John 3:16 Marketing Network
Checklist for a Book Launch
Lorilyn Roberts
Blogger/Writer/Author Name:
Completed Books:
Published
Books:
Current Projects:
Future Projects:
Number One Goal for 2013:
Review Date:
Author
Platform and Readiness for a Book Launch
|
|||
My goal with this checklist is to help
authors identify areas they need to focus on to rise above the pack of
thousands writing books today. The competition has never been greater.
|
To contact me
(Lorilyn Roberts): llwroberts@cox.net
Website: http://LorilynRoberts.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/LorilynRoberts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/John316Network
|
||
Objectives
|
|||
Yes
|
No
|
Comments
|
|
1.
Do you
have a blog or website?
2.
Do you have a share button for social
networking?
|
Make sure you have a follow button toward
the top of your blog or an option for visitors to follow you by email. Also
make sure your name is somewhere on your site – you want to promote yourself
as an author.
You should post something at least once or
twice a week. Static sites aren’t as good. You want visitors to interact with
you by being able to leave comments.
Make sure you have a button for easy
sharing – it will boost traffic to your site.
|
||
Amazon
and Book Platform
|
|||
Yes
|
No
|
Comments
|
|
Are you a published author (self-published
or traditional?
|
If you don’t
have any published books yet, keep reading. You will learn some valuable
tips.
|
||
Do you have a minimum of ten reviews with
at least a 4.0 overall rating for your book or books? If the book is rated by reviewers lower
than a 4.0, you need to figure out why. Poorly rated books don’t sell (unless
they are pornographic or media-driven).
|
At the Florida
Christian Writers Conference VIP’s said traditional publishers want self-published
authors to have more than 100 book reviews. This would come into play if you
wanted to traditionally publish a self-published book.
|
||
Do you have an avatar and up-to-date bio on
Amazon?
|
This is free
advertisement. A must, especially if you are self-published.
|
||
Have you set up and completed all the
tasks in Author Central on Amazon?
|
If you haven’t
done this, the link is https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile
Make sure you
answer all the questions, not just your bio and avatar, but your Author Page
URL for Amazon, blog feed link, twitter feed link and multimedia if you have a
book trailer.
|
||
If you have published books on Amazon, is
all the information filled out for each book on Amazon?
|
Amazon allows
authors a lot of space at the top for editorial reviews, product description,
et cetera. Don’t waste this space. Use it.
|
||
Have you answered the “book extras” that
link to Shelfari?
|
This is directly
from Amazon: Readers can see Book Extras
for your book on the Kindle and Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
You can write them in Shelfari, the community-powered encyclopedia for book
lovers. This information appears before, during, and after the reader
experience, so put your one-of-a-kind knowledge to use. The link for this can
be accessed through Author Central.
|
||
Have you written book reviews?
|
This is one way
to help other authors and be sociable. Amazon will track your ranking as a
reviewer—another way to gain exposure.
|
||
Are your books priced competitively?
|
List the price of the author’s book in the
first block and a best-seller in the same category in the second block.
Compare. If you book is priced higher, lower it.
|
||
Is your public profile completely filled
out on Amazon?
|
The public
profile is found under “Your Account,” go down a ways, and look under
“Community.” Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/homepage
|
||
Does your book cover show up well on
Amazon?
|
Can you read the
name of the book and the author’s name easily? How does your book cover
compare to others in your genre?
|
||
Have you filled out the appropriate
categories for your Kindle book on Amazon?
|
For Kindle, this
is done through the Kindle Direct Publishing site at https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/dashboard
|
||
Have you entered the best key search words
for you Kindle book through Kindle Direct Publishing?
|
If you need help
doing this, please read this article I wrote: http://bit.ly/YBnaJY
|
||
Has your Kindle book been properly
formatted?
|
A spot check for
this can be done by clicking on the book’s cover on Amazon. The first few
pages of the book will open. Check for incorrect spacing, boxes, strange
lettering, et cetera.
|
||
Has your book been edited by at least one
professional editor, preferably two?
|
Readers will
tell you if they find mistakes. Better you find the errors and correct them –
your reviews will suffer if your book is poorly edited.
|
||
Other Social Networking Sites
|
|||
Yes
|
No
|
Comments
|
|
How many twitter followers do you have?
|
At the recent
Florida Christian Writer’s Conference VIP’s said they wanted authors to have
5,000 followers.
|
||
Are you sociable—do you host other authors
on your blog or website? Do they host you?
|
Do you know
others in this industry that would be willing to endorse you or recommend
you? Writing is a solo journey, but marketing can’t be done alone. You need
others to help you.
|
||
Do you have a presence on Facebook?
|
While Facebook’s
importance in marketing is minimal, it’s still helpful for making connections
with others.
|
||
Opt-In
List
|
|||
Yes
|
No
|
Comments
|
|
Have you set up a service like Constant
Contact to build your email list?
|
|||
Do you have a free gift you can give away to
build your opt-in list?
|
You should have
at least one permanent free gift available on Amazon, Smashwords, your
website, et cetera.
|
||
Do you subscribe to helpful blogs for
marketing and writing?
|
A writer should
constantly be working to improve his writing and marketing skills. Blogs on
relevant topics are more current than books, particularly with marketing
trends. Reading blogs is a must.
|
||
What Books Have You Read to Help You With
Writing?
|
|||
Yes
|
No
|
Comments
|
|
Are you a fiction writer?
|
Here is a link
to a post I wrote on good books for fiction writers. http://bit.ly/YqwqXc
|
||
Are you a nonfiction writer?
|
On Writing Well, by William Zinsser
Writing to Change the World, by Mary Pipher
Writing for the Soul, by Jerry B. Jenkins
|
||
Have you attended any writer’s conferences
in the last year?
Other extras to consider: Does your book
have a book trailer? Youtube is highly trafficked, don’t skip this marketing
opportunity.
|
List the
writer’s conferences you would like to attend in the future.
To make a free
book trailer, go to:
|
||
What
Books Have You Read to Help You With Marketing?
|
|||
There are so many good ones, I am not
going to list them, but be sure you read my book, How to Launch a Best-Selling Christian Book if you have joined
or are interested in joining the John 3:16 Marketing Network.
|
Here is the link for Kindle:
Here is the link for print:
|
||
What are your strengths?
|
You have some –
don’t just focus on what you need to do, pat yourself on the back for what
you have already done and done well.
|
||
What are your weaknesses?
|
Be honest – no
one hits a home run every time he stands up to the plate in baseball. Many
strike out – but they come back again and again, unless they don’t have the
talent and then they are sent down to the minors. If you have the ability,
you will succeed if you keep learning and don’t give up.
|
||
How much money should you spend each month
on marketing?
|
Don’t go into
debt - ever! There is no guarantee that your costs will be recouped in book
sales.
|
||
What are the things you can’t skimp on
when it comes to marketing and selling your book?
|
An editor, a book cover designer, and pay the hefty fee and
buy your own ISBN numbers from Bowker if you need to purchase your own. Don’t
buy from a cheap source.
|
||
A well-written press release is also
helpful.
|
If you are not a
top-notch writer, hire someone to write one for you.
|
||
Should you spend money on publicists,
formatting books for Kindle and Smashwords, expensive email blasts, book
trailers, overpriced POD publishers, or anything that costs more than $100?
Like expensive book contests?
|
Absolutely not.
You can do what a publicist does yourself. If you can read, you can format
your own books for Kindle and Smashwords. Using Animoto (listed above), you
can do your own book trailer for free. You can publish through Lightening
Source and Create Space for a very reasonable price (less than a hundred
bucks on either one), and the best book contests don’t charge or only charge
a small amount to cover the basic costs.
|
||
General
Observations
I would recommend you look over the list above
and your responses and make an assessment of what your strengths and weaknesses
are. Be kind to yourself – just going through this list is the first step in
learning more about how to market your book. One of my concerns with new
authors coming into the John 3:16 Marketing Network is sometimes they want to
launch a book too soon. You need to work towards the goals above, particularly
the Amazon platform goals, to have a successful launch. Waiting until you have
a lot of reviews, a minimum of ten and preferably thirty or more with at least
a 4.2 rating will go a long ways toward selling books and having a successful
launch.
Call
to Action – what three things will you work on now—don’t wait. Fill in the list
below and shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.
ID
|
Action
Item
|
Start
|
Achieved
|
1
|
|||
2
|
[mm/dd/yyyy]
|
||
3
|
[mm/dd/yyyy]
|
Additional
Comments:
After
reading through this list, if you would be interested in some personal
coaching, I will be offering one-one-one coaching via phone, Google-plus
Hangout, or on Skype on a limited basis for $55 for one hour. Only one hour per
person. My goal is to help you learn how to market your book and make you
self-sufficient. Knowledge is power. You can do it!
***
I will be hosting a Google Hangout tonight at 7pm (April 29) to discuss book launches, specifically the new way we are doing them and why.
