A powerful tool for both professional and amateur writers is ultizing the internet for self-promotion. Having an internet presence in the form of their own website, gives writers a fantastic opportunity to showcase their craft and promote their talents.

Many website owners struggle to keep the content on their websites fresh and interesting - they are more focused on making money and creating new products. So they instead turn to writers who will provide them with quality and topical content.

Because they are internet-focused, they will naturally warm to writers who are in that groove, i.e. because they are familiar enough with the world wide web, and its power, to have created their own website.

Your writer's website will identify who you are - and it is no place for modesty. Detailing your successes, your writing specialties, your genre or style of writing, and some point of difference that will make visitors want to contact you.

The following are the "essentials" for your website:

- Personality

Don't be afraid to let your personality show on your website. Often your writing will be enough to do this, but showing your humor, warmth or outgoing nature will go a long way to holding the readers' interest.

- About you

Where this section appears will depend on what you have decided is the focus of your site. This could be your latest project, if you are promoting a saleable product, or it could be your writing services.

It may be a secondary "About Me" page, or you may decide it is best as the Home Page.

It really doesn't matter as long as it is there somewhere - visitors will want to 'connect' with you. Think about including a photograph of yourself - this will make you more 'real' rather than just a name. If you can add a little humor - great!

- Contact Details

You must tell readers how they can contact you, and a dedicated Contacts page is the ideal way to do so.

I wouldn't recommend putting your phone number on the world wide web, and even putting your email address is best avoided. You can use a form builder to add a form to fill in for queries, with a "send" button. In this way your email address is protected from being grabbed by spammers (who will send you hundreds of spam emails until you change your address).

If you have a PO Box, then include this as well.

- Media Page

If you are marketing a product, e.g. a hard copy book or e-book, a media page that contains a short biography and press release about the book, and contact email, will make it easy for the media to find this vital information, enabling them to spread the word about you and your product.

- Writing Samples

Include sample chapters, a table of contents or excerpts of your articles. An editor or future employer will look for these before making contact with you. These can be displayed on your website in different ways: as text on your site, as downloadable PDF or Microsoft Word files, as links to online articles or even as password-protected documents so only the people you choose get a peek. Avoid having too many links to outside sites, as the links may change - and it takes the reader away from YOUR site!

- Testimonials

Word of mouth is still the best recommendation for just about any product or service. Testimonials can give you more credibility than you could otherwise provide on your website. That's because other people can say things about you or your product, that would seem boastful if you said them about yourself.

In order to obtain testimonials, it is usually necessary to provide free copies of the product, and ask for a review. Join some forums relating to the topic of your product and once you have identified the key members, ask them to review your product. These testimonials should then be included in your website, either on a separate page, or woven into the various pages.

- Shopping Cart

If you're selling a product from your website, 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.

With the fantastic new breed of website building prgrams now available, there are definite winners when it comes to user-friendliness. Even novices find the new generation website building software easy to master, and the ready-to-use templates that are included for free make it a very attractive product for writers. It allows you to concentrate on the writing rather than the technology!

Kerry Finch

In these uncertain economic times, finding ways to work from home on the internet is a windfall. If you can write, you can earn - starting now. http://www.writers-xsited.com/Convert-Ideas-To-Income.html