I enjoyed doing a live book launch for my latest book Unlikely Hero. Even though things DID NOT GO AS PLANNED, it was a great time and I feel like I really got to connect with some of my fans during a live video on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
What did I learn from my first book launch?
I need to be better prepared!
1. We need more phones for their camera/video/storage. I was live streaming on 3 platforms and we only had 3 phones. That made it very difficult to reply to comments from my fans and to post comments myself for games. More phones are a must for me!
2. People will come! I had a great response. I think it really helped that I had made a landing page the week before where people could sign up for an automated email reminder of the event that would give them the direct links to see everything.
3. Makes sure you use the right Instagram account! Ooops. I totally blew it on Instagram by using my personal account rather than posting live to my business/author account. (Another mistake of the week that I forgot to mention. Maybe I’ll add that to next week’s mistakes list video)
4. Having an outline is absolutely key. It took me 5 hours to create an extensive Book Launch Worksheet that gave me a To Do list, Marketing list, game and prize suggestions plus the outline itself. If you’d like to snag your own copy for $2.00 USD you can get it here. To check it out further, look at my YouTube video which shows off the Book Launch Outline here.
5. Have your Q&A already made up. That’s not to say if someone asks a question that you ignore them, just have it prepared so that if no one does ask, you’ve got something to fall back on. Fans generally ask me questions on Facebook and so I had those questions ready with answers just in case everyone who joined me for the book launch didn’t feel comfortable with asking.
6. Have your technology ready to go. Preparedness is key and we missed the mark a little because my fabulous PA had a medical appointment that ran over. That meant her two phones (which I was counting on for the launch) just made it on time. Then we had to log in, figure out how to position them for best video, etc. Stuff which should have happened 25-20 minutes before the launch started.
7. Have FUN! If you aren’t having fun and keeping up a high energy level, your fans aren’t having fun and being entertained. That is the main purpose of your fans for coming. They want to see you, connect with you, be entertained by you. If you do all that, they will buy from you!
These were seven tips that I learned. If you’d like to see my YouTube video where I break down what I learned with my PA Tracey, then click here.
Happy Writing,
Josephine
Josephine Beintema 