After building your platform and forming your community of influence, here are some ways your community can help support you and other authors.
Book Sales: Purchase copies of your book during your launch campaign.
Endorsements: Well-known authors in your genre can provide testimonials for your book cover or contribute a foreword.
Book Reviews: Post reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, BN.com, etc.
Beta Reader Support: Provide editorial feedback, reviews, and promotion support.
Industry Promotion: Recommend your book in an industry blog, newsletter, or print publication.
Guest Blog Posts: Publish guest blog posts or book excerpts that you provide.
Social Media: Share book promotion messages across social media platforms.
Podcast: Feature you on an industry podcast, teleseminar, or webinar event.
Speaking Opportunities: Invite you to speak at a meeting, event, or conference.
Bulk Sales: Buy copies of your book in bulk to distribute to event attendees, staff, etc.
Sponsorship: Contribute to your book tour or campaign by donating funds or in-kind items, such as printing services or banners, in exchange for promotion.
Connections and Introductions: In addition to asking your community for the above support, you can also ask them, “Who do you know who can help?” Perhaps a former client has a great connection with a trade association, nonprofit, or an event planner for an upcoming conference. You will never know unless you ask!
Author Success Story
Occasionally, I get the opportunity to meet one of our members out in the wild, which is always a joy. I once met up with Susie Kundrat, a member of the Nonfiction Authors Association for over three years and a past student in several of our courses. Years ago, Susie launched her book Eat, Move Groove: Unlock the Simple Steps to Lifelong Nutrition, Fitness, and Wellness, and has sold thousands of copies.
A registered dietician and college professor, Susie has been touring the country in a camper van, delivering free and paid speaking engagements and working with several corporate sponsors. When she sat down to identify her COI, she realized she had a large list of connections she could reach out to and ask to support her book promotion efforts.
The following are some of the results she has achieved as a result of connecting with her Community of Influence.
• Delivered dozens of speaking engagements and group training programs, both free and paid. She has ten more events scheduled in the next three months alone. By reaching out to those she knows, she has been able to schedule events in cities across the United States.
• Generated several bulk sales of 100+ books. In one instance, she was asked to speak at an event that didn’t have a budget to pay the speaker. She asked if they would instead purchase 100 copies of her book to give to attendees, and the organization gladly complied. (Often times books and learning materials come from a different budget so be sure to ask!)
• Landed a $10k corporate sponsorship in exchange for talking about the organization at her events and helping them build brand awareness as a good food option for wellness.
• Captured dozens of photos and videos at events, giving her plenty of content to help grow her social media following and email list.
• Has 15 interns (!!!) helping with marketing efforts. Most are getting school credit while also getting work experience.
• Hosts a monthly Zoom happy hour featuring a guest speaker and keeping her audience engaged in the process.
Susie is also donating 22% of the book sales proceeds to local nutrition organizations and food banks in each of the communities she visits, which adds up to over $5,000 so far. The percentage is based on her unique “2211 Plan,” which encourages readers to exercise for at least 33 minutes per day with 22 minutes of cardio and 11 minutes of strength building.
Susie’s results are largely due to identifying and connecting with her Community of Influence. Consider how your own COI can help you reach your goals.
Did you know we host a year-round Nonfiction Book Awards program? Check it out!
