I find setting it over lunchtime is most successful, that way people in work can pop in during their lunchtime - mine was from 11am to 2pm. Also, unless you have lots of giveaways and subjects to discuss, setting it for many hours means it can end up being very quiet.
Prepare lots of fun photos to upload eg of booze for the guests, savoury snacks, cake, handsome guests - then in between competitions you have plenty to discuss, eg what is your guests' favourite sweet nibble or tipple.
Make sure there is going to be plenty going on - I set one competition each hour, and make the entry question easy for lots of people to participate. My book, From Paris with Love has the themes of France, food, spies and rockstars, so I set the questions around those themes, but in a general way, eg, what is the best meal you have ever eaten out? Then, I would pick a winner out of a hat (or beret!) from everyone who left a comment. If you make the questions more specific, eg related to the book or its prequel (if it has one) you risk alienating people who are new to you as an author - they won't be able to take part.
Have decent prizes - they needn't be too expensive. Mine were gifts related to Paris, eg a bookmark and notebook, plus an Amazon voucher is always a good prize to fall back on.
Make it fun! And most importantly, acknowledge every single comment - if people have given up their valuable time to participate, that is the least you owe them.
Enjoy it! Online launch parties, especially for us e-authors, can make your day very, very special.
No comments:
Post a Comment