Your book launch is about reaching the readers who will benefit the most from your book. Why? Because those are the readers who will be excited about it. They’re the ones who will talk about it, review it, and share it. Those readers are the key to getting your book the attention it deserves.
2Cool new marketing hacks and paid advertising have their place, but word-of-mouth advertising from your own readers is the best—and most effective—advertising you can ask for. That’s why the most successful book launches target the readers who will get the most out of reading the book and ignore everyone else.
In fact, your entire book launch, including the months leading up to it, is about serving your book—by trying to reach a critical mass within your target audience to spark that word-of-mouth advertising. If you do that well, the formula flips after the launch, and your book will start serving you. It will get people talking about you and calling you. They’ll understand that you’re the person they need. That’s why the work you put into a book launch is so crucial: it sets you and your book up for success. I’ve organized this book launch marketing plan into 3 chronological stages.
I’ve also put together a checklist you can download for yourself. How to think about your audience Remember: your book launch is about reaching people who will share your book. This will help you grow your audience even more. To do that, you need to give your book as much of a boost as you can during the first week of the launch. This is especially true on Amazon, where reviews and early sales have a big effect on your book’s rank and future sales potential.
With that in mind, the people you’re trying to reach during your launch fall into 3 categories: A list of 30-50 friends and family you can count on to review the book Your most avid fans/friends/clients/supporters who will go above and beyond for you and your book Potential readers who will buy (and, hopefully, review) your book You may think you don’t have 30-50 friends and family who will review your book, but you do. Think about the people you went to school with. Colleagues you’ve worked with. Clients you’ve helped. Look through every contact in your phone.
And on LinkedIn. Consider the people who interact with you most often on social media. Think about your spouse’s network, too. Or your parents’ networks. Your grown children’s networks. Your best friends’ networks. Don’t give up. They’re out there. As for the final category—potential readers who will buy and hopefully review your book—think about who they are and where you can find them. What media do they read or watch? What podcasts do they listen to? What influencers are important to them? Start thinking about this early. These questions will inform the decisions you’ll have to make about your launch