DAY 10 - Joining a Book Release Launch Team and What I Learned
I’m fascinated by the concept of Launch Teams. The following article comes from the point of a reader/fan, not a marketing guru.
Launch Team
Melanie’s Definition: A group of devoted fans who love you so much they review your book (pre-release) on multiple platforms in exchange for a free book and other goodies.
Everyone (and I mean everyone) who is releasing a book is hitting up people for their launch teams. Or are they? I typed in “Join Launch Team“ in Google and received tons of pages - most of which use the same written text and ideas for their teams. Most of the posts were several years old, but have common threads:
Ask potential LT member to pre-order book (they pay)
Tell your potential LT members to apply for the honor to work for you for free
Tell them how amazing being on a launch team is going be
Ask them to write reviews on various book review sites
Ask them to tweet, blog, and post extensively everywhere they can (because they love you so much)
Offer them a free copy of the ebook (and unnamed other free things). Wait. Didn’t I already buy it?
Allow them to join an exclusive Facebook group just for LT members. Wow! Unless you’re J.K. Rowling, who cares?
Rare: Offer one on one calls with the author. Again, are you J.K. Rowling?
Launch Teams are trade. The concept of trade is as old as humans. You have a thing I want, I have a thing you want. Let’s trade! Trade is commonly a mutually beneficial exchange. But here’s the thing: Do people really get so excited about receiving a free ebook they’ll help you promote your release? Let alone from an unknown author? I put my high school newspaper journalism skills to the test (I was kicked off the school newspaper for writing an article that offended the booster club FYI).
What I found in my Google search was a bunch of old posts for books that were released years ago. Nothing new. I then switched to Twitter and searched “Join my launch team“ and a few posts appeared. I clicked the links, signed up, and waited. I received one automatic reply very quickly. I have not been choosy. I’m surprised that It’s so hard to find new release launch teams when you want one, so I’ll take what I can get. I also posted on Twitter to #WritingCommunity asking if anyone’s looking. So far no replies.
When I woke up the next morning, I had an automatic email from the first team I joined. 300+ words telling me what I could expect next. He used the words “much appreciated“ and “thanks” only once. For privacy sake, I will not be using the author’s name.
Greetings, reader!
Thanks for joining my launch team. As you likely know by now, joining my team means you'll receive a free copy of my future books in return for your agreement to publish a book review on Amazon the day of each book's official launch.
My next novel is REDACTED, the latest installment in the REDACTED series. It is scheduled to publish in early 2019. I'll let you know as soon as I'm sure what the actual launch date will be.
Here's what you can expect to happen next.
1. Three weeks before REDACTED launches in a digital format to the public, I will email you a copy of the book to download in three different file formats; .MOBI, .EPUB and PDF. At that point, you can begin reading the book in whichever format you prefer!
2. Over the following weeks, I'll send no more than two check-in reminders asking that you get ready to write a book review for REDACTED and publish it on the book's page on Amazon on the launch date.
3. On the book's launch date, I will email you one final time to ask that you please post your review on Amazon.
Because Amazon recommends books to other readers based on several factors including the number of reviews each book has, your contribution is very important. Book reviews published on a novel's launch day are particularly helpful since they help Amazon determine the book's overall sales rank (a high rank, as you might expect, increases the likelihood Amazon will recommend the book to other readers).
So your timely response will be much appreciated!
Thanks so much for agreeing to serve as a member of my launch team. I'll be in touch soon with details about the book's official launch day and if you have any questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to contact me at EMAIL REDACTED.
First off, this is too long. The only reason I read it all the way through was because I’m writing this article. Second, he’s not near grateful enough for the time investment I’m about to give. It feels a bit mansplainy overall. He places an exclamation point after “much appreciated” to let you know he really means it. He explains in boring detail what’s expected of you and even uses the word “serve“ as a member. He doesn’t have a release date. Am I expected to wait around? He also says it’s coming out early 2019. It is now Fall 2019. Why is it taking so long? Already, he doesn’t sound reliable, so why should I be? I’m sure I’ll forget about this by the time I get the book. I wish I was doing a video of this so I could post my line by line responses, but in a nutshell: This is all wrong. For starters, you lost me at the length of the email. Don’t waste my time.
Points you need to get across:
What book? Remind me with a brief synopsis.
When it’s coming
What I’m getting in return for my hard work
How much you appreciate me working to sell your book for you.
That’s all. I don’t think you have to gush, but a little ass kissing might be nice. Assume your readers aren’t idiots and don’t act like you’re doing ME a favor. Even if you are J.K. Rowling. I’m essentially working for free because I’m a nice person and I like you. If you feel you must explain how ebooks work, do it at the END of the email in a separate section and don’t waste the time of seasoned readers like myself. If I’m going to SPAM my network for you, you should be grateful as hell. No really. This might sound greedy, and I’m not asking for a free car, but a little gratitude goes a long way. Just saying “thanks” isn’t enough. Obviously, I’m doing you a favor and the free book is a given. You have to give me the book if you want me to review it.
Think of it like a band passing out demos to radio stations. The stations that will play (or listen) to your demo are doing YOU a favor. Act like it. Assume your launch team is made of fine silk and treat it as such. Assume they read the sign up page and don’t repeat yourself too much. You don’t necessarily have to bribe them.
Here’s the thing, I went searching for launch teams, actively posted on social media that I wanted to join and got no responses. I even posted on Reddit asking if anyone actually had a launch team. No response. Don’t y’all need help? Anyone? Or maybe it’s just people don’t trust some rando on Twitter raising their hand and offering to help because humans don’t trust each other. We have lots of reasons not to. No one knows I really want to help, that I’m a decent person. OK, I believe I’m a decent person and I really try. No one knows me. Makes sense. I wouldn’t just contact some dork on Twitter who posted, “Hey! Let me help sell your book for free!“ Does genuine help sound scammy? It must. I did join a few groups on Facebook so we’ll see where it goes. If this goes any further, I’ll post an update, but it feels like a lost cause. I’m a little baffled that it’s this hard to join a launch team. I feel like I’m begging.
If I’m missing the point? Email me and let me know. Got tips? Share ‘em.