The Overview

1. Author Websites & Social Media: Muir uses Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest to drive traffic to her website & books, finding TikTok most effective for engagement and sales.

2. Selling Signed Copies: Her website is the primary place for selling signed copies, with a direct link between TikTok interactions and book purchases.

3. Building a Reader Community with Newsletters: Muir’s main website goal is to grow her newsletter, allowing her to build long-term reader relationships.

4. Newsletter Engagement: Her newsletter subscribers are highly engaged, often responding to events and street team invites, and most stay subscribed for 8+ months.

5. Incentives for Sign-Ups: Muir offers exclusive content (e.g., character art, cover designs, and early access) to encourage newsletter subscriptions.

6. DIY Author Website Design Challenges: Muir found balancing aesthetics and professional functionality difficult when setting up her website.

7. Mobile Optimization is Essential: Muir emphasizes mobile optimization, a lesson learned after discovering her website didn’t initially look great on mobile.

8. Advice for Indie Authors: Muir advises having a website as a central landing page and encourages overcoming the fear of imperfection.

9. Encouragement for Website Creation: Muir believes authors should embrace website creation and seek help from peers to build a functional and effective online presence.

How Fantasy Author S.C. Muir Uses Her Author Website to Connect with Readers

WHO: S.C. Muir
Website URL: scmuirauthor.com
Genre: Fantasy Romance

Indie author S.C. Muir is making waves in the fantasy romance genre with her captivating Dual Mage Series, which follows a prince of fire and a princess of death as they navigate an arranged marriage, societal divisions, and the rise of a dual mage who can wield two types of magic at once. Currently, Muir has two books in the series published, with a third slated for release in early 2026.

“I’ve always been a writer,” Muir shares, reflecting on her long-standing love for storytelling. “I wrote my first book when I was about eight.” Though the first book in the Dual Mage Series“Death By Fire” started as a fun personal project, it quickly grew, and the idea for her trilogy sprang to life.

How S.C Muir is Currently Marketing Her Books

When it comes to marketing her books, S.C. Muir takes a multi-platform approach, primarily leveraging social media. “I mostly use a mix of Instagram, TikTok, and a little bit of Pinterest,” she says. These platforms serve as the primary driver of traffic to her books available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and her author website.

Out of the three, Muir finds that TikTok has had the greatest impact. “I think it’s TikTok,” she notes when asked which platform drives the most traffic to her website. Muir uses her website mainly to sell signed copies of her books, and she sees a direct link between her TikTok interactions and book sales. “Just based on interactions I’ve had in my comment section on TikTok, I always get comments like, ‘I just bought your book,’ and then I see the order pop up!”

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The Importance of a Newsletter sign-up on your author website

For Muir, her author website isn’t just about selling books—it’s about building long-term relationships with her readers, primarily through her email newsletter. When asked what the main goal of her website is, she says: “Definitely getting visitors up on my newsletter,” Muir recognizes the power of newsletters in driving sales: “The amount of times I have bought books from my favorite author’s newsletters, I do it all the time!”

She goes on to explain that newsletters give authors a direct line of communication with their readers. “If I mention in my newsletter ‘I’m going to be at X event, I’m looking for people to join my street team,’ a lot of my newsletter subscribers actually sign up for those things. They interact with you; they have signed up to see these communications from you—they want to hear from you.”

Her strategy has paid off, with most of her subscribers staying engaged for the long term. “I’ve had my website for 1.5 years, and most of my subscribers have been on my newsletter for 8 or more months.”

To incentivize newsletter sign-ups, Muir offers exclusive content to her readers. “First looks at character art, book cover designs, access to advanced copies, etc.”

Muir currently uses MailerLite as her email service provider. “It’s super user-friendly,” she says, though she has noted that the aesthetics aren’t the best.

Challenges with DIY Author Website Design

Like many indie authors, Muir faced her own challenges when setting up her website. “I think the thing that was hardest for me was aesthetics,” she admits. “I don’t have an aesthetic eye, so trying to find the balance between professional and too professional was difficult for me.”

Choosing the right platform also proved tricky. “Figuring out which website hosting to use was confusing. That was a lot. There are so many that it was hard to know which one to choose.”

In terms of content to include on her website, Muir found guidance by looking at what other authors in her niche were doing. “I looked at other authors’ websites in my niche and I tried to imitate that on my website,” she explains. For her, the essentials included: “Home page, things about my books, an about me section, a shop, and a newsletter sign-up.”

Yes, Author Websites need to look great on mobile

One of the most surprising lessons Muir learned while designing her website was the importance of mobile optimization. “Haha yes, I didn’t even realize that there was a difference,” she laughs, recalling an early misstep. “I sent my website to a friend so that she could check if all the links worked, and she sent me a screenshot of my mobile website, and she was like, ‘This is horrible, haha.’ I had no idea you had to design your website on mobile separately.”

This experience taught her an important lesson: it’s crucial to make sure your website looks good on mobile devices. Most people visiting author websites aren’t using a computer to look at them; they are using their phone. So make sure that you are making the mobile version of your website look just as great, if not even better than the desktop version.

Author Website Advice for Fellow Indie Authors

For any authors who are nervous about launching their first website, Muir offers clear advice: “I think it’s definitely imperative for authors to have a website, whether you’re selling a million copies a year or selling five copies. No matter where you are at, having a central landing page that links to everything is super imperative.”

Having a website gives authors a professional presence online and helps readers easily find them. “If you google your author name, sometimes a website might be one of the things that pops up.”

She also encourages authors to get past their fear of imperfection. “Getting over the fear, recognizing it doesn’t have to be perfect—you can always make it better.” Her advice? “Look at other author’s websites and get ideas, and find a platform that is easy for YOU. Not just what is easy for someone else.”

Future Plans for Her Author Website

Looking ahead, Muir has plans to expand her website’s functionality. “I’d really like to add an events page, now that I’m doing a lot more events, so then it’s not just a post on social media,” she says. She’s also considering adding an event wrap-up section to her blog to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at her appearances.

Advice to other authors launching their websites: Just Go for It

In conclusion, S.C. Muir encourages fellow authors to embrace the challenge of creating a website. “There is a lot of fear about stepping out of your comfort zone and setting it up, which is totally understandable,” she acknowledges, but she urges authors to take the plunge. “I encourage authors to embrace it and just go for it. Reach out to other authors and ask questions.”

With the right mix of social media, email marketing, and a well-designed website, S.C. Muir has built a strong platform to market her books and connect with her readers—and she believes other authors can do the same.

FREE!

Want to Sell More Books? It All Starts with Your Newsletter!

What’s Inside?

Discover the secret sauce top authors use to build loyal reader lists and skyrocket their book sales! 🚀 Download my free guide: Author Newsletter Booster: How to Get More Newsletter Signups on Your Author Website and start building your fanbase today.

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