Don’t leave your marketing to the last minute

ACTIONABLE STEPS FOR YOUR BOOK LAUNCH

Last month my Twitter feed was full of comments about NaNoWriMo. (For those not in the know, the idea is to write a novel in a month, or more precisely, 50,000 words). Finishing a novel in a month sounds so attractive to those of us addicted to speed and success (which might just be most of us). Maybe it’s the reason titles like “3 steps to …” and “the one thing you need to do to …” are so popular. They make it sound so easy. But the thing is, you can’t churn out a good novel in a month, just like you can’t do a good job of marketing a book in a month. I wish you could. Often, writers are exhausted by the time they’ve drafted, revised and re-written their novel umpteenth times so when it comes to the marketing, they have no energy left. They want a 1-month success plan. Well, I’m sorry to tell you no such thing exists. However, there are some principles from sprints like NaNoWriMo which will make your book marketing less tiring and stressful.

 

First off, I just need to say I have nothing against NaNoWriMo; I took part a couple of years ago and it certainly got my word count up. Last year I was feeling particularly demotivated about writing fiction so I set myself the lofty challenge of sitting for a whole 15 minutes per day to work on my ms during the month of November. As a daily goal it was pretty pathetic compared to the NaNoWriMo 1,500+ words, but it helped me through a writing slump. Most of the time, I can write 1,5000 words per day; in fact, I often have to as a freelance writer. They’re just not always very good. So, the idea of starting and finishing a good novel in a month. Well, yeah! (But maybe that’s not really the point of NaNoWriMo).

Writing sprint techniques that work for marketing

• Make a marketing PLAN

What I’ve noticed over the last few years as NaNoWriMo has grown, is a proliferation of articles and advice leading up to November about how to plan for a successful NaNoWriMo. You see, writers are most successful in hitting that 50k word count if they have a plan. And the same is true of marketing your book. I’ll share some ideas about that plan below. Tim Grahl also has fantastic resources.

• Set a GOAL

The goal of writing 50,000 words in a month is noble, and we need a goal for our marketing too. If you don’t set a goal you don’t know what you’re aiming for, you won’t know when you get there, and you won’t know when to stop. More and more, I see a goal like a compass, an arrow, your North star. Don’t get too hung up on numbers to start with. You figure out your goal by asking yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing and what you want things to look like in the future. Honing that helps you to stay motivated when things are tough.

• Have a FOCUS

What I do like about NaNoWriMo is how it forces you to focus. You can’t reach those 50,000 words unless you say no to other things and schedule writing time. We need the same dedication when it comes to marketing our work. I don’t mean we have to do it all the time, but I do mean we have to do it intentionally at times. When faced with the overwhelm of running my own business, I often come back to this mantra, “just do one thing well.” We’d see a significant difference in our marketing if we adopted the same approach. What would happen if you devoted a whole month to really understanding, researching, engaging with, and posting to Instagram? Nothing else for a month, just Instagram.

Want to grow your audience? You need a compelling brand message.

How to create a book launch plan in a month

Now, while you shouldn’t wait until one month before publication to start talking about your book, why not take a month to plan your book launch (but you’ve got to create this plan at least six months before publication, ideally earlier)? Here are just some of the elements you can sketch out in that month:

• RESEARCH – Make a list of book reviewers, review sites, bloggers, podcasters, media you can reach out to. Check out my Five Month Book Launch Plan for more on this. Also, make a list of authors or influencers who might be willing to read an ARC and write a blurb.

• CHEERLEADERS – Make a list of friends, family, fellow writers, business associates etc who could be part of your ‘cheerleading team’. The idea is that they’ll commit to reading your book ahead of time, posting about it, as well as helping with the logistics of your launch and attending. Read how this worked for Marie-Claire Thauvette.

• COPYWRITING – Make a list of all the places where you’ll need copy about your book: your own website, a book landing page, your social media profiles/posts, Amazon, Goodreads, emails. Work out how long it’ll take you to write each item and schedule it in.

• BOOK LANDING PAGE – Consider whether you’ll create one of these and sketch out the key elements you’ll need. My blog post here will help. if you don’t know how to create one yourself, do some research to find out who can help you or how you can learn.

• EMAIL CAMPAIGN – If you have an email list, you have a prime opportunity to talk to a captive audience about your book, but you don’t want to leave it to the last minute. Different sources disagree on the exact number, but someone usually needs to see a message or have contact with you several times before making a purchase. So, plan out several emails leading up to your book launch (and after!) and how they will differ.

• THE LAUNCH EVENT– Decide what you want your book launch to look like. Is it about celebrating your achievement with close family and friends? Or is it a sales event? Will you read an excerpt? Brainstorm locations. Will you go for a bookstore, the library, your favourite cafe where you wrote each morning?

• PROMOS – Have a think about whether you want to offer giveaways or book swag. There are as many creative ideas as writers out there. Hunt around on social media if you’re stuck for inspiration; see what your favourite writers did for their book launch. One thing’s for sure, you can’t pull this kind of thing together one month before launch, so you’ll need to plan it.

• TIMELINE – There may be other marketing activities you want to do. Either way, this is the time (well ahead of publication day) to work backwards and figure out when to do each one. Think carefully about how much time and energy you’ll have, bearing in mind you day job, your family and friends, etc. Also, if you’re going to follow my golden rule of doing one thing at a time, you’ll need to work through your list of activities one at a time. So, one month? Not long enough!

There’s no shortage of ideas for how to market your book. Check out my Pinterest boards if you need some. What you’ll be short on, I guarantee, is TIME. Don’t let that happen to you. Don’t leave your marketing until the last minute. You’ve put all that effort into writing your book, now do yourself the honour of giving it the best chance of being read.

Would you like help planning your book launch? Reach out and we’ll come up with a plan together.