AUTHOR

Build an Author Website for Your Books, Newsletter and Speaker Press Kit

Make your books, newsletter, and speaking-press kit obvious so readers, journalists, and conference organizers know what to do next.

The short answer

A Cogo Site author website is hosted for you, with no plugins to maintain: book pages that link to each store, an About page, a press kit page and a newsletter signup form. The form can be published on any plan but only receives signups on a Pro or Team plan. Email-service connections, ebook sales and PDF hosting are not included; link to the tools you already use.

A good fit if you…

are a self-published or independent author who wants to edit the site yourself
link each book to the stores that sell it instead of selling it yourself
send your newsletter from an email tool you already use, or are happy to choose one

Look elsewhere if you need…

built-in ebook sales or payments
a connection to Mailchimp, ConvertKit or Buttondown
hosting for PDF or ZIP downloads
a platform that sells your books for you

What an author website needs, and what Cogo Site covers

“Add it yourself” means you can build it in the editor, but it is not ready-made. “Needs Pro or Team” means you can build it on any plan, but it only works on those plans. Each row is checked against the current product and plan limits.

What an author website needs, and what Cogo Site covers
What an author website needs	In Cogo Site	Details
Book pages with a cover, blurb and store links	Add it yourself	Build each book page with an image, text and buttons that link to each store, such as Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo or Apple Books. The buttons open the store's own page; there is no checkout on Cogo Site.
About and press kit pages	Add it yourself	Ordinary pages for your bio, headshots, book covers and sample interview questions. Uploads accept images and videos only, so a PDF or ZIP press kit has to be hosted elsewhere and linked.
A newsletter signup form	Needs Pro or Team	You can edit, save and publish the form on any plan, but it only receives signups on a Pro or Team plan, and so does the Form Submissions inbox. Until then visitors see that the site is not accepting form submissions yet, so link to your email provider's signup page as well. Every visitor sees the same fields.
A link to your email provider's signup page	Add it yourself	Add a button that links to the hosted signup page of the service you already use. Embedding a provider's own signup form does not work: script-based widgets and forms that post to another domain are blocked on published sites.
A connection to an email-marketing service	Not included	Not part of Cogo Site. There is no Mailchimp, ConvertKit or Buttondown integration, so you send the newsletter from your own email tool.
Selling ebooks or taking payments	Not included	Not part of Cogo Site. Link to the stores or to a checkout tool you already use.
Hosting PDF or ZIP downloads	Not included	Not part of Cogo Site. Host the file elsewhere, for example in a shared folder, and link to it.
Hosting, with no plugins to maintain	Included	Cogo Site hosts your published site. There are no plugins to install and no server to update.
Editing the site without a developer	Included	A visual editor for text, images, sections, layouts and theme. AI-assisted edits use AI credits, and Free has no recurring monthly allowance.
Search basics	Included	Per-page title and description fields, plus a sitemap and robots file for the published site.

Page details updated on 2026-10-12.

Plans and limits that affect an author site

Checked against the current plan configuration. Pricing stays the source of truth if these change.

Free includes one site with up to 10 pages, 5 MB of media storage, a Cogo Site subdomain and visible platform branding.
A custom domain or removing platform branding needs a paid plan.
The newsletter signup form can be edited, saved and published on any plan. Receiving its signups and using the Form Submissions inbox need a Pro or Team plan; until then visitors see that the site is not accepting form submissions yet.
Free has limited monthly page views; the Pricing page compares the plans.
AI-assisted edits use AI credits; Free has no recurring monthly allowance.

See current plans and limits

Author websites fail most often when they read like author bios. Readers come to an author site because they finished one book and want the next one — they want to see the catalog, sign up for new-release alerts, and find upcoming events. Biography-first copy loses them; book-first copy converts.

A strong author site surfaces the catalog up front, makes the newsletter frictionless (readers trade email for first-chapter samples or release alerts), hosts a speaking-press kit for journalists and conference organizers, and uses subpages to capture long-tail searches around book titles, series, and genre.

Lead with the books, not the bio

Authors are a product business. Visitors want to know what you have written, in what order, and where to buy it. A hero section that leads with 'award-winning author of literary fiction' answers a question they did not ask. The book cover, the series order, and a buy link — that is what they came for.

Pull your strongest or newest book to the homepage with a clear buy link (Amazon, Bookshop, indie bookstore). Add a newsletter signup nearby with a sample-chapter or release-alert incentive. That pattern converts far better than a long biography hero with a 'subscribe' button that nobody clicks.

Make the newsletter the primary lead magnet

The newsletter is the author's most valuable asset — it is the channel that makes a book launch predictable. Social platforms and retailer algorithms change without warning; an email list of readers who opted in is the only audience you actually own. Sites that bury the signup form or offer no incentive collect a fraction of the emails they could.

A good newsletter page offers a real incentive: a free short story, a first-chapter sample, an exclusive series preorder, release alerts. The signup form should be above the fold, on every page, and require only an email address. That structure turns casual readers into the launch audience for your next book.

Treat speaking and press as a feature, not a hidden CV

Authors are hired for speaking gigs, conference keynotes, festival panels, podcast interviews, and press coverage — and that work often pays more than royalties. Sites that hide speaking topics, past engagements, and a press kit behind a generic Contact form lose those opportunities to authors who surface them.

A strong speaking-press page lists your speaking topics with brief descriptions, names recent or notable engagements, offers a downloadable press kit (bio, headshots, book covers, sample interview questions), and gives a clear contact path for journalists and event organizers. That page handles the industry request Amazon and Goodreads cannot.

Build content around series and genre

Author queries combine name, series, genre, and book title: '[author name] books in order', '[series name] reading order', 'cozy mystery author [genre]'. Your pages should reflect that grammar across headings, FAQs, and subpages.

The supporting pages below branch into full catalog listings, direct reader newsletter signups, and speaking or media kits — organizing your backlist, bonus chapters, and press credentials in one cohesive structure.

Build the author topic cluster

Anchor your author profile and featured release on the main hub, then expand into organized reading orders, reader community signups, and festival speaker kits.

Author Books Catalog Page

Turn 'what else has this author written?' into a sale. Surface your catalog in series order with buy links to every retailer — not just Amazon.

Books grouped by series with explicit reading order
Buy links to every retailer (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo, Apple, B&N)
Clear callout for new releases and preorders
Direct link to newsletter signup for release alerts

Author Newsletter Page

Turn 'I liked your last book' into a preorder. Offer a real incentive — sample chapter, release alert, free short story — and collect the email above the fold on every page.

A real incentive (sample chapter, free story, release alerts)
Signup form above the fold collecting only email
Signup form or a link to your email provider (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Buttondown)
Signup form repeated on every page, not just here

Author Speaking and Press Page

Turn 'can you speak at our event?' into a one-click answer. Surface speaking topics, past engagements, and a downloadable press kit where journalists and organizers expect to find them.

Speaking topics with brief descriptions (not just titles)
Recent or notable engagements (conferences, podcasts, festivals)
Downloadable press kit: bio, headshots, book covers, sample questions
Clear contact path for journalists and event organizers

Continue the cluster

See band website examples See solo musician website examples Explore multilingual website positioning

Frequently asked questions

Do authors still need a website in the Amazon era?

Yes — arguably more than ever. Amazon owns the customer relationship and the buy button; you get the royalty but not the audience. An own-website with newsletter signup is the only place you control the path from 'I liked your last book' to 'I will preorder your next one'. Retailer algorithms and social platforms change without warning; an email list of opted-in readers is the only audience you actually own.

What should an author website include?

Three things on the homepage: the newest or strongest book with a buy link, a newsletter signup with a real incentive (sample chapter, release alert, free short story), and clear navigation to the catalog. Subpages handle the full books catalog, newsletter details, and the speaking-press kit.

Is Cogo Site a WordPress alternative for an author who does not want to maintain plugins?

For a hosted author website, yes: Cogo Site hosts the site, so there are no plugins to install and no server to update, and you edit pages, images and book buttons in a visual editor. It is not a drop-in replacement: there is no plugin marketplace, no built-in ebook sales or email-marketing connection, and PDF downloads must be hosted elsewhere and linked.

Can I sell ebooks directly from a Cogo Site author website?

Not natively. Cogo Site has no checkout or payments, so each book page links to the store that sells it (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo, Apple Books or a checkout tool you already use). Uploads accept images and videos only, so a PDF or ZIP download has to be hosted elsewhere and linked.

How does the newsletter signup actually work?

Two ways. A Cogo Site form collects email addresses in your Form Submissions inbox: you can publish it on any plan, but it only receives signups on a Pro or Team plan, and it does not connect to an email-marketing service, so you send the newsletter from your own email tool. Or link to your email provider's hosted signup page (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Buttondown). Embedding a provider's own signup form does not work on published sites, because script-based widgets and forms that post to another domain are blocked.

Start with the author hub, then grow into a full publishing content cluster

Launch the main author page first, then expand with books, newsletter, and speaking-press pages that target author-name and book-title intent.

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