Mindy’s Top Ten Tips for Launching a New Book

One of my clients emailed me bright and early this morning, excited about his new book which we are just launching.  He is an expert in his field, yet he has not launched a book before.  He was looking for ideas to do some extra promotion himself.  I found myself typing up my ten top tips and thought it would be worth sharing those with everyone else.  You may have heard some, most or even all of these before.  And there are definitely many other things not on this list that you can do to launch a book.  These are just my top tips, and I welcome more ideas and comments.  Hopefully there is at least a kernel of an idea here which could help you sell more books.  Have a wonderful day and a successful month ahead.

Mindy Gibbins-Klein, founder of The Book Midwife, with a selection of books she has helped to deliver

1.  Get a PR strategy together well before the launch if possible.  Either use the services of a PR company or put a plan together yourself.  If your publisher offers reasonable PR, work with them to ensure you get what you want and need.  Someone needs to contacting key media people – journalists, editors and bloggers who write about your topic.  Look for relevant magazines, websites and groups/clubs/forums.  The more the merrier.  I’m always surprised when people skimp on review copies.  Dan Poynter and I suggest in our Turning Experts into Published Authors seminars, that you have hundreds of review copies available and get them into the right hands.  If you are doing this yourself, simply contact the editors and journalists directly, speak passionately and briefly about the importance of the book, and ask if they would like a review copy.  Do not send books ‘blind’, i.e. without confirming people actually want one.  Make sure to include a covering note with every copy, with your press kit or at least the key points about the book, and state that you are happy to be interviewed.

2.  Have a book website, even a simple one.  The minimum content is a good blurb or sales copy about the book, a nice high-resolution front cover, testimonials and reviews and, of course, a link to BUY the book.  Ensure you can fulfil orders quickly; if not, then link your BUY button through to Amazon or another site that can automatically send books out when ordered.

3.  Create a promotional video, put it on YouTube, then create a short link to the video

4.  Blog about the book, including the short link

5.  Post status updates about the new blog post on Twitter, Facebook, Ecademy and LinkedIn

6.  Remember to update your own newsletter list, with exciting copy about the book launch

7.  Get flyers or postcards done with the book cover, sales blurb and testimonials and ordering/purchasing information.

8.  Then start attending local networking events, *always* having at least one copy of the book with you and 50-100 postcards.  At the end of your 40/60 seconds, ask who would really like a copy of the book.  Then pass a free copy to the first or most eager person with their hand up.  The rest get postcards and you can ask them to spread the word as well. 

9.  Be willing to give plenty of copies away, as it always pays off at some point.  Anyone who gets a free copy should blog/tweet about the book and give you an Amazon review in return.

10.  Remember to update your website and blog regularly!  I would suggest you do this at least weekly at the beginning, and include new testimonials and reviews, new videos, special offers and promotions.

If you want more specific help, there are some great services available from some excellent book marketing and PR people.  There are a few that I recommend regularly with confidence, so please contact me if you would like to be referred.

Best of luck with your book launch.  It is a very special milestone which you should be proud of.  Most people never even start their books, much less finish them (trust me, I speak to hundreds of aspiring authors each month). 

I look forward to hearing about all your success!

A book is NOT just a brochure or a business card!

This morning I received an email that has me incensed. I’m absolutely furious.  I know I tell my clients not to write when they are angry, but I just have to make an exception this time.  I hate it when people compare a book to a brochure or a business card. Those items are not designed to inspire, teach or entertain. They are sales tools. If you are seriously thinking about writing a book, then take it seriously and write a seriously good book! One that stands up on its own and positions you as the real thought leader you are.  A good book is a special piece of yourself that you have presented to the world.

If you noticed above, I said ‘write a book’. REAL thought leaders write their own books. They put their own thought together in their own words and that is what their readers want to read. There are several companies selling the hype of having a book and the author not having to lift a finger. And encouraging people to slap a book together and whack it out into the marketplace, as if the only thing that mattered was the book. That really annoys me. That’s why we have so many rubbish books coming into the market and cluttering it up. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a big fan of self-publishing and cooperative publishing. I think good books do deserve to be published, but I also feel strongly that any book worth doing is worth doing properly.

Be careful if you are being wooed by companies promising the world. If it sounds too good, it probably is. I know a lot of people who have been to weekend courses costing thousands of dollars, and then spent $20,000 or more, to end up with something that competes with brochures!  Some spent their money and didn’t end up with a book.

Decide what kind of book you want to write and ensure you work with professionals that specialize in that kind of book. I’ve been a book coach for nearly ten years, and I have helped over 300 people make a powerful start on their books. It doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars to kick-start a book project! And you can write your own book and have the satisfaction of knowing it’s exactly what you want to say, the way you want to say it. You can do it in just 90 days (or even less – just ask me).

I’ve also helped hundreds of people through the writing process and I’ve helped them get published – over 100 now, and counting. Traditional AND self-publishing. Please don’t get duped by organizations that relegate books to the ‘sales tool’ category. And please don’t throw your hard-earned cash into schemes that are run by people who view books in that way.

A book can and will position you as an expert, but only if you write the best book you can, and only if it offers real value and something original. Something a brochure can never do.

Making a Statement Creatively and Cleverly

Mindy sits on the ice bench

Yesterday I watched ice melt. And I actually felt it melt.  I sat on a bench made of ice in Union Square in New York. The bench was part of an art installation by a Taiwanese artist called Chin Chih Yang, who is concerned about global warming.

There were 3 or 4 benches made of ice, where you could sit – on a towel or not – and contemplate a structure made of 4 more blocks that was being measured with a yardstick. The project is aptly called Ice Emergency!  As the ice melted in the hot New York sun, the levels dropped, mirroring what is happening every day at the polar ice caps.  It felt good and cooled me down, but at what cost?  My sitting on it was actually accelerating the melting process?

I often write and speak about people who are courageous enough to make bold statements. Well, this one hit home with me. It was so experiential.  I have a photo which I will upload as soon as I can, but I wanted to share the news with you immediately. 

Blocks of ice in art installation

You also have bold statements you would like to make to the world.  If you don’t feel like producing a massive art installation, how else could you make as powerful an impact, with your writing or speaking?