Book Launch Success Secret #6: Prioritize Social Media

Publishing Secrets

In this episode, you’ll also hear:

• Why you should start with your personal social media profile, not just your business or author page
• How to ensure your pages and profile(s) look impressive and professional
• Tips on creating engaging social media content that drums up interest for your book launch
• How and why to host live events leading up to the book launch

Be sure to read all the way to the end for a link to the #1 Social Media Sales Secret training!

Last time, we talked about how getting interviewed by influencers is a great way to connect with potential readers and build interest in your book. When you connect with the interviewer and deliver an engaging interview, people are more likely to want to read your book. Plus, you’re able to borrow credibility from that host, whether they're on YouTube, LinkedIn, or a podcast. This is huge, because that host is essentially endorsing you and telling others that you know what you're talking about and they think their followers should be interested in you.

But that's just one way to promote your book. If you’re preparing for a book launch, you need to use everything you can to get the word out, and one of your top priorities must be social media. Social media plays an important role in creating awareness and interest. It's also a great way to connect with your audience and build relationships. After all, it is called “social” media!

But listen: you have to be really intentional with your social media strategy. There are several things you need to do to ensure social media is an effective vehicle to spread the word about your book, and unfortunately, a lot of those things are overlooked time and time again. So let’s look at some tips to help you maximize your social media presence for a successful book launch.

Make Your Personal Social Media Profile Snazzy

Yes, your author or business page is important. After all, that’s where you’ll direct people to learn about your book. But remember, social media is all about relationships. People want to connect with the person — the individual — not just the business or the brand.

You are the face of your brand. So you want to make sure your personal profile is up to par before you start promoting your new book on social media. So take a look at the following:

• Your headshot: You’re a professional author. That means you need a professional-looking headshot, not just a casual selfie.
• Your bio: Fill out your bio so that it’s enticing and interesting. That way, people will want to learn more about you.
• Your links: Include links to your website and your blog in your profile. This makes it easy for people to do their research and learn more about you, and for interested readers to find and connect with you online.

Once you have your personal profile looking nice and professional, you’re ready to move onto the business or author page.

Set Up Your Author/Business Page(s) to Impress

Of course, your personal profile isn’t the only thing that matters. People are going to visit your business or author social media pages, and you want them to be impressed. To make that happen:

• Choose a professionally designed cover photo. The cover photo — that’s the banner at the top of the page — should align with the brand you want to create. In other words, make sure it sets the tone you want to create for your audience. So if you write things that are fun and entertaining, your cover photo should reflect that fun atmosphere (while still being professional). If your topic is more serious, then you'll want to choose a more serious type of image and design.
• Write persuasive descriptions of who you are, what you do, and why people should care. We all have competition, so why should people be interested specifically in you and what you have to say? What is your unique angle, your big idea that will pique the interest of your ideal audience and make them want to learn more about you and your book?

When people land on your author or business pages, they should be able to see very easily who you are and what your book is about, and they should feel compelled to learn more.

Create Captivating Social Media Content

Now that your profiles and pages are ready to go, it’s time to think about the actual content. You want to create captivating social media content that gets people talking and clicking so they can learn more.

Engaging social media content will create a buzz around your new book and get people excited about its release. Boring content will do the exact opposite. No one wants to read or share a post that’s dry or dead on arrival. So enliven your social media posts with photos, videos, infographics, quotes — anything that will capture attention and interest.

And remember back in the day when we used to actually read newspapers? Back then it was all about the headline. And that’s still true today! Be very thoughtful about that very first line in your social media posts, because that first line sets the tone and often determines whether people will read or click on your post or just keep scrolling.

Also be sure to mix things up from time to time so your followers don't get sick of seeing the same old thing over and over again. That means all of your posts can't be promoting the upcoming book. People want to know, like, and trust you. So share more about who you are! Give them a peek into your life, just like you would in real life. Remember — it's “social” media.

Host Live Events

As you get closer to your book launch, you’ll want to start adding in extra social media elements. While it’s very common for authors to do live videos on the actual launch day, most authors don’t do them leading up to the book launch — but they should.

Hosting a live event is a great way to let potential readers in on what your new book is all about while building excitement for its release. So, in the weeks leading up to launch day, consider hosting a Facebook or Instagram Live or a webinar series. This builds interest before the book is available for sale.

Think about it this way: what happens when you go to the movies? You see a preview for a movie that could be released six months or a year from now. Why? Because the movie industry realizes that previews help get people looking forward to a movie. If you keep seeing that preview, and if it captures your attention, you’re going to get excited about seeing it when it does come out. Conversely, you may see a preview and decide you don’t want to watch that movie because of the subject matter or something else you don’t like about it.

Previews are designed to attract the people you want and to repel the people you don't. And social media lives and webinars can be your vehicle for doing the very same thing at very minimal costs.

And the best part is you can do it whenever you want. That’s the power of technology — all you have to do is press a few buttons, and you're live. You don't need an expansive budget to do this; all you need is to take some time to prepare and decide what kind of live you want to do. For example, you could:

• Give sneak peeks at what's inside the book.
• Ask for questions ahead of time and answer some of those questions live.
• Share behind-the-scenes stories about the writing and publishing process.

Live events are excellent opportunities to engage with potential customers and get them even more pumped for your upcoming book launch.

Build Intensity as the Launch Approaches

As the book launch gets closer, you want to kick it up a notch and intensify your social media blurbs. This builds excitement so people will be on the edge of their seats and looking forward to your book.

There are lots of ways to get people amped up about your book’s debut, like sharing a quote from a glowing review or even giving away free copies. But however you do it, the key is not to wait until the last minute. Instead, start cranking up the volume on your social media posts at least a few weeks before launch day, so people have plenty of time to get psyched about your upcoming release.

As the launch gets even closer, share updates more and more frequently. Then, on launch day itself, share exciting photos and videos of the event (if you have one), and post a special message thanking everyone for their support. After all, without your fans and followers, none of it would be possible.

Free Training: #1 Social Media Sales Secret

If you're launching a new book soon, social media should be one of your top priorities — never an afterthought. Now that we’ve walked through how to create awareness and interest for your upcoming book release through social media, it’s time to get out there and start promoting.

But you don’t have to do this alone. Click here to take the #1 Social Media Sales Secret training. This isn’t theory — it’s a case study. That means you’ll get examples of how easy it is to get this wrong and how, with just a few tweaks, you can get it right starting right now.

Then come back here next week for the next Book Launch Success Secret!

BIO:

My name is Tamara "Coach Tam" Jackson and I am a published author, Facebook© Certified Digital Marketer, host of the Top 100 Publishing Secrets podcast, and founder of The Christian Authors Network (C.A.N.) Facebook© community. I specialize in helping mission-driven authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs increase their exposure, impact, and income through strategic self-publishing and digital media appearances. Just say yes and we will work together to attract a tribe of loyal followers that 1) "get you", 2) love what you do, and 3) are happy to invest in your book, business, cause, or movement. Plus, we will accomplish all of this without fake, salesy, sleazy, or manipulative tactics. Yes you CAN write, publish, and profit in a way that honors God; join the community today at https://christianauthors.net/fbgroup.

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