Multicultural Children's Book Day

#ReadYourWorld

A July Flash Sponsorship Sale Tutorial+ The Power of Collaboration

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As I type this, I am so proud that  Multicultural Children’s Book Day is in its eighth year. Eight years!

Time flies when you are loving your work! If you are new to this initiative, Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) is a non-profit initiative that is dedicated to supporting and shining the spotlight on diversity in children’s literature and their authors and publishers. Read more about our mission here.

The MCBD on and offline celebration occurs on the last Friday of January and our next celebration will be 1/29/2021.

So many amazing things have occurred over the last eight years and notable headway has been made in raising awareness on the importance of diversity in kid and YA literature. Check out our past post, 5 Ways that Increasing the Awareness of Diverse Books is Paying Off for more facts and victories.

But, I am also keenly aware that today’s world is not what it was 12 months ago.

If you are an Author or Publisher, I’m sure you have noticed that it seems that people are pulling back from buying a bit. And rightfully so. People are scared and unsure about where the next paycheck is coming from. I also know adults and kids alike need distractions, escape, and positivity that reading a book can provide. So if it feels like your book promotions/launches/sales are falling flat, don’t despair.

Keep going. Keep writing. Keep sharing.

I was recently doing some reading on innovative ways to marketing books during uncertain times and every.single.article mentioned collaboration as one of the most powerful ways to get your work in front of new eyeballs and pocketbooks.

THAT, is what MCBD is; collaboration. Authors and publishers support our non-profit with Sponsorship purchases so we can continue to donate books to organizations, centers, classrooms, and under-served readers.

In return, these same authors and publishers are tapping into a monstrous social reach and powerful name-recognition that we have worked 8 years to build.

It’s a win/win.

So, if you are a diverse children’s book author or publisher, being part of this epic online celebration is yet another unique and exceptional way to be seen.

To be heard. To be discovered. And our July Flash Sale is a way to save some moolah while locking in either a Platinum Level or Author Sponsor Level for 2021.

If you are a diverse children’s book author or publisher, go here to download our Sponsorship Packet for 2021 to see all the perks that are included in the different levels of participation.

**Our Super Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Levels will be available September 1, 2020***

If you want to save some $$ and get on board for our 2021 celebration….

Go here to read more details about the Flash Sale.

Go here to secure a Flash Sale Platinum Level (only 2 spots left!)

Go here to secure a Flash Sale Author Sponsorship spot for 2021 (unlimited)

**Our Super Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Levels will be available September 1, 2020***

In a nutshell, ALL MCBD sponsorships provide participants with an amplified level of visibility and recognition for their multicultural/diverse children’s and YA books.

Sponsorship Level Perks also include:

  • Social proof that publishers, book reviewers, book buyers, and educators take note of for years to come
  • Those who participate as a Sponsor during this wildly successful event also know they are tapping into epic buzz and visibility on social media.
  • Our Sponsors are also matched with as many or as few vetted book reviewers who will read, review, and share the book on their social channels.
  • The opportunity to be of service and work towards the greater goal of getting diverse books into the hands of under-served readers.
  • As a non-profit, MCBD also works tirelessly to get those books in front of parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians while also getting them into the hands of young readers. Read more about our mission here.

Proof of Success and Warm Fuzzies from our 2020 Event

Maybe it’s just us, but the MCBD Team felt that our 2020 on and offline diverse kidlit celebration reached a whole new level of “Epic-ness!”

Needless to say, there were many, many examples of Multicultural Children’s Book Day Celebrations that made our eyes leak with happiness. Here are three stand-outs:

#1-Heartwarming Classroom celebrations: Over the last seven years, support and recognition from educators and librarians have continued to increase. This makes us incredibly happy. Some of the best rewards for the hard-working MCBD Team are to see all of the smiling faces and little hands clutching multicultural books and enjoying a classroom celebration.

Find a plethora of examples that will make your heart sing and give you the warm fuzzies for weeks on the Multicultural Children’s Book Day blog here!

#2-We Trended on Twitter!

January 31st was a tough day to try to trend on Twitter against a trifecta of disturbing and sad (Kobe Bryant, Coronavirus, Impeachment)…but we did it! During our #ReadYourWorld Twitter Party, we slightly broke the Internet with all of our diverse book-loving magic and trended on Twitter. Yay us!

Multicultural Children's Book Day 2020 Trends on Twitter!

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 Trends on Twitter!


From Super Platinum Sponsor, Make A Way Media

This is just a small sample of the global fun and book-inspired participation. Search #ReadYourWorld on any social media channel to discover MORE memorable moments of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020. THANK YOU, everyone!

Ways To Get Involved

Some other things you can do to not only stay in the loop on what Multicultural Children’s Book Day is up to but also raise awareness for your work in affordable ways. Here are a few ideas:

1. Join our private Facebook Group of over 1500 like-minded book reviewers, publishers, authors, and educators. Just be sure and note the rules (book promotion is limited to Monday Marketing only).
Multicultural Children's Book Day Facebook Group
2. View our timeline for event planning HERE. This will give you an idea of what our process is and know when and where to look for signups and updates.
4. Participants and supporters can also stay in the loop with the festivities via the event’s hashtag #ReadYourWorld on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media.

5. Social Media Shout-Outs! Leverage the robust social media presence of MCBD with the uber-affordable Social Media Shout-out to shine the spotlight on your book (or an author or book you admire). Multicultural Children’s Book Day has some serious social media juice on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and shout-outs are a marketing nugget of gold for authors and publishers! Get all the details HERE.

 

6. Guest Posts on the MCBD Blog: Tell us the story of your author’s journey. Tell us why YOU think diversity in kidlit is important. Tell us about a diverse book-related topic that you believe in, have experience in, or one that simply needs deeper discussion. Connect with the Project Manager at Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com with your idea and to request our Guest Post Guidelines.

Have questions on How You Can Get Involved In Multicultural Children’s Book Day? Connect with the Project Manager at Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com.

Others ways to participate in the Multicultural Children’s Book Day Initiative:

    1. 1. {Teachers} Multicultural Children’s Book Day FREE Book for Your Classroom Campaign-If you know of a classroom or library that would like a free hardcover, library-approved, diversity children’s book, have them sign up HERE.
    2. {Parents/Librarians/Teachers/KidLit Lovers} Free Book to Review. MCBD offers a free diverse children’s book to parents, grandparents, and educators that are willing to write a review and this year we are not limiting reviewers to just bloggers. Just share on your review on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or your blog. Get sign up details here.
    3. {Everyone} Be an MCBD2021 Sponsor: Sponsorship is not only a great way to support this event; it is an excellent way to get an author’s name and books in front of thousands of readers. Sponsorship levels range from Platinum to Author Level and a Friends of MCBD option is also available for those who would like to support the initiative with a monetary donation. MCBD Sponsors not only keep the MCBD machine humming, it enables us to support underserved readers, libraries, and schools all year long.
    4. {Everyone} Multicultural Children’s Book Day Free Resources, Booklists, and Extension Activities for Teachers and Parents. Enjoy this vast resource list of diverse children’s books categorized by culture, religion, sexual orientation, special needs or ethnicity.
    5. Check out the MCBD2020 Big Giant Linky for HUNDREDS of diverse kids’ and teen book recommends and reviews to help expand your home or classroom bookcase. Go HERE and scroll down.

 

– Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MulticulturalChildrensBookDay

– Twitter https://twitter.com/MCChildsBookDay

-Instagram https://www.instagram.com/readyourworldmcbd/

-Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pragmaticmom/multicultural-books-for-kids/

As the next MCBD event approaches on January 29, 2021, I encourage everyone to follow along via the MCBD website and social media to win even more books, hear from authors and learn the importance of “windows and mirrors” in today’s children’s literature.

 

Memorable Moments of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020

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It’s a wrap!

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 is officially over and we think it was the Best.Celebration.YET.

Over the last years, our online and offline diverse kidlit initiative has enabled us to not only shine the spotlight on exceptional diverse books for kids and teens but to also get to know the amazing people who bring those books to life.

Another thing that has touched our hearts and made our eyes leak with happiness is the overwhelming support from young readers, parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians. Here are some examples of the Memorable Moments of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020.

Memorable Moments of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020


From Super Platinum Sponsor, Make A Way Media

This is just a small sample of the global fun and book-inspired participation. Search #ReadYourWorld on any social media channel to discover MORE memorable moments of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020. THANK YOU, everyone!

ONE MORE THING

Show some social media love while marketing your book (or an author you admire) in a creative and far-reaching way!

Social Media Shout-Outs

Multicultural Children’s Book Day Social Media Shout-Outs

Our Social Media Shout-Outs has escalated in popularity over the last few months because folks see that it an affordable way to show some online love to their own work, an author they admire, or a book they admire. MCBD Social Media Shout-Outs also acts as a fundraiser for this non-profit.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day Social Media Shout-Out =$25 (sale price good until 2/28/20)

Anyone with a PayPal account can gift an online “shout-out” to an author friend who has a  kid’s or YA book with a diversity theme OR use it as an effective tool for their own book marketing and book promotion.

Using a custom image created by the MCBD Team, we will provide one share/post our Twitter feed (over 13.7K followers) on our Instagram Feed (over 10.500 followers), within our Multicultural Children’s Book Day Private Facebook Group (over 1500 Members) and our Facebook page (over 4K followers) as well.

That’s a LOT of eyeballs!

AND, right now, everyone has a chance to lock in a Social Media Shout Out at the $25 rate before the price goes up on March 1, 2020. (Purchasers have 30 days from the date of the Shout Out purchase to redeem their purchase).

GO HERE to get more details, see more samples of past Shout-Outs, and to purchase your own Social Media Shout Out to honor someone in the world of diverse books for kids and teens! #ReadYourWorld

 

 

 

Social Media Shout-Outs for Diverse Children’s Book Authors

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We all have family favorites when it comes to books for kids. The ironic thing is that oftentimes some of our favorite books are from authors that are not household names or even have been published traditionally.

Hidden gems in the genre of multicultural children’s books lurk on every home’s bookshelves, but because many of these favorite authors don’t have huge marketing budgets, they remain a “best-kept secret” despite the fact they produce amazing diverse books for kids.

But Multicultural Children’s Book Day has come up with a fun and clever way to use our vibrant social media channels to shine the spotlight on diverse, multicultural, #OWNVOICES, and global-themed children’s books and authors. Our Friends of MCBD Social Shout-Out feature has been around for years, but sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of our other features, resources, and offerings.

Social Media Shout-Outs for Diverse Children’s Book Authors

Our Friends of MCBD Social Shout-Out feature is also a fundraiser that helps us continue our initiative of getting books into the hands of underserved readers and classrooms all.year.long. So, if you’d like to show some online love while also raising funds to support our cause, this $25 option is a unique and effective way to give a “shout-out” to your own books, or your favorite author’s.

The $25 Friends of Multicultural Children’s Book Day Social Shout Out

Anyone with a PayPal account can gift an online “shout-out” to an author friend who has a book with diversity themes. MCBD will then acknowledge the Social Shout-Out shout-out on their Twitter feed (over 13.5K followers), Instagram (over 9K followers) and Facebook as well.

Nominate and Donate HERE to support the cause and purchase a Friends of Multicultural Children’s Book Day Social Shout Out!

Friends of Multicultural Children's Book Day Social Shout Out

After checkout, contact Project Manager Becky to share who your shout-out should go out to. Becky (at) multiculturalchildrensbookday (dot) com.

Go HERE to support the cause and purchase your Friends of Multicultural Children’s Book Day Social Shout Out

BOOK REVIEWERS, WE.Need. YOU.

If you love diverse books for kids and have a social media platform to share a review on, we want to give you a FREE diversity book to review!

AND…you don’t have to be a blogger to review multicultural children’s books for our MCBD2020 (1/31/20) online event. You just need to have a love of diversity in children’s literature and be willing to share on your social media platforms such as Facebook (Pages only-no Facebook profiles), Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or YouTube. We encourage honest Amazon reviews of assigned books whenever possible as well.

SIGN UP HERE to be an MCBD2020 book reviewer ASAP and go HERE for the detailed explanation of what it means to be a valued book reviewer for our MCBD2020 celebration

(Signup deadline is 12/15/19)

10 Marketing Tips and Ways to Leverage Your MCBD2020 Participation

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The calendar just flipped to November and Multicultural Children’s Book Day Headquarters is humming right along!

We have some marketing ideas and strategies that we’d like to share with everyone who is involved…but first…here are some quickie updates and victories!

Marketing Tips & Ways to Leverage Your MCBD2020 Participation

marketing tips for authors

  1. Expand Your Tribe: Click over to the Author Sponsor and Medallion Level Sponsor Pages and take the time to Like, Follow, Visit, and Connect on social media with all of our Sponsors.
  2. Connect with our CoHosts: Our MCBD CoHosts are picked for a reason–they are “heavy-hitters” in the online world and VERY passionate about literacy and children’s books. As with the Sponsor Pages, take the time to Like, Follow, and connect with our CoHosts.
  3. HASHTAG!: Multicultural Children’s Book Day’s official hashtag is #ReadYourWorld and we encourage everyone to only use that hashtag (and #MCBD2020 as well) when sharing and connecting. On the flip side, searching this hashtag on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest will give everyone a front-row seat to all that is happening with this online celebration. Like, Share, Comment, and RePin whenever possible and the favor will be returned with your information!
  4. Get the Swag: If you are a CoHost, Sponsor, Book Donator or Reviewer, we have special social-media-ready badges/images that you can add to your website and social media efforts. If you don’t have one, email me (Becky) and I will hook you up 🙂 Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com. **Also, if you have a website, now is the perfect time to update your information and make sure that info is consistent across all of your social media channels!**
  5. Network: Our private MCBD Facebook Group is 1400+ strong and comprised of reviewers, parents, teachers, authors, publishers, caregivers, and librarians. It’s an amazing place to meet like-minded folks, participate in our weekly sharing prompts and get/give advice and support to others.
  6. Spread Your Brand: As we enter our 7th season of MCBD, I can tell you with complete honesty that the months leading up to the 1/31/20 event are vibrant, buzzing, exciting, and an exceptional way to gain visibility for your work (whether it’s a review, an award, the fact you are a Sponsor or participant, or just diverse book-related news). TAP INTO THAT BUZZ by PARTICIPATING!!
  7. Be Loud-n-Proud about MCBD: We ask that everyone does their part to spread the #ReadYourWorld news and event details whenever possible. If you would like a list of pre-made social media updates that you can just copy-n-paste, we have that! Just let me know and I will email you that info. Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com. **ALSO, use tools like Hootsuite to schedule updates to Facebook and Twitter into the future so you can “set and forget.”  Tools like Later.com work awesome for scheduling Instagram updates into the future as well. 
  8. Amazon: If you are an Author or Publisher, make sure your Amazon Author Profile is up to date and invite folks to follow your page. That way, when you add a new title or run a sale, those who “follow” your Author Profile on Amazon will get an email update.
  9. Guest Posts: All of our MCBD participants have such a deep passion for diversity in children’s literature and there are some amazingly knowledgeable people involved in this event (including YOU). Guest posts are an excellent way to share your knowledge and work with a fresh audience. MCBD is always looking for book/education/language-related guest posts on our site.
  10. Offline Book Signings and Events: Look back on past book signings, appearances and offline tactics you used to gain visibility and share your story. What worked? What didn’t? Revisit past contacts and ask if you can do something special with them for Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 that is a win/win (share news of the event while also sharing your work). We have a limited amount of MCBD branded magnets, but if you are hosting an offline event in honor of MCBD, let me know and I will send you some to share.

We look forward to working with you and sharing a passion for getting multicultural books into the hands of young readers!

marketing tips for authors

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 Sponsorships are OPEN!

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It may be September, but planning for MCBD2020 is already in full swing!

There is a ton of new and exciting things to share and just as many exciting new things in the works for our SEVENTH global celebration of diversity in children’s literature.

New Victories at MCBD

We launched our newest FREE Physical and Developmental Challenges Classroom Kit. Get the scoop HERE.

During our July Flash Sale, we welcomed two very impressive MCBD2020 Platinum Sponsors (both are long-time supporters of MCBD): Language Lizard and Pack-n-Go-Girls!

Co-founder Mia Wenjen published not one but TWO new diverse books! (click the images to view details of each of these books)

Long-time MCBD Project Manager, Becky Flansburg, also co-authored and published a diverse picture book!

But the thing we are most excited about at this very moment is that Sponsorships (all levels) for MCBD2020 are officially OPEN!

**NOTE: Sponsorships are not a way to *pay* for reviews–it’s an opportunity to tap into a huge book community (made up of young readers, parents, teachers, and librarians), take advantage of our vibrant and efficient social media network, and gain visibility for your work.

All while supporting a passionate non-profit dedicated to getting diverse/multicultural books into the hands of young readers.

The Scoop on SPONSORSHIP LEVELS for MCBD2020:

To view MCBD2020 Sponsorship Levels and Rates, GO HERE.

*Sponsorships are only offered from September to January 1 of any given year and are a unique marketing tool to help authors, publishers, and organizations to tap into the HUGE momentum and buzz that surrounds our on and offline event. MCBD2020 is on 1/31/20, but things really start to get exciting and crazy around November 1.

*As part of your Sponsorship for MCBD2020, you will be matched with as many (or as few) reviewers as you would like. We have a huge pool of over 800 people who sign up to get a free diverse book (supplied by you) and they, in turn, share their review and thoughts of your book on their own social media channels during the month of January.

*The buzz during our holiday is enormous and our hashtag #ReadYourWorld has historically trended on Twitter during the celebration day.
*If you choose a Medallion level Sponsorship, your logo and 2-3 book cover images become part of our active Pinterest Pinning initiative (Pinterest is a huge traffic driver for us)

*You will have a listing and links on either our Medallion Level Sponsor Page or Author Level  (whichever level you choose) and that information will remain on our site for one year.

*If you choose a Medallion Level (Platinum through Bronze) your linked logo will appear on the sidebar of the MCBD site and stay there for one year.

*Your information is promoted and shared via social media from the moment you sign up and the promotion of your book or business will become heavier as the online celebration nears.

*GO HERE to download our Sponsorship Packet so you will have deeper details and rates.

To view MCBD2020 Sponsorship Levels and Rates, GO HERE.

As always, don’t hesitate to email me (Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com) if you have any questions. We are always available to help our participant SHINE and gain traction in the diverse children and YA book world.

Sponsorships for Multicultural Children’s Book Day is not only a great way to support this event; it is an excellent way to get your name (and your books) in front of thousands of readers. All of our Sponsors get a name mention within the hundreds of reviews that get posted from December to January 31st and also on the sites of our 24+ CoHosts sites. The deadline for ALL Sponsor sign-ups is 12/15/19.

We look forward to working with you!

To view MCBD2020 Sponsorship Levels and Rates, GO HERE.

P.S If you love books, and would like to be a book reviewer for MCBD 2020, sign up below!