Planning a successful book launch requires thinking ahead, preparing well in advance, and of course, building a book launch team. This post is all about teams and is part one in a series designed to make sure you are on top of things so your upcoming book launch will be successful.
Building a Book Launch Team Requires a Bit of Help from Your Friends (and maybe some strangers)
No one publishes a book all on their own and no one markets their book on their own. Even so-called self-published authors have a team who has their back. Planning for a successful book launch is no different. Before you even start thinking about how your book launch will play out or if you’re going to do an in-person event or just stick with a digital book launch, you’ll need to build a book launch team.
Those you invite to be part of your book launch team can include a whole spectrum of people who support you, such as:
- Colleagues
- Influencers in your sphere
- Past collaborators
- Friends
- Family
- Your email list subscribers
- Social followers
If you’re feeling shy about reaching out to virtual strangers or influencers in your sphere, you can read my post about how to do that.
Building a Book Launch Team with Those Committed to the Cause
When building a book launch team, remember that their time and emotional budget is as important as your time and emotional budget (which will be discussed in the next post). So you want to identify your biggest supporters and put a plan in place for how much and how often to call on them.
After you identify your team, classify them into three categories. These will be your support levels and will help you put a plan into place so you know when to call on them and they will understand what they are committing to.
Level One Supporters:
Close friends and colleagues, and loyal fans who will be all-in all the time. You’ll rely on this group the most and include them in practically every step of the marketing timeline.
Level Two Supporters:
Colleagues and collaborators who are happy to help, but might have less time to dedicate. You’ll rely on these people 40-60% of the time.
Level Three Supporters:
These are high-level influencers who are busy and won’t have time to share everything you do. Think of them as the people who open doors by connecting you with high-level endorsers, media outlets, podcast hosts, speaking opportunities, etc. (For example, Mary A. might get you connected with the programming director at your local TEDx affiliate and she’ll share your book launch announcement on social, but nothing more). You’ll rely on these people to help you meet very specific goals and to spread the word about your important book. You might call on them 15% of the time, but of course each situation should be gauged according to their time and your need.
Defining your supporters in advance will help you divvy up your assignments and get the most visibility for every step of your book launch plan. Plus, you want to have true cheerleaders on your side, not people who feel obligated and, or worse, burdened.
Using Your Biggest Supporters and Cheerleaders
Of your list of team members you invite, you can expect that not everyone will take you up on the offer and some will be more committed than others depending on their relationship with you and/or the incentives you offer. When building your book launch team, you want as many die hard fans as possible to commit.
You’ll want to reach out to everyone from family and friends to influencers in your sphere most likely. But you should also know that you’re better off with 20 or 30 supporters who are truly committed to the cause than with a few hundred people who aren’t. So, be prepared to offer previously mentioned incentives. The further removed you are from a team member, the more you may want to offer and the less you should expect.
This can mean offering incentives such as:
- A free, signed hardcopy of your book
- The chance to read it before anyone else (your ARC or digital copy)
- Maybe a curated gift basket
- Free access to subscriber content such as your courses or paid newsletter
- Collaborative marketing, like guest blogging or cross promotion
- An appearance (you speaking to their audience or contributing valuable content)
- Reciprocal endorsement for their forthcoming book (or a GoodReads review for a previous book)
- Reciprocal marketing efforts where you promote their services and or book to your audience (now, or in the future)
Designate Tasks Appropriately and Set Expectations for Your Book Launch Team
When building a book launch team, consider who has the most time, what you’re offering, and your relationship with them. Being part of a book launch team means volunteering to do free promotion of your book with a few added perks, aka incentives. So don’t ask for too much of those outside your close friends and family (level one supporters). For instance, your sibling may review your book on several platforms and even show up for all of your launch events, but an influencer in your sphere may only be willing to give it a shout out on their social channels.
Also, set expectations and agreements early. If you feel the need, you can draft an agreement letter along with the invite. This lets them know in advance what you are asking of them, what they will get out of it and WHEN they need to do their part.
Keeping Your Team Motivated
Keeping your team motivated and committed is crucial. You need to do more than just give them the ask and the dates. People are busy, things slip through the cracks and get forgotten. You don’t want that to happen if you’re planning on a really successful book launch.
There’s no need to micromanage your team, but keeping them informed through a bimonthly email newsletter is probably a good idea. Setting up Slack Channels, WhatsApp groups, or Facebook groups are other easy ways to keep your book launch team updated and encouraged, and for everyone to stay in touch with each other. Plus, they may want to see your book cover reveal and hear any good news you have to share.
Always remind them that you appreciate their efforts. After all, they’re doing you a favor.
Reasons to stay in touch with your team:
- Get valuable feedback on your book cover, brand materials, marketing copy, and launch plans
- Get encouragement when you feel insecure about launching your baby into the world
- Inform them of any changes or updates
- Send gentle reminders
- Thank them and let them know how much you appreciate them
Building a book launch team is the foundation of a successful book launch. If you have a strong, committed group who has your back, you set clear expectations and do your part, your launch will go smoothly and be fun for everyone. Be sure to look for my follow up to this post, which will cover your prep work—things to have in place to support your brand story like a fully fleshed out GoodReads profile and Author Central page.
