On any given day, thousands of people receive multiple invites to Facebook events. Just this week alone, I was invited to over twenty Book Release Day events! And in 2015, I hosted plenty of them myself. Here are a few things I’ve learned on setting up a successful Facebook event.
What is a Facebook Event?
First, for those of you who don’t know what a Facebook Event is:
A Facebook event is a online-based page which can be created by any Facebook user and set for specific days and times. The events can be set to private or public. The host and/or co-hosts can invite their friends, group members or fans of a page to join.
For authors, the most common type of event is called an “Author Takeover,” in which the host will schedule a variety of authors to takeover the event page for a specified amount of time. Games, giveaways and contests are commonly featured.
Create An Event
Let’s say you have a book coming out in a few months and you’re thinking about creating a Facebook event to celebrate the big Release Day. Here’s what you do:
(You’ll want to create from your author page rather than your personal profile.) Click on “Events” link on the left-hand side and then click the “Create” button on the top right.
Be sure to change the event from “private” to “public” so that your event is easily shared and others can invite as well.
You can then choose to upload your own banner. For best results, use a 1920 X 1080 pixel image (16:9 aspect ratio) with little or no text.
Add your event details: title, location, date/time, co-hosts, description and category.
Click “Create” at the bottom and you’re set up!
Now you have this freshly made event page. What do you do with it?
For starters, I suggest creating this page 2-3 months in advance and begin inviting friends, family, fans. Have them invite their friends, family, fans and so on. Side Note: Just be sure to invite people who actually WANT to be invited to events. Don’t bombard everyone with invites.. because that’s spammy. No one likes that. If you aren’t sure who to invite, share the event link on your wall and give your followers a heads up on what it’s about.
Keep your event page active by posting promotional graphics, book quotes, updates. You can even cross-promote with other author events. Run some contests and giveaways leading up to the actual event date.
If you are featuring author takeovers, start planning your schedule and filling in the available time slots. Have those authors share and invite as well. Be sure to post your author takeover schedule and pin it to the top of the event page.
OR try something different. Host a fundraiser for your favorite cause, have a real-time Q & A session, have a weekend-long book discussion. The choice is yours.
During The Event
What do you do during the actual event? Make it fun, keep people engaged!
Do a Google search for “funny memes” and you’ll have millions to choose from. Post one and have your party-goers caption it.
Rafflecopter.com has a free option for users to create a giveaway. Come up with a fun giveaway and use Rafflecopter to have fans follow you on Twitter to enter for a chance to win.
Tell the fans about yourself: What area are you from? What kind of things do you do when you’re not writing? Tell them some fun facts about yourself. Let them know about your latest or upcoming release- but don’t overdo it: no one wants to attend a party where all they see is “buy my book” posts. If they like you as a person, they’ll be more inclined to check out your books.
Events are NOT about book sales; they’re about interacting with fans, reaching out to potential readers and promoting your brand: YOU!
Founding her own Author Assistance business Melissa Flick’s Author Services in 2016, Melissa is passionate about helping authors through the publishing and marketing process.
Melissa currently co-hosts #BookMarketingChat with founder & host, Rachel Thompson (@BadRedHeadMedia) Every Wednesday 6pm PST/ 9pm EST.
She is a self-proclaimed book nerd and coffee addict.
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