The first Promo Day event took place on my website www.JoLinsdell.com back in 2007. It was just a chatroom embedded onto a page of my website. Very different from what the event is today, but it was based on the same idea right from its simple start.
There were several online conferences for writers with presentations about how to write, edit, and revise. Although some of them offered opportunities to network with other attendees none of them really addressed what to do AFTER you've written something. I saw a niche that needed to be filled and so Promo Day was born.
The idea for Promo Day was to give writers, authors, and other people connected with the publishing industry an event where they could come together to promote their work/services, network with each other, and learn about marketing, and author branding. And that's still what Promo Day is for. Promoting, networking, and learning.
I wanted to make it available to everyone and so I decided to make it a completely online event and free to attend.
It was a huge success right from word go and has continued to grow each year. With so much demand it was time to give the event a home of its own and so I got the www.PromoDay.info domain and introduced more features.
The event now takes place in forums, allowing for registered users to personalize their profiles and even upload images and files, and private message other attendees. Attendees can read threads from earlier in the day so they don't miss out on great conversations and tips. The webinars are now all in video format and viewable directly from the forums. As well as the numerous social activities going on in the forums during the event, there is now also added opportunities via social media channels so that attendees can put into practice straight away some of the tips and strategies mentioned in the webinars.
Last year I introduced pitch sessions with Publishers during the event and it turned out to be a big success. Several authors signed with Publishers following the pitch sessions they took part in at Promo Day.
Both the website and the forums are now mobile friendly meaning that attendees can also join in the fun from their smartphone or tablet. No need to even be at your computer!
I love how the event has developed over the years and plan to keep on improving it into the future. The feedback from past attendees has been awesome, and the support from sponsors has meant that I've managed to keep it a free event.
Hopefully Promo Day will continue to grow and develop for many years to come, and offer more and more opportunities to promote, network, and learn.
I look forward to connecting with you all more during the PD15 event on Saturday 30th May and welcome suggestions for how I can make the Promo Day event even better.
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