Street Teams by Darlene Franklin

Please join me in welcoming Darlene Franklin to our blog today. Darlene is writing about street teams and how she created and uses hers.

I “met” Jenny Blake online several years ago. Jenny, do you remember when that was? Now I’m privileged to have Jenny on my street team, and I’m honored she asked me to share my experience with street teams. (Jenny here not sure but would have had to been over 10 years I first had you on my blog in 2008 and it was before that I sent an email saying I loved some books)

I created a street team for one basic reason: to create a group of people specifically committed to promoting my books through reviews and social media.

I enlisted members from the ACFW loop and created a Facebook group called “Darlene Franklin’s Friends.” When several people dropped out after a year, I created a second group: “Darlene Franklin’s Street Team.” I give the street team copies of my new books, and in return, I give them specific responsibilities.

I like to think my requirements are reasonable: I ask my team to read and review one longer book every three months (or several novellas), their choice of several titles. I also ask them to share Facebook and Twitter posts two-three times a week.

 If a street team member is unable to continue with those responsibilities, they become part of my friends group instead. When they’re able to, my friends can still request and write reviews. With that option, people don’t have to feel guilty if they can’t meet their commitments—and I don’t worry about people who don’t live up to their commitments.

Many of my team members also support other authors. God bless ‘em! And after a time, they get burned out. Currently my team includes me, my editor, and twenty-two friends.

I’ve turned over the task of posting to my Facebook page to my social media assistant. My Street Team receives every post. (Other such pages include my author page, my friends page, and my publisher’s page.) We post information about current and older titles, memes, blogs where I am a guest and updates on my blog. These are the posts I hope my team will share with others.

We also post pictures I’ve colored, quotes I enjoy, and questions for us to discuss.  I hope this fosters friendship as well as partnership, but participation is totally voluntary.

If I can toot my own horn, I am always open to adding people to my team. If you’re interested, stop by https://www.facebook.com/groups/1119153434814502/.

Bio and links:

Best-selling hybrid author Darlene Franklin's greatest claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. This year she expects to reach fifty unique titles in print and she’s also contributed to more than twenty nonfiction titles. Her column, “The View Through my Door,” appears in four monthly magazines. Her most recent titles are Capturing the Rancher's Heart, Romancing the Ranger, and Cinderella's Boot.

Website and blog

Facebook

Amazon author page

Twitter: @darlenefranklin