Writing a book is one of the most incredible and rewarding projects you can do – for both yourself and your business. But the journey doesn’t end here. For your book to see the success it deserves, you need to have a successful book launch and marketing campaign.
How? We’ve got you covered…
Book launch marketing is essential for creating buzz and building awareness around your book.
The more in line with your authentic brand and personality your launch campaign is, the better! For some authors, this might mean a wacky and offbeat launch campaign, whilst for others it might be more direct and to-the-point, with no bells and whistles.
Whatever approach you choose, the crucial factors are these:
- The quality of your content.
- Building credibility and relevance.
- Understanding what your target audience needs and evidencing why your book is the solution.
As a business book author, you’re in a uniquely advantageous position. You’re able to tell readers exactly what ROI they’ll get from buying your book and taking the time to read it. Make no secret of the fact that your book is packed full of specific, actionable advice relevant to your expertise! Letting readers know exactly what they’ll get from reading your book – and then delivering on it – helps to develop an ongoing and loyal relationship with your customers.
In this blog, we’ll be exploring what makes a killer book launch campaign and all the moving parts you may want to consider to get your book into the right hands.
The three phases
The three phases of a successful book launch campaign are the pre-launch, the launch, and the post-launch. Crucial to all of these phases is social media. It’s a great way to get your book out there and connect with your audience. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter each have their own merits and boast millions – if not billions – of users.
Of course, not all of these users will be relevant to your campaign. The best thing about writing a business book is that you have a built-in audience: there will always be people who are looking for your specific guidance and expertise.
In order to maximise success, each of the three stages needs to be approached considerately and with appropriate planning. For each stage, we recommend no more than three posts per week. A quick way to put the brakes on your successful launch campaign is to oversaturate your audience with too much content that isn’t engaging or relevant.
Let’s take a look at each stage in more detail.
- Pre-launch
The promotion of your book does not begin on launch day! In fact, it begins many weeks before this.
A crucial part of making publication day so successful is the anticipation you build leading up to it. Not only that, but promising something to your audience and then delivering on it is a great way to build trusting relationships.
Here are some things to consider including in your pre-launch campaign:
- Photos of your book cover help to build curiosity as to what’s behind it.
- Snippets from the book (e.g. quotes) let your audience know what to expect.
- A book trailer adds credibility, professionalism, and excitement.
- Talking about the writing journey gives a behind-the-scenes insight that helps to foster a deeper connection with your audience.
- Sharing a list of actionable advice included in the book, and what skills readers will be left with, encourages them to take the leap and make the purchase.
- Launch
Launch day is a hugely exciting day. This is the culmination of months of hard work, and hopefully, after a successful pre-launch campaign, you’ll have an audience who are as excited as you are to see your book hit the shelves (or the Amazon page).
Here are some things to consider in your launch day posts:
- Let your readers know exactly where and how to buy the book.
- Ask for reviews – these can be used as ongoing marketing.
- Celebrate! You’ve worked hard for this moment and deserve to enjoy this special day.
- Post-launch
Post-launch marketing is an oft-overlooked part of book launch campaigns, but it’s crucial for keeping the momentum going. By the time you reach this stage, you’re likely pretty wiped! It’s been a long few months of editing, publishing, and building hype up to your launch day. But it’s vital that you take advantage of the momentum you’ve created and don’t let the wheels fall off.
There’s often a “set it and forget it” attitude when it comes to post-launch campaigns. If you’re ahead of the game, you’ll have written your post-launch content in advance, and scheduled it to publish. But don’t just sit back and watch the posts go live! Keep up engagement by interacting with your audience, reposting, and repurposing your content.
Here are some things to think about in the post-launch stage:
- Share achievements. If you’ve hit the Best Seller list in any Amazon categories or had some great reviews, sharing these accomplishments with your audience is a great way to reassure hesitant buyers that your book is a worthy investment.
- Repurpose your content. Creating downloads, blogs, and even podcast episodes from your book is a great way to keep the momentum going and keep your book – and your brand – front and centre.
Are you ready for book launch success?
Following these stages is a foolproof way to increase engagement with your audience, which in turn equals more sales. At Write Business Results, we follow these steps for all our clients. Recently we worked with Tom Soane, whose book The Anonymous Landlord hit #1 Best Seller in not one, but eight categories on Amazon within two weeks of publication!
Tom had a great pre- and post-launch campaign, and crucially, he followed the extra steps too. He engaged with his audience, he repurposed content from his book, and he posted quality content regularly.
Other tips to maximise your book launch include:
- Utilising email marketing for direct communication with your list.
- Hosting a launch event to generate even more buzz and excitement over your achievement.
- Offering free copies of your book to giveaway winners who sign up to your mailing list or leave a review.
- Following up with readers to encourage an ongoing discussion.
So, are you ready to nail your book launch campaign and set your book on the road to #1? Working with an expert marketing team can make all of the difference. As a busy business leader (and now author!) you may not have time to commit to all of these steps, but a dedicated and enthusiastic marketing team who understands your tone of voice and your message will.
For more information on how we can help you achieve the same results as our bestseller clients, hop on a free clarity call with us today and check out our blog packed full of free advice.