So yes, the two plans have separate and distinct purposes. However, while there seems to be a lot of steps, an effective book launch plan isnt complicated. Plan a party, launch at a unique venue that relates to your book s content or team up with other authors announcing their new release to heighten the excitement across several author platforms and audiences. I never considered a book party as a marketing tool before. Ricks expertise comes from tirelessly working on new and innovative ways to market his own books and cds with his company and parent company, stress free kids. You will need a variety of content marketing materials to support your product launch marketing activities. The first thing authors should do before doing any type of marketing is to put together a marketing plan for their book. This post also comes with a free downloadable checklist to help you promote your book. After you type the final sentences of your masterpiece, your task is not yet complete. Katz will offer miniclasses in a backstage, passwordprotected area of her website during the launch party period. Mar 14, 2018 great book marketing ideas that will get people snapping up your novel or nonfiction masterpiece. Later in this article, you can read the viewpoint of a traditionally published author. You can easily import and export excel files to work with your tasks online, manage dates, track progress, and estimate marketing budget. The books launch is really important to give it sales momentum.
After interviewing nearly a dozen independent nonfiction authors, ive learned two very important things about ebook selfpublishing. A product launch plan template includes a brief back story to the launch. You need to have a website, and it needs to be built around you, not around. How to host a book launch marketing for authors youtube. Whats the most critical element of a successful book launch. Lindsey hartz, owner and lead marketing strategist meet our owner my background in corporate marketing and project management, my graduate degrees in business and project management, and my marketing campaign and book launch work with hundreds of authors, speakers, consultants and publishers provides the backbone for the skills and experience i. Social media can be useful for finding new fans and connecting with media. A successful book launch begins with a marketing plan. Here are five book campaign ideas you can use to help you get ready for your book launch. Dont let all of the work on a marketing plan go to waste because you didnt hire a competent editor.
This includes product spec sheets, video demos, blog posts, website content and media pitches. The plan should also include your postlaunch efforts what needs to happen after launch day such as getting customer feedback or optimizing your website. Today im at the san francisco writers conference and i keep finding myself repeating my book launch formula to authors. Marketing playbook smart insights digital marketing advice.
After years of testing various marketing strategies, ive developed a book launch checklist with triedandtrue tactics that best build buzz and. Your product launch marketing plan for a successful start. Do you have a marketing game plan for your book launch. To successfully launch this book, it took a lot of planning and a whole lot of tactics. Although traditional media campaigns still play an important role in the marketing plans for new books, they are no longer enough. Wait a couple days rank is always wonky right after preorder launch. The 11 step startup launch marketing plan smart insights. Book launch checklist and timeline the purpose of this checklist is to assemble in one place a list of many of the most common tasks authors take on when they run a book launch. Using social media to launch a new product is exhilarating. Additionally, from a marketing perspective, email automation campaigns keep building up the buzz about your book launch. And thats why having a book marketing plan is an essential part of the process. It outlines what you need to do, when you need to do it, and the resources, people, and tools you will need to get it all done. Writing and launching a selfpublished book is no mean feat you deserve a reward for all your efforts, so let this be it.
Tim grahl, book marketing expert and author of the book your first 1,000 copies, also partnered with create live shortly after the launch of his first book. This is a book marketing plan outline that you can use. Even for the less ambitious people like me who will suffice with a couple of thousand targeted prospects, collecting pre launch emails is one more step to minimize the. Prior to the book launch, i do recommend you establish sites or accounts you plan to be active on for the long termjust be aware theyll be most useful, marketingwise, for your next launch, whenever it is. No one will do all of these tasks, but having them in order and in a chronological sequence can be a powerful help in getting yourself organized. Enter your email to access my ultimate book marketing plan template.
He explains how to manage ongoing sales after a book launch. Plan a book launch you need to have a book launch event, where there are readings of parts of your book. The ultimate book marketing timeline for indie authors. Weve written extensively about the importance of book marketing, how to promote a book and marketing a self published book. Rick works closely with authors to create custom, robust book marketing. Plan and prepare well in the leadup to your book launch, and youll be free to celebrate and enjoy yourself when it finally arrives. Creating a book marketing and publicity plan will help spread the word about your book using. Publicity and marketing staffs who time their work to get it into stores and get the medias attention in time for the publication date.
From pre launch activities to influencer outreach, your launch plan will make or break the success of your software, service offering, package, app or book. Dont forget to invite your friends, family, coworkers, writing group, and social media contacts. After years of helping authors build their platforms, and then use those platforms to launch top. The marketing plan takes the long view while the launch plan is more focused on what is new and next. The bigger your platform and access to influencers, the bigger and more diverse your launch. The book is educational in that it exposes young children between ages four and seven to. Heres a great post via firepole marketing on book launch strategy. Promoting your book takes careful planning so you get the most out of your. A simple 10step book launch plan you can easily use to outrank bestselling authors. This is the plan for how you will introduce a new product or service to customers. Book launch tools, resources and content to help authors. In the sections that follow, im offering a new product launch strategy thats sustainable and easy to follow.
You dedicate a few weekseven monthsto writing the book. Students can download the ultimate book marketing plan template from rob eagar for free to follow along with this course and help organize a book launch. I cant overstate the importance of those first few weeks after release. A sample launch plan the first time you launch a new product especially if youve never done it before the process might feel overwhelming and confusing.
If you can do it well, more people will be lining up to buy your book. A marketing plan helps you target your potential customers, their channels of information and ways to target them. How to write a book marketing plan for publishing success. This is how to create a prelaunch strategy for your book medium. Its never too soon to begin raising awareness of your book, and of you as an author. Creating a book marketing and publicity plan is necessary for all authors, whether your publisher is a traditional house or youre trying to selfpublish. In future marketing, content launch cofounder and ceo jon wuebben shows how cultural and technological changes that are happening now will affect marketing. Heres a highlevel view of the plan, which works for both traditionally published and selfpublished authors. Ultimate book marketing plan template for authors rob eagar. Its also hard to keep up with all the options that are available. Your launch plan is a blueprint to your entire book launch. Aug 01, 20 plan a party, launch at a unique venue that relates to your books content or team up with other authors announcing their new release to heighten the excitement across several author platforms and audiences. Much of it is applicable to other categories but the heart of the book is a deep understanding of the strategic thinking, component parts and careful sequencing.
How to create the ultimate book marketing plan free. Most of the launch plan is a long list of launch activities and reasons for each of them. Evaluating the effectiveness of your product launch. This book marketing plan outline is a short form real marketing plan for indie authors meaning it goes beyond a simple, and often untargeted, list of tactics. Lasica shares 10 ways you can get the most out of your book launch while remembering that book marketing is made up of different choices for different stages of your author career. Sep 12, 2019 using social media to launch a new product is exhilarating. Free book marketing plan outline all freelance writing.
In the sections that follow, im offering a new product launch strategy thats sustainable and. After youve read this article, youll be ready to release your beautifully crafted story book to the world, to your loved ones, and most importantly, to those. Book purchasers can participate, regardless of physical location. Writing a book is a good start, but its not enough. How to plan the best new product launch marketing campaign. How to create a written book launch plan author media. Although it is convenient to work with online learning software or companies like createlive or udemy, there are other options as well.
Spend time going through every item on this checklist, so that you get a feel for all of the options that are available to you. A definitive checklist by tim grahl is a free, customizable plan. Prior to the book launch, i do recommend you establish sites or accounts you plan to be active on for the long termjust be aware theyll be most useful, marketing wise, for your next launch, whenever it is. Luckily for you, the following list is everything you need for. Aug 20, 2016 home book marketing how to write a book marketing plan the road map to your publishing success is guided by your book marketing plan.
Enjoy peace of mind knowing youve got a successful launch plan in place. Drawing on recent research, the book highlights upcoming changes in brand messaging, and audience building. New product launch marketing plan detailed account of a. Marketing playbooks can help you manage your marketing over a set period, providing guidance on best practices and common issues. Its also overwhelming if you havent planned accordingly. This way, youve got more than enough time to finish your book and run your marketing strategy, and its enough time to build up a loyal band of followers. Having seen and been involved in so many book launches ourselves, we know what works and what doesnt when it comes to book marketing well walk you through a playbyplay of exactly what you need to do so that your readers can find your book and buy it. All of the above, plus i spend time considering your special marketing needs and provide personalized tips and tricks to help you plan for your launch, specific to your goals, book and genre. How to create a book marketing and publicity campaign. Authors dont like book marketing because they think it means telling strangers about your book. The following is a marketing plan developed for a new collection of childrens bedtime stories called goodnight canada.
When it comes to book promoting, nothing can have a bigger impact on your book. Heres what you need to know about the efforts that set your book up for proper launch and if youre selfpublishing, follow the same path to launch there is a lot of marketing and publicity howto information on this site to help you. No one, not even we draft2digital geniuses, can tell you the one true way to do any of this. For many teams, the launch plan is a subset of the marketing plan. In the strategy ill show you, i keep things simple. From prelaunch activities to influencer outreach, your launch plan will make or break the success of your software, service offering, package, app or book. In the book launch game, in marketing, in the whole world of publishing, theres really one rule to rule them all. Its not only hard to know what you should be doing. This is a gantt chart, which helps you manage and visualize marketing activities and key dates.
Clarify marketing language that helps capture reader attention. The launch plan tackles something novel something fresh. Without a pre launch, your new product launch marketing plan will be incomplete. Product launch marketing plan free download excel template. In honor of registration for the book launch blueprint being open, we are going to talk about book launches. More people equals more excitement, and thats what a party is all about. While a simple list might be fine when pitching publishers, a list of marketing tactics is not a marketing plan. Unfortunately the vast majority of startup founders have little to no experience or marketing or managing a marketing budget. Sep 18, 2018 you book launch cheat sheet author marketing experts, inc. Plus, youll receive my free weekly enewsletter packed with expert marketing advice for authors. How to write a book marketing plan in easy steps 1.
This template gives you a predefined structure of your marketing project. Joint venture launches, book clubs, product sponsorships, and digital products are four great places to start. We find that they are helpful to align your teams around one vision and set of goals, helping to ensure you see good results. How to market a book, by joanna penn, and lets get visible, by david gaughran, are particularly helpful for independent authors as well as traditionally published authors who want to learn more about the best practices of digital marketing. Rick lite of stress free book marketing, is a seasoned book marketing professional with over years of experience in the industry. Sep 25, 2019 finishing your book is a huge accomplishment. Make sure the typos are fixed and everything looks good. The marketing team gathered to sprint plan, an agile marketing process that helps. A book launch plan for firsttime authors without an. Finally, when the dust settles, youre rewarded with a handful of daily sales. May 25, 2015 every publisher and literary agent will tell you that responsibility for the success of your book rests heavily upon you, its author. Includes tips on building mailing lists, running promotions and advertising.
To maximize or perhaps even replace a traditional publicity campaign, you. So this is like one of those little bits of cheese they give. First, we know authors can sometimes become hung up on the size of a media audience, and believe national media is always the best way to sell books. How to effectively launch a book for sustained sales duration. Oct 15, 2014 continuing with this weeks series on book marketing plans, its time for a freebie. Even for the less ambitious people like me who will suffice with a couple of thousand targeted prospects, collecting pre launch emails is one more step to minimize the risks of building something nobody wants. The better you can tell the overall launch story and how all the pieces fit together, the better you can defend your launch plan and the budget youll need to execute the launch. A list of followers who are in love with your writing will be the first to line. Instead of a party happening at a concrete time of day, my online book launch will run for 24 hours, she says. The seven facts we offer about book marketing and publicity come from our experience working on more than 4,000 books since our founding in 1997.
At any given time, there seem to be 1,000 different ways to market your book. I tend to go overboard with my courses and tutorials, and am trying to simplify. A simple 10step book launch plan you can easily use to outrank. Dec 31, 2018 creating a book marketing and publicity plan is necessary for all authors, whether your publisher is a traditional house or youre trying to selfpublish. The book launched in march 2018 and quickly rose to the amazon best seller list in multiple categories. A book launch plan for firsttime authors without an online. Your whole business is dependent on a solid digital marketing strategy and requires planning and timely execution at its launch stage. Product launch marketing plan consists of typical readymade tasks. Book marketing plan the definitive checklist book launch. Build your own plan and download a customizable checklist. To maximize or perhaps even replace a traditional publicity campaign, you need to reach out to your audience directly by building and nurturing a strong online author platform. A case of new book store 369 downloads 18 pages 4,312 words add in library click this icon and make it bookmark in your library to refer it later. The success of a startup will often depend on its approach to marketing.
Book marketing plan the definitive checklist checklist contents. Authors who set up some personal market tactics to execute, whether standalone efforts or those in tandem with their publisher, sell more copies. Apr 24, 2019 the book launched in march 2018 and quickly rose to the amazon best seller list in multiple categories. Ask a friend to take pictures and make sure to get some shots of you signing books, talking to readers, and speaking.
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