Thankfully, the majority of blogs I critique have concrete goals – they want to sell books, land advertisers or get interviewed. Ninety per cent of those bloggers don’t feature those goals anywhere on their blog and when I’m asked where they should feature said information my answer is always: your contact page.
Most bloggers notice their about page is the second most read page on their site (next to the home page of course), so it makes sense to highlight whatever goals you have there. Make it clear you’re looking to get hired or what workshops you usually organize.
Thing is, your contact page is where said people who are going to give you amazing opportunities go and it’s that page that goes incredibly overlooked.
I’ve seen major companies use dysfunctional forms. I’ve seen start-up bloggers not feature their email address due to an irrational fear of spam,. These folks go nowhere with their site because potential clients/advertisers/book publishers have no freaking way to contact them!
So go right now to your contact page, consider all the options and make sure you’re not losing out on incredible opportunities because you’re not making it easy or clear for folks to contact you.
To Form or Not to Form?
I’m pretty anti-form because I think it puts a barrier between you and your readers and I’ve seen too many that break or malfunction. However, I understand the need to appear professional or the desire to not put your email address out there. Spam is always a problem but sometimes you just gotta get over it. Gmail’s spam catcher works wonders and, sure, you’ll get a few slimy press people emailing me about car insurance, but the number of people who are able to contact you because you’ve put your info out there far outweighs any negatives.
If you desperately want a form though, I recommend sticking your email somewhere on the page because you never know when the form won’t work or if potential advertisers don’t want to email you right away but DO want to take down your details.
I’m trying out putting both form and address out there just in case someone prefers one over the other. Check out how I’m using it for This New Town.
Do these 2 things before hitting “publish” on your contact page
If you do insist on forming it, don’t just stick the form out there and be done with it. Follow these steps to ensure you’re page is as functional and engaging as it can be:
- Make sure the form works. Actually write a message and send away. Make sure the whole email comes through and the form is easy to use. See if spell check works. Whether readers have the option to send the email to their own address. You can’t believe how many forms don’t have scroll functions, spell check or any other assortment of necessities that make communication easy. One simple test is all it takes to prevent you from looking ridiculous.
- Write a little copy. See how I don’t just list my address and stick a form in? No, I have the reasons WHY readers should get in touch. While most people don’t head to the contact page unless they actually have a reason, you should never ignore presenting folks with options on why. If you’re an author looking for a publisher you can say something along the lines of, “To enquire about the purchase of Bob’s Your Uncle, contact Bob’s agent here…”
If you’re looking for speaking gigs, say it! “To hire Marian to talk about x, y and z, use the form and calendar below for rates and availability.”
“If you’d like to arrange to have Stephen King speak at your book club, use the contact form, blah blah blah.” Having all this on your contact page, including your publicist, assistant, scheduling info (when relevant) makes you seem professional and accessible. Especially when people head straight to the contact page without even looking at your services, writing skills or video interviews….
For example, my services page gets around 1,500 views per month. My contact page? 3,000. See how I’d be totally missing out if I didn’t at least mention my services?
Warning: If you’re getting bombarded…
My contact page used to encourage people to email for any reason. However, I started getting emails for any reason. I didn’t want to come across as bitchy though – or unwilling to talk to people – but I luckily stumbled across Jade Craven’s page and it made me realize it’s okay to say, “You know what? Unless you want to pay or interview me, I don’t have time to answer your questions.” (I’ve always wanted to send people asking really generic question to Let Me Google That For You but I haven’t yet because I don’t have cojones that big.)
Depending on the services you offer or what you blog about, do remember that your time is worth something. I respond to almost every email I get, but I’ve also learned to be better about responding briefly, sending people to my services or just simply saying, “I don’t have time.” That said, having a clear contact page has led to multiple freelance gigs, speaking opportunities, friends and guest posts. Don’t miss out on this by being hard to reach.
What does your contact page say? Is it holding you back or does it serve you well?
UPDATE: Read this amazing post by Rachelle Gardner who also wrote today about making your email address easy to find. She’s hit the nail on the head and is much more articulate about WHY this is so important (especially for authors).
