Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Seth Godin talks about building a tribe; Michael Hyatt talks about creating a launch team. Both concepts contain the same nugget of truth: If you want to drive sales, you need a crowd of influencers to spread the word. But do these concepts really work for book launches?
I interviewed two of my clients who created launch teams for recent releases: DiAnn Mills, who recently released a romantic suspens
e, The Survivor; and Tricia Goyer, with two new releases, The Promise Box (an Amish novel) and Lead Your Family Like Jesus (a nonfiction book coauthored with Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges).
Both Tricia and DiAnn started out with a big plus: They have developed tribes through their social media venues.
Here are their responses to the questions I thought you’d want to know the answers to:
How did you form your launch team?
Tricia: I first heard about launch teams on Michael Hyatt’s blog. (Which you can read here.) I used Survey Monkey to ask four questions. I contacted bloggers I know to take the survey, tweeted about the survey and mentioned it on Facebook. I formed two teams: one for fiction and one for nonfiction. I have several books releasing this year so I asked each person to participate for a year. Anyone who wanted to be on the team needed to fill out the survey saying what they could do to help launch a book. 170 people applied; I picked 100.
Hyatt suggested making the team exclusive. But, looking back, I found probably 1/2 participated; ¼ are really involved. Now I’d take everyone on because I realize not everyone will stay interested.
DiAnn: I began with a letter circulated through my e-newsletter, Twitter, and Facebook. Ninety-eight people are on my team. They’re fans, book reviewers, bloggers, bookstore owners, and book club leaders. I’d hoped for a dozen. Although I was concerned with such a large group, it’s worked well. I’ve closed the group at this number but recognize that, as time goes on, some will choose to drop their participation.
How do you communicate with your group and what do you ask them to do?
DiAnn: We’re a Yahoo group. My team has arranged book club events, speaking engagements, attended book signings, written reviews, and promoted my books and me via social media.
Tricia: We have a private FB group for coordination. I post a schedule for each release with a to-do-list for them each day. There are days they post questions on their blogs about the book with my answers. On other days they post reviews. At first I asked for promo ideas but found people want to help, but generally they just want to be directed.
What incentives do you give people who join your team?
DiAnn: Each week I provide the team with an Adventures in the Word devotion. I began with Genesis and am working my way through the Bible. These devotions show the suspense in the Bible so I’m staying true to my brand. Team members can submit their devotions to me, and I’ll edit them and share them with the group. We have a prayer and praise coordinator who posts once a week, and this allows us to pray for each other. I also have contests just for them and announce upcoming events to them before anyone else. They, of course, get advance copies of my books to review.
Tricia:Each person gets a free copy of the book ahead of time. They really like that.If someone goes above and beyond what I’ve asked, that person gets a surprise gift–a gift certificate to shop at an online site or a Starbucks gift certificate.
I’ve also found that people like to interact with the author. Just responding to their comments on our Facebook page keeps them engaged.
Would you use a launch team again?
Tricia: Yes! Lots of people are getting the word out about your book for you. They were creative, like coming up with quotes from Lead Your Family Like Jesus for Pinterest and for tweeting. I probably would have overlooked those quotes, but the team’s fresh eyes saw them. One woman on the Lead Like Jesus team asked her blog readers to take a 14-day challenge to pray in specific ways for their children and then report back. It’s exciting for me to be part of the team too.
DiAnn: Absolutely! It’s all about relationships, and we’ve bonded into a wonderful, supportive group in which we celebrate birthdays and pray for each other.
TWEETABLES
Do book launch teams work? Click to tweet.
How do book launch teams work? Click to tweet.
If you could be on anyone’s launch team (the author could be living or dead), whose would you choose?
What have you done to help someone else launch his or her book?
Wow! That makes the whole marketing conundrum sound super fun!
When it’s your team working with you, it is fun.
It is fun!
Love the practical tips and advice here. Thanks for sharing it!!
You’re welcome.
Thanks for sharing! I really love hopping on launch teams. I feel like they have really helped me learn about the whole process of launching and marketing a book. I enjoy interacting with the author and others who have similar interests.
Whose team have you been on?
I’ve done Susan May Warren, Tricia’s Lead your Family Like Jesus, and Alene Snodgrass’s ebook Graffiti. Now, I’m working to help launch CausePub, a crowdsourcing stories for a cause concept. I’ve learned so much from each one.
Lisa, which is a good point: an unpublished writer can pick up promo tips by being on a launch team.
I loved having you be a part, Lisa!!
Ooooh. What would Jane Austen’s book launch team do? Engraved calling cards with book information, teas to discuss the novels, country dances with readings between the reels, leaving copies in the public rooms at Bath . . . Hmmm. I may use some of those.
LOVE those ideas, Sarah, and you could do it all dressed in a period costume. 🙂
Oh, man! I want to do some of those things!!
The music scene is very similar in this regard, with promotional teams putting up flyers, engaging in various publicity events, and calling radio stations before the group or solo performer comes to town and asking for their music to be played.
With a limited budget, it is a great way to get some extra help, as well as letting fans get a “behind the scenes” look at the industry of their favorite author or musical group.
Slightly off-topic, does anyone feel uncomfortable using the word “tribe” to describe their audience? In a way, the connotations certainly works to describe the insular world of publishing (so I can see why it just seems like a natural part of publishing jargon), but I’m not sure if it works well to describe readers. Extending that, it gives the feeling of….being a bit too comfortable with the nature of the industry. I certainly would not want to have my readers defined by any part of the absurdity and arrogance of the industry.
Larry, sometimes we use handles that others have developed because we’re familiar with the term and all that it means. Thus, “tribe,” which Seth Godin embedded so much meaning into, becomes shorthand for us to talk about influencers. Some people talk about their readers as “fans,” which is a bit disturbing in its own right. Others discuss creating a “congregation.” It’s hard to find a respectful term that conveys these people are one level above readers…they’re those loyal readers who are willing to work to help you to succeed.What word would you suggest?
I wouldn’t suggest a separate word.
For me, that signifies a different relationship than what I personally feel comfortable having with my readership (it’s my job to promote my novel, not theirs, nor do I want them to feel like I “owe” them anything as an author, nor do I want to have my work or readers to be part of the culture of celebrity: it’d feel as tawdry as those tabloids which give readers a false sense of being an “insider” into the culture of celebrity).
Objectively I feel all writers shouldn’t add such distinctions, as it alters the culture of writing and readership: we writers further become more like carnival barkers, and readers start to make distinctions between themselves as to who is a “legitimate” reader / appreciator of the authors’ work.
Larry, okay, so I’m going to label you a “purist.” 🙂 If publishers were doing all the marketing and publicity, your pure form of an author-reader relationship fits in that paradigm. But I don’t think the current industry would support that approach.
Plus, I have to say, I’m happy to be certain authors’ fans without feeling any need to participate in launching their next book. But I’m an outlier in that way since today’s society encourages this type of “insider” involvement. I believe that’s a reflection of our culture putting people at arm’s length from each other and our yearning to belong to something bigger than just “me.” But now I’m starting to wax philosophical so I’m going to quit.
I call them TEAM! 🙂
Janet, thank you for the wonderful ideas! (Just the thing to kickstart our creative juices this Monday morning.)
I’d love to be on C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia launch team…can you imagine the possibilities there?!
Ooh, yeah, the Chronicles of Narnia would be fun to help to launch! To the wardrobe, everyone!
Love those ideas, Janet. I’m adding them to my collection of ideas for when I need marketing, although my wheels are turning already for what I could do now. And thank you to Tricia and DiAnn for their time in answering your questions.
Tricia and DiAnn were very gracious to lend their expertise to us.
You’re welcome Meghan!
Wow, I loved this! It’s great to hear what authors are doing to get their books out there. I love the ideas Tricia and DiAnn shared.
I’ve not been officially on a book launch team. I have had the privilege of being an advance reader, writing reviews and blogging about books (okay, only one so far, but I’ve only been blogging three months. 😉 ).
Let’s see, if I could be on anyone’s book launch team…..that’s hard. One of my current favorite authors is Rachel Hauck, so I’ll say hers. 🙂
Thanks for sharing these wonderful ideas, Janet!
Jeanne, with your blog you have the opportunity to be an influencer for many authors whose writing you admire. It’s a fun and natural way to get the word-of-mouth going about a book.
If you really want to be on Rachel’s launch team, you should go to her website and ask if she has such an animal, and if you could be on it?
Neat concept. I wonder how it would work for lesser known authors, though. I was actually surprised by how many people participated in my first book tour and I was thankful for it. What a wonderful blessing to feel the support of others.
As for whose team I would like to be on, I would love to plan something for Laura Ingalls Wilder. We could hold a barn dance and make corn husk dolls, bob for apples, and dress up like pioneers. Maybe the boys would like a greased pig catching contest. 🙂
I’m there!
Cheryl, one of the reasons I mentioned the well-honed social media that Tricia and DiAnn have is because it’s the layer an author needs to have before trying to create a launch team. Your social media gives you a platform from which to recruit the team.
It would be much harder for an author who was just beginning to gather a social media following, whether that be FB, Twitter or his/her blog.
I think I was on Katie Ganshert’s launch team for Wishing on Willows, I’m not sure, because it wasn’t work, it was alot of fun and she was very well organized and gave us all kinds of options to help her launch WOW. The live online discussion was hilarious because everyone was typing so fast she could barely keep up.
If I could be on a launch team of anyone? This may sound crazy, but the Apostle Paul. Sneaking copies of his letters from one far flung city to the other? Unreal. Sailing on ships from Israel to Rome, never knowing if we’d live to see dawn? Never knowing who to trust? My friend Gwen Gage wrote a novel set in Ancient Alexandria and Rome and got me thinking about the cost of belief. This question got me thinking of the price believers paid to know the Word of God.
Imagine it? A scroll tucked in your satchel, discovery meant death, either by sword or lion. I’m not sure I could launch that book, but I am certain I wouldn’t dare hide it under a bushel.
Thanks for the challenging thoughts about what it would take to launch certain books. Those who have smuggled Bibles into Communist countries know all about the cost of “launching” the Bible into political hotbeds.
When I went to Key West in February on a research trip for my novel, I met with a naturalist at the botanical garden, the lead Historian of the Monroe County Library system, and the Secretary of the Key West Maritime Historical Society. Would it make sense to invite these individuals to be a part of a launch team? I think their role as influencers would be imperative, especially since they live in the location of my story. I realize that they would represent a small piece of the team, but their influence ‘on location’ could reap huge benefits.
Being on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s launch team would’ve been fun. A wonderful excuse to get my hands dirty (The Secret Garden) or create a dream world that shifts from imagination to reality (The Little Princess).
Jenni, you could invite these individuals to be part of your team, but I suspect you might be get mileage out of them as influencers whom you ask to do unique publicity for you that only they can do–perhaps a physical launch party in which all three groups participate and invite people from their mailing lists, for example.
Thanks for these great ideas Janet!
I am so glad you posted this! I have been on two launch teams and have really wondered about the effectiveness. I was on the launch team for Rachel Held Evans’ “Year of Biblical Womanhood,” and Scott Turansky’s recent “Christian Parenting Handbook.” I also received an advance copy of Regina Jennings’ “Love in the Balance” for review.
I was on the “Year of Biblical Womanhood” team first and was really excited to get involved, thinking I would be working with a group to come up with strategies, planning, and finally promotion. What it turned out to be was a Facebook group where we each posted our review and Evans’ publisher provided media (e.g., images for Facebook, etc.). Some members would post about a few other ways they promoted and that was about it. I was disappointed that a launch team really amounted to a group of people agreeing to do a review and promote through their network as they see fit. I joined the other team for the launch last month and it was exactly the same.
I can see how such launch teams help the author tremendously – there is a certain energy in the group that encourages everyone to follow through with their review, talk about the book, etc., which has to be a big driver of sales. It provides more accountability for the influencers than anything. However, it seems to me there is a great possibility of using these teams more effectively. Any given member who is an influencer will only be willing to promote a book so much; as a blogger myself, I’m highly concerned with maintaining credibility and won’t talk about a book more than by doing a review and maybe a couple of Facebook posts to let people know the book is out. So, there is a “ceiling” on the level of promotion you can get out of your launch team by that fact alone.
To get more value from the collective minds of the team, it would make sense to me to have a smaller core group as a strategic planning team, working with the publisher’s marketing people. This could be done well in advance of the launch date. Then each team member could actually be committed to tasks that go beyond their own review…for example, each contacting 5 more bloggers themselves. Of course, these would be people who really want to get more involved than writing a review. I would have absolutely done that for the opportunity to network with the author, the publishing staff, etc. Then you would still have your tribe of influencers who do the purely promotional work at launch.
That’s what I would love to do if someday I have the chance. 🙂
Natasha, you clearly fall in the elite influencers group that Tricia mentioned, the ones who want to be more deeply engrained in creating ideas to promote a book. I found it insightful that on Tricia’s launch team she rewarded those who went above and beyond what she asked. (And she had a daily to-do list for her team, so she was very directive.) But there was room to be creative, and she rewarded creativity with gift certificates.
Launch teams don’t need to be cookie cutter; that’s the beauty of them. And, if someone on the team has an idea, it can be shared with the whole group either through the secret FB page or the Yahoo group.
Mike Hyatt found a launch team integral to his book landing on three best-selling lists because he embargoed sales through his launch team so the sales occurred on specific days. Debbie Macomber does the same thing. She asks her readers to hold back on buying the next book until the day of the official launch.
I think launch teams can be very effective, but as in all marketing/publicity, it depends on what the author does with the concept.
Thanks, Janet. I agree, rewarding people for extra activity is a great idea. I receive a lot of promotional requests from professional publicists and many of them offer specific rewards for activity. For example, one was tracking the number of referrals from various influencers and the influencers with the greatest numbers would be given prizes.
Regarding launch timing, that’s precisely what “The Christian Parenting Handbook” did. They offered $400 in free resources to anyone buying the book in the launch week, hoping to hit the best seller list. I was willing to promote with a couple more links than usual because there was value to my readers in that opportunity. They ended up selling out everywhere.
Natasha, thanks for those additional insights. It really comes down to your being able to offer value to your readers, which makes complete sense.
Natasha, any author would LOVE to have you on their launch team. I would have you on mine any day! 🙂
But I think most folks aren’t that creative, nor do they want to put out that much effort for someone else’s ‘baby.’
This is a great post, thanks for sharing ladies!
I am a product developer… and marketer. I helped develop apron patterns, aprons and other handcrafted products for Lauraine Snelling and Sarah Sundin, plus, created a sharable video for Lisa Bogart. I love making the connection between readers and the authors. Now that I have a book being released in the spring, I am working on a few creative marketing projects for myself. I set up a prayer team for my project, but I love the insight of having a full book launch team!
I am going to put Tricia Goyer’s advice into action.
Thanks so much for this timely post and encouraging advice!
Marci, I’ll look forward to hearing how your launch team worked. If ever there was someone who would know what to do with a launch team, you’re it, Marci.
was that launch team or lunch team.. will try out a few new recipes for that!
When people complain about FB and Twitter I have to think of two groups I belong to, Grace and Faith Author Connection, and CrossReads, and how much we help each other out. When I have news, they are ready to share and likewise. It’s the way social media should be, and because we can have private conversations, we don’t have to pester readers until there is really something newsworthy. Thanks for a great post and the comments are as usual, quite helpful as well!
Beverly, could anyone join those groups or are they invitation only?
On a SAD note: Yankee Doodle passed away on May 18th from an undiagnosed illness. She was ten-years-old.
“Never has a dog – brought so much joy – to a little boy.”
donnie and doodle, that’s very sad. Our dogs mean so much to each of us, and when we lose them, a big gap is blown into our lives. Everyone, give your dog a special hug in remembrance of Yankee Doodle.
My condolenses to you.
I know my dog has given me so much joy and it is only a matter of time before I lose my little girl, Blithe. Blithe is my 13 1/2 year old Westie. She has been a diabetic for over four years and she is beginning to show her age.
Thank you for this post, Janet! I love hearing author ideas. It puts the wheels in my head in motion. 🙂 I have had the privilege of being an influencer, but I haven’t been on an official launch team before. One of my favorite authors (now deceased) is Maud Hart Lovelace. Her books are similar to Laura Ingalls Wilder, but she wrote about growing up in Mankato, MN around the turn of the twentieth century. I would love to be on her launch team.
Gabrielle, I’m sure Maud would be happy for your help. And there should be shortage of ideas since she wrote about a specific setting.
Janet, DiAnn and Tricia….thank you for sharing your ideas. Your information is timely for me because my debut as a launch team member is on May 28 for Sandra Leesmith. Also, I’ll be helping my daughter-in-law, Kira Brady, with her second book and my cousin-in-law, Linda Winstead Jones, with her first self-published book.
I’m doing a TUESDAY TEA feature on my blog. I’ll review the author’s book and asking a few questions, then Facebook and Twitter posts, along with reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
Why do people join launch teams? I understand that promotion falls to the authors in today’s publishing world. Helping others and being creative are the reasons I’m on launch teams.
How do you judge the effectiveness of these efforts?
Thank you!
Sherida, thanks for explaining your motivation for participating in book launches.
Regarding launch teams’ effectiveness, we have to remember that very little in marketing and publicity can be traced directly to sales. That’s why publicity is so frustrating; we don’t know precisely how much help the team approach can be unless we, like Mike Hyatt, set a specific goal: construct the launch team to get the book on specific best-seller lists. If the goal is to increase awareness of your book, that’s pretty reachable. But it’s not the same as to set out to expose potential readers to your book six times in a week. That’s also a reachable goal but would require a strategy to make it happen.
Thank you, Janet, for your response. I’ve wondered about how best to help author friends (and relatives), so the increased awareness is my goal.
Fascinating post and insights! I’ve helped launch Lisa Chan’s “True Beauty” video series, Shauna Niequist’s “Bread & Wine” and Erin MacPherson’s Christian Mamas Guides…but other than Erin, I never got to interface with the authors. That would have made it SO much more exciting for me as a participant! I enjoyed being a part of all of these, but the ideas included in your post would definitely make it more appealing. Something to keep in my back pocket should I ever be in need of a launch team of my own…
Adelle, I’m kind of puzzled about being part of launch teams that didn’t give you access to the author–or least some pretty spiffy benefits. Now you know what to hold out for!
I’m wondering … did the publishers in these cases set up the launch team for the authors? Personally I think that no one is (or should be!) as excited about the book as the author.
I love that both authors you interviewed describe the relationships that form. That’s one thing I love about working with people in this sort of framework– you can be “building in” as much as you’re “reaching out”– meaning by reaching out together, you’re forming bonds together not just with potential readers, but with the core group doing the reaching. It’s invaluable, and helps us remember in a numbers-driven world, that there are people behind the numbers, and incredible ones, too.
Amanda, I love that, too, about the launch teams. And it is clear that both Tricia and DiAnn value every person on the team as a person.
I know I’ve made some great friendships, and when I see a chance to reach out and help them in return I enjoy doing that, too.
I am a member of DiAnn’s team and I love it. I know when DiAnn is going to be speaking, book signing and where and she keeps us on our toes with her devotions and questions. She has us write essays too. The prayer lists are good too as we are developing into a caring, loving group of prayer warriors for each other.
Connie, thanks for giving us a peek inside DiAnn’s launch team.
I’ve been on a couple of launch teams, so I saw how they work from the other side.
For me, reading the book in advance was a nice bonus, but what kept me going was simply the author thanking me for my efforts. A bit of kindness and appreciation goes a long way.
Hi Janet! Thanks for this article. I found it very interesting. It’s fun to know what authors think of those who help sell their books by being influencers.
I’m an influencer and love it. I’m not part of a team, per se, so there isn’t a lot of interaction for me with other influencers. I know those I influence for have appreciated it, and I really enjoy the free books!
Being a part of the process in this small way helps me see the bigger picture of what being a published author will mean when I get there in my own writing journey. I love reading articles like this one for that same reason. Thanks for sharing DiAnn’s and Tricia’s viewpoints on influencer teams.
Blessings,
Andrea
Andrea, I’m so thankful for those wonderful readers who are not officially on launch teams but still give so much! They (you) are appreciated!
Thanks, Tricia! <3
Hi Janet, would you suggest having mostly friends do this for you? I have a book that is coming out end of August and haven’t even told most people. It always feels like I’m bragging (except with family and close friends). I don’t really know how to go about getting a book launch group together beyond what the publisher is going to organize for me. I had just thought I would invite friends to the book launch itself…your thoughts?
Jennifer, it’s important for you to develop a community of those interested in your writing via social media. Tricia and DiAnn both turned to their FB friends, Twitter followers, blog readers, etc., to pull together their teams. These are people way beyond family and friends, whom you need to extend yourself to if you are to get the word out about your book. This isn’t about bragging; it’s about building your business as an author. Who ever heard of a business that didn’t want individuals to know about it?
Yes, I totally understand. You want people to know about a shop that sells amazing donuts…but that’s different from asking clients who love your donuts to form a group and actively promote it….not sure how/who to ask. I do have fb friends and of course my blog. Was just thinking I’d publicize it myself…but I can see now that’s going to be pretty lame…
Jennifer, think of it this way … your key readers WANT TO know about your book. They get excited about it … and you are giving them joy in being part of what they love.
Thanks Tricia, I see your point. I guess I just don’t know how to actually ask them to for a team to promote my book…
Thank you for these terrific ideas!
I recently was a part of my first book launch for author, Ginny Yttrup’s book, Invisible. Actually, we are continuing on since her publisher has discontinued their fiction department. An added plus given the unforeseen circumstances.
I am enjoying helping out and learning at the same time. And I love Ginny’s writing!
Kathy, you make a good point: If publishers switch their emphasis or if an editor leaves for another job, an author’s launch team can help to provide publicity continuity for an author. And that can be a saving grace.
Absolutely!! A lot of things change in publishing, but thank goodness readers stay dedicated and unchanged!
Nowhere in the post did you say that having the book launch team increased sales. I suppose that’s understood by both DiAnn and Tricia saying they’d do it again, but an affirmative statement to that effect would have been helpful.
Alas, my call for a book launch team resulted in 12, 7 of whom seem to have evaporated in the warm spring weather.
I know you posted this over a year ago, but I’ve filed it away for when my next book comes out. I’m on book #9 but I’ve never organized a launch team before. So I’m giving it a try. But–as I always say about the business side of writing–I can work a little bit and make a little bit of money, or I can work my butt off and make a little bit more money. So here’s the question: does this really pay off in book sales? Truly? Because as a write-at-home mother of 2 boys under the age of 4–with little reliable, affordable childcare–I need to focus on what will actually pay my babysitters while I’m working so I can pay my babysitters so I can work so I can pay my…you get the picture. Thoughts?
Sarah, if used well, your launch team can do a lot to generate word of mouth. My clients have found it a useful part of their marketing plan. But it depends on the quality of your team and how committed it is to you.