Have you ever
wondered what a Facebook party was or why you would attend one? Simply put, a
Facebook party is an online celebration for a specific purpose. For readers, it’s
an event to meet new authors, find great books and win prizes. That’s what this
post is about—connecting readers to authors and great books.
Do you have to know
someone or be invited by someone to attend? Not usually. Most parties are open to
the public. If you receive an invitation on Facebook, that means someone in
your list of friends invited you to a party. However, if you see a post in your
news feed announcing a party, that’s an open invitation to everyone. In either
case, it’s free and there’s no obligation to buy anything.
Event Page – Most parties are held on a Facebook
page set up specifically for that event. Once the event is over and the prize
winners are announced, the page is no longer used. The next time a party is set
up, a new page will be created by Facebook for that purpose.
Banner – This is important. It will
convey to you the theme, date and time of
the party.
About Section – This is where the organizers
will give you a brief description of what the party is about.
Pinned Post – The first post in the party will
list the guest authors in the order they appear, usually one every half-hour. That post will stay at the top.
What do the authors
do? First, they
introduce themselves, post links to their web pages, newsletters, Amazon author
pages, etc. That way, if you want to find out more about a certain author, you
can click on the links she provides. If you want to stay in touch with a
particular author and receive notification when she publishes a new book,
simply sign up for her newsletter or follow her on Amazon. Second, the author
will post her newest release along with a 1-2 paragraph description of the book
and “buy” links. Third, authors will post party games. A party game is usually an
activity posted in the form of an intriguing question in keeping with the party
theme, but it’s not limited to questions. Authors come up with all kinds of interactive
activities. Holiday parties are especially fun because there is so much ground
to cover! At least one prize is awarded in every game.
What’s a party favor? This is usually a free ebook offered to
everyone at the party.
How to participate – This is the easy part! Simply
read through the posts as they appear and comment. That’s it. You’ll have to
refresh the page periodically to keep up. If you have to leave for a while to answer
the phone, make supper or whatever, you can simply click out of the page and
come back later. The posts will stay up in the order they were posted for a
long time after the party closes. The winners are usually chosen the next day
to give latecomers and people who had to leave for a while a chance to read
through all the posts and comment.
Winners – What’s a party without prizes? They
vary from party to party, but the most common prizes are free ebooks, printed
books, book bags, bookmarks, personalized notebooks, jewelry and Amazon gift cards
($5-$10). Grand prizes can be large Amazon gift cards ($25-$100) or a new
Kindle. The amount and type of gifts vary from party to party. The winners are chosen
after the party closes—usually the next day. Sometimes the authors choose the
winners, sometimes they are chosen using a random generator. Either way, you
can’t win a prize unless you participate by commenting.
To get you started, I’ve
provided three Facebook parties within this post that I found under “Events” on
my personal Facebook home page (not the timeline). If you aren’t aware of this
feature, Events will be listed on the left side. On my page, it’s toward the
bottom. I have included the links to these events below.
Have fun and I hope
you win a prize!
Kathi Daley Books
Halloween Spooktacular – Going on now through 10/31
November 10th
– Third Annual Cowboys and Christmas Release Party
https://www.facebook.com/events/559407924255395/
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https://www.facebook.com/events/559407924255395/
Thanks for the info. I love Facebook parties. I've met so many people through them.
ReplyDeleteI hope it helps people who are curious about FB parties, but don't participate because they know anything about them.
DeleteThanks, Denise. I also love Facebook parties and have met so many wonderful new readers. Plus, the parties are so much fun!
ReplyDeleteYes, me too! When I think of how scared I was the first time I participated as an author, I have to laugh. It was a great way to learn how to connect with readers online, but not as difficult as I thought it would be. It's fun.
DeleteFacebook parties are such fun - and a great way for readers and authors to connect!
ReplyDelete