Today we’re talking about Hops on Facebook. Some of the terms in this video might have different meanings and contexts outside of Facebook so for the purposes of this video, everything I talk about is exclusive to that platform. Some information will be repeated between this video and the other two videos in this series simply to ensure that all of the videos are fully informed in case you choose to watch only one of them.
If you’re a smut author and you’re not already on Facebook, I highly recommend that you make yourself an account for your pen name and hop on board. The reader groups there are filled with thousands of voracious readers just waiting to get their paws on your stories, and today I’ll be breaking down the ways in which those reader groups will let you highlight your work for the members.
Now we’re moving on to Hops! Before I get too deep in here I wanted to say thank you to Jacci Gipson for helping me out with this portion since her knowledge of the workings of Hops is far more in depth than mine. Thank you Jacci!
What Is A Hop?
A Hop is a group affair that is similar to a treasure hunt, but with the clues scattered across a handful of reader groups. Readers will join your reader group to collect a clue to increase their chances of winning a prize at the end. To participate in a Hop as an author you must be in possession of your own reader group. I will be going over all of the details of reader groups in a separate video. You will still be able to participate in Hops as a reader without having a reader group, but you would not be signing up for one as a participating author.
What To Expect In A Hop
Most hops will have a limited number of groups participating, but there are also Mega-Hops which may include a hundred or more groups.
By joining a Hop you will be expected to provide something for a giveaway. What that might be could be laid out in the Hop information, or you may be given a choice from a list for what you would like to provide. This is to incentivize participation.
Your group will be assigned a specific codeword (or you can sign up for a specific one on the sign up form) that participants need to collect for their prize entries.
The host (or their PA) will provide text to pair with your individual codeword graphic. This text is typically identical to what everyone else will post. At that point you just need to pin the post during the days the Hop is active so that it’s easily accessible for everyone participating.
Readers will join your reader group to get access to the code word.
Once the Hop is over the host/PA will let you know who the winner is so that you can deliver your prize to them.
Sometimes a Party and a Hop will be paired, with a Hop leading up to a Party, but this is not always the case, so be sure you investigate that before deciding to join.
How To Get Involved In A Hop
Exactly the same way you can get involved in parties. If you don’t feel like watching the other episode right now, I’ll reiterate it here for you.
There are a few ways to get involved. Your options are to be invited to a Hop, to see one in the wild and sign up for it, or to have a third party bring you in.
If an author friend is going to be having a Hop they’re probably going to post it in their reader group, in group chats, and they may invite you directly before opening it up to the wider community. Some hosts might limit the amount of groups able to participate in Hops so that may have an effect on if the Hop is ever shared past direct invites.
Get yourself into some group chats. Even if you only have a single author friend, ask them if they know of any Hops , and if there’s an applicable group chat that they could invite you into. People will often share upcoming Hops there that you can join. Also don’t be afraid to simply post and ask. Let your followers know that you’re interested in participating in a Hop and maybe someone will have a lead for you. The networks are vast with authors and readers and you never know who could see something and give you an opportunity.
I got into my first hops because of friends that were participating in ones that weren’t fully booked, so the host allowed them to invite anyone they thought might be interested. I didn’t know any of the hosts directly when I started, but it was a good way to get my foot in the door. When you are invited to a Hop you are very likely to be presented with a link to a Google sheet where you can provide some relevant information and claim your spot.
If you have an author assistant or PA, they can find you hops as well. Through their networks they’ll be aware of hops that are open and can sign you up with your permission. The PA of the host may also offer you a direct invite if they know that you write similar stories to the host and can bring your audience with you.
How To Host Your Own Hop
Hosting a Hop is significantly more effort than participating in one. As the host you will be in charge of promotion, finding participants, assigning codewords (or allowing people to choose their own), creating the text post, and creating all of the individual graphics for every participant.
If you have a PA some of the workload can be shared, but not everyone has that option. I would recommend participating in a few Hops before you decide to host your own so that you can get comfortable with the procedure and ask questions.
Are These Events Worth It?
This entirely depends on who you talk to and what “worth it” means to you.
Do you want to get connected with authors and build up your community? Do you want to boost your own reader group numbers? A Hop can help with that.
A Hop is about community building and exposure, with a very limited monetary investment outside of providing something for a giveaway.
Whether or not you choose to participate in these events is entirely up to how much time and energy you want to commit. If you’re a newbie they can be very valuable, but I’m also seeing more established authors say the Party train is slowing down and not offering them as much benefit. My philosophy is that you shouldn’t knock it til you try it when it comes to book promo because what works for individuals is wildly variable. Test them out for yourself and see how they work for you.
That’s all for now. I hope you found this video helpful. You can find all of my books and platforms below. If you have questions or suggestions for future episodes, please do let me know. And if you’d like early access to these videos you can join my Patreon where I share them with people as soon as they’re ready to roll. Thank you so much for listening and I’ll see you soon for another episode!
Additional Info - Text Only
Some hops have evolved into a modified form called Hunts. They’re essentially the exact same as a hop except that the post is not pinned for participants to easily find the information, and they must “hunt” through the groups posts to find their keyword. Some people like the more treasure hunt style aspect of these hops, and it also exposes new group members to more of the group content.
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