How to Serve Your Facebook Group Without Sharing Your Book’s Content

This series focuses on growing your author platform in 2023, specifically, via an online community such as a private Facebook group.  Suggesting this when delivering workshops at Christian writers’ groups, I consistently hear, “But I don’t want to share my book’s content!”

Of course not. And you don’t have to because you know MUCH more than just your book’s content. You’ve lived, learned, and applied the principles in your book, haven’t you? Collected stories illustrating your points? Interviewed experts? Researched the Word and other resources to support your message?

Comparing your collective knowledge about your topic to your book’s content, there’s no contest. Your book contains segments of your wisdom; not everything you know. 🙂

You could spend years serving an online group without directly sharing your book’s content…because there are so many coordinating topics and sub-topics surrounding it.

A Facebook Group Is Ideal for Simultaneously Connecting to and
Developing a Relationship With Your Audience

Consider making your group “private” and “visible,” meaning that non-members can locate it online but cannot see its members or its posts.

Those two choices combined allow you to share the group’s link publicly and/or privately yet still vet potential members. The best of both worlds!

You Don’t Have to Become Your Group’s Sheriff

As your Facebook group’s Admin, you’re responsible for everything: training, responding to comments, adding new posts, vetting and welcoming new members, washing the windows…

Oh, wait, ignore that last example. 🙂

But it’s simple enough to reduce your workload by inviting one or more members to be moderators. They won’t have access to the full group settings, so they can’t lead a coup. Their role is to support you, respond to posts as they’re able, and notify you if a post (or a member) requires your attention.

My group doesn’t have moderators, and I’m the only admin. That means more responsibility. As the only member to create posts, I may appear to be a control-freak. Not true. Instead, this approach allows me to fulfill my other, non-FB-group duties and still offer group members a safe haven to: connect with me and other members, ask questions, explore freely, share encouragement one to another, and so on, without unruly or unkind members suggesting otherwise. You and I have been in other groups with little interaction from its leaders. Unruly or unkind members can wreak havoc in such groups that takes a long time to repair.

I believe in safeguarding the hen house before the fox visits. 🙂

The key to getting it all done is how you create / choose your content.

Release New Content on a Schedule That Works for You

Some online group administrators focus the bulk of their efforts inside their group. Others rarely show up. Find a rhythm that doesn’t run you in the ground and doesn’t cause members to feel ignored.

New content–both regular and unique–keeps the group in motion. You don’t want the wheels to stop, yet no one–including you–can spend all day every day there. Your members understand. They can’t keep up that pace, either.

Consider posting content based upon the day (ask this question every Monday, share that resource every Tuesday, and so on) or based upon an activity common to your group (this week’s goals, share your latest blog post, who needs help with Topic XYZ, and so on). There are many more options. This allows new members to join the group’s routine more smoothly, while long-term members become eager to share their answer to that day’s question.  

It also helps you create content ahead of time so you’re not scrambling to “Come with something…anything…to post NOW!” while the clock ticks down. Not that that’s ever happened to me. 🙂

This content creation approach has a measurable benefit, giving you time to create deep-thinking posts, short video trainings in response to members’ questions, research examples that prove a point you made last week or one you plan to make this week. You have time to breathe, while still fulfilling your many other roles AND keeping the conversation going in your online group.

Next month we’ll cover the many benefits of leading an online group in Facebook. The same principles work in other online groups as well.

You’ll be surprised at how valuable serving your audience in Christ’s name can be to both you and your audience!

Part Three of this series next month.

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: marketersonamission.com
Facebook: MarketersOnAMission