We’ve all hosted Facebook launch parties, right? Another author has a book coming out and the go-to in this industry is to set up a day-long party on FB where other authors go in and out of the page, dropping info about their books and playing games.
This used to be incredibly helpful and a great way to get the word out about a new book and introduce readers to other books as well. The key was to have these other authors bring in their fanbase to introduce to the Party Author.
Fast forward several years and we’ve come to a point where these parties consist almost solely of the Party Author trying to do give aways and play games while the majority of the other authors do nothing but spam the feed about their own books. Granted, some play games (kind of) but is it enough to call it an engaging party?
Guest authors have a lot of flexibility in what they do within these parties, but unless they are posting strategically, the 20 minutes-one hour that they spend there will just be a waste of their time.
Readers don’t care about you when all you do is scream at them to follow your social media/website/Amazon page. You come off sounding arrogant and out of touch when you make it all about you.
But, if you change how you’re playing the game, not only do the party goers get really invested in what your doing, but they bring their friends along, and the Party Author will be super impressed with you (and keep bringing you back!)
Here’s what you need to know:
Here’s a quick recap of the video, but be sure to watch the video-it’s short and has all the juicy ideas and tips!
1.) Keep the focus on Party Author.
As an author who is a guest host at a party, please be aware that this party is NOT about you. You can (and should) talk about your book, but you need to do it in a way that highlights the Party Author’s books.
Think along the lines of “If you like Party Author’s book, you’ll like mine because…” or “For my fans who are hanging out with us and like my book because___, you’ll also like Party Author’s book because (a bunch of awesome stuff about his book)”
I recently did a party where I didn’t know the author, I hadn’t read her book, all I had to go off of was her Amazon write up. I still managed to pull enough comparisons between her book and one of mine to create a game all about both of our books that last an hour. At the end, the group had learned a lot about her book, a lot about my book, had been super interactive in my posts, and *wait for it* had a present to walk away with that reminded them of me and Party Author (and no, it wasn’t a free copy of my book)
Your goal is to keep the focus on Party Author, with hints of yourself mixed in.
Think of it like a first date. You want to keep the focus on the other person. If you talk about yourself all night…well, you know how that looks.
2.) Use streamlined imagery.
Grabbing random images from pixabay.com and pexels.com is not necessarily the most helpful. You need to make sure your imagery looks cohesive and part of a Question Collection.
In other words, your imagery should be immediately recognizable as part of your game. Whether it is all the same color, it has the same frame, you have specific similar wording on each…it has to look cohesive and intentional. Don’t just throw random photos together and call it a day. That makes it look like you’ve taken little to no effort to participate.
Pro Tip: You can NOT take images off of Google. This is copyright infringement and is illegal. Don’t be a terrible person who breaks the law and steals other people’s work. In order to use images they must either be taken by you (and if it’s of a person, you must have a model release) or you need to have licensed the images. I mentioned two sites above that allow you to license imagery for free. Read their terms before using their images. Do NOT steal from Google.
3.) Ask questions.
For the love of all things interactive, if you don’t give people an open door to talk to you, they won’t. Ask a question, ask for their opinion….it doesn’t matter as long as you are giving them permission to talk.
Which would you respond to?
Going to the coffee shop to get a latte.
Walking into the coffee shop, which latte should I get?
The second example gives you permission to talk.
>>>CHECK THE ARTICLE ON HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO TALK TO YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MORE<<<
Giving them permission to talk to you encourages them to actually interact.
Pro Tip: Worried people won’t play your game? Plant a friend or two to get the ball rolling. When other people see that fans are involved, they’ll jump in too!
Be sure to watch the short video for all the details you need to know to make you next guest host gig SO.MUCH.BETTER.
Trust me, when you implement this, you’re going to be held to a higher level of respect than other authors…which means more party invites for y-o-u.
Have questions on guest hosting a party? Want to share your latest party story? Hit up the comments and let me know!
Stay inspired,
-K.M.