I feel like I’ve read a million articles on how to do a book launch for a new release, and yet I still don’t feel like I have a clear picture of it. Despite the generic advice out there on the internet, I have finally found a solid method for running and operating a launch team. While this is only part of how to launch your new book into the world, I wanted to go ahead and share my findings so you can start putting it into practice. Once I have solid experience with a book launch, I’ll hopefully be able to do a post with actionable steps to help demystify the whole process. For now, let’s focus on your launch team.
What Is A Launch Team?
A Launch Team is a group of people who care for the author and want to help promote a new release. These people are friends, family, acquaintances, and maybe some super fans. Don’t mistake this group for ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) Readers. This team is not influencers or best-selling authors you want to read your book and promote it. These are the people who know you and really want to help you succeed.
Ideally, you’ll want between 20-30 people on your Launch Team. Once you become more efficient with running the team, you can increase to about 50 people, but it’s a lot harder to manage that big of a group. The sweet spot is 20 people, and that gives you plenty of support without draining your time.
Launch Team Steps
Let’s go through the steps to recruiting and running your Launch Team. You’ll want to start brainstorming for this at least two months before your book release date. Try to compile a list of possible members as well as what kinds of things you’d like your Launch Team to do for you. You also need to make sure your book is up for pre-order. Once you have that together, it’s time to get busy.
1. Incentives
Despite this team being full of people who already love you, you want to find a way to reward them for the time and effort they put into helping you. The best way to do this is to come up with incentives for joining your team. It could be something that falls into one of three categories.
Time
The first incentive you can offer is access to you. You can set up an exclusive Facebook group for them to talk to you or something on another social media platform. You can do a live stream Q&A session about the book or invite them to your Launch Party (either virtual or in-person). People love getting the inside scoop, and being a part of the inner circle will draw some to sign up for the Launch Team.
Exclusive Content
Another incentive is to give them exclusive content on the book. Maybe it’s information on how you developed the main character, a deleted scene, or a bonus chapter. If you don’t want to keep the content exclusive permanently, you can advertise that the team will get early access to the content before it’s released to the public. Again, people love the idea that they are special and will be eager to know something nobody else does…at least not yet.
Swag
The last type of incentive is book swag. This is any physical item you want to create and hand out to your Launch team. It can be bookmarks, character art, alternate book covers, or anything else your mind can conceive. This option will be more expensive than the others, but sometimes it’s the promise of something physical that makes people think their time was well spent.
My only caution with swag is to make sure its valuable. Don’t throw together a boring bookmark and call that your only incentive. The amount of effort you put into your incentives will subconsciously be interpreted by the readers as how much you value their help. I’m not saying go buy the most expensive gifts for the Launch Team, but make sure they’re thoughtful gifts if you do book swag.
2. Sign-ups
Once you have your incentives created (and ordered if you are purchasing swag), it’s time to get people to sign up for your Launch Team. The first step is to create a sign up form that will collect each reader’s information. You’ll need name, email, and mailing address (if you have swag or want to send physical thank you letters after the release). Once that’s created, you’ll send out email invites to your potential Launch Team members with a link to the form.
It’s important that when you invite people to be on your Launch Team that you clearly explain your expectations. Your team needs to know what they’re signing up for and what they’ll get in return. Below are just a few agreement terms you can include in your invite.
- I agree to pre-order the book.
- I agree to read an advanced e-book copy before the release date.
- I agree to post a book review on Amazon and Goodreads on the release date.
- I agree to post 2-3 times a week on social media the week of the book launch.
- I agree to continue to post 2-3 times a week on social media for two weeks after the release date.
These are only some suggestions. You’ll need to list whatever expectations you set for you Launch Team those two months before the book release date. Make sure each task is listed clearly so the readers know what is expected and can estimate if they have time to commit to the team.
Once people start signing up for your Launch Team, you need to send them a welcome email. You can use mail services like Mailchimp or Substack to automatically do this for you. In the welcome email, tell them how excited you are to have their support and request they send you a copy of their pre-order receipt for the book. Once they email you proof they pre-ordered your book, send them an electronic copy of it. You can do this through sites like NetGalley or just email them a PDF file that they can upload to their e-reader. Ideally, you want to get them the book a month before release date so they have time to read it.
3. Social Media Graphics
Now that you have your Launch Team together and they are busy reading, it’s time to work on your own tasks. If you ask your team to post on social media, it’s nice to create some graphics for them to share. You don’t have to create every one for them, but supplying a few will make their job easier.
These graphics can include book quotes, brief reviews from other authors, log lines, or staged pictures of the book. Each member should be encouraged to take pictures of their copies once they receive them, but this will help on Launch week when they may not have a physical book yet. Creating some graphics for the team also helps you keep your brand distinct with similar colors and formats.
4. Stay Connected
Another task for you during the month your team is reading is to stay connected with them. You can do this through email or in a private group on a social media platform. Try to send something out two or three times a week to keep your book fresh in their heads. This would be a cool time to give information about how you created the story or to share funny stories about the writing process. You can show pictures of the books when you receive them or swag if you ordered any. Also, make sure to answer any questions they have about their tasks.
Time has a tendency to slip away on us, and sending some friendly reminders to read the book is helpful. Around two weeks before the release date, send out a message asking how they are enjoying the book. Remind them the release date is coming and encourage them to make sure they are done by then. You may want to also send a reminder a week before the book launch date as well.
5. Launch Week
When you are one week before the release date, send out the graphics you have designed for them to use on social media. Remind them that they need to leave reviews for the book and encourage them to have them already written. They can’t post a review until the book is released, but they can prepare so the process is easy on release day.
When launch day has arrived, send out a reminder for the team to post their reviews. Also, have them tag you on social media when they post so you can share them on your accounts as well. If you are having a launch party or Q&A session with your launch team, make sure you are prepared with things to discuss. If you are having a party, have some activities or giveaways to fill the time.
6. Post Launch Week
Your book is now out in the world, but your job isn’t done. Your team should still be active on social media, and you can continue to share their posts. There will also be those who didn’t quite meet your deadline. At this time, try to gently nudge them to finish the book and post their reviews. As the saying goes, better late than never!
You also need to finish up giving out your incentives. If you planned a post-launch party or Q&A session, you will need to carry that out. If you have any exclusive content from the book like deleted scenes, you should email them to your team. Also, if you purchased book swag, mail that to them.
Regardless of what incentive you have chosen, make sure you thank them for their time. Handwrite them a thank you note or send a special email that is personalized to each member. Make sure they know you appreciate their support and value them as much as they have shown they value you.
Final Thoughts
A book launch is a hard and daunting task, but having a solid team around you for support is indispensable. I hope these concrete steps for running a Launch Team help you along your author journey. If you put in the work, you should have about 20 positive reviews for your book on release day. With that much traffic, the website algorithms should start marketing your book for you. The result may not be an instant bestseller, but it’ll go a lot farther than the one or two reviews you’d get if you did nothing. Good luck!
Thanks for reading!
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