Editor's note: This is a guest post from John Meese. John is a blogger, business consultant, and founder of Notable Themes. You can find more from him on Twitter.
When I was only 12, I signed up for a creative writing workshop (my mom helped).
That workshop was an incredible experience, because it was the first time I wrote anything that didn’t have a grade attached to it once I was done. When I finished that story, I was as proud as you might suspect―I had crafted the greatest story that had ever been written on college-ruled paper!
I showed the short story to my mom, read it to a few friends, and then… that was it. No job offers, fan letters, or checks arrived in the mail.
A decade and a half later, I found that short story in my closet when I was cleaning out junk. Want to know why that story never amounted to anything? There were two main reasons:
- I was 12―the story really wasn’t that great! But also,
- There was no way my writing could be discovered or shared.
As a writer, you need to showcase your work in a way that makes it easy to get discovered or shared―which in today’s world, means you need a professional website. That’s how you make a living from your craft.
Of course, that website won’t make you a better writer at the end of the day―but it will help you get discovered and shared, if your writing is good.
[share-quote author=”@JohnRMeese” via=”JeffGoins”]Showcase your work in a way that makes it easy to get discovered.
Then again, not just any website will do. The perfect website for writers needs to offer three specific functions:
- Lets you get straight to writing. Writers write, that’s what helps you hone your craft. The more time you spend “working” on your website, the less time you have to focus on writing itself.
- Presents your writing in an elegant fashion. Words are the building blocks of your content, and they’re meant to be consumed. The right website design makes your words the real focus, and fades into the background so readers forget it’s even there.
- Helps you grow your audience. This is crucial if you want to make an honest living from your craft. You need an email list to build a community around your content, that will help your new business thrive.
All three are important ingredients in the perfect recipe for a website for writers. That’s why Jeff continues to build a successful platform while using Tribe Theme.
Here’s a look at the mindset behind Tribe Theme, when Jeff first created the concept:
Is there such a thing as the perfect blog theme? An ideal website? Maybe. My friend Martyn Chamberlin and I spent a long time talking about this. We wanted to know:
- What does good design look like for writers?
- What would an artist want in a website?
- What would be essential, and what would be unnecessary?
We built and tweaked until we were completely satisfied, cutting out all the excess and focusing on what matters most: earning permission and building influence.
The result is Tribe: a clean, elegant WordPress theme customized for the needs of people with a message to share.
At first, Jeff was just solving his own problem and sharing it―but Tribe Theme has grown to become a solution every writer should use.
Because this theme was designed by writers, for writers, it has several built-in features that you will find especially helpful:
- Beautiful typography. Tribe features just over two dozen font options that have been hand-selected to make your words beautiful. Select one from the drop-down menu, and you’re good to go.
- Minimalistic design. Sometimes less really is more, and this is especially true with website design. Tribe Theme websites have a simple, elegant look that keeps your core content front-and-center on every blog post or page.
- Super simple customization. Tribe has the power of the latest online marketing techniques built into a simple WordPress theme designed for writers who don’t mess with code. You can have a new website in less than an hour.
- Automatic updates for life. Most WordPress themes charge you a yearly fee to keep getting updates―not so with Tribe from Notable Themes! One purchase gets you updates for life (support is available with a separate subscription).
So what are you waiting for?
Click here to get your copy of Tribe Theme. Stop fighting with WordPress and letting code get in the way of your creativity.
Which theme do you currently use? How has a theme interfered with your writing? Share in the comments.