A book launch is an exciting time. It’s the one moment when all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into a book finally pay off. It’s the one moment when everyone forgets about all the publicity and outreach they’ll still have to do in the upcoming months—or even years—and just wants to celebrate the fact that the book is finally out there in the world, in the hands of readers. And the best way to celebrate is to throw a launch party. While launch parties are relatively simple to put together, there are a few key things that should be kept in mind during the planning process. Follow these simple tips and you will have the foundation for a great party.
Marketing
Reaching Queer Readers
By Morgan Ramsey
The LGBTQ community has historically functioned outside of mainstream culture, but now it is slowly becoming more visible. This is also reflected in the publishing industry: we are slowly starting to see more queer themes and characters in books, especially in young adult fiction. However, the LGBTQ community is still an untapped audience for many large publishers and independent presses. By excluding this group from their marketing and promotion strategies, publishers lose out on a valuable and loyal audience.
Preorder Gifts As a Marketing Strategy
By Faith Muñoz @FaithAMunoz
Have you ever fallen prey to a beautiful book and bought it simply because it was pretty? Cover designers work hard, and well-made covers are usually responsible for someone stopping to browse. A similar phenomenon happens with preorder gifts, which leave readers desiring more than just the story.
Transmedia Marketing Is the Future of Publishing
By Tia Hilts
Transmedia marketing uses the world-building concepts of transmedia storytelling to create awareness campaigns, maintain or spark media buzz, and generate fan involvement. Instead of broadcasting a concise message across multiple advertising mediums, it focuses on creating opportunities for engagement, encouraging fans to interact with it and make it their own.
How to Find the Best Review Bloggers
By Sydnee Chesley
Like it or not, review bloggers and social media influencers are still some of the best people to help promote your book. It doesn’t matter how many ads or social media posts you’ve created for your book if no one who matters is talking about it. The power that makes an influencer so, well, influential is called word-of-mouth marketing.
The Book Launch Party
By PJ Zettle
Regardless of what type of book is being promoted, the decisions a publishing company makes when planning a launch party can have an impact on the sales of a book as well as on the perception of what that book stands for. Given the importance of these considerations, the sheer number of lists that one finds when simply googling “book launch party” shouldn’t come as a surprise, but these results can be quite overwhelming to sift through.