You’re working on your author website, which is great, and you’re thinking about the kind of content you might include. You see all these authors with Media pages and you’re thinking you need one too, but what kind of content do you include on it? And if you’re a new author, do you even need one at all?

Let’s start by defining what a Media page is. Sometimes called a Press or News page, a Media page is where you keep content that both links to places your expertise has been showcased, and provides information for those who might want to write about you. I like calling it a Media page because I think that title gives you the broadest coverage for the kinds of content you might include  — such as a tv appearance, written interview with you, or podcast guest appearances. It includes articles, audio and/or video.

There are some great ways to lay out the page so that it’s both easy to use, and easy to update. Here are some ideas:

• Include your Media Kit (aka: Press Kit) right at the top, plus a way to contact you for interviews, etc.. A Media Kit is a download of your author photo, your book cover(s), simple information about you and your book(s), and the best ways to reach you, including social media. You can create a Zip file of all of this and make it downloadable from a link. Right next to this should be the best way to contact you, whether it’s an email address or a link to your Contact page, so if someone wants to write about you, it’s as easy for them as possible.
• Organize the content by either type of media, or media outlet. For example, if you have a handful of YouTube videos, a list of article links, and a few podcast links you might create sections of content title Videos, Articles, and Podcasts. If there are a bunch of articles, videos, or other links from a single source, like the New York Times, you might create a title for a section of content called “New York Times” and include all relevant content there in reverse chronological order. Another option is to create a featured area at the top of the page where you put your best or most prominent coverage, and the rest down below.
• Wherever it’s possible to directly embed a video or audio file so that the user can use them without leaving your website, you should. Whether a video or audio link allow embedding is up to the creator, so where it’s not possible I like to take a screen capture image that can act as a link for a video, and include a “listen now” text link for audio.
• You don’t need to include a date unless it’s relevant, as often providing a date will make something eventually look outdated, even if it’s not.
• It can be nice to add an image with each entry on the page, whether it’s the logo of the site on which the link lives, or a featured image from the article itself. For written articles it’s also nice to include not only the title of the piece, but also a brief excerpt to both help your website visitors get a flavor for the article, but also to benefit from the keywords within.

Here are some examples of author media pages to help get you started:

• Author Jenny Mollen
• Author Sarah Smarsh
• Author Stephen Mills
• Author Virginia Sole-Smith