Building Bigger Events: How to Make Your Book Events Count

What: This tip sheet outlines some techniques that will help ensure that you get readers to turn out to all the book events you schedule.

Why: The reality is it takes a lot of work, time, and coordination to get folks to attend book events. If you were asked how many book events you’ve attended this year, my guess is that they would be just a few, if that many. That’s not a judgment, mind you: there simply are a lot of attractive activities competing for people’s time. Add to that the fact that many bookstores and events venues can do only a modicum of outreach, and the lion’s share of the burden of promotion is squarely on authors’ shoulders.

How: Below are some helpful tips to ensure you get the most punch out of your events:

Note: These tips are primarily geared toward public events, such as bookstore talks, community speakers series, church hall lectures, etc., and not conferences or corporate speaking engagements (although some of these may apply to other types of events as well).

Enter your public book events at BookTour.com.

This database is quickly becoming the most popular way for book lovers to find out about who’s speaking in their town. Simply create a log-in profile and enter your event listings, one by one. Additionally, BookTour.com listings feed into many of the events sections of regional daily newspapers, weeklies, online databases, and other news sources. The events also automatically feed into your Amazon.com author page.

Activate your social media networks and your website.

You should send messages to your Facebook friends and fans, Twitter followers, and LinkedIn Groups to let them know you’re coming to their towns. For Facebook, create an event invitation and send it out at least one month ahead of your event. Follow up with reminders a week before the event and then the day prior to the event. (Additionally, if you’re having a tough time finding a host or a venue for a city, send an “ask” through Twitter, Facebook, etc. You might get some useful suggestions or offers.) Blast your email lists as well and include your event’s information front and center on your website if you have one.

Get at least one local organization to sponsor your event.

Reach out to a local organization with which you may have a contact and that would seem to be a match for the content of your book. It may want to host your event, but, if not, it may agree to sponsor an event held at a venue that you make arrangements for. Sponsoring typically means doing little more than marketing the book to its local list (i.e., send an email blast, make mention on its website, etc.). This is a win-win for all. The author and venue receive the possibility of benefitting from greater attendance, while the organization gets to affiliate itself with a great project at no cost and with little effort required.

Recruit a high-profile person to introduce you or to do a Q&A with you at an event.

Using much the same logic as you would use for recruiting a foreword writer, adding a high-profile person to introduce you or even interview you at an event is a terrific way to generate extra attendance. This can be an especially effective tactic for first-time authors. It is a way to draw people to your talk who might benefit from the content but who might not otherwise attend. And a Q&A with another expert can be a particularly effective way of freshening the content and differentiating your event from others.

Consider regions that make sense.

Pick regions where you have networks or contacts that can help you. It probably doesn’t make sense to do an event in, say, Sedona, Arizona, because you are vacationing there if you’re from Atlanta and have no contacts in Sedona. Focus on regions where you know you can at least count on getting your event information out to a core group that will attend, and you can build from that.

Book media around your event.

Radio is a particularly effective way of getting local publicity and generating traffic. Have your publicist contact a few producers at local NPR and Pacifica Radio affiliates and community radio stations to see if they’d broadcast an interview with you during your visit. Try to initiate the booking about a month ahead of your visit. If you can book your interviews for the day prior to or even the morning of the event, you’re golden. Reviews in newspapers are always a tough catch, but book review editors are much more apt to review books by local authors or to write a review in concert with a local event. Be advised, though, that they need a long lead time, so have your publicist send a copy of your book with a note about the event as early as possible. Do the same for any alternative weeklies in the area.

Get your events listed in regional newspapers and alternative weeklies.

While many bookstores and speakers series publicists actively provide newspapers, weeklies, and other local media with event listings information, not all are very assertive about this. To eliminate any possibility that yours will not be listed, visit the online listings section of the leading local newspapers and the alternative weeklies in the area of your event. There you should find an email link or online registration form to make your event listing happen.

Thanks to Peter Cavagnaro, one of BK’s past publicity managers for writing this tip sheet. Please email Katie Sheehan or Cynthia Shannon if you have further suggestions or comments.

Look forward to next month's Tip Sheet. See you then!

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

www.bkconnection.com

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