Multicultural Children's Book Day

#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!

MCBD2019 Sponsors and Book Reviewers: Deadlines Looming!

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It’s hard to believe our 6th Multicultural Children’s Book Day online and offline celebration is less than two months away.

Things are going at full speed here at MCBD headquarters and we want to make sure two critical deadlines don’t sneak up on our supporters, reviewers, and potential sponsors.

MCBD Sponsorship Deadline is 12/15/18

Sponsorship 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 25th and also on the sites of our 24+ CoHosts sites. The deadline for ALL Sponsor sign-ups is 12/15/18. [Read more…]

Facebook for Business and Authors – Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

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Guest blog post by Susan Mayfield of Reduce the Chaos

With the recent changes on Facebook and the decreased reach for business pages, a lot of business people and authors are re-evaluating keeping a business page on Facebook. Some have made the drastic decision to delete their Facebook business pages or abandon them.

Facebook for authors

Stop! Before you follow them and delete your business from Facebook, you might want some facts to help make a more informed decision. I understand the frustration of the reduced reach on Facebook unless you pay for ads. However, there are still some valid points to having a business page and a quality, active presence. There are also some things that are working for organic reach if you have an engaged community. Until there is a more viable alternative, Facebook is one of the main places where the action is going to be when it comes to prospecting for clients and customers. [Read more…]

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