September 14, 2015

Book Release Party




Release day parties are wonderfully fun and the great thing is that each one is different from the next. You can do whatever you want, follow your own set of rules. I have not done my own release day party yet, but I have been an author guest for several.

You can do a party anywhere, but I’m going to share tips on how to do a Facebook party.

1. Set a date.

Usually this will be the actual release of your book or the first Monday or Friday after it.

2. Decide on a time frame.

A release party can last one hour, four hours, or twelve hours. It’s up to you!
TIP #1: No matter how long your party is, make sure it’s updated with new posts regularly to keep guests entertained and to get them to participate. You don’t want to have a twelve-hour party with nothing happening.
3. Decide if you want author guests (or co-hosts) to come in and help out.

You can do the party all by yourself, you can invite a ton of authors to pop in and post whenever they feel like it, or you can specifically ask authors if they would like to participate and assign them an hour (or two, depends on you and the author) to promote their own work and do giveaways.
TIP #2: The authors will need a personal Facebook profile in order to post to the event. They can’t do it through their fan page, which can create a problem if they have a pen name. I had to create a person profile under my pen name in order to participate in Terri’s party.
This is one of the prizes I offered once.

4. Set up a schedule.

If you’re going to have author guests come in throughout the day and keep your party goers interested, you should create a schedule so you know when each author will have his or her time to have fun.

5. Create the event.

You can do this on Facebook. On the left hand side, under your name and profile picture, click on “Events” then click “+Create.” You can give it a catchy title or keep it simple. Write a small description in the “Details” area. You can include the guest schedule. Fill in the sections for “Where,” “When,” and set the “Privacy.” Finally, add the cover art for your release or a banner.

6. Announce your event.

Announce your event on your Facebook page, Twitter, blog, website, Google +, and any loops or groups you’re part of.

7. Invite people.

Notify the author guests and send them a link so they can join the party and invite their family and friends.
TIP #3: Don’t forget to ask the people who join to invite everyone they know. With luck, you could have 200+ people “going” to your Facebook party.
8. Prepare.

Figure out what you want to do during your party. Will you do everything for the duration or have co-host? If you have co-hosts, be ready to host the first and last hours of your party, and to introduce each guest before it’s their hour to take over.

9. Posts and giveaways.

Know what you’ll post and at what time.

When I co-hosted for Terri, I did two ebook giveaways, a small jewelry giveaway, and a grand prize giveaway. In-between these I posted questions for the party-goers to answer. I had one hour, so I was posting about every five minutes and keeping up with comments. At the end of my hour, I announced the winners of the smaller giveaways and reminded everyone the grand prize giveaway would end the next day. To win the grand prize, they had to “like” my Facebook page. So I kept track of the likes I got.

The grand prize I did for my first time participating in a Facebook release party.

TIP #4:
A giveaway can be anything: book swag, signed print books, eBooks, jewelry, home décor, gift cards, or something related to one of your books. 
TIP #5: Try not to giveaway the book the party is for. You want people to buy it, not to enter a giveaway and hope they win it. 
TIP #6: Someone can be eligible for a giveaway by posting a comment to the giveaway post or by doing something more such as liking your Facebook page, following your blog or Twitter, etc. 
TIP #7: You can do your own giveaways at the beginning and end of your party and also let your co-hostsdo giveaways. That way many of your party goers have a chance to win. 
TIP #8: After you randomly select a winner, check to see if someone else announced them as a winner for another prize. I noticed quite a few people for Terri’s party were the winners for several different giveaways, even mine. If you check first, you can do another drawing to get a new person who hasn’t won anything.
10. HAVE FUN!

Don’t stress about this! If you have guest authors, they will take off a lot of the pressure. Enjoy your time in the spotlight!

I was just one co-host out of many but I loved it! I got a lot of great feedback and guests even said they loved me. :D

11. Clean up time.

When the party is over, thank everyone for coming and especially thank your guest authors. You can do something special to thank them such as entering them in a giveaway for your book or send them all a mobi copy of it.

Also, you’ll want to announce the winners of your giveaways and notify him/her. You can tag them in a comment, send a private message or an email. Then get the information you need to send them their prize. 
FYI: You don't need a lot of readers to do this. If you have authors as co-hosts, their readers will come to your party. Also, don't expect to sell a ton of books. This is for people to have fun and spread the news about your book. Many will be there for the prize, but you will generate interest and possibly a few sales.
SHARE: Your tips for hosting a Facebook release party.



QUESTIONS: Have you ever hosted or co-hosted a release party? What was your experience? Have you ever joined a release party as a guest?


62 comments:

  1. I've never hosted a Facebook party although I probably should've. That is a wise tip not to give away the book itself. You do want people to buy it.

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    1. I've only co-hosted a Facebook party but I plan to host my own next year. Maybe you can be one of my author guests. It's good practice. :)

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  2. I've never hosted such a party but appreciate your insights.

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  3. Hi Chrys ... this is way beyond my non-techie soul. But having the detail set out in point form .. will help many. Cheers Hilary

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    1. It can get confusing if you're not already familiar with how events on Facebook works.

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  4. Great advice, Chrys. I've never hosted a party, but is sounds like fun. Saving this in case I get brave enough to do one for my next book.

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    1. It is a lot of fun. Even if you're just helping someone with their release party.

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  5. Good tips! I'm not on Facebook, but I've done a Twitter party before.

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    1. Thanks! I'm new on Twitter so I have no idea how to do a Twitter party.

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  6. Never hosted a FB party before but will definitely save this post. Thanks a lot for sharing, it was very informative.��

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    1. You're welcome, Lidy! If you ever have a FB party, don't forget to invite me. ;)

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  7. I always get confused and usually miss Facebook parties. I don't spend a lot of time on Facebook, but am trying to change that. Thanks for sharing, Chrys.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. If you're invited to one, you just have to remember what day and time, log into FB, and click on the event. If you joined it, it should be listed on the side or under events. Then you sit back and enjoy the posts that come in. :)

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  8. I haven't done a book release party. For some reason, us guys aren't big on giving away jewelry and stuff, nor do we make much of an effort to win them. If I were to do a book party giveaway, maybe I'd give away steakburgers.

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    1. Haha! A price can be anything. And if it relates to the book some how, that's even better. I'll make sure to have prizes for guys in the future. ;)

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  9. Spencer Hill Press threw me a zombie prom launch party for Touch of Death. It was amazing.

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  10. Fantastic tips! I've never done a party like that or even been to one. Now that I have some more time, maybe I should check a few out. :)

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  11. I love lists like this. They are so helpful. Thanks Chrys

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  12. I've never tried doing a FB party but have heard great things about them so I want to next time. Thanks for sharing these tips!

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    1. I think you'd have a blast doing one, Julie. :)

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  13. I've never had a party, but I might hold one if I know I have enough fans who'll buy the book instead of only congratulating me. It seems like the most successful release day parties are for people with a lot of fans, people who don't have to beg for help and get people volunteering their services without even being asked.

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    1. That's not true. If you get authors to co-host time slots, their readers will come to your party. This isn't just about them buying your book, but celebrating and spreading the word. A lot will be there for the prizes, don't get me wrong, but if you do it right you'll get many interested in your book and several could buy it.

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  14. Never even dawned on me about having a Facebook party. But what a wonderful idea. Obviously, I've never hosted one before, and never co-hosted or attended one. I don't even recall being invited to one. But I certainly would. I'd even be willing to co-host or have my own some day when I have something to celebrate i.e. A book release.

    The closest I've come to anything like this is participating in Stephanie Faris' Cover release for her upcoming book.

    What fun.

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    1. Doing a cover release for someone is a lot of fun! I enjoy it every time. I will definitely invite you to my Facebook party. :)

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  15. I think FB parties are a great idea, but never having done one, I find the idea a little daunting. Your prizes were wonderful!

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    1. It could be daunting at first, but if you lurk on a couple and prepare it's not so bad.

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  16. A lot of coordination sure comes due with those. Great tips indeed

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  17. A Facebook party sounds like fun! Thanks for the tips.

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  18. Sounds great fun and thanks for sharing this with us.
    Yvonne.

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  19. A Facebook party? Huh? So, people just hover online or something? Sorry, this isn't getting through my brain.

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    1. LOL! Yes, they pretty much just hover in the event and enjoy whatever the host and the co-hosts do.

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  20. I love when people do FB parties. It's like a Quick virtual party with all my buds!! Great tips. If I need to I'm coming to you for more on this!!

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    1. Exactly! It's a lot of fun. I join a lot but end up not being able to attend when it happens, but they are great fun.

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  21. I wondered how FB parties worked; never been to one because most of the time they are held when I'm working, but they do sound interestingly fun :)

    betty

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    1. When I have a FB party, I'll try to do it long enough so you'll be able to stop in after work. :)

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  22. A wonderful insight into FB parties. Prizes like that would only work nationally. Looks great. :-)

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    1. That's true, Denise. Prizes that are virtual are better for international giveaways.

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  23. I've never hosted or co-hosted a release party, but this was a cool post with wonderful tips. I'll certainly keep it in mind for future books! Have a great day.

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    1. I'll let you know when I do when so you can lurk and see what it's like. :)

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  24. Chrys, great tips! You've given me much to think about. I was planning on doing a Facebook event but only inviting individuals and that's about it. It was more of an announcement. But now I think I want to do more like have a few $10.00 Amazon gift cards and such to raffle off.

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    1. Yes! That's the way to think. Have some prizes and event some guests. Make it a cool event. :)

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  25. I've never hosted or been a part of a facebook party... I don't know if I ever will! But if I do, I'll keep your suggestions in mind, thanks! :)

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    1. You're welcome, Madilyn. If you ever do host a party, that's one I'll want to attend. ;)

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  26. I have done a V-Party and it was a blast. So much fun. It went off without a hitch because we were so organized. :-)

    Anna from Elements of Writing

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  27. Aren't you just the busiest bee? What a novel idea :-) At this point I'd prefer to attend as I'm still in the sneaking around stage on Facebook - ha! Honestly, if planning to host a Book Release Party is anything like the planning of my daughter's wedding (three weeks from now) my hair will have an all-over silver party on my head! But you have compiled a concise and quite helpful list for those of us with the energy :-) Thank you yet again, Lady Chrys for an engaging post!

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    1. Hopefully you'll be able to attend one of mine...I want to have one for my first print book but I just don't know when that'll be because I'm still waiting to hear back from my publisher. *dying!*

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    2. It would be my pleasure :-) My fingers are crossed for you - is there some kind of rain dance we can do? ;-)

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    3. I wish I knew if there was a rain dance for this. I'd do it every night before bed. ;)

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  28. Thanks for sharing these tips. I haven't hosted any FB party but it is eye opening to read this post. Thanks.

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  29. I love the jewelry. I'm no longer on FB, but I remember such parties. Some of them were really fun and involved.

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    1. I'm sad that you're no longer on FB. I tried to tag you once. :( I still find it useful...for the time being anyway.

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  30. I have so many of your posts bookmarked, Chrys. You rock. I have a tweet for this post scheduled to go out tomorrow. Gotta share all this great info!

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    1. You're awesome, Ava! Thanks for the upcoming tweet. And I hope to create a book out of these posts so maybe you can have them all in one place. ;)

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