One of the greatest challenges for an author is figuring out how to effectively launch a new book. Their expertise is in writing, and a book launch is often a completely foreign process. However, if you are an author who is also an entrepreneur, small business owner or marketing professional, you have a distinct advantage when it comes to launching your book.
Experienced marketers understand that to successfully launch a product or service you need:
- a clear definition of who your target market is.
- to know why your product or service will appeal to them.
- to have a firm grasp on what your competitors have to offer and how your product or service differs from theirs.
Unlike many products or services, though, when it comes to selling books, there really is no such thing as a competitor. Readers who enjoy books by an author writing for the same genre as you may very well buy your book in addition to theirs. After all, readers aren’t likely to read just one book. If they enjoy a genre, they’ll want to find other titles that will appeal to them as well.
So, in the publishing industry, we focus on knowing your “comparable titles” rather than “competing titles.” This opens up possibilities for cross-promoting books you know your readers will enjoy and having other authors doing the same for you.
When authors understand who their ideal reader is, what their readers are looking for, and which authors and titles are comparable to their own, they are in a strong position to develop a launch plan that sells more books.
With that information, you can develop book listings and landing pages that speak directly to your ideal reader. Your author profiles will tell potential readers who you are and which authors your writing and stories are comparable to.
Long before you start marketing your book, though, you’ll want to develop an online presence. Start by creating a website and then building your author platform using both social media and your mailing list. Almost every author I’ve ever spoken to has wished they started their mailing list sooner than they did. It’s never too late to start!
Many savvy marketers look for key influencers they can give samples to who will preview the item and help promote it when it comes out. Authors can do the same, which enables them to build a launch team of influential people, all promoting a book to their audiences around the same time. When consumers see your book everywhere because so many people are talking about it, they’ll be much more likely to check it out.
If you plan on garnering media attention, you’ll want to issue press releases that cover newsworthy topics related to your book. At the same time, we at Emerald Lake Books recommend monitoring sites like HARO (helpareporter.com) to keep abreast of stories for which journalists are seeking sources.
You can also create a tip sheet composed of the top tips related to your book’s topic, with a brief description of each. It provides a handy resource journalists can reference for segments they are working on and may even result in you receiving an invitation to be interviewed.
Consider reaching out directly to podcast hosts and popular blogs as well. Interviews, blog tours, guest opportunities and potential promotions can help you leverage someone else’s audience so potential readers can discover you more easily.
No matter where you are in your publishing journey, you’ll also find yourself engaged in a never-ending appeal for reviews and testimonials, especially from peers and consumers. This acts as social proof that your book is worth spending time (and money) on to those who may not already be familiar with you or your writing. After all, very few savvy shoppers purchase a product or service without first checking out the reviews these days. So the more people you have testifying to the quality of your book, the easier it becomes to sell it.
Once you’ve gathered that social proof, you may also want to consider adding advertising to your marketing plan. For books, the ideal ad platforms are Amazon and BookBub, but Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok offer interesting advertising possibilities as well.
As with any product or service launch, you’ll need to decide which printed marketing materials will best suit your needs. For books, that may include bookmarks and postcards or event flyers. But it should definitely include something called a “sell sheet.” This is a one- or two-page product sheet that provides pertinent information about your book, including how retailers and libraries can buy it and where they should shelve it.
When you become an author, in essence, you are starting a business. Your book is your product, and you are its spokesperson. It’s not enough simply to write a good book. You must also create a well-developed plan for how to launch and market it.
As with any other product or service launch, your strategy will include developing sales copy (book description), an online presence, marketing assets, launch partners, consumer reviews, publicity and advertising. And while the activities, tools and services available for doing those things may differ for books than for other products and services, the overall structure of your launch plan covers the same territory. If you’d like to learn more about developing a launch strategy for your book, Emerald Lake Books offers a course that delves into each of these aspects to help you create your own personalized book launch plan. Check out our course at https://emeraldlakebooks.com/blscourse.
This article originally appeared in the 4th quarter edition of Marketing, Media and Money magazine in 2021.
