Preparing for Your Book Launch: Informational Guide
Whether your book launch is weeks away, or a year away, a successful book launch requires planning. Notoriety, visibility, and positive reviews don’t happen overnight—making your preparation all the more important.?
To help you make the most of your?book launch, we’ve created this guide, leveraging insider advice straight from our?book promotion plan?at Forbes Books.?
Your Pre-Launch Checklist:
Explore your book launch to-dos at a glance.?
?????? Set your book launch date
?????? Coordinate a promotion plan with your publishing team
?????? Ask your promotions manager about retailer promotions
?????? Begin a PR campaign two to three months before launch date?
?????? Coordinate book signing events with local bookstores 3-4 months prior?
?????? Identify your target audience on Amazon
?????? Conduct keyword research for your Amazon listing
?????? Create a list of advocates to review your book
?????? Email book review reminders to your advocates?
?????? Prepare a newsletter for employees, stakeholders, prospects etc. to announce your book launch?
?????? Create a social media strategy and schedule posts with book excerpts or videos?
?????? Investigate and purchase Amazon advertisements?
?????? Set up a book page on your website
?????? Sell your eBook for $0.99 during launch week?
Step 1: Set the Book Launch Date
Before you get carried away in the minutiae of prepping for your launch, you need to?set a date. This enables you to determine how much time you have before the date, and therefore, how much you can achieve.?
Many recommendations require advanced planning to accomplish. Talk to your publisher if you’re uncertain of your launch date. If you’re?self-publishing?your title, ensure you understand the timetables and logistics involved in both?eBook?and?print production?and distribution.
Pro-tip!?If your date is not set yet, work with your publisher to discuss the best time. They will take into consideration whether the book is print-on-demand or traditionally printed and when is a good time of year to release your particular book.?
For more insights, read our article?When is the Best Time of Year to Release My Book??by our Sr. Director of Distribution, Steve Elizalde.?
Step 2: Decide on a Book Promotion Plan?
You don’t want to launch your book without a book promotion plan in place. Without book promotions, it can be difficult for your book to compete with thousands of other titles in online and retail stores.?
Once you have a book launch date determined, your team will begin looking at options for supporting the success of your book.
These plans often include:
For more information on book promotion plans, visit our blog,?The Benefit of Book Promotion.
After developing your promotional plan, it’s time to complete each step and turn it into a reality. Coordinate with your publishing team on timelines and what they expect from you as the author.
Step 3: PR Book Campaigns
To increase the anticipation of your book, enlist in a PR book campaign. These campaigns are targeted at your target audience, helping your potential readers hear about your book. These are largely handled by your campaign manager; however, you will need to increase your availability to boost your chance at securing interviews.
What’s included:
Step 4: Reader Review Campaign
Reader reviews?are critical to a strong book promotions campaign and influence how, when, and where the Amazon algorithm recommends your book to potential buyers. Your reviews also provide potential buyers with the social proof needed to feel confident in their purchase decision.?
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Beginning several months in advance of your publication date, develop a plan for?seeding books with your network?for potential review.?
This includes:
How To Get Goodreads and NetGalley Reviews?
In addition, expand the book seeding to include engagement with the NetGalley and Goodreads communities. These are two of the largest online reading communities, boasting over 90 million combined registered users.
This is accomplished by:
Learn more with our post,?How to Get Book Reviews and Awards.
Step 5: Optimize Your Amazon Listing
Before you create your book listing on Amazon, you need to consider how to optimize the page for maximum views. An integral part of this is ensuring your target audience can find your book. Your listing title can be optimized based on keyword research.?
Targeted Amazon Advertising?
Amazon targeted ad campaigns offer the ability to reach readers with a purchase and browsing history in your book’s genre through online and email placements. These ads put your book in front of readers who are ready to buy as close to the point of purchase as possible. With the help of a media team, Amazon certified ad specialists will continually optimize the ad strategy based on real-time results.
Step 6: Schedule Book-Signing Events
Three to four months prior to your book launch, reach out to your local bookstores to discuss opportunities for promotion or events. Many local bookstores schedule author book signings or book readings that can provide great opportunities for gaining photography assets and meeting potential readers.?
However, be prepared to?convince them of your value, as the competition can be great. In your communication with them, notify them of your?existing book promotions?and whether you can guarantee a number of visitors to the event.?Bookstores?only want to?feature authors?who will?bring in business?for the store.?
Step 7: Prepare a Newsletter?
You need as many of your connections as possible to know about your book. Your existing base serves as the initial reader-base as your book is gaining traction and visibility with other PR or promotion plans.?
Create a?list of employees,?stakeholders,?and prospects?to?announce your book launch. By creating a newsletter, you can widen your audience past the core team of advocates you identified earlier. Announcing your book helps you confirm your authority as an expert while creating opportunities for greater readership and word-of-mouth referrals from your newsletter list.?
Step 8: Create a Book Launch Social Media Strategy
If you manage your social media, you need to ensure that you are leveraging your connections on these platforms.?
Inform your audience on your various social media accounts and even provide them with a book teaser or excerpt to pique interest. If you’re working with a social media specialist, spend time strategizing the best content strategy for your platforms.
They will help you create varied messages for your audience to keep them from losing interest. Include visual media, such as photos or videos, to keep your posts fresh. For further results, consider creating an engagement campaign to boost awareness and earn more followers.?
Learn more in our post,?Creating a Social Media Engagement Campaign.
Step 9: Update Your Website
Don’t forget to leverage your existing traffic to your corporate or personal website. The visitors to your website may already be interested in your topic or loyal customers—making them the perfect potential reader!?
Top tips:?
Step 10: Discount Your eBook?
Selling your eBook for $0.99 during the initial weeks of your book launch can help generate more interest in your book and make it easier for your followers to commit to purchasing and reviewing it.?
At Forbes Books, we offer a?Kindle Bestseller?program to help your book reach the top five list for your book’s category. These bestseller lists can be easily found on Amazon and help ensure readers find and locate “top” books.?
Reap the Rewards
Once you’ve accomplished your pre-launch checklist, it’s time to enjoy the rewards of your effort! Remember, growing as a known author and leading authority takes time.?
Commit to doing one thing every day to promote your book and remember to continue to promote it even after launch day. For expert help in publishing and launching your book, reach out to the?publishing experts?at Forbes Books.
Written by Lissie Hoover, Sr. Copywriter