By Michelle McCullough
I launched my first self-published book in 2013. In 2017, it got picked up by a publisher and released in an expanded form. Both times, I treated the launch like I self-published since most publishers don’t do much by the way of marketing these days.
The first time I published a book I took the “If you write it, they will buy it” approach to marketing. I posted a few times on social media, did a couple of podcast interviews, and refreshed my sales page approximately 27 times a day. As you can imagine, it wasn’t a very effective marketing plan.
The second time, I tried a few tricks I’d learned from friends and people smarter than I am. I watched and studied other book launches and dissected what worked. Then I figured out how I could put my own spin on the successful tactics. I could fill a new book with all the things I did, but today I’m going to share three of the most effective strategies with you.
First, I created a free call series the month leading up to the book launch. My web team designed a landing page so people could register for the series and I could collect email addresses. For four weeks, every Wednesday I offered a free one-hour group training call related to different sections of my book. I created a Facebook group so I could hold conversations with everyone between calls, and I offered giveaways for people who were willing to share the call series with their friends. I recorded the calls and made each recording available for seven days, to encourage people to listen close to the air date. Then, I offered all four of the recordings to folks who preordered the book at the end of the series (the recordings were part of a bigger bonus bundle, which I talk about below). Even better, I still have the emails and the Facebook group—two assets that outlasted my book launch.
Second, I reached out to friends and colleagues to contribute videos, audio, and ebooks that I could give away to people who preordered my book—I wanted to make sure online sales were incentivized and appreciated. In the end, I had over $800 in training materials that complimented my book and offered some promotion to the folks who donated. This bonus bundle also encouraged social sharing from friends and followers because it wasn’t just about “buying a book”; it was about getting a ton of value for a super low cost. My web team created a landing page where people entered their email address and receipt information, so once again I expanded my email list. Additionally, the bonus bundle helped me accomplish my main goal: climbing the bestseller charts on Amazon.
Third, and perhaps most important, I reached out to friends and family to be part of my book launch team. Many of them would have supported me anyway, but forming a team gave me a chance to remind people about key marketing launch dates, share artwork for the launch, and have fun with the people who supported me the most. I created a private Facebook group, added branded graphics (book excerpts and quotes, book reviews, etc.) that my team could use, and posted a schedule of key dates so that we could post in windows that capitalized on social media algorithms. I also held giveaways for my team. They received entries for sharing on social media channels, buying the book, and leaving a review. I had a lot of fun with my book launch team
These ideas are perfect for nonfiction book launches, and I’ve seen them used successfully for fiction books too. As you consider these options, ask yourself, “How could I make these work for me?”
Cheering you on during your next book launch!
Michelle McCullough, www.speakmichelle.com
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