Don’t wait for your book launch to start marketing
You spend years perfecting your manuscript. Eventually, after countless re-writes, it’s done. And it’s good. Good enough to be published. Whether traditionally or self-published, you have a book launch date. This is exciting, it’s what you’ve worked towards for years. You organize a launch party. You go home on a high and flop into bed equal parts satisfied and exhausted.
You did it. You wrote a book and got it out into the world.
Photo credit: Annemarie Gruden
Want to grow your audience? You need a compelling brand message.
Then you wait. For sales, for book reviews, for tweets. Not a lot happens. And this is when it dawns on you that you didn’t do any marketing. Well, that’s understandable. You got into writing to write, not to sell. You spent all your energy on crafting a beautiful story. There was no energy, or time for marketing. You weren’t sure where to start anyway. Plus, the whole idea of promoting yourself turns your stomach in knots.
Sound familiar? You’re not the first writer to feel like this. We want to focus on the words on the page. But you know as well as I do that, even if you’re with a traditional publisher, writing the story is only one part of the writer life. Learning how to get that story into the hands of readers is the another, crucial part. Marketing might be foreign and intimidating to you, but don’t wait until launch day to start. Here’s why.
The benefits to marketing early
1. Gain authentic relationships
I’m going to assume you don’t have the budget of an Apple or Google. Which means that any marketing activities you do are going to rely on you building organic and authentic relationships with potential readers, influencers, book reviewers, podcasters, bloggers, journalists. So, if you wait until a few weeks before publication date to start reaching out to these people it may come off as insincere; you’re just looking for a sale, a book review or a guest post.
2. Build real social media connections
Just like any relationship, social media connections take time. Real ones do. You can ‘buy’ followers, but ask yourself what you really want. Do you want thousands of followers, or do you want meaningful connections with fellow writers, readers, influencers, book reviewers? Effective marketing isn’t just about numbers. It’s about reaching the right people. You can have thousands of disengaged followers, or a small number of people who have come to know you, are interested in your journey, and want to support you.
3. Line up interviews for your book launch
It’s possible to line up interviews, guest posts and podcast appearances surrounding the launch of your book. This involves researching book reviewers, bloggers, podcasters and journalists who might be interested in the topic of your book, and guess what, that takes time. If time is one of your most valuable commodities then you want to invest your marketing hours pursuing the right audience, which means this research is actually time well-spent. Read my interview with publicist, Mel Carrey for a Five Month Book Launch Plan.
Want to grow your audience? You need a compelling brand message.
4. Find what works before your book launch
Sorry to break it to you, but a lot of marketing is trial and error. There are some foundational principles. There are some things you really should and shouldn’t do. But there isn’t a magic bullet or a hack. Your book and you are unique. What works for someone else might not work for you. We’re talking about a personal brand rather than a disposable product. Give yourself time to discover which social media platforms you like, for example. Plus, unless you’re outsourcing all your marketing, chances are you’re going to need to learn some new skills – how to use a new platform, how to update your website, how to set up your Amazon author page – so allow time for that learning curve.
5. Have energy for the long haul
Maybe you’ve noticed a recurring theme here: time. Marketing takes TIME. Just like writing your manuscript, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Most writers would identify several stages to writing a book:
Idea – Outline (however rough) – Draft (I like paper & pencil) – Re-write (a million times) – Polish – Publish
You wouldn’t expect to sit down and bash out a whole book in a matter of days (sorry, NaNoWriMo). The same is true of marketing. Here are some of the key stages:
Audit – Goal setting – Marketing Strategy – Marketing Plan – Marketing Calendar – Review
If those terms are overwhelming, don’t panic. I’d be happy to unpack any of them for you, and on this blog you’ll find posts about a lot of these topics. The thing is, if you start your ‘marketing’ before you launch your book you can do some strategic thinking before you get caught up in book promotion and don’t have the head space to think long-term.
Here are just a few of the things my clients work on way before a book launch, when they’re still drafting their manuscript:
- Website audit
- Website creation/refresh
- Online presence audit
- Social media audit
- Social media plan
- Beta readers
- ‘Competitor’ research
- Book launch team
- Newsletter
- Branding
- Photography
Marketing is an inevitable part of the writer life, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. I’m not saying you need to have a marketing plan wrapped up neatly with a bow before you finish the first draft of your book. Rather, just like sound foundations for a building, you can choose and put in place some key building blocks early on. You’ll be glad you did.
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