BiblioCrunch | Self-Publishing Resouces

As a reader I have joined up with many authors as part of their street teams. As it turns out, a lot of authors don’t know what a street team is. We’ll be hosting a chat soon on #indiechat to answer all your street team questions.

What is a street team?

A street team is a group of fans that band together to support an artist, author, band, or other such products. Street teams are powerful marketing tools because they tap into an established group of fans and put them to work! Street teams also hone in on the word of mouth marketing by encouraging your fans to share their love of your work with others.

What does this mean for authors?

You can easily set up a street team to gather your fans to help you share your work. Street teams allow authors to direct their fans in ways that will help promote their books while also providing a way to give back to the fans for their loyalty and support.

Sounds great, right? So how do you set one up? There are many approaches to setting up author street teams. Each of the three street teams I am currently a part of was set up and is run differently than the others. What is neat about this is the ability for creativity and customization of your street team to fit your needs and the needs of your fans.

Basic template for a street team

1. Create a new page on your author website for your street team. You will need:
   1. A name for your street team, try not to focus on only one book or series as you will limit your potential to use the street team for your other books.
   2. A summary of your street team, who are you looking for and what benefits will they get?
   3. A way for readers to sign up to be part of your team. You should create a Google form for this.
2. Once you have set up your street teams page, with benefits and a sign up form, it is time to promote your team and recruit members.
   1. Create a blog post about the launch of your team with all relevant information. Be sure to link to your shiny new street team page! Here’s an example.
   2. Share your blog post with your social media and reach out to your established community. Remember the street team is for your fans!
   3. Send an announcement out to your mailing list to recruit avid fans.
   4. Consider creating a Facebook group or other interactive group for your street team members to connect with one another and with you.
3. Once you have established members for your street team send them a welcome packet for joining your street team.
   1. Welcome packets should have a physical component such as a wristband (branded, of course), bookmarks, and other swag.
   2. Be sure to also include a list of tasks members can do to help promote your book as part of your street team. Ideas can include:
      1. Writing a review of your book
      2. Requesting a library to purchase your book
      3. Tweeting about your newest release
      4. Any other promotional items you can think of!
4. After you have welcomed your members send out special monthly tasks for your street team to complete and offer a prize (via raffle if you cannot afford multiple prizes).
5. Be sure to keep your spreadsheet with member information updated and keep up with monthly missions and prizes for the best results.

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Kate Tilton is the marketing associate for BiblioCrunch, an author assistant, and a book blogger.
Kate is also a proud host of #indiechat, Tuesdays at 9pm EDT, and #K8chat, Thursdays at 9pm EDT.

You can connect with her on her website, Twitter, or BiblioCrunch.

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