August 25, 2022
Hello, BFFs!
We’re back with another post in our BookFunnel Group Promos series! So far, we’ve talked about finding new readers with group promos, finding the best promos, and how to share promos with your mailing list. Today, we’re switching sides and dishing on how to organize your own promo!
As a promo organizer, you set the rules and you’re in charge. If you were a geek (we are) and prone to geeky analogies (we are), you would say the organizer is the Dungeon Master (or “DM”), and all the other authors are players.
Which means, like any good DM*, it’s your job to herd the cats manage the authors in your promo! But, please, don’t let that scare you. Organizing a great promo starts with communicating your goals and expectations, and then following through! We’re telling you how to do that right… now.
What to do when organizing a promo
✅ Be clear with your requirements
Outline your promo vision in your promo description and list your requirements. What genres are you accepting? When do you want authors to share? How many shares do they need at a minimum? What is the minimum reputation to join your promo?
The clearer you are with your requirements, the easier it will be for authors to decide if your promo is a good fit for their schedule and their book. Be clear about what you are looking for and what you expect from authors before they join.
✅ Create a header graphic
BookFunnel promos let you upload a header image at the top of the page, and we’ll use that image everywhere you post on social media. An ideal header graphic will include the promo name, promo dates, and should clearly convey the genre of books you’re looking for.
You can do a group promo without a header image, but we don’t recommend it. Readers (and authors!) respond more to pretty images than they will to plain ol’ text. If you’re not graphically inclined and don’t have a buddy who can help, ask for volunteers in your promo description! Offer a featured spot in the promo to any author participant who can create a pretty header image for the promo.
✅ Follow your own requirements
If you say this is a promo for Cozy Mysteries, remove any book submissions that aren’t cozy mysteries. No “man chest” book covers allowed? Make sure to reject books with a studly, shirtless guy on the cover. You decide who stays in the promo and who doesn’t, and the authors who join your promo will appreciate your attentiveness.
✅ Send updates to everyone
BookFunnel provides a quick mechanism for sending an update to everyone in the promo. You can use it before the promo starts or during its run to let participants know what’s going on. Daily updates might be too much, but a few updates would be lovely! Which author has shared the most readers so far? How many books have been claimed? The authors in your promo want to know that you’re involved and keeping up with things.
✅ Be kind
Our stats show that most authors in group promos share. As the organizer, BookFunnel has a system in place for you to track every author’s promo participation. You can see how everyone is doing and track how many clicks each author is sending to the promo in real time.
Authors also have what we call a “promo reputation” on BookFunnel, which is simply an average of the total clicks they sent to previous promos. Their reputation is helpful when approving book submissions because you can see how consistently an author has shared in the past. Organizers can also see an author’s full promo history. We have a whole host of tools to make your role as an organizer easier, and we’ll detail our promo power tools in a future post.
If, or when, an author in your promo misses their share date, remember that they are an author just like you. They’re writing, they might have kids or a chronic illness, so try not to assume the worst. If someone hasn’t shared like they said they would, reach out! Email them. Maybe it’s something simple, like a broken link in their newsletter? Or, maybe something has derailed their life and they’re struggling to manage it all.
Whatever their response is, or if they don’t respond at all, it is okay to remove them from your promo for not sharing. That’s your right as the organizer, especially when your sharing requirements were crystal clear. Just… try and keep in mind that most of us are out here doing our best. Maybe reach out and see if they can share tomorrow, or the day after, before you give an author the boot?
Who should organize a promo?
You! Why not you? Especially if you write in a genre that doesn’t get as much attention as the biggies. There are other authors out there just like you, they just don’t know how to find each other. Without a DM, no one gets to play, so why not give it a shot?
Communication, consistency, and kindness… all great qualities that make for an excellent human being promo organizer. If you can manage those three things (and whip up a spiffy header image), you’ll knock your first promo out of the park! The promo board world needs more organizers just like you, so dive in!
Until next time, BookFunnel Fans!
*Organizing a D&D game among adults is WAY harder than running a group promo. Trust me on this one. If you know, you know.
More posts in this series are coming soon…
If you have a burning question about promos, reach out! We’re happy to help.
- Introduction: Finding New Readers With Group Promos
- Part 1: Finding the Perfect Group Promo
- Part 2: How to Share a Group Promo
- Part 3: Organizing a Group Promo
- Part 4: Coming soon!
