3 Reasons Why Every Author Needs a Street Team

Getting people talking about your product is a crucial ingredient in any successful marketing campaign. Otherwise, how will people know about it? It’s a simple enough equation: people talking = hype = sales. Admittedly, I was never very good at math, but even I can make sense of that one —  the more people are helping you get the word out about your book, the better.

Street teams are a tried and true method of achieving this, commonly used in the music industry. Made up of friends, family, fans, and loyal followers, street teams write reviews, promote your work on social media, and even engage in harmless guerrilla tactics such as going to stores and putting your book in the recommended section.

But is a dedicated street team really necessary? If you’re not sold, I’ve put together a list of my top three reasons for why every author should consider assembling their own guerilla marketing dream team.

1.   They help you meet your readers where they are

A good street team will plant many little seeds in already fertile soil. What I mean by that is that street teams find readers that are already quite willing to buy a book in your genre, and subtly (or not so subtly) convince them that that book should be your book by creating a general sense of buzz. They make you visible where it really matters.

Much like the term implies, having a street team is all about getting boots on the (literal or metaphorical) ground and meeting your target readers in the kinds of high-traffic spaces they’re likely to visit — from your community bookstore, to genre-specific forums and blogs online, a street team can be used both to build local awareness and a solid digital presence.

2.   Many hands make lighter (and more convincing) work

A street team is a particularly effective marketing method because endorsements from real people come across as much more genuine than self-promotion or traditional paid ads. Of course, it comes across as genuine because it generally is — your street team consists of people who truly believe in you as a writer! The word-of-mouth hype generated by a buzzing street team raises curiosity — nobody wants to miss out on the next big thing that so many people in their community are talking about. And the bigger the street team, the greater the force of its attraction, as Newton famously put it.

There’s also a practical angle to this; your time and physical reach is limited, and having a street team means more bookstores are being covered, more keyboard warriors are in the comment sections, more people show up to your events, and more people’s social media feeds are being flooded with news about your book. And that’s all without you having to significantly increase your own workload.

So not only does a street team help share the load of getting your book discovered by your target readers, it also improves the effectiveness of your marketing campaign by lending it authenticity. In this way, a street team both solidifies your reputation as a legitimate author and extends your reach in a cost and time-efficient manner.

3.   They’ll always have your back

Another great benefit of having a street team is that they’ll help you when the going gets a little bit rough. As with anything in life, you’re likely to go through times of lower self-motivation or times when you’re facing negative feedback. Having a street team that has your back and sees the brilliance of your work (even at times when you might be questioning it) can serve as a wonderful motivational boost, as well as the moral support you need in order to get over that hump.

A street team will also help you handle negative reviews in a much more tangible sense by posting positive reviews that contextualize any critical voices and highlight the strengths of your writing. After all, encouraging your street team to share what they love is a much better look for an author than personally responding to criticism.

No matter from what angle you look at it, a street team can be an incredible addition to traditional marketing efforts, and these are only some of the reasons why every author should consider gathering one of their own. Ultimately, there’s real strength in numbers.

Rose Atkinson-Carter is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors with some of the world’s best editors, designers, marketers, ghostwriters, and translators. At Reedsy, she advises authors and professionals on everything writing and publishing related; from marketing to copyrighting and querying agents and publishers. She lives and works in London.