How to Promote Book Events

Most people tend to look at the new year as a way to start fresh. They begin new diets, exercise more, plan vacations they’ve always wanted to take or invest in opportunities to be smarter with their finances. But what about your business? Have you ever thought of trying something new, but didn’t know exactly how to start? Have you ever wanted to motivate your employees, have closer relationships with your customers or learn to use social media to your advantage, but didn’t know where to begin? While I can't help with many of those issues, I could show you how to promote book events this year.

Many business owners and authors believe all events should be promoted the same way, but as there are different types of events, there are different ways to promote them. Some examples of events are: online events, meetings, grand openings or book launches, seminars and workshops, conferences, book signings, book-selling opportunities and networking events. Now, how do you go about promoting these events? Did you have a good turnout at previous events? Wouldn’t you like a higher number of attendees? Let us help by showing you how to use a balanced approach; use the tools at your disposal, show how to be aggressive; show how to think outside the box; and show how to use word of mouth to your advantage. We also will show you when the best time would be to start promoting your event so you will have the greatest number of participants. We will also assist you in marketing to the right people for any event. Knowing your target market and those who are likely to be interested will work to your greatest advantage, which is exactly what you want for any successful event. The one successful events are those that are promoted early, about two or three months in advance.

Online events can be tricky if you are not quite sure how to use social media or which form would be most advantageous. We can help you with any of your social media needs to help you build a strong online presence. You want to create Facebook events and share links with all social media and e-mail addresses. You want to post on the event page on Facebook every day until the actual event. You also want to create Eventbrite events and encourage others to share your event. You can use Eventbrite even if your event is a free event.

When you are trying to sell your books, you want to think of your events like a store would for a grand opening or a workshop. Besides the online presence you create for your event, you have to add a link to Amazon author page and send a press release about the event and your participation in it. You want to send a press release even if the organization where you are holding your book event is sending one. This would make your presence more important and more likely to get coverage. For seminars and/or workshops, you want to do everything you do for online events and meetings, but you should also send press releases; personally invite people; send letters if you have mailing addresses; call prospective people interested in your event; and add to calendars of newspapers, Patch.com and radio sites.

Promotion is so important! How can you have a successful book event if nobody knows when it’s being held? How can you hope to sell any copies of your books, if no one has ever heard of it? Almost every successful event is preceded by a large amount of “buzz” or constant promotion. And to achieve that, “buzz” you must have a high social media presence as this is the most commonly used resource in the world! Depending on the event, you will also need to send a press release, invite journalists to attend and sometimes even politicians!

During the event, don't forget to live stream it on YouTube or Facebook Live. That video could be used to market the second one. Also take pictures during the event and post them on your event page and social media profiles. This also will market your next event. If you are holding a workshop or conference, set up a table in the back of the room to collect money from participants for the next conference. They are most primed at this moment because they are having a beneficial time and will want to go to the next one. If you wait until it's several months after the conference, your audience will not be as willing to attend and your numbers will decline.

If you follow these steps, you will have a higher attendance at your book events or workshops and seminars.