Episode 5: Monica Leonelle joins Lee and Russell to discuss big launches. We run down a laundry list of the things Lee Savino and her cowriter did for their biggest launches (which resulted in each book hitting the USA today bestseller list back in 2021-2022). Then we asked Russell: What sounds fun for you?
Opening credits and editing by the amazing Jim Wilbourne.
The Book Launch Laundry list:
Bookbub pre-order promotions
Social media posts, giveaway posts
Goodreads giveaways
ARC Team vs Street Team
Your own newsletter
Newsletter Swaps with author peers
Merchandising at Kobo, Barnes and Noble
Newsletter promo sites like Bargainbooksy (Lee used Book-rank.com/Ram’s Promo stacker and clicked “Give me the Max”)
Pay per click ads Lee hasn’t had much success with: Amazon ads, tiktok ads, Bookbub ads, Snap chat ads, Google ads, Pinterest ads
Facebook ads, including self-liquidating offers like running ads to a direct store
Not discussed: affiliate marketing and video content marketing on Reels, Tiktok and Youtube shorts
Ask yourself “What on this list sounds fun to try for my next launch?”
Resources:
Free Book Launch Checklist (includes how to apply for merchandising)
Book-rank.com (formerly Ram’s promo stacker)
Recommended book Promotion sites by Nicholas Erik: https://nicholaserik.com/promo-sites/
Stats on the revamped USA Today Bestseller list: https://hotsheetpub.com/2023/10/the-revamped-usa-today-bestseller-list-isnt-what-it-used-to-be/
What’s your Author Ecosystem? (Forest, Tundra, Desert, etc):
Free book on Author Ecosystems: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/dddd61c9j4
Monica Leonelle’s Book Sales Supercharged series
And the Written Word Media Book Marketing template: https://geni.us/Bookmarketingtemplate
Episode 5 - I like big book launches, and I cannot lie.