Written by: Holly Jackson, Senior Level Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You have a service or product that helps. You have a story worth sharing centered around your business, nonprofit, or movement.
You find yourself thinking…”If I could just write that book, it will all come together.” You might even think, “Once I publish my book, I can retire.” I hate to break it to you. This isn’t reality. One of the biggest myths we need to bust today is as follows: Myth: If I write it, they will buy it. This is NOT true. Like anything else, it requires intentional, detailed marketing efforts. Success stems from strategy, intention and preparedness.
Your book is the same deal. So what does a masterful book launch look like? The BluePrint to a Masterful Book Launch
1. Have a Pre Launch Strategy
You need to begin your pre-launch strategy six to twelve months BEFORE your publication date. You heard me…you need at least six months to set yourself up for success.
You need to begin by building your book launch team. What is a launch team? These are the people who agree to:
Pre-read a copy of your book
Buy a copy on publication day and
Share a positive review within the first week of your publication How do you get people on your launch team?
You use your personal and professional email lists to reach out to them. You text everyone you know. You post on social media. You attend networking events.
And you ask them to join your launch team. You can set up a simple form for this or go old school and log it in an excel file. You want to make sure you continue to nurture your launch team in the weeks and months leading up to your launch. You want to keep them engaged and excited. Otherwise, they won’t take action on publication day. Leading up to your book publication you also want to schedule podcast interviews, talks and radio interviews to promote your prelaunch. If you’re able to, be sure to list your book on Amazon and other platforms as a presale. This will help show how your marketing efforts are coming along before launch. Last but not least, make sure your book has a lead magnet in it. This simply means you offer a tool or resource to your reader. They can get that tool or resource in exchange for their email address. This allows you to keep in touch with them. Continue to build the relationship. And invite them to new offerings and services in the future.
2. Develop a Solid Launch Day Strategy
On launch day you want to be in close contact with your publisher if you are going the hybrid or traditional publication route. If you are self-publishing you want to keep close track of when everything goes live officially online. Sometimes the ebook will be ready and it will take some time for the paperback to go live. As soon as everything is ready to go, you want to email your launch team to take action. You also want to follow up with a text within an hour or two of the email going out.
Only 10-20%of your launch team list will actually take action. This means that if you have 100 people on your launch team, you can expect 10-20 to take action. The better you do keeping them engaged and following up, the higher percentage you will experience. People are busy and we are constantly inundated with information. The easier you make this, the better.
Share a video on how to buy a copy. Share with them how they can gift 15 e-books to friends and family members. Those will all count as individual purchases towards best-seller status. Have your press release ready. Pay extra to get it picked up on more outlets and newswires. Reach out to journalists and platforms for publicity and articles to showcase your book. Consider having a contest…for those who purchase 15 gift copies, you will mail them a signed copy of your book. Have a selfie contest. Have them post selfies of them with their book and whoever gets the most views gets a signed author copy of the book. Line up book signings and book events with local bookstores and aligned companies. Be sure to track bestsellers and best new releases in all your categories each hour.
Take screenshots of when you hit rankings you are happy with. This will be your social proof for future marketing. Get really creative and fun with your launch strategy. There’s a lot you can do here to maximize your exposure and make this a fun experience.
3. Build a Solid Post Launch Strategy
You’re published. You got bestseller status. Now what? Like anything else in marketing, you need an ongoing plan.
Continue lining up podcast, speaking, radio, and tv show interviews to promote the book and your business. Showcase reviews in social posts from readers. Ask your launch team for selfies of them with the book. Post social media shares on what they think of the book with their selfie. Continue booking book signings and speaking gigs to promote the book. When negotiating speaking gigs, ask them to buy copies of the book for the audience. Meeting and conference planners love hiring speakers who have a book published. It adds a tremendous amount of credibility. Consider creating quarterly contests on social media for book selfies and reviews. Have a prize that gets folks excited.
Build on that momentum. Get creative and have fun with this. This is a long game. You want consistent sales and book reviews over time. This will allow your book to come up at the top of searches.
Invest in the long game. It’s worth it.
4. Get Your Book In Front of Potential Clients
More important than book sales is getting new clients. If you’re in the holistic space, find holistic businesses. Gift them a copy or two of your book. Put a sticker on the front with a QR code for folks to buy their own copy and list it as an “office copy”. In doing so, you open the door for a conversation with the business owner as they will be grateful for this gift. I did this with my first book and got several clients from it. I was able to book customized workshops, leadership retreats, and consulting clients from positioning my book in the right places. Get creative with this. Have fun. There are no rules here.
Play with what works. Track what is successful. Whatever works, replicate that.
Need Help? I get it. Publishing your book is a lot of work. Writing it is also a tremendous effort. I want to make sure you are extremely successful and happy with the outcome of your launch. This is why I created my Author’s Ignited Mastermind.
In it we will:
Redefine what success look like for your book launch
Ensure your book message is aligned with your business, movement or nonprofit
Learn how to build your launch team
Land podcasts, tv and radio show guesting gigs to market your launch
Learn ninja trade secrets for becoming a best-selling author
Discover how to best utilize your best-selling book after launch
How to land high authority speaking gigs because you’re a best-selling author
And much more!
If you’re ready to ignite your message and your business, let’s chat.
Book your complimentary chat here.
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Holly Jackson, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Holly Jackson is a certified Holistic Business Coach. Through Holistic Business Coaching, Holly helps holistic entrepreneurs and business owners start, build or scale their business without burning out. Holly’s clients learn how to cope with stress, define their life priorities, and rediscover their passion for business. She helps them see blind spots that often cost them exposure, clients, and income. Having undertaken a thriving career as an executive in Silicon Valley, Holly chose the road less traveled. She decided to leave the corporate world. She has dedicated her life to helping individuals design the life and business of their dreams. For over 12 years, Holly has provided insights, strategies, and fresh perspectives across multiple industries. Holly states, “My clients can expect accountability, growth, and an individualized step-by-step game plan for success. I believe every professional must develop their internal compass and decide what their legacy will be. Holistic coaching goes beyond helping your business and helps the whole person.”
