Before The Book Launch: 13 Best Practices

1. Introduction: Hello and welcome to before your book launch, 13 best practices. I'm Nia Hogan and I'll be your instructor for this course. I've launched five bucks over the course of my self-publishing career. So I'm no stranger to the process. I created this course to help fellow authors and an important part of their publishing journey, just actually launching their book. This course covers in depth the second half of the second task list of the self-publishing checklist, which I created myself. The entire checklist comes free with this horse as a downloadable PDF. But for this horse will only be focusing on the portion titled after completing the formatting design task lists. While you can use this checklist in any order that you wish. This includes numerous tasks that can only be completed with a finished manuscript. As you can see as a self publisher, there's a lot to do leading up to the release date of your book. It's important to plan ahead many of the items on this tasks list or best practices I've learned over the years and others are mandatory to do in order to prepare your book for its release. This course was designed for writers interested in taking the lead on their own book launch. Writers who need help with getting their manuscript ready for publication and have questions around how to successfully released their work out into the world. This course is not for riders taking the traditional publishing route or writers who plan to hire a professional to take over the launch process of their manuscript. In this class, we'll learn about proofs, pre-orders and sales, ordering, inventory, post-marketing, and additional best practices for launching your book. After you've edited, formatted, and designed, and uploaded your book, baby, you are almost to the end of your self-publishing journey. Congratulations. The hardest part of your pre publishing journey is complete, and now you are ready to embark on the next phase. So let's begin with our first best practice and checklists task of ordering proofs. 2. Ordering Proofs: Ordering proofs. That's practice. Number one is ordering proofs. But first, what are proofs? Proofs can be both digital and print, and depending on the format you can't plan to publish in determines the type of proof you'll need to review. Digital proofs are PDF files of your formatted manuscript that allows you to see the e-book version of your book that customers will receive upon ordering. These are free and do not have to be ordered. Whatever you see before submitting your book for publishing is what readers will see. Prep proofs are paperback or hardcover copies of your book that is printed with a cover that cannot be used for retail sale. I stand on the fact that ordering print proofs of your book is important because it's an opportunity to see the book before it goes live and ensure that it's what you want customers to receive. The sooner you order your proofs, the better. Sometimes books take awhile to ship. And in the event that there is something that needs to be fixed, you want to leave enough time to rectify the situation and reorder a new proof before your launch date. Never order inventory without seeing the proof. Even if you feel the digital proof is perfect. When it arrives, thoroughly examined it, cover to cover. Imagine ordering 100 copies of your book for sale and finding out that printing error made on your end. It's wasteful and it's frustrating. You can look at each page electronically to see what the print version would look like. But trust a veteran, self-publish or when I say seeing it printed is a different experience. Hopefully your proof is perfect the first time you order it. But if not, this is an easy and highly recommended practices. In this section, you learned what proofs are and why it's important to order one prior to the release date of your book. Once you approve your proof, you can start thinking about pre-sales and pre ordering, which we'll discuss in the next lecture. 3. Pre-sales vs. Pre-orders: Pre-sales versus pre-orders. Most people use the term pre-sale and pre-order interchangeably, but in fact, these are two different things. A pre-sale is a discount that you run leading up to your release date to entice readers to purchase your book prior to its launch. The buyer incentive is there, of course, getting a discount. And it allows you to collect money early pre-sales run exclusively through you and requires you to ensure all pre-sale orders ship on the launch date. Pre-orders, on the other hand, are where the reader pays for the book full price prior to the release date. You can set up pre-orders on most self-publishing platforms. The distributor will release the e-book to the buyer on the release date and ship the product on that day as well. You can run pre-orders directly through you or your website as well. Reordering is a strategy that authors use to begin making a return on their investment. Estimate, how much inventory they'll need on hand. Build excitement and push their products sooner. When readers pre-order eBooks, the book is delivered to the readers device. The data is released without further action, which is nice for readers who are anticipating the book's release. For print books while it does have to ship, this is the fastest way to obtain a print book other than getting it directly from the author on the release date, the faster a reader gets a hold of your book, the faster you can start receiving reviews. If you self pre-order print books directly through you or your website, It's like a deposit. It's your job to deliver the product either in-person or ship it through the mail on the release date. Some people like being the first person to buy from you. And depending on your marketing strategy, you could give people on your e-mail list a discount for reordering to everyone who orders they're copied during a period of time without announcing that pre-sale to everyone? I don't categorize pre-orders as a best practice because unless you are exclusively offering pre-orders through your author website and filling those orders on your own. And you have to have a large and loyal reading base to make pre-orders worth your while. If you're going through the distributor, the moment of buyer preorder should book online. It starts the clock, essentially becoming your own official release date. As far as the sales block is concerned, the first 30 to 90 days are crucial and we'll talk more about that when we discuss post-marketing. If you will allow pre-orders 30 days out, adult heavily market your book during those 30 days. Then think of that as a month of loss Advertising dates. And those 30 days prior to launch, you will likely have other things to focus your energy on other than pushing three orders. If you decide you'd like to, to go ahead and do pre-orders anyway, then you must create a solid sales plan to maximize results during that period. I'll be completely transparent with you. Pre-sales or a tricky beast. But they can mark if you create a feeling of exclusivity around your product. No one wants to give away their book for free, especially on its release date. But we know that people love discounts, especially if they're unsure about you as a writer. Therefore, it's your job to add value to your book. And if you do that, pre-sales aren't really necessary. If you'd like to use a strategy, the best way to approach it is to only offer the deal to a certain group of people. You can determine that group anyway, you'd like. But a method that's worked for me as a consumer is convincing potential buyers to join the email list to obtain a discount code. Think of it as a trade. Discount doesn't have to be deep, either 10% or even free shipping goes a long way for some people. Just remember that pre-sales and pre-orders both require pre-planning. You must make sure you have adequate inventory on hand, fulfill orders if you're running either of those directly through your website, this preorder period must have its own sales goal that aligns with your post-marketing sales goal. Speaking of inventory, that leads us into our next section where we'll talk about ordering your author copies. Already. In this section, we covered the difference between pre-sales and pre-orders. The benefits of that for both the buyer and seller. And I provided my personal suggestions for how to best utilize both. Now we're going to discuss author inventory. 4. Author Inventory: Author inventory. Best practice number two is to order your other copies for early. If you're only selling an e-book format, then you can skip this section altogether. If you're only planning to sell through your distributor, then you can also skip this section. But if you are able to sell books on your own, I highly suggest you create a place in your home to store inventory and set up a way to track sales and get books to customers. Whether you choose to have a book release party, plan to sell books from the trunk of your car or want to funnel sales through your author website, you must make sure that you have enough inventory on hand to sell. Based on your projected sales goal for the first 90 days, is the number of books you should have on hand before the release date. Not having author copies on hand is a disservice to your brand. I would never leave money on the table by not having a product on hand. You never know who you could run into and pitch your book Do they may want to buy your book right then and there. And while you can always direct them to buy online, you can't guarantee they will follow through. Do not wait until the last minute to order your copies and keep a few with you in case of sales opportunity presents itself. In this section, we cover the second best practice which is ordering author copies. Early, we discussed the importance of having inventory on hand, and I briefly touched on why and how much. Next up, we're going to cover best practices in post-marketing. 5. Post Marketing: Post-marketing. Solving most copies in the first 90 days, those days are critical to maximize having your audience in front of you. Amazon Katie view, e.g. gives you more attention in those days because they are the largest retailer of books. And know that if they help you get your book in front of potential consumers, that it's a win-win situation. This is time to take advantage of because it's free marketing for you. You can run additional adds those first 90 days as well. But it's important to create a plan for how you're going to ensure that your books bright during the first quarter. Some of these suggestions are free and others will cost you. But whatever you do, decide yourself a budget. These can be used leading up to the release date and certainly after. Alright, We've made it to best practice number three, which is to create a marketing plan mapped out for the next 30 to 90 days. This plan should include what you intend to do each day of the week to help boost your visibility for your book. This plan can be flexible, but having an idea of what you can do and what you need to do is what's important. Some of the best practices in this course can be added to your plan. Your marketing plan should include a budget for paid marketing, specific and actionable goals. And if you plan on soliciting help, who will do what you can delegate responsibilities. My suggestion is to download an editable calendar, host smart goals at the top, mark day one to day 90. And once you've determined what marketing strategies you'd like to use, start adding those tasks into your calendar. Even if you opt out of preorders, I encourage you to create a marketing plan for at least a month before the release date as well. You can apply the same tools introduced in the previous slide to help with pre-marketing as well, which is equally as important as post-marketing. You don't want the first time your audience hears about your book to be the week before it launches. Each day and after each week it's important to reflect on your engagement as well. Are your techniques working? Is your book creating a buzz or sales consistent? Are you closer to reaching your smart goals? The fourth best practices considering all avenues of promotion, both paid and free, there are so many ways to advertise a book somewhere niche-specific. Others are unique ideas specific to your book and author brand. Some are simple and effective when done correctly, like running ads and others require much more effort, such as booking appearances. It's good to first know your options so you can weigh the pros and cons for yourself and then determine what you can afford, what you are willing to do, and what you think will best attract your potential readers. The best free way to promote your book is by word of mouth. Any opportunity you get to plug your book into a conversation as a freeway to market your product. The best marketing tool for your book will always be you. Don't forget to use the power of you to sell your book. Many people may purchase your buck off the strength that you took the time to speak to them personally. Sharing posts about your book on social media, asking people to tell a friend, reviews, email blast, blog post, and creating contests for free e-book are all free ways to market your book and can be done any day. But we paid advertisements doesn't mean always equate to revenue. You can waste a lot of money trying to promote your bulk. So it's important to set a budget and stick to it. Researching your marketing tools before jumping in is also important. Running ads, e.g. can be easy if you know what you're doing. If you are an experienced and making profit from running ads, you might want to consider hiring someone who does or educating yourself with a class. At the end of each cycle, it's a good idea to assess the performance and adjust accordingly. Paying people in the community where your audience is in work in your favor, that doesn't always generate sales. Your goal may not be to make money, but rather to share your book with the world. If that's the case, then free commercial promotional tools will be your best bet. You can host a book release party to get people in the door and leaving with a copy of your book. But remember that turning a profit should guide the expenses for the event. Using someone else's platform to get the word out with an interview e.g. in gain attention that may not always be free before committing to anything. Just remember that in some cases, it takes money to make money. But you are the best sales tool of all. Best practice is interviewing readers. Reviews are powerful marketing tools. More people than not want to know what other readers think about a book full bore, investing their money into it. If you used beta readers and the editing stage asked to interview them. This is a good time to ask follow-up questions based on feedback they've already provided. You can use their responses to promote your book. There are post a video or by asking them to leave a review online. You can use this strategy before the book launches. If you didn't use beta readers, you can always offer advanced reader copies once you've ordered your author copies and complete the same process. If you'd rather get organic feedback from the first people to read your book. That's also another option word of mouth from consumers, and my opinion is the second best sales tool for books. Encourage readers to express their excitement about your book and share their favorite parts. You can have them record a video of themselves talking and edit it for your use. You can live stream and have a book chat with them. This shows that you also care about the dialogue around your book. And it shows that you see readers as a participant in your writing and not just to customer. The next best practice is to create promotional content ahead of time. Leveraging social media can gain you a lot of attention and generate sales if done correctly. There are tons of social media guru sharing strategies to gaining favor with the ever-changing algorithms. Social media is a free tool you can use daily. But if you're busy scheduling the release of pre-created content can be an easy way to remain in front of your audience. Most of your marketing will likely be done online. So it's important to have content to post. There are tons of free social media content planners out there and many of them are even free. Find one that works for you and utilize it so you know what you'll be sharing so you don't miss a single day to push your book. Research what other writers are doing and look up suggestions for ways to draw potential readers in. The seventh best practice on our list is making connections with the right people. The right people are your target audience. You should already know who that is before you start planning how you're going to market to them. The more present you are, the easier it is to sell a book because you've already sold them on who you are. Engaged in. Book talks, online, support, other writers. Share your thoughts on other books. Connect with people in your community and let them know you're a writer who has a book coming out soon. Comment under potential readers post to engage and become visible. You are the face of your other brand and people are more likely to buy if they feel connected to you. Don't be afraid to reach out to other authors and your genre to talk to them about their books and their journey. Read and review those books to show mutual interests. Most important, take every opportunity you can to tell people you are a writer. When people say your name, the first board that should come to mind is author. Let's practice number eight is to create an author website. If you don't have one already, you can start with a free site until you can purchase an official URL. You can get a professional to design your site, create it yourself using templates or create one from scratch. Websites. Show your series about yourself and also gives people a place to go to to learn more about you other than social media. If you have a website, make sure you're collecting those email lists. Utilizing platforms like Mailchimp to send out email blast and offer special deals is an easy way to add value to signing up. Many successful authors use that to stay connected and relevant to your readers. Your website doesn't have to be a sales funnel unless you want it to be. It can also work as a portfolio and it can host your blog. Nine is being present on digital books databases. Good Reads is a popular example of this with millions of members worldwide. You can add your books to their database file. Other writers and readers who you notice are active reviewers and genre. This can help you see what readers are saying about your book and to network online. Our 10th is to give your book away. Yes. Give your book away. Before you object though, hear me out. Even if you don't publish an e-book format, you can still get an e-book format it and use it as a giveaway or contests tool. It costs you nothing once it's formatted. You're not losing on printing costs. It's instant delivery to their e-mail. And you can leverage this free book to get readers to complete a task in order to get, think about what you need help with to market your book and put it to the test by offering a free copy of your. Number 11 is to arrange a book signing. Some of my favorite authors are the most personable people online. Despite being phenomenal writers. They replied to my posts on social media. They engage with your other followers on their own page and they come out and meet with their audience, which keeps them relevant to me and the rest of their fallen. A book signing can be set up in a library or even a coffee shop. Carve out a few hours to create an intimate experience. Target audience. Your first book signing will likely be a combination of family and friends. But you'll also get some random people who are passing by who might take the time to connect with you, document this and use it as content. Number 12, plan public appearances. People need to know who you are and that your book exist. You can't rely on the power of the internet alone unless you have an unlimited marketing budget for ads, reach out to radio host, podcasts, your local news station to set up an interview. The worst they can say is now, there are literary events happening around the country every month. See if you can secure a spot at one near you. Check with your local library for opportunities. If you're writing children, for children, school visits are easy to book. If you wrote a self-help book, figure out where your audience might go and speak there. Get out into your community and make an impression. My final best practice is my favorite and that's to decompress before you release date. You don't have to do everything. It's okay to delegate responsibilities. The days leading up to your release can be stressful. So taking care of yourself is important. Once your plan is set, don't forget to make time for you. As long as you have a plan in place and have allocated enough time to do everything before you're publishing date, you'll be just fine. That's it. The 13 best practices I have for you around post-marketing? I hope in this section your takeaway was the necessity to have a plan in place to begin the marketing process before you release date and to maximize those crucial first 90 days after the launch date. I hope you acquired some new ideas you hadn't thought of before to help you create a solid plan so that you're prepared to maximize sales during that period. 6. Conclusion: I may be getting ahead of myself, but our time together is coming to an end. Once you've released your buck into the world, it's time to celebrate your success. You self-published book and accomplishments so many people want, but many never get. You deserve to celebrate the fruits of your labor. Stick to the plan that you've set and adjust it as needed. But please make sure that if you do nothing else, celebrating your success is on the top of that list. Alright, we are nearly to the end. This course you learned about how to use proofs. The difference between pre-orders and sales and how to leverage those about ordering author copies, about post-marketing strategies, and some tips and best practices leading up to the release date to help you increase your sales. Truly hope that this course has built up your competence, giving you insight you need it helped you take the guesswork out of a lot of things and streamline the self-publishing process for you. This journey won't be easy, but with the right tools, it will help you check everything off your list and do things right the first time. It's been a pleasure taking you through the checklist and it's been an honor to share my knowledge with you. I hope you learned a lot in this course that you can take on your publishing journey. Thank you for your time. If you enjoyed this course, please leave a positive review to allow other students to know how powerful this information be over their journey to becoming an author.