Looking for feedback please…

As part of running my book forum, I love running competitions. It helps readers get new books, and it helps the publishers and authors get word out. However, I’m having a bit of trouble working out the best way to do this.

I often go for the simple option, and run the competition on the forum itself. This has the bonus of rewarding the forum members, but doesn’t reach that wider audience, and entries are often low.

Twitter does reach a wider audience, but then I get fed up with the accounts which are obviously set up just to win competitions… I’m trying to get books out to readers after all. Plus, if you’re not on twitter, you’re being left out.

This morning I set up a rafflecopter account, and went through the process.. only to find that I can’t post it on wordpress because I don’t host it myself.

So… to the people who enter book competitions.. which type of competition do you prefer to enter? Do you like the simplicity of a ‘Retweet and follow’ on twitter? Do you like or dislike rafflecopter (personally, I’m not keen)? And what are you willing to do to enter.. would you follow a new twitter account, sign up to follow a blog, join a forum?

Plus, is it enough of an incentive to simply win a book, or are you looking for signed books, extra swag etc?

To those of you who offer competitions.. what is your method of choice? Twitter, Rafflecopter, blog comments.. or something completely different? Do I really need to run an amalgamation to cover everyone, or is there an easy solution out there?

Thank you! 🙂

 

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Times they are a-changing…

 You read books and you love books – where do you go to talk about your books? The Book Club Forum (BCF) was first set up 9 years ago, in an era when there seemed to be a forum (or 10) for everything. Over those 9 years, there has been a steady increase in social interaction, with book blogs, twitter, and of course, Goodreads.

Most forums were set up by individuals, with limited funds, and so it’s impossible to keep up with the big businesses. However, by being smaller, they do offer a much friendlier place to be.

That’s one of the things we’re proud of at BCF – people tend to stay because they feel welcome, and many make friends. We have a moderating team who have been around for a long time, and who love books themselves, and therefore problems are few.

Anyway.. to reflect the way book discussions have changed, BCF has been tweaked – our emphasis is on social discussion of books, and the first thing you’ll find are the book blog threads, where members control their own content.. they can keep a record of their reading in a way that suits them, they can write reviews, or just make short comments. Anyone can respond, and discussions can happen in a natural way. Imagine yourself in a cool book party, where you can wander around and dip in and out of various conversations! 🙂

The Library section still remains, divided into different genres – is there a particular author, book or issue you want to discuss, or find out more about? You can do that too!

So, have you considered checking out a book forum.. or have you done so, but many years ago? Have you thought about your own book blog, but need something a little easier? Do you just want to find out what others are reading, and chat to them about it? www.bookclubforum.co.uk 😀

 

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