How to Plan a Book Launch Party

1. Introduction: Hello, and welcome to How to plan a book launch event. My name is Nia Hogan and I'm a six time published Indie author. If this is your first course with me, welcome to class. I love helping aspiring authors and writers with all things fiction and self publishing. It's been a wonderful 11 years in the industry, and I've learned so much through trial and error, and I've shared those insights throughout several courses here on Skillshare. This course was written for Indie authors who desire to host a party or event to celebrate the launch of their book. Throughout this class, I'll be going over a checklist of things you should do to ensure your launch party is a success. In the project section of this course, you'll find a promotion plan. It's a printable PDF that can be used digitally as well. If you want to share your completed marketing plan, I'd love to see how you've chosen to promote your event. If planning a book launch party is something you're ready to do, let's begin with the first lecture. 2. Event Budget: Party on a budget. I advise all Indie authors to establish a budget and stick to it. Determining your budget should depend on your current financial status, not what you hope to make back from an event. The cost range of bunk launch parties can vary from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars, but just know that you can have a beautiful and successful event without breaking the bank. You just have to be resourceful and work within your means. My rule was always that I must break even at the end of an event. How many books did I need to sell was the question I always asked myself. Other authors, they may consider how much they can afford in general and might put forth their extra money after paying their bills to add for a moment that your party will put you in debt, then consider a virtual party that has no overhead. It's still a book launch. It's just a little less intimate and could make for lower sales. However, if you do it right and you make those connections beforehand, you send out those invitations on time and you do the work to promote it, people will join you virtually. Many authors have had successful virtual launches. If you don't have that much money to invest, it doesn't hurt to consider. Ask yourself, how much are you willing to spend? Write that number down and don't forget it. 3. The Venue: The venue. Make a venue wish list. What do you require of a venue? Ample seating, bar service, unique lighting, a particular aesthetic. Consider all the things you want and need from size to inclusions to location. Also have a list of non negotiables. Begin your search for a venue that fits your ideal location, budget, and extras. Once you've decided on a venue, contact them to check their availability. The earlier you book, the better. Nothing is worse than waiting to book something and it becomes unavailable. Some budget friendly options are community centers. If you don't mind being outside, renting a park pavilion is also an idea. If your book is appropriate for a place of worship, then see if you can reserve your local church. Consider your contacts and what event spaces they might have available. Your launch party will likely be scheduled around the release of your book. It could be right before the release to offer exclusive perks to attendees. It might be the day of to celebrate the launch in real time, or it may be the week that follows to accommodate scheduling interferences. Ideally, schedule your launch party during the weekend. People are often busy during weeknights and even Fridays can be tough. Consider what time your target audience is most likely to attend as well. You can take a poll from your existing audience. The answer might surprise you. Also consider upcoming holidays and popular events. I scheduled a book release party on All Star Weekend, and it cut into my profits and attendance numbers because I had no idea it was happening that weekend until all my guests showed up, dressed to hit the clubs afterwards. Thankfully, the party ended right around the time they needed to head downtown. But had I scheduled any later, many of my guests would not have made my event their priority. People typically travel on long weekends and holiday weekends, so consider dates that guests are likely to RSVP for. Holiday party dates aren't always a loss. Sometimes scheduling close to holidays relating to your book can be a fun way to celebrate the holiday. Hosting around gift giving times might help increase sales or could mean guests are too financially strapped to support you. Know your audience, set a time and date that makes for the best turnout. You got this. 4. Inventory: Your book inventory. The most important thing to have at a book launch party is the book. Most guests are going to leave with a book or two, ensuring you have adequate inventory is essential. Imagine running out of books and having 20 people lined up to buy. Having them order for shipping will likely leave a bad taste in their mouth. Overestimate the number of purchasing guests. How many books do you think you need for your launch party? The timeliness of the books arrival is equally as important. My books for my very first launch party arrived the day of the party due to a shipping error. The anxiety I faced and the embarrassment of having to admit to guests that the books might not be for sale at the event was mortifying and something I promise myself will never happen to me again. How many books do you need to order, and when is the last day you can order for your books to arrive at least a week in advance? Author copy should be a part of your budget, but should also fulfill the potential sales for the event. 5. Refreshments and Decorations: Refreshments and decorations. Take into consideration the time of day your party is planned for. I would try to plan it between meal times and ask yourself what refreshments do you want to offer? Consider food storage and temperatures, consider what supplies you'll need to serve. It's best to serve things that don't require help aside from setting it all up. Also, consider cost and what your audience might enjoy. If you plan to offer liquor, does your venue allow that or do you need to have a license? Will you need ice, access to a sink or fridge? Remember that refreshments must be quality but don't have to be expensive. Regarding decorations, if it's applicable to your book, consider having a theme. Also, what are some book related items that you could include to celebrate the day? Not bookish, but I love having floral arrangements. I typically go with artificial flowers simply because they look fresh and if you arrange them nicely, they don't look like fake flowers. I also like having balloons. At the end of the day, it's a celebration. Table cloths are important. Please don't have people walking into your event with naked tables. Consider having visuals like banners, posters strung around the room to help decorate the table. Don't forget the goodies. People love takeaways. 6. Prizes, Activities & Giveaways: Speaking of takeaways, let's now talk about prizes, activities, and giveaways that you can have at your event. Here's just a few considerations, things that I did at my actual book launch party, and things that I wish I had offered. Of course, at some point you want to have a formal speech, whether that's a welcome or an introduction or a thank you to all of your guests, find some time to talk to the people. You are the brand and people want to hear from you. Of course, what is a book launch party without having a book signing? You may want to use this time to include a meet and greet where people can talk and ask questions about your process and about the book and of course, have photo opportunities. That doesn't mean that you have to have an official photo wall, but make sure that the pictures look good and the background matches how great you and your guests. It's a great idea to offer incentives or freebies. Maybe it's a deal. If you buy one, you get the second book, 50% off. Maybe it's free stickers, bookmarks, know your audience, know what things they'd want to take home with them as a reminder of your event. When it comes to raffles or games, it's important to also know your audience and what types of games they might be willing to play. There's nothing worse than proposing a game and nobody wants to play. But a raffle is easy. You can even charge people for tickets or upon entry, they can get a free one and you can raffle off an item. It doesn't have to be a book, it could be something book related, something that relates to the topic of your book. Of course, having music in the background is great. I created a playlist that was specific to the book, songs that helped inspire the writing and matched the theme of the book as well. You can do the same or just play some type of soft music in the background. Visual aids are important because they help you tell your story. Don't be afraid to head to Staples to get your things printed. Something that I didn't do, but I think is a super cute idea now is a complimentary gift wrapping service. Maybe you want to provide bags for the books, ribbons, things like that. Be thinking about ways to make things feel special for your guests. 7. Enlisting Help: It's time to bring in the reinforcement and enlist helpers. There is no need to plan this event alone. Ask family and friends to help with planning tasks and to help you set up the Day. Once you have a list of volunteers, create a schedule and a task list so everyone knows their role. I would also consider thank you gifts and handwritten notes. Everybody wants to be appreciated. I would also consider having a greeter, some type of welcoming team, servers for the food, if that applies to what you're providing for your guests. If you have activities or games or raffles, you may want an activity leader. It's always a great idea to have a host. Yes, you can be the host, but just imagine you have so much going on. It wouldn't hurt to have somebody be the host. A photographer is essential. It's going to be really hard for you to take pictures and be in them, and it doesn't make sense to have a bunch of selfies on the day when you could just hire or have a volunteer photographer come in. It's a good idea to have someone at the bookselling table so that you're not having to handle money and they can talk prices with your readers as well. Of course, a cleanup crew is really going to help you on the back end, especially so that you aren't charged for things not being cleaned properly or for you going over time. Like I said, ask for help, delegate tasks. People are going to be willing to help. As long as you ask them, they will come. The day of the event, it's important to arrive at the venue early to begin setting up. Honor your guest time by ensuring that doors open on time and all stations are ready to go. If possible, the day before the event, I suggest hosting a quick meeting to review responsibilities for the day of having a host or someone in charge who can answer guest, as well as volunteer questions, and of course, delegating tasks will help reduce stress levels and lessen the chance of issues arising. Most importantly, be sure to thank your helpers in every way that you can. A small gift can go a long way. 8. Promotion: Moving on to promotion. The last thing on our list is how will you advertise your event? Who is going to help you? How much is it going to cost? Consider local shops, spaces like libraries and coffee shops. Consider local book club groups that you can invite. How can your volunteers help you spread the word? Invite all of your contacts, ask your friends to invite theirs. Consider social media posts with calls to action. Create and distribute flyers or invitations. Add your event to your website, create an event Bright link. There are so many ways to get the word out there, but that's going to be your responsibility to do. 9. Conclusion: As I mentioned in the introduction of this course, you can find this to do list in the project section. Please make sure to download and use it with fidelity. It has consolidated all the things that we have discussed throughout this course to help you create a seamless marketing plan and to do all that you need to do to make sure this night is a success. If you would like to upload it so we can congratulate you on a job well done, we would love to see it. Thank you so much and I hope that you find this list helpful. Thank you so much for joining me in this course. I hope that I've given you all the information that you need to be successful and to create a plan for your event that is going to help your night be a success. Good luck to you in your launch. Enjoy yourself at your event. We're celebrating you and your book. Congratulations on your upcoming publication and thank you for meeting me in the virtual classroom.