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How to Make Your Book Launch Day a Great Success!
Sunfire
CONTENTS
The Premise
You’ve made all the edits and revisions you could in the final version of your book and the people who you selected to read it had nothing but good things to say about it which means it’s time to move onto the next step. That’s right, it’s time to start thinking about your book launch day and how to make it an incredible success! If you’ve managed to make it this far, be proud of yourself. Many would-be first time writers never got to this point.
Believe it or not, a lot of work goes into ensuring the success of launch day. You have a long list of things to do beforehand but fret not, as long as you tackle them one-by-one, everything will work out in the end.
This article will explore the 3 parts of making your book launch day a great one. There’s a whirlwind of activity in the weeks and days leading up to it. You need to create a list of things to do so you can monitor your progress and focus on getting everything ready for the big day!
The day itself is magical for a reason. It’s the first time you’re making your creation, after months of hard work, available to the public as well as interacting with people interested in buying it. It’s a great feeling talking with people about your book and seeing them get excited to read it at home.
Just because launch day may be over doesn’t mean you’re done with your book and can move onto the next one, whether it be a sequel or a wholly different book. Quite the opposite, you have to double down and build upon the momentum you generated on launch day. Promoting your book constantly helps ensure you keep selling it since you’ll be continually letting people who might not know about it in the aims of converting them into customers.
This is article number fifty-three in the series chronicling writing a fantasy book. Want to see what else we offer? You can find all of our articles on our blog page!
The Lead-up to the Book Launch Day
With your attention now fixated on launch day, there’s a number of things to do. It’s much like setting the table before you eat a meal. You have your work cut out for you so it’s best to carve out a sizable block of time, preferably weeks or the month leading up to the magical day, to give yourself plenty of time to get it all done.
The most important thing to do that will help ensure a successful book launch day is to lay the groundwork by promoting it. You can do so on your social media platforms, blog, email newsletters, and whatever other avenues you have to communicate with your would-be readers. You gotta let them know when the big day is so they can attend it!
Other places to promote your novel include the local book clubs or literary organizations in your city/town. They’re where bookworms meet to discuss the newest books and they’re a great tool for you to pitch your book to the people most likely to buy it. If they like it, they’ll tell people they know to get it and word-of-mouth is among an excellent way to promote it.
If you’re selling your book online through a retailer like Amazon, you can set the time where you can start accepting pre-orders. You can coordinate it to start several days before launch day to generate sales and momentum though just a reminder, you’ll need to factor in their approval process which can take up quite a bit of time.
The overall appearance of your book can affect sales, for good and bad. It’s essential that you have a fantastic cover that is not only visually appealing but spurs interest. You want to draw people in by using a design that conveys exactly what your novel is about and stands out in the crowded marketplace.
Some authors employ a strategy where they release an except of their book to the public before launch day. It could be the first chapter or the first several pages of said chapter where the narrative hook is in the hopes of enticing potential customers to buy it when it’s available. They do so by posting it on their websites or putting it in an email blast to the people following them.
The Book Launch Day Itself
The big day’s finally here! You toiled behind the scenes to put everything in position to make it a day you will remember for the rest of your life. However, your work isn’t done, not by a long shot.
The venue you use will determine what you’ll do on launch day so it’s vital you choose the one that will work the best with what you have in mind. Some authors like to hold a party at their local bookstore where they sign copies and talk with people. Others go with a virtual event where they can talk with people from all over the world. Don’t forget to plan this out in advance so that the day can go smoothly.
For unknown authors, showcasing your expertise goes a long way in persuading people unsure whether to buy your book or not. They’re less likely to buy from someone they believe is an amateur than someone they consider a professional. It’s a great opportunity to burnish your bona fides by showing them other content you’ve made like blog posts or vlogs as well as driving traffic to these places.
There’s no set time of day that will determine whether your book launch day is a success or not. Some authors like to start in the morning, others the afternoon or evening. The important thing to remember is that you want to play to your strengths. For example, if you’re an early riser and you’re more productive in the morning, then have the event to launch it at that time where you’re at your best instead of at night when you might not be.
The day you choose to launch your novel is the same as well. Some authors swear that it matters but in the long run, it’s actually not the case. A Saturday is as good as a Wednesday. Much like the previous paragraph, go with the day that’s the best for you. Some choose to launch their book on either a Saturday or Sunday when a lot of people are off work for the weekend in the hopes of increasing sales. Others prefer a Tuesday or Wednesday because it enables them to have more personalized conversations with the people who attend their events.
You can ask your email subscribers to post reviews of your book on their networks — or if you have a blog, you can have your members do the same. It’s a superb marketing tactic as it generates word-of-mouth which is still important in this day and age. It’s also a great way to reach people who might not know about you or your book.
What to do After the Book Launch Day
Your launch day was a smashing success. You got a good turnout and managed to sell some copies of your novel. You’re probably thinking it’s time to take it easy and rest on your laurels. That would be a grievous mistake to make.
Why is it a mistake? Whatever momentum you generate from your book launch day will dissipate and your sales numbers will plummet. As a published author, having your book continue to sell long after launch day is a boon for you professionally and personally, for you’ll use the money you get from selling to make a living.
There’s only one surefire way to keep making money off your novel afterwards and that’s by promoting it. You’ll have to continue promoting it using a variety of marketing tactics like advertising it on your blog or social media platforms. There’s still a large chunk of people that haven’t bought your novel yet and raising its visibility goes a long way in getting them to find out about it.
Another way to promote it after launch day is by using email marketing. Not everyone who subscribes to you will have bought a copy so it’s vital that you keep marketing your with the intention of trying to persuade them to buy it. A word of caution: don’t promote your book too much here, if they feel bombarded, they’re likely to stop subscribing and you’ll have lost out on an opportunity to make a sale. They subscribed to you for a reason and you want to do everything you can to keep them.
Some published authors like to advertise their books through online ads. Places like Amazon are great since they have high traffic everyday which means it won’t be long before someone sees your ad. You’ll have to pay a fee to place your ad so be sure to go with one that doesn’t break the bank.
If you have a blog, you can also use it as a promotional tool. Some authors like to put their works on the home page since it’s the first page everyone sees when they arrive at their site. Placing it near the top works since that’s the most visible part of the site and the one that gets the most eyeballs.
Tying it all Together
The launch day of your novel is something to celebrate. You worked hard on it for a long time and you’re officially unveiling it to the public. Moreover, you made it further than many others who gave up long before they reached this point so you deserve a victory lap. Releasing a book is an incredible achievement and it’s something to be proud of.
But before the big day comes, there’s a lot of planning you need to do in order to make it a phenomenal success. Decisions such as the venue and what type of event you want it to be are among the many you have to make. Don’t forget to promote the book launch day in the days and weeks leading up to it.
Moving onto launch day itself, you can have an event where you give out signed copies to those who show up as well as interact with them. Talking with people helps you forge a connection with them, making them more likely to buy your novel. Even better, they’ll tell their family and friends about you and your book and you’ll sell more copies down the road.
Though launch day may be over, your work is just beginning. You have to continually promote your book to keep selling copies and pocketing more money. You do so by using the channels you have at your disposal, whether it be your social media platforms or email marketing.
The book launch day is an important milestone in an aspiring writer’s career so it’s essential that you devote as much time as you can to ensure a successful launch!
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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
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