Promoting vs. Marketing a Book – The Promotion Stages – Book Launch
Back to pre-publishing promotion

Now the book is almost ready, the communities are built, it is time to heat the audience in preparation for the day the book will indeed be on the shelves.

So here comes the task list…

A few weeks before the book launch:

Getting Reviews: A few weeks before putting the book on the shelves is the time to begin requesting reviews. But the book is not ready? No problem, it is just a matter of contacting a few selected bloggers and sending them an ARC (Advance Review Copy) and request a review.  A link to these reviews, or at least to the positive ones J, can then be added to your on blog in order to lend credibility to the book. (Review of Amazon Reviewer finding program here)

Organizing a blog tour: It is also time to think about organizing a blog tour to accompany the book launch. More about ways to organize a blog tour in our article how to organize a blog tour in 6 steps. This can be done in parallel with joining or creating a group of authors cross promoting their respective books. The blog tour should begin a day or two after your book is available.

Cross Promoting: Creating or joining a group of writers cross promoting their respective books. Presumably, your social network now includes a number of authors, ideally writing in a similar genre to yours. So either some of them already are part of a cross promoting group, or might be interested in joining the one you create. Posting a message on your favorite forum’s board is the most efficient ways to get results.

 Putting your book cover up for awards: There are a number of place that run book cover competitions. Putting your book cover out there and raising support from your communities in order to win is a good way to put your name out there and spreading the word about the soon to be published book.

 Getting invited to podcasts, radio interviews and/or TV interviews: Though the immediate marketing effect of such invitations is usually rather limited (unless it is to Oprah’s show or course), having a link to the said podcasts, radio show or TV interviews on your blog lends a lot of credibility to your book and its author. (Regularly updated list of radio-shows and pod-casts looking for authors to interview for sale here)

During the last week before the book launch:

Now is the time to drum up the beat in all communities you have created, to organize a book launch party on GoodReads, offer giveaways to the X first readers who will download your book (in exchange for a review on Amazon of course…).

It is also the time to put up links to reviews, podcasts etc on your blog, and to use your blog as a platform to push your book.

This is all for Book Launch tactics from us. Feel free to share more in the comment section if you have more tips to boost a book launch.

Onto tips about ongoing promotion.

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