ABC is a fantastic community building resource for authors, and an even better tool when many authors in a genre come together.
This article will talk about using ABC's functions to build community around a single book or a series over time.
The Indie User level is a great start to creating a fan following around your personal profile. We'll explore that in a separate blog post. The Organizational User and Champion User afford you event better tools to really rally readers behind your books.
Pages Are Authoritative Gathering Places
Creating Pages in ABC is a feature of both Org and Champion Users. Your book or series can have a great, centralized location for official announcements, tour information, community trivia and more. And, because only the creator is able to post to them, readers know the information is official, and comes straight from the author or staff. You can create a page that supports one book, or a series. You can even create a page that acts as a representative for an element WITHIN a book (what, the Dwarven gagsters in my fantasy novel have their own PAGE?). It's a fun and entertaining way to immerse your readers in your worlds.
Exclusive Page Content
Post giveaways, call for new Beta Readers, share behind the scenes stories and trivia from your book's creation. Use your page in tandem with a group to celebrate a book's bookiversary.
Use Pages for #AMA sessions.
Events for More Exposure
Adding events to your pages NOT ONLY give the page more content, but it expands the discoverability of the page within the community. Upcoming events appear right on the site home page, giving your page a front and center seat to any site visitor.
Groups Are Like Pages Plus One
Discussion is at the core of social media. Giving your fans a place where they can talk about your book among themselves can be JUST as entertaining for you as it is for them. Available as a feature for Champion users, the ability to create groups is a powerful engagement tool in your toolbox. You can create PRIVATE groups, for just your beta readers to have a place to check in on their work with both you and each other.
Drive the Conversation
Tell your community that your page is the place THEY have voice to share their love of your books encourage them to post pictures of your books in the wild. Pass on a video of their first read of one of your books. A safe space for their reviews. These things all build engagement and repetative returning visits.
Using Descriptions to Drive Sales
Your group and page descriptions are great opportunities to drive interest, and ultimately sales, for your titles. Using links to your own purchase site, or to Amazon or other retailer provides an always on "buy" button.
Pictures say 10,000 words
Sharing pictures to your pages or groups is a great way to show that you are active and engaged for your books. People always want to feel like they belong, and by including them in your pictures, they can.
Video Is Still King
And video can be anything- you with a quick update on a page. Your fans with 3 reasons they read your book 3 times.
Ask For What You Need
On either feature, polling is a powerful feedback collection tool. Depending on what you ask, you can collect information to drive the future of the series, or discover some reader interpretations of your work that need attention, or can be leveraged.
Cultivating Community Takes Time (and some elbow grease)
Once you build your pages and/or groups, you need to get people on them. In the community, the invite option is a great start.
Online, your website, and your other social profiles are a great start to driving people to your new ABC rescources. If ABC is offering a join promotion, be sure to make the most of it. Consider offering a discount on a title if a member joins then joins your page/group.
Bring to online community to the offline one, and have branded flyers with a QR Code to the group/page to drive traffic to explore the opportunity.
Time (And Consistency) Are Key
Digital tools that communicate a genuine sense of connection and engagement are the key to successfully building a community around your author brand and the books within it. Don't build a plan based on what others say you should do, build a plan based around what you know you can reasonably manage over time and be consistent with. By doing that, readers will know they are connecting, and celebrating you and the works you are creating.