In my recent newsletter I talked about planting seeds and growing your garden. I used it as an analogy for the first book I wrote. It was the book that planted the seed to my other novels. There was one word that I did not use. That one word is OWN. That one word makes a huge difference. Any one can grow a garden anywhere space is available. HOWEVER, planting your own garden on your own space make a world of difference. One of the main steps you should take as an author, or an entrepreneur of any kind is to have your own garden. Your base. A place where you can control all of the elements of your or garden or business. Just follow me for a minute as I explain.
A website is your base. This is the place where you will plant your garden.
Yes, there are retailers and platforms you can use to display your product; however, they control the elements. When you depend on others to display your product, you are at their mercy. They control the prices, placement or rules. Even if you are pleased with the rules when you first agree to use that platform or location, there is nothing stopping them from changing the rules in a year, six months, or ninety days. Not to mention they could close down all together. Where will you be then?
When you have your own platform, i.e. website, you control the narrative. You control the design, the placement of your productions, the overall feel of the site. And guess what? You do not have to share that platform with others unless you want to. Even then it is up to you how that will look.
So, when the question of do you need to have your own website comes up…and it will think about how you want your garden to grow. Who do you want controlling how that garden looks? Then think about this. No one will represent your product better than you. Yes, use the other retailers and platforms, but make sure you always…always have a base. A place where you can have control.
Now, go plant your garden and watch it grow….
Until the next time,
Iris