

Blog Posts: As a creative writer with a knack for words, your written content likely has an edge over blog posts from professionals in other industries. A smart combination of fresh and evergreen content on your blog will keep readers coming back to your author website. Since blog posts tend to drive traffic to your website, keep your branding goals in mind on every post. Use a consistent voice and tone on each post, and link to your other, relevant posts within the text.

Keep in mind the primary focus of your blog should be offering interesting, unique content for your readers. Don’t turn every blog post into a sales pitch! Here’s how to start a blog people will want to read.

Error Message (Yes, even that!): You should definitely customize your 404-error page! This is also known as the landing page where your website visitors will end up if they try to click on a page that doesn’t exist. It’s visited more often than you may think! One of the most recognizable, customized error pages is from retail giant Amazon:

The Amazon error page cycles through several adorable Amazon dogs and also directs visitors to active pages. This instant brand recognition teaches us that even the least popular or visible pages on your website can showcase your brand identity through a personal touch.

These easy-to-overlook places on your author website can be smart locations for effective branding moments. In fact, the subtlety of putting small branding moments in places like your footer or error message makes them even more powerful, since visitors won’t expect you to be connecting with them at that level of branding.

If you’re ready for an author website that utilizes both large and small branding moments—and that suits your budget—the pros at Web Design Relief are ready to help! Sign up today for a free, no-obligation consultation call.

Question: What do you think is the most effective branding method for writers?