Apricot Services is excited to be working alongside you to bring your book ambassadors together. We’re here to get everything set up with the administration and instructions, and want to give you a few tools to help you keep great engagement and discussion going to get the best results from your readers.

Ambassador Recruitment

We recommend starting with your fans and followers who are the most committed to your message and working out to those who are engaged, but may be less committed. This often starts with your email list subscribers, followed by your social media followers, and finally the friends and followers of any endorsers who may be willing to help you recruit.

Recruitment Talking Points

Posts do not have to be overly long for folks to understand and get excited. Draft an email to your subscribers and social posts for each platform that announces that you’re recruiting ambassadors to read your new book early to review on retailer sites and spread the word about the book. Include the following information:

The basics

Extra info you may want to include

If you have any endorsors who would like to help you recruit, be sure to send them the information correlated with your recruitment talking points so they only have to copy and paste.

Sample

In TITLE, I hope [WHAT YOU HOPE READERS WILL GET FROM YOUR BOOK]. [SHORT BOOK SUMMARY]. 

I am gathering readers who would want to be ambassadors for my new book TITLE (releasing RELEASE DATE). Ambassadors will read the book early in order to review online and share about the book with their communities. Would you consider joining me in this journey? Pre-order TITLE and apply to join.

Here’s the link for more details and to apply: APPLICATION URL

Videos for Your Ambassador Strategy

Ambassadors are more willing and excited to engage in their missions when they feel more connected to the author. We want to connect you with your ambassadors in the best way possible, and video is a great way you can connect with the team as they help promote the book. Facebook Live gives you an opportunity to interact with your ambassadors in real time. You can also pre-record your videos and post them to the group as necessary.

We usually suggest at least these 3 videos:

1. Welcome Video

The welcome video is especially critical to have in the Facebook group as it is a great piece to have present as people join and begin to learn about you and the book. In this video, welcome the ambassadors, introduce yourself as the author and the group admins, and what ambassadors’ participation in the book’s release means to you. You can then share what the ambassadors can expect on this journey, how the book will be delivered to them, and what we’d like them to do (that is, read the book, review the book, recommend the book). Feel free to address any special announcements you might have, and build excitement about the pre-order offers. Don’t forget to mention the release date!

2. Release Day Video

Today’s the day! Build excitement for ambassadors. Share a story of how the book is impacting those who have read or been a part of this book’s journey. Thank the ambassadors for their help. Get them excited about any special media happening during release week. Most importantly, remind them to post reviews of the book on e-retailers—especially Amazon.

3. Wrap-Up Video

Share a final thank you to the ambassadors. Tell a personal story of how their effort impacted you. Let them know that they can still review on Amazon if they have not already. End with your vision for the life of the book.

These three videos for the ambassador Facebook group will go a long way to building community and excitement around your book. Outside of these videos, there are always more chances to “go live” in the Facebook group to build a deeper relationship with the ambassadors and galvanize their actions to review and share.

Additional Videos or Facebook Live Inspiration

Outside of the Welcome, Release Day, and Wrap-Up videos, there are a multitude of topics you can discuss when you go live in the Facebook ambassador group to build a deeper relationship with your ambassadors and galvanize their reviews and shares. 

Here are some additional ideas to use in the ambassador group on a weekly, biweekly, or convenient basis:

Facebook Live Book Discussion Tips

Some authors guide ambassadors through a reading plan together and discuss the book along the way via Facebook live. This also gives the readers an opportunity to send in questions or meaningful topics that they’d like to discuss and you can respond personally to them as they read through the book. Here are some tips for running a successful book discussion in the Facebook group: