#B2BCyCon Think Tank discussion

Thought I'd open a post for us to chat about what we'd like to try next year etc (and what we liked about 2015 etc)

Two uses of 'etc' - I so articulate am!

I'm totally in!

I liked the way the fairgrounds were laid out. Really easy to find authors to explore :)

Next year I'll tweet/facebook and blog about it more aggressively. time just got away from me :(

Loved it and had a lot of fun. Angela mentioned a name change. I agree. We need something short, snappy, and easy to hashtag. And we need to find a way to attract readers. Perhaps reach out to a few of the bigger review groups and let them know there are books up for grabs?

I'm definitely in!

As far as suggestions....I think we'll want to make sure everyone knows how to get into the convention next year. It seems there was some confusion for those who weren't already Goodreads members on how to participate, so making it clear that you need to sign up for the site should be something we all promote early and often!

I second making announcements in GR review groups to get the word out to readers. We can also find other ways to get the message out in GR land, since the readers are already here.

Great ideas, yeah :) Sign-instructions sounds like a good idea - and there should be some big review groups kicking around here, huh? They'll already be members of GR too of course.

Name change - not my strength :D Anyone else got ideas? GR/2016 Fairground? GR/2016 Booksale?

Thrilling suggestions I know :D

EXCELLENT thread, Ash!

I'm keeping this group up as the permanent "admin" group for all future conventions :)

My writer's group was throwing around "Cy-Con" a lot, which I love!
CY CON
CY-CON!!

Okay...

I was thinking
2016 Book Cyber Convention
2016 Author/Reader Cyber Convention
2016 Book Cy-Con

Thoughts!

2016 Book Cyber Con (think San Diego Comic Con)

Ah! Excellent! Book Cyber Con it is! 2016 Book Cy-Con :)

J.D. wrote: "I'm totally in!

I liked the way the fairgrounds were laid out. Really easy to find authors to explore :)

Next year I'll tweet/facebook and blog about it more aggressively. time just got away from..."

Angela B. wrote: "EXCELLENT thread, Ash!

I'm keeping this group up as the permanent "admin" group for all future conventions :)"

Angela B. wrote: "EXCELLENT thread, Ash!

I'm keeping this group up as the permanent "admin" group for all future conventions :)"

J.D. wrote: "I'm totally in!

I liked the way the fairgrounds were laid out. Really easy to find authors to explore :)

Next year I'll tweet/facebook and blog about it more aggressively. time just got away from..."
Yes u r absolutely right. I always get lost when I am on it. Not very well organised.

Angela wrote: "EXCELLENT thread, Ash!

I'm keeping this group up as the permanent "admin" group for all future conventions :)"

Thanks! I wasn't sure if I should start it here - but thought you might end up keeping this group for next year, so glad that worked out :)

New name sounds good too!

Ok, so - here's a question, is it worth approaching the big reader/reviewer groups here with a proforma/template letter?

A letter appears for consistency and professionalism(?) - or do we approach them individually for a more personal touch? (which I also like)

I say send a message to mods (after reading group terms and conditions carefully) to see if this is something that their group might be interested in. I would definitely lean toward groups who are indie friendly at the very least.
Sadly, some groups are going to villify us outright based on the behavior of other authors, but we move on. I would also maybe wait until the convention is a few months out before putting the bug in their ear, but we can go exploring and maybe compile a list of potential groups to keep an eye on.

Great point about indie-friendly, yeah - and the list of potential groups to target too. That be quite valuable to have in advance.

I feel like we're hunting 'marks' :D

I've got masks, black leotards, spy cameras, and your choice of the Mission Impossible or James Bond theme songs to hum along to as we hunt. ;)

Ashley wrote: "Ok, so - here's a question, is it worth approaching the big reader/reviewer groups here with a proforma/template letter?

A letter appears for consistency and professionalism(?) - or do we approac..."

I say a letter to get the overall crowd and spread the word then follow up and reach out :)

Christina wrote: "I've got masks, black leotards, spy cameras, and your choice of the Mission Impossible or James Bond theme songs to hum along to as we hunt. ;)"

Excellent! I love doing our own theme songs!

Christina wrote: "I say send a message to mods (after reading group terms and conditions carefully) to see if this is something that their group might be interested in. I would definitely lean toward groups who are ..."

One idea we could exercise is encourage each member to reach out to the GR groups they have joined. That way we cover more ground.

I'll take Mission Impossible I think :D


Angela wrote: "I say a letter to get the overall crowd and spread the word then follow up and reach out :)

That sounds good :)

I did a small post in the promo section of the largest Oz group here on GR but it was last minute so I'm not sure how much exposure it got. Still, I like a lot of lead in to canvas good groups

I tweeted, Facebooked, author Facebooked, and a couple places on GR. Next time I'll add G+ and more GR promo spots for the Cy-Con. This was a fun event, a very friendly group of authors.

I'm still sending out info on it along with my Blog Tour. I'm hoping to pair up the hype to gain double exposure to both events for authors and readers.

Sounds good. Should be fun, Angela. Congrats on your book!

I agree that we should have something pre-written. I think two versions: a letter to email out with a personalized intro paragraph to authors, and a poster to share as an image on social media.

I don't think it makes sense to push super hard to get readers to come until a few months before, but I do think we should be recruiting more authors. Especially the very successful authors. So that when the time comes and all of us start posting to social media and emailing our lists, we reach a greater number of readers.

One other thing I want to do, is to organize some panel discussions on google hangouts that we can link to from the goodreads discussion. These would be scheduled in advance, perhaps discussing our favorite aspects of a genre. I think it'll make it even more convention-like, with fairgrounds and events. Thoughts?

Good thinking!

J.S. wrote: "Sounds good. Should be fun, Angela. Congrats on your book!"

Thank you!

Aurelia wrote: "I agree that we should have something pre-written. I think two versions: a letter to email out with a personalized intro paragraph to authors, and a poster to share as an image on social media.

I ..."

Excellent, Aurelia. I have more connections being made through the Blog Tour and plan to recruit more through that avenue for the Cyber Convention (In turn, the Cyber Convention brought in a lot of people for the Blog Tour!)

I'm thinking a Newsletter...Like a flyer! I can offer this digital "flyer" to all members from the 2015 Brain to Books Cyber Convention participants to post on their site for advertizing!

Ace, every thing sounds tops - I'll help however I can :)

Angela wrote: "I'm thinking a Newsletter...Like a flyer! I can offer this digital "flyer" to all members from the 2015 Brain to Books Cyber Convention participants to post on their site for advertizing!"

That's a great idea, Angela.

J.S. wrote: "Angela wrote: "I'm thinking a Newsletter...Like a flyer! I can offer this digital "flyer" to all members from the 2015 Brain to Books Cyber Convention participants to post on their site for adverti..."


I will write up something next month and send it out to all of you :) That way you can post it, print it, hand outs, email...whatever you would like :) Along with the logo!

I am beginning a Brain to Books publishing line this fall/winter :)

This is an old thread from 2015 and is well worth reading through!