Tips for Facebook Take-overs

Facebook take-overs are popular online events that authors can do to promote their books. There are many online book groups, many organized by genre, where the administrators will let you visit for a specific timeframe to post games, questions, and give-aways to help you celebrate your book. Most are done on the group’s page and are limited to its members. Though I have seen some do live events via Zoom.

Here are some tips as you plan your marketing events.

How Do I Find These Groups?

• Search for book groups on Facebook and read their descriptions. Join those that fit your interest and genre.

• Look at the events that they host. Many will solicit volunteers for author take-overs.

• It’s a good idea to do your homework and see how large the group is and how active they are. See what types of games are played and what other authors give-away.

• Reach out and message the group’s administrator to inquire about a take-over. Remember, most of these folks are book lovers who are volunteers. Be patient. It may take a day or two to get a response.

Things to Verify with the Administrator

• Make sure to confirm the date and time (in your time zone).

• Confirm when prize winners should be announced. Many would like for you to do it a day or two after the take-over to give more people a chance to play. I usually create a graphic with all the winners’ names and tag them in the post. I usually contact them via Messenger to let them know what information I need from them. Some group administrators want to post the winners. Make sure to ask.

• Find out if you’ll have administrative rights to the site. I like to create and schedule my posts on the site, so the night of the event, I can answer questions and make comments. It’s important for you to be active during the time that you’re scheduled. When you’re given rights to the site, make sure that you don’t approve new members or posts. It’s just for you to schedule your items.

• Make sure to ask if there are any special rules they ask their guests to follow. Some sites want you to number your posts, so readers can visit all of them easily.

Things to Always Do

• During the time of your take-over, make sure to refresh your screen every few minutes to see the latest responses. Sometimes Facebook changes how it filters comments (e.g. most relevant, most recent, etc.). Make sure it’s on the setting you prefer.

• Always thank your host and the page administrators. Most are volunteers.

• Be present and interact with the attendees.

• Post your winners and send the prizes in a reasonable amount of time.

Your Posts

• Make sure to have bright, interesting graphics that all have the same look and feel (e.g. backgrounds and colors). Put your web address and book cover on the graphic.

• Facebook truncates content in posts. Put the most important information first. Make sure to include a link to your book and a way that they can sign up for your newsletter.

• I create a Word document that has the content of each post. That way, when I’m ready to schedule them, I just have to copy and paste into Facebook.

• Next week, I’ll do a post on what type of activities to include in your take-over.

Your Prizes

• Always include what the prize is in your post.

• I make a list of all my give-aways and the prizes. When I pick a winner, I put the name next to it. Usually, you don’t want the same person to win more than one prize.

• I always try to think of prizes that I can send in a regular envelope to keep postage down.

• If you need to limit winners by a country, make sure you specify that in the post. It can get expensive to mail a package internationally.

Are You Using Your Platform to Its Potential?

Are you using your author potential to its fullest potential?

Website: Your website should be the hub or the center for all of your promotional activities.

• Make sure the information is current and fresh.

• Look at your site on a tablet or phone. Is it easy to navigate? Are the colors and photos appealing? Is your information updated?

• Are your photos, events, and logo dated? It may be time for a refresh.

• Are you using a blog to drive traffic to your site? Chances are you don’t have new book content regularly. You need a blog to keep readers interested in your site and to encourage them to visit regularly.

Social Media Sites: These should complement your website.

• Use them to advertise events, new books and blog posts.

• Your sites should look similar (your branding: colors, images, photos, etc.). Make sure readers know it’s you.

• Link to posts and pages to drive traffic to your website.

• Make sure you spend some time each week following new accounts and commenting on others’ posts. The social part of social media is key.

• Start your social media platforms before your book is published. It takes a while to build up a following. I focused on one site a week and worked to build my following.

• You need to post regularly. Readers want to be informed and entertained. Graphics, videos, and posts that spawn discussions attract more attention.

Newsletter: This is the marketing material that you own and control. If your social media sites shut down or ban you, you have no way of contacting your readers.

• Use this to advertise events, books, and blog posts. Recycle content from your blog.

• Make sure the branding matches your website and social media sites. You want a unified look.

• Try to be consistent when sending out your newsletter. Decide the cadence that works for you. Weekly may be too much, and annually may not be enough.

• Have a sign up feature on your website. Remind your folks on social media to sign up for your newsletter.

• Start building your email list before your book is published. Collect names and email addresses.

• Readers want to be entertained and informed. Look for ways to have interesting comment that appeals to readers of your genre.

15 Ideas for Social Media Book Marketing Posts

What do I post on my social media pages that isn’t the same old same old '“buy my book”? Here are some ideas to mix it up a bit:

1. Design a graphic that invites reminds readers to recommend your book to their book clubs.

2. Find non-bookish hooks in your book and advertise the connections to folks with similar interests. For instance, my sleuth Delanie Fitzgerald lives in a Sears Catalog House from the 1940s. I found several fan groups online, and one featured my book in their club’s newsletter.

3. Create graphics that highlight real places in your novel.

4. Make a post that has your book cover and the key information and invite people to recommend your book their library.

5. Highlight or introduce readers to your minor characters.

6. Make a post that features the animals in your story.

7. Find a website (like brownielocks.com) that has a calendar of fun holidays. Find several that relate to your book and create a post.

8. Create an announcement that’s eye catching to post a few days before your newsletter goes out and include the link to sign up. (Play up on the FOMA - ‘Fraid of Missing Out.)

9. Think of five or ten things about your character and make a series of memes to introduce him or her to your social media audience.

10. If your main character has a hobby, highlight that in a post. If he or she cooks, post a recipe.

11. Take pictures of yourself doing research or visiting real places in your book. These make fun posts.

12. Take pictures of your pets with your books.

13. Ask readers to send you pictures when they see your books in “the wild.” Collect these and make a collage of where your book has been.

14. Take your book with you on trips and take pictures of it in different locations.

15. Collect reviews and quotes from readers about your books. These make good graphics.

What would you add to my list?

Why Authors Need an Information Sheet for Each Book

When you start to market your book (or series), you are going to have to provide a lot of different kinds of information for book tours, blogs, podcasts, and other promotions. I create a Word document for each book with all the information that I know someone will ask about. That way, when I need to respond to an email, send publicity information, or do a post on social media, everything is in one place.

Here’s what I include:

• All ISBNs for the book

• Back cover copy

• Biography

• Elevator speech for the book (1-2 sentences to describe the story)

• Any tag lines you use

• Links for purchase on a variety of retail sites

• Summary of the series

I also keep an electronic file handy of my headshots and book covers in different sizes. I have a file of graphics that I created in Canva and Bookbrush for different seasons that are sized for a variety of social media platforms. I like both of these creative packages because I can depict the book in paperback, audio, and ebook for the graphics.

Having all of your book information organized will save you time when you’re responding to marking requests.

Do You Have an Author Logo?

You are your brand. I think authors need a logo. It helps identify you and your writing on your website, social media posts, blog, and other communications and promotional materials.

There are quite a few graphic software packages with templates that will help you create one. There are also work-for-hire sites and graphic designers that you can pay to create one for you.

Here are some things you might want to consider about your logo:

• Choose colors and fonts that reflect your writing style.

• Make sure you have different file types for your final logo. You’ll need a high-resolution version for printed materials. You’ll want some smaller files, too. You may even want a black and white version.

• If you plan to use your logo on different backgrounds, you’ll need to have one that has a transparent background.

• Make sure all fonts/text in your logo is readable at different sizes.

• You may want to have logos created for different sizes. If you try to enlarge a tiny logo to fit a large space, it often gets pixilated or jagged. I usually make a tiny one, a standard one, and a large one with a higher resolution for print items.

• Test your logo designs with your electronic sites and print versions to make sure the colors and fonts look the way you want them to look.

What else would you add to my list?

When Was the Last Time You Paid Your Website Some Attention?

I hope your 2025 writing journey is going well! As you’re planning your writing and book marketing tasks, don’t forget about your website.

• Make sure your author photo is current.

• Check your biography. Is it current?

• Are all of your books listed?

• Review the content on your pages. Check all links to make sure everything is functioning correctly.

• Add or update your event calendar.

• With all the changes and new platforms in the social media world, are your links current?

• Could your site use some sprucing up? Think about changing your colors, adding an author logo, or adding recent pictures of your book events. Do your colors and fonts match your style of writing?

• Look at your analytics page. Do you have pages on your site that no one visits (and you don’t update)? Is it time to retire them?

• Has your blog been ignored or abandoned? Is it time to think about reviving it? This is an easy way to ensure regular traffic to your website. It also gives you links to share on your social media sites.

• Is anything missing from your website? I teach a lot of classes and workshops, and someone mentioned that I should list my specialties. I created a new page and added a contact link.

What would you add to my list?

Designing Your Newsletter

Whether you’re creating your first newsletter template or polishing one you have, these are some ideas for designing and organizing your document.

I subscribe to a bunch of different author, publisher, and company newsletters. It’s good to peruse a sampling to get ideas of how others present information and what content they include. Make note of what catches your eye and how it appeared on the page.

It helps me to sketch out (storyboard) how I want my content to look and what sections I want to have. Most newsletter services have templates that you can use to make the design easier once you know what you want to include.

My newletters go out quarterly, so I usually have some sort of seasonal theme to go with each one.

Include a give-away if you can. You can put this in the subject line to build some buzz and hopefully, entice readers to open it to see what’s inside.

Your subject line needs to be short and interesting. People get hundreds of emails a day, and you are trying to make yours stand out.

I always have some kind of introduction that is a welcome to new followers.

If you write a blog, look through your posts to see if one or two can be repurposed in your newsletter. I do interviews of other authors on my blog, and in each newsletter, I feature 10 to 12 of them. My hope is to introduce my readers to some “new-to-them” authors.

Vary the content. Think of interesting things to share. People are looking for information and entertainment. All of your content shouldn’t be “buy my book.”

Make sure that the fonts and colors that you choose match your branding.

After you add all the content, photos, and graphics, send a test draft to yourself. Make sure everything looks the way you intended. Proofread all content. Check all forms and links to make sure they work.

My newsletter software has a scheduling feature, and it offers suggestions for the best time to send a newsletter. (Usually, you don’t want it to go out first thing on Monday morning when mailboxes are already full from the weekend.) I schedule based on the most optimum time. Since I’ve been doing this, I have had a better open rate.

Be prepared. You’ll get some unsubscribers each time you send a newsletter. Don’t take it personally. People sign up for all kinds of things, and then they clean up their email boxes later.

Look at the analytics page a week or so after you send a newsletter to see what you can glean from the data. It should show you things like how many went out, how many opened it and when, how many unsubscribed, etc. This can help you with planning your content and your schedule for your next one.

Your newsletter subscriber list, like your website, is yours and you manage the contacts. It’s valuable. Your social media sites are a key part of your marketing strategy, but if they shut down or ban you, you have no way of reaching your followers.

Building Your Newsletter Subscriber List

It takes some time (and work) to build your list of newsletter subscribers. I collected names for months before I sent out my first one. Here are some ideas for ways authors can increase their lists of subscribers.

• Create a sign-up sheet and take it to all of your events. Make sure to leave enough space for them to print their name and email address.

• When I do Facebook take-over parties, I always put a link in one or more of the posts for the participants to “keep in touch” via my newsletter.

• Make sure you have a form or a widget, so that visitors can sign up for your newsletter on your websites. A lot of website design software offer a pop-up when folks visit your site to sign up. You may want to delay that for a few seconds (or minutes), so that that’s not the first thing new folks see on your site.

• Newsletter swaps are a good way to build up your following. Look for another author who has a similar audience as you. You also want to have about the same size audience to make it worthwhile for both of you. You create content for her newsletter, and she’ll do the same for one of yours. Basically, you are featuring that author, and she will highlight you and your books in hers. Add a link in your article for readers to subscribe to your list.

• There are quite a few newsletter builders out there. These companies charge a fee for you to participate. Usually, every author also agrees to give away a book or two for the contest’s prize. The contest entrants agree to subscribe to the authors’ newsletters for additional chances to win prizes. At the end of the event, you get a spreadsheet of email addresses to import into your newsletter software. If you do participate, make sure you sign up for ones in your genre. You don’t want to collect names of readers who aren’t interested in what you write.

• If you participate in group author events, make sure to have your sign-up sheet available for folks.

• I do a lot of classes for different civic and social organizations, and these aren’t really opportunities to sell books, but I do take my newsletter sign-up sheet in case anyone is interested.

• Advertise your newsletter on social media sites. It’s good to post when you’re about to send one out, so that you can pick up any interested new subscribers.

What would you add to my list?