This year, ALLi revised its Ambassador program. We have always had strong representation and advocacy for the ALLi brand across the globe, but now it is even stronger. Find out more about the ALLi Ambassador Program from the Program Manager, Michael LaRonn.
Michael LaRonn, Author and ALLi Outreach Manager
As authors, we reach many people through our blog, podcast network, guidebooks, and other initiatives, but the most effective “marketing” happens between authors. It happens over coffee, on a Zoom call, on message boards, or in an email exchange when others are chatting and offering help to one another.
“I'm a member of ALLi–have you heard of it?”
As a non-profit, ALLi ploughs its revenues back into the indie author community and doesn't spend money on advertising or sponsorship. It is word-of-mouth, author to author, that has enabled ALLi to grow to a global organization with thousands of members worldwide.
Our official ambassador program helps that word-of-mouth along, providing members who want to take our author empowerment message into their own countries and genre groups.
Even though ALLi is an international organization, so much of the magic we can accomplish is because of our local author impact. When I say local, I mean local to an author's specific country, or particular niche online.
When I started as an ALLi Ambassador, all my most effective efforts were face-to-face. I would tell new authors that I was a member of a nonprofit organization whose mission was ethics and excellence in self-publishing, and outline some of the ways they'd helped me on my publishing journey. I never met a single author yet whose head didn’t nod and ears prick up.
Yet, my style is very American. It works well with authors in my country, but every country is different. Our Ambassadors give ALLi a true international touch because we can communicate effectively everywhere.
And for people who have never heard of us, it’s helpful to see an author local to them as a member of ALLi, enjoying the perks of membership. It makes them more likely to give us a go!
ALLi Ambassadors are volunteers who take time out of their busy author businesses to mention ALLi where it makes sense, and in the method that is most comfortable to them.
Ambassador Partner Logo
We don’t pressure authors to join ALLi (or to become ambassadors!) because that’s not what we’re about. Instead, we focus on being helpful—sharing ALLi’s many amazing resources and leading by example in our daily writing and publishing lives.
Those are all the sales tactics you need when you have as strong an organization as ALLi behind you.
All of our Ambassadors have different styles. Some promote ALLi in the copyright pages of their books, others on their website and blog, and others in face-to-face meetings with authors in their country.
That's the power of ambassadorship, and why we are proud to have such a great group of individuals representing us around the world and helping us grow our impact and influence in the self-publishing community. Our current most active local ambassadors include:
- Italy: Elizabeth Jennings
- Nordic Countries: Helena Halme
- New Zealand: Sharon Hague
- Spain: Joan Fallon-Cook
- The Netherlands: Maria Staal
- United Kingdom: Melissa Addey
- United States: Michael La Ronn & Dina Santorelli
- Twitter Networking: Tim Lewis
Tim Lewis runs a weekly engagement and networking chat on Twitter bringing indie author members together from across the globe. The Indie Author Twitter Chat runs for an hour, weekly on Wednesdays, at 8pm UK Time (3pm EST and noon Pacific Time). All you have to do to join in is follow the hashtag #IndieAuthorChat on Twitter.
We couldn’t be prouder of the way our Ambassadors represent us in their countries. As our program is augmented, we are receiving new interest and we are still reviewing applications for new Ambassadors at the time of this writing.
I’m looking forward to steering our new ambassador program and meeting the new members that our Ambassadors will help bring into our organization.
Michael La Ronn has published over 1.5 million words of fiction and nonfiction since publishing his first book in 2014. He is the author of over 30 science fiction & fantasy novels and author self-help books, and has produced this prolific writing portfolio while raising a family and working a full-time job in the insurance industry. Find out more at www.michaellaronn.com.
Ambassadors are Affiliates
Our ambassadors are also ALLi affiliates and have the opportunity to make money for every referral they make using our ALLi affiliate program. When you refer someone to ALLi, you earn 30% of their first membership fee. But it's not just ambassadors, all members are affiliates.
- You can use your affiliate link in an email to an author friend, encouraging them to join.
- You can include it in a blog post or social media update whenever you write about ALLi.
- You can download an affiliate badge for your website or social sites.
Anyone who clicks on those links or badges and then subsequently joins ALLi will be credited to you. Many of our members find they earn their membership fee back soon after joining.
Map of world illustrating membership countries. See more here.
A Global Organization
ALLi is proud to have members in dozens and dozens of countries around the world. Our membership covers the globe with 49.5% of members in the USA, 29.9% in the UK, 7.3% in EU and Ireland, 5.7% in Australia, 5.4% in Canada, 1.1% in Asia and the Middle East, 0.6% for South and Central America, and 0.4% in Africa.
ALLi Global Resources
Mark Williams, ALLi's Going Global Advisor ran a series of International Insights posts that discussed a range of globally focused topics such as: distributors, International book fairs, regional markets like Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Ibero-America and much, much more.
If you've been under the illusion that because Amazon is a behemoth it's the only place your books need to be, then you're sorely mistaken. In this article, Mark discusses just quite how limited Amazon is and the enormous book market you're missing out on if you're exclusive. If you're interested in finding out more about the aggregators that have a greater depth of reach in countries other than the USA and UK, then this article is where you should head. Discover the distributors who are truly globally focused in this post, and finally why subscription isn't just about KU in this post.
The ALLi Team
While the ambassadors represent ALLi in local regional areas, helping to spread the word and promote the organization, there is also a dedicated team that help to keep the organization running. Managing the day to day running, producing and delivering the oodles of free content and supporting members with their questions, issues and campaigns. The team includes:
- Orna Ross – Founder and Creative Director
- Philip Lynch – Resources Director
- Sarah Begley – Member Care & Publishing Assistant
- Sacha Black – Blog Manager
- Kayleigh Brindley – Social Media Administrator
- John Doppler – Services Watchdog
- Dan Holloway – Self-Publishing News Editor
- Michael LaRonn – Member Q&A Podcast Co-Host and Outreach Manager
- Howard Lovy – ALLi News and Podcast Producer
- Robin Philips – ALLi Webmaster and Tech Support
- Debbie Young – Special Projects & UK Ambassador
- Dan Parsons – Publishing Production Manager
You can find out more about the ALLi team here.
Unofficial Ambassadors
Of course, you don’t have to be an official ambassador to spread the word about ALLi. As an author or partner member, or just as a reader of this blog, you can:
- Tell your friends about us.
- Share ALLi articles, podcasts, and guidebooks that you find helpful.
- Display your ALLi badge proudly on your website.
- And don’t forget to use your affiliate link for referrals!
- Share this post all about why being an ALLi member is awesome.
- Use your affiliate link to share with friends.
In these respects, we are all ambassadors of ALLi every day.
If you are interested in becoming an ALLi ambassador, please reach out to Michael La Ronn.
