Your Roadmap to a Five-Star Launch

Here's a beta draft of tasks and our agenda, in process.


Let's think about the reader feedback loop.

Here's the tech:

  • Email marketing service
  • Lead/Landing page
  • Lead magnet (freebie/giveaway)
  • Email autoresponder
  • Document delivery

Here's the branding needed:

  • Fonts
  • Colors
  • Graphics
  • Photography

And mindset:

  • Release imperfect work
  • Ask for feedback
  • Thank contributors
  • Repeat
  • Stay humble and open to feedback
  • Iterate and keep the channels open

We are going to iterate, take brave first steps, and take action. Remember, done is better than perfect. In fact imperfect may be better than perfect because if you think you're perfect you are probably out of touch with your readers, with influencers, with your tribe.

As humans, we are always seeking feedback and confirmation of our ideas. We are nourished and enthused by by respectful sharing and co-creation.

So don't try to be perfect. Let your audience contribute to your experience. Let them be a part of your author journey. None of us are here alone.

Don't be afraid to be your authentic self. The most connecting thing we do is to share ourselves with others

Step 1: Research Your Way to a Best Seller

The foundation of this workshop is the work you do in and the discoveries you’ll make in the Research Your Way to a Best Seller online course.

Copy my competitive analysis spreadsheet and make it your own.

Take a look at what authors like you are doing. Join their email lists. Follow them on social media. Join the same social media groups and forums they’re active in.

Before participating, study them, figure out what’s going on, identify the founders and the admins, and make sure you know what’s allowed and not.

Step 2: Create your lead magnet (giveaway/freebie)

Decide what is compelling to your readers. It may take a while to figure this out. It probably is not the first chapter of your book! It could be a short story, a cheat sheet, tips, a mini course, a how-to, advice… what do they really want?

Format it very nicely. You can use Word or PowerPoint (or Keynote), or one of the great templates in Canva.

If you need photos, I like Pixabay and Unplash.

Step 3: Find and connect with influencers

Get into social media groups and see who's there and what you can contribute. Make friends ... BEFORE you announce your book.

Step 4: Set up your landing/lead page

If you don't already have a landing page creation service, use MailerLite or MailChimp or the email service you already have.

I’ve created a quick demo on how to do it using MailerLite.

Just set it up and tinker with it, get to know how it works. You’ll need the following assets:

  • Image of the cover page of your lead magnet in jpg or png format.
  • Your author photo in jpg or png format.
  • Branding elements if you have them (color scheme, fonts, graphics, photos, a transparent png of your signature).

Step 5: Social Media Marketing

Once you know where your tribe is – by studying where other authors and experts like you participate - you can announce yourself in groups. Offer help. Make "friends."

This is a different process for everyone. We'll talk in the workshop about this.

Step 6: Your Brand

Before you get too many subscribers, you should nail down your brand. These are colors, fonts, photography, your logo, your company name and your publisher or imprint name. Your author name is also a big—maybe the biggest—element of your brand.

Keep it simple!

Step 7: Your Platform

Now that email marketing services offer websites and landing pages, I am going to have to re-do my platform course. I like the simplicity of starting with the website tools inside your email marketing service.

If you already have a WordPress site, or Wix, or Shopify or whatever, and you like it, there’s no need to change that. But I definitely see a trend toward email marketing services’ website builders.

Keep it simple.

Don't give your visitor too many choices. (Hence the no-choices landing-lead-squeeze page.)


25 STEPS TO BOOK LAUNCH.pdf
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