If you're a book lover who enjoys sharing your thoughts and opinions with other readers, you probably know how fun and rewarding it is to be part of a book club. But you also know how challenging it can be to organize and manage a club, especially when it comes to making decisions that affect the whole group. How do you pick a book that will appeal to the most people? How do you choose a meeting time or place that is convenient for everyone?
At Bookclubs, we understand these challenges and we want to make your book club experience as easy and enjoyable as possible, with everything you need to organize your book club in one place. Our polling tools, which allow you to figure out meeting dates that work for the most number of members, and let you vote on which book to read next, are one of our favorite Bookclubs tools.
That's why we're excited to introduce new features that will help make your book club decisions faster and fairer:
- Ranked choice book polls: Rank your preferences when choosing which book to read next. No more ties or indecision. Just pure reading bliss.
- Multiple choice polls: Vote on more than books and meeting times. Use multiple choice polls to decide your next genre, theme, meeting location, and more. The possibilities are endless.
- Potluck polls: Add a potluck sign-up to your poll and get ready to dig in while you discuss.
These new features are part of our new Bookclubs Premium and Pro offerings. Let's take a look at how they work and how they can benefit your book club.
Ranked choice book polls
Instead of choosing only one book, you can now rank books from your most favorite to your least favorite. Ranked choice voting ensures that the book that is chosen by your book club is the one that has the most support and the least opposition among the members.
Ranked choice voting also promotes more diversity and variety in your book club selections. It encourages members to suggest and vote for books that they are passionate about, even if they are not mainstream or popular.
How it works: To set up a ranked choice poll, just click “Use ranked choice voting” under the “Add book selections” section of your poll. To vote in a ranked choice poll, use the drop-down menu to choose a ranking for each book, with 1 being the book you most want to read. You can only choose one book per rank. If you're not sure or don't have an opinion, you don't have to rank every book - feel free to leave them blank.
Multiple choice polls
We’ve heard from many clubs that want to poll their members about other topics. Maybe you’re trying to spice up your book club and want to choose a theme or a genre, or choose a movie to watch. Maybe you want to pick a new meeting location for your book club. Whatever the need, we’re here for you with the ability to create custom multiple choice polls.
How it works: To create a multiple choice question, open up “Add multiple choice question” and enter your question text. You’ll initially see three options to customize, but you can add more by clicking “Add option,” or remove options by clicking the “x” to the right of the option. Decide whether you want your question to be a “Choose one” question (members can only choose one option) or “Choose all that apply” (members can choose as many options as they’d like, checklist style).
Potluck sign-up
If, like many clubs, you meet in person at a member's home, you probably want some food and drink to go along with your book discussion. Use the potluck sign up to keep track of who's bringing what and ensure that you've got even coverage among beverages, apps, mains and dessert.
How it works: When creating your poll, click on "Add potluck signup" to get started, then add as many potluck categories (beverages, appetizers, desserts, etc.) as you'd like. When your poll is sent out, members will have the option to specify what they're bringing under each category. When other members view the poll, they'll be able to see what everyone else has already signed up for before adding their contribution.
It’s free to create meeting date and time and book selection polls, but to unlock ranked choice voting, multiple choice questions, and potluck sign-ups, you’ll need to upgrade your club to Bookclubs Premium or Pro. Your upgraded club also gives you access to many other great features that will save you time and improve club communication and coordination like direct messaging, calendar integration, document storage, and more.
To learn more about how to use all of Bookclubs' poll types, including our free book club meeting scheduler and book picker, check out our handy poll tutorial.