It’s one month prior to your book’s publication date. It’s getting very close now and you’re feeling the excitement and anticipation. This is when more action moves outward.
- Email blast:
It’s time to notify your editor and marketing department of the email blast date and number of recipients you will be contacting. If you’re doing this on your own, then set the date and get it on your calendar.
As you know, having that email list of your raving fans and all those interested in you and your work is critical. Why? Because it is a primed and ready market that already loves you! You don’t have to try and build an audience each and every time you have a book going to market. You can continue to market to your same people over and over again, as you continue to add to that audience. They are there. All you have to do is communicate with them on a regular basis by giving added-value information. Then when it’s time to promote your book, many will automatically buy it. They believe in you. This email blast is designed to tap into that wealth of opportunity and get them to buy your book when it first becomes available.
Sidenote: This is the biggest challenge for those who have not embraced the idea of New Power yet. We live in a hyperconnected world now, and the old ways of doing things still work to a certain extent, but our world has shifted and strategies have shifted too. You must be willing to be flexible in this and be willing to learn. If you’re reading this, then you’re making the necessary shifts or you’re at least open to it.
- Begin distributing six articles written as guest articles:
Does it have to be six articles? No, it could be more, but six is a good number to have prepared. So what kinds of articles do you write? You have options to consider. You could write each piece with a different slant as it relates to your overall key messages, or you could write each piece for a different target market. That’s really up to you. For example: I have a client with a book on how to be mindful in the workplace. We have articles and guest blog posts geared toward the C Suite, entrepreneurs, millennials, baby boomers, women specifically, and those just getting out of college looking for their first great job. The basic material is the same, but the opening paragraph, conclusion and some of the wording of the examples is specific to each group.
- Launch your book trailer:
What is a book trailer? Your book trailer is your first piece of video that talks about your book. It can be you, it can be a cartoon, it can be whatever you want it to be. The book trailers that work the best are the ones that create emotion in the viewer. That said, you want something that spells out the benefits to the reader. If you decide to be on camera, then it’s a way demonstrate how good you are on camera. Until you get your first television segment, or online interview, potential hosts and producers can take a look at you on your book’s trailer.
Here are some samples of book trailers and the variety of ways they can be produced:
This has been the most viewed trailer of all time — so far, anyway. The hope when it was first released was that it would go viral and draw a lot of attention toward the authors, who had a new book coming out later that year on conservation in the wild. When the book was finally published, the authors were invited onto all the major morning news shows, including the Today Show, to talk about the hugely watched clip of Christian on YouTube. It was also the opening to talk about the new book and conservation in the wild. It’s also very obvious that many years went by between the time the footage was first shot, and when the book was published.
- Begin contributing articles:
It’s time to get your articles picked up in various media outlets, forums, groups, search and answer sites, sites related to your content. and for article syndication. When you begin getting articles posted, Google will index them and that is how you show up in any searches that are done for your name or book title.
- Pull together media lists:
There are a number of media databases out there and you can do a simple search to discover who they are. The most widely used database (and the most expensive) is Cision. You will have access to their contact information and how they most want to be contacted. This information is often not on their website, so databases are a way to get that kind of key information.
- Create your wild wish list:
This is the fun part, and maybe you’ve already started doing this. If so, hooray for you! If so, continue doing do, and if not, let’s begin. Jot down where you would most love to appear. Don’t hold back here. Really go for the wild, “Oh my gosh, that would be so fantastic,” kind of wishes.
- Create your media list:
This list is one that is full of all the places where you really should be. The outlets fit your topic, and it makes the most sense to go after them. Be sure you have at least 20 places on this list. It is better to target 20 outlets where you should be, research them, and approach them the way they want you to, than to target 2000 places where you’re just hoping you’ll land and spamming them with all the same pitch.
Of course, there are many more things you can be doing one month out from publication date, but an overwhelmed author doesn’t get much done. This list keeps you on your task, and is also doable.
To your success!
Joanne
P.S. Thank you so much to the NonFiction Authors Association for publishing my article this week: Authors! Embrace these Three Tips and Get Ready for Success!
P.P.S. I heard from Monica Stark after last week’s Savvy Sunday News on traveling with a cold. You can read it here.
She added this: “I love Earplanes, too. Wouldn’t go on a flight without them I also have a spray bottle of Afrin nasal decongestant, and if I feel any stuffiness during descent, I immediately tilt my head back and spray two sprays in each nostril. Between the two, I feel safe flying with any cold. Oh, and be sure to get the Afrin marked Afrin ORIGINAL, because the ‘newer’ versions are designed to stay in the nose and sinuses, whereas the one we need – the original – goes down the back of the throat where the opening to the ears is.”
Thanks, Monica! I appreciate your taking the time to respond with this gem.