Iphone, ipad, eMail, eBooks, ePub, eCommerce, LinkedIn,
Twitter, Skype and Yelp —are but a few of the myriad communication options open
to today’s readers and writers. Whether we go kicking and screaming or we
joyfully seek the embrace of new technology, one glaring fact remains: there
will be absolutely no going back to the way things were.
Take book signings for example. Not very long ago writers
made the rounds to bookstores, either physically or via snail mail, in hopes of
scoring a good day to be in-store meeting and greeting customers and with
studied nonchalance, sell copies of their latest book. Not any more. In-store unexpectedly fast tracked to “Online
“and virtual book launches are becoming commonplace among writers, seasoned and
new. After an incredible live launch in Hyderabad, India of my latest book Nursing:
A Calling to Care, I decided to hop on the Online bandwagon and try the
“virtual” launch trip.
I read multiple articles on the do’s, don’ts and absolutes
of a social media launch, combined a number of these elements and set the grand
date. Here is what I found. A party takes planning – online or off. One cannot
login to Facebook (FB) and go at it, hoping people will catch on. There has to
be a definite plan.
For me that meant:
a.
Time of the event, Theme, Topic
b.
Venue i.e. what networks I planned to post the
party
c.
Guests, gab (conversation), gifts and possibly
games
d.
Food, fotos (photos) fun stuff
1.
The party Venue
boils down to all the social media you wish to engage and can successfully
manage throughout the entire party. By this I mean if you do not have a suite
that effectively links and disseminates each post to all your accounts, you
will need to do the copy-login-paste-repeat sequence to all your accounts so
all of your guests will be “in the same room” as the party progresses. I do not
have an online suite (yet) so I was busier than a one-eyed cat with two mouse
holes! (I did Chat, Three separate FB accounts, LinkedIn, Twitter and email).
2.
Set a
time and create a timeline. My party would run from 12 noon Friday until
whenever at night (which turned out to be around 11:00pm) and pick up again
Saturday morning at 9:00am until 9:00pm. First, I had to create an online
timeline. Google became my very best friend! For the entire planning process I
simply typed in what I wanted to do and marveled as related sites popped up.
Invariably there would be one with exactly what I wanted.
3.
Choose a
theme. Most authors who have hosted online launches agree a theme is
essential. Better yet, select a theme that harmonizes with the subject of your
book. This provides general conversation as people logon in much the same way
as there would be if guests were walking into a room, a restaurant, a park or
any other venue. I did not think most of my audience would care to dress up as
nurses. And I really was not “feeling” the whole beach or other frequently used
themes so I made an executive decision and chose food. Middle of the road
vegetarian worked really well i.e. not too complicated but not necessarily
every day. On Thursday my “guests” were
given a menu, a shopping list and a hint that free gifts were tied to uploading
pictures of their food creations. They also had my solemn pledge to post
pictures of my meals.
4.
Topic seems
like an odd thing to mention since one would assume, the book being launched
would take center stage. Well, yes and no. Talking about your book the entire
launch can quickly become boring to your audience. General interest topics,
letting your audience open a topic (simply by expanding on what they have posted,
asking for other opinions, or posing leading questions) broadens discussion and
will have a wider draw over several hours.
5.
Guest and
gab. Have an interesting special guest lined up to act as your relief
pitcher. He or she will inject new life, introduce a new a topic, promote YOU
as a writer and of course, talk about the new book. Chances are there will be
budding writers at your party. Make sure there are opportunities to talk about
their interests, their projects, and have solid nuts-and-bolts information for
this very teachable time.
6.
Gifts and
possibly games. If you were hosting an actual party, chances are there
would be party favors. Depending on the scope of your entertainment there might
even be door prizes. A virtual party can and should have gifts – it can have
favors and numerous events can be created for prizes depending on your budget. I
linked gifts to guests’ participation. Therefore, my guests who uploaded
recipes, immediately received prizes. Prizes were also awarded to new writers, a
new FB friend who suddenly joined the conversation, and so on. Once again, a
virtual party does not seek to reinvent the wheel where gifts are concerned.
Copies of your book, new CD or DVD, gift certificate or good quality novelty
items, will all work quite well.
7. Food, fotos (photos) fun stuff. As one
famous fast food chain declares “Gotta eat.” Food makes a great theme around
which to rally guests. For the Nursing:
A Calling to Care launch, I chose a middle of the road vegetarian menu.
Nothing too radical or too expensive and in some cases as simple as mix
everything together in a bowl and bake or serve. Additionally, I provided
websites for each dish so guests could chose which recipe they preferred. I
uploaded everything I made which of course made for more conversation.
After the party comes the
clean-up. Since it’s virtual you may not have a lot of clean-up to do but
certainly, adequate wrap up time should be built in. I started my end of party
countdown around ninety minutes before the party ended. That gave guests time
to post their last minute comments, gave me time to respond on all the sites
and really cemented the feeling of walking people to the door and saying, “until
next time.” I realized I was neither being fanciful or overly sentimental as
there were comments of wanting an invitation to the next party, and time well
spent, enjoying the time together and such. On Sunday the comments continued in
person and by telephone.
Okay, I know someone is thinking, what about book sales? If we bear in
mind the average sale for an in-store book signing can be as low as five books
and meeting maybe less than a hundred people, my online launch was a phenomenal
success. Yes I received a big order but I also garnered two new followers on
Twitter both of whom had a following of over 20, 000 – yeah for free
advertising. I personally talked to 22 individuals, in addition to those who
were posting on the site over the two days. On Sunday I received an even better
sense of how many people were being “wallflowers” at the party. Yes they were
there, “liked” my status, “liked” the pictures posted but never interacted with
other guests. Better yet, I am firmly convinced this party will be going on for
a long time. If you were among those who attended, thank you. Please feel free
to let’s talk about it on my FB pages, or Tweet @laurenemy, LinkedIn, or of
course, right here on my blog.
Write strong.
