Now that you know the topic of your ebook and you’ve used some of the free project management tools to set up your project infrastructure, it’s time to make a call for contributors for your ebook.
I realize it’s sometimes hard to ask for help especially when, as a nonprofit, many perceive there is always an “ask” involved in many of the interactions.
Making a call for contributors, however, allows the ask to be something that ‘costs’ a person nothing. It is even a wonderful option for those who would like to support your organization but cannot donate cash at this time. It is merely a donation of their time to provide content to share as part of the ebook.
So I want to share five easy places to make a call for contributions. Depending on the topic of your ebook, some of these suggestions will be more successful than others.
First and foremost, it’s important to know exactly what you need and the timeframe in which you need it. Clearly communicating your needs and goals will make everything run more smoothly.
How To Make A Call For Contributors
Making a call for contributors is presenting your idea to a group of people to peak their interest in the hopes they want to discuss it more with you.
To make this process easy, it’s best to write a short paragraph explaining your what your ebook is about, who it will benefit, and high-level details around your needs. For example, is it a recipe, a tutorial, an anecdote about life?
This teaser will peak someone’s interest and hopefully have them contact you directly for more information. Once they contact you, you should have another already written, longer and more detailed explanation of the project and participation requirements. The message should end with an invitation to participate and the link to the form you created to collect the contributions.
Where To Make A Call For Contributors
Once you have your pitch in place, it’s time to use it! Again, this should as easy as just cutting and pasting where appropriate (if it’s not an in-person ask).
Here are five easy places to start when you being to make a call for contributors:
- friends and family,
- donors and volunteers,
- in-person networking
- social media
- online affinity groups (Facebook and forums).
Friends and Family
This is the most obvious place to ask for contributions to your ebook. If it’s a recipe book, for example, maybe an aunt or grandmother would be willing to share her special sauce.
If it is a craft-focused book, maybe your Martha Stewart-esque friend would be willing to write a tutorial as part of the effort.
Donors and Volunteers
Donors and volunteers may already get a lot of requests, so how you approach them should depend on your overall communications strategy. You can either ask for participation in this project by integrating it into an already scheduled communication or have a special one dedicated to this project.
Regardless, you can leverage your newsletter (either paper or online) as an simple place to remind people you would love for them to participate in this effort to raise awareness or funds for your nonprofit.
In-person Networking
If you or someone on your team actively networks locally or nationally, this is a great place to talk to people about your project and how it not only serves as a way to give back but also provides some promotional opportunities for their contributions.
Social Media
Social media is a low-cost method to start connecting with prospective contributors. If you use a social media management tool like Hootsuite, it’s even easier because you can schedule your call for contributors posts ahead of time and then just respond to those who contact you.
Remember to use catchy images on platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook to grab people’s attention and a simple 140 character ask on Twitter.
Online Affinity groups (Facebook and Forums)
If you are a part of any Facebook groups or forums (personally or professional) that allow you to ask people to work with you on projects, this is a place where you are more likely to have people respond to your request.
This likelihood is even higher if the group has a regularly scheduled “call for collaboration” or “joint venture” feature.
Some places to start on Facebook might be:
Provide A New Opportunity To Contribute
Creating a collaborative ebook is a new way for people to contribute to your small nonprofit in a meaningful way. If you start with the five easy places to make a call for contributors explained in this post, you’ll have a full inbox in no time!