Congratulations on creating your book club! Now comes the exciting part: bringing together a group of passionate readers who can't wait to dive into great books alongside you. Finding the right members and inviting them to join can seem challenging, but with the right methods, you'll have a thriving book club in no time.
Finding Book Club Members
1. Tap into Your Personal Network
Start with the people you already know. Reach out to:
- Friends and family who enjoy reading
- Colleagues who share your literary interests
- Neighbors or community members you know are avid readers
2. Leverage Social Media
Social platforms are great for connecting with potential book club members:
- Post about your book club on your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account
- Look for prospective members in online groups that you are part of, especially ones that boast likeminded people. Are you part of any online Moms' group, gardening groups, foodie communities, etc?
3. Local Community Connections
Expand your search beyond digital platforms by sharing with real life communities you are a part of:
- Ask fellow parents at your kid's PTA
- Talk to the regulars at your gym or rec center
- Post a flyer are your local coffee shop
4. Use the Bookclubs Public Directory
One of the easiest ways to attract members is by listing your club on Bookclubs' Join a Book Club page, which is visited by thousands of people each month looking for a book club to join.
It's easy to list your club by opening the Bookclubs app or website, navigating to your club's settings and clicking on "Open my club to the public" (or just click here). You'll be asked to fill out the information to help readers find your club and decide if it's right for them! You'll also get to specify if you want a fully open club or if you want to screen prospective members.
Inviting Members to Your Bookclubs Book Club
Bookclubs offers you multiple ways to share an invite to your club.
1. Email Invitations
The best way to invite prospective members is to share their email address with us and let us and let Bookclubs do the work for you!
We'll send them an email that includes all the information they need:
- Who invited them to the book club
- The link to click to join the club
- Information about your club, if you've added a description for your book club
- A little bit about Bookclubs so they know why your club is organized on the Bookclubs platform
How to invite by email:
- On the app: Click on "My Clubs" on the bottom navigation bar, select your club, and then click on "About" on the upper club navigation bar. From there click on "Invite new members" and then "Enter emails." Input your emails, separated by a comma if there's more than one and then click on the "Send" button.
- On the website: Click on "My Clubs" in the upper right corner, select your club, and then scroll down until you see "ADD A BOOK CLUB MEMBER" on the left side bar. Enter emails, separated by a comma if there's more than one and then click on the "Send Invite" button.
- Uploading a .csv file: Invite a larger number of people at once by uploading a .csv file to the website. You can find this option just below where you enter individual emails on your club page (see above bullet).
NEW: When you invite someone by adding their email, we'll start sending them your club notifications. They'll get your meeting notices and reminders, poll announcements, and more. They'll still need to create a Bookclubs account to RSVP or vote in a poll, but until then they'll get updated about everything happening in your club.
2. Shareable Invitation Link
Your club has a unique invite link. If you want to invite people your way, copy the link and share it via
- Text message
- Social media posts
- Messaging apps
- Your personal website or blog
You can find your club's invite link in the following places:
- The initial email Bookclubs sent you after you created your club
- On the app, by clicking on "My Clubs" on the bottom navigation bar, selecting your club, and then clicking on "About" on the upper club navigation bar. From there click on "Invite new members" and then "Copy and share."
- On the website: Click on "My Clubs" in the upper right corner, select your club, and then scroll down until you see "
INVITE LINK" on the left side bar.
3. Share a QR Code
You can generate a QR code directly in the Bookclubs app. Use this code to share the link to your book club with anyone that you're in the same room with - just have them scan the code and join your club! You can also download the QR code to add to flyers or other printed material.
Here's how to generate your club's invite link QR code (available only on the Bookclubs app):
- Open up the Bookclubs app, click on "My Clubs" on the bottom navigation bar and select your club
- Click on "About" on the upper club navigation bar. From there click on "Invite new members" and then "QR code"
- Click on the "Create QR Code button"
- Once the QR code is created, you can share your phone for prospective members to scan the QR code, or you can click on "Share this QR code" to copy the QR code, save it to your phone, or share via text message or email.
Final Thoughts
Building a book club takes time and effort, but the reward is a community of readers to share books and banter with. Be patient, be welcoming, and most importantly, have fun!
Ready to start inviting members? Open your Bookclubs app and let the reading adventures begin!