Content is the lifeblood of your entire launch campaign. It plays a crucial role in your success as an author, so it’s definitely not something you should overlook.
If you’ve been following our book launch series, you might be balking at the thought of doing any more work, but your content strategy doesn’t need to be complicated. This is a launch after all—not an entire marketing plan for your writing career.
What you want your strategy to answer is:
- What do I need to create?
- How should I create it?
- When do I need to create it?
- Who will the content target? (If you’ve researched your audience, you already have this part down.)
When planning launch content, you should consider all marketing channels and all content types. While marketing channels can include your website, blog, social media feeds, email lists, landing pages, and offline channels, content types can include blog posts, social media snippets, images, infographics, videos, webinars, podcasts, and other pieces of written, visual, and audio communication.
Another aspect to consider is how you can get your audience to help you create content. Reviews, testimonials, quotes, reader images, and other pieces of user-generated content will not only keep your marketing channels active and engaging, but they also serve as social proof. In other words, other people like your work and they’re willing to interact and converse with you. That sends a strong message to potential readers who might not know you or trust you—YET.
Here’s a quick-fire process for outlining a basic launch content strategy:
Step 1: Establish your content goals and objectives in the context of your launch plan goals and objectives. For example, you might want to create a cheat sheet or short story that ties in with your book and then offer it for free in exchange for an email address. Goal: growing your email list before launch. Result: achieved.
Step 2: Find out what your readers are looking for and then brainstorm relevant and creative content ideas that are both educational and entertaining. Fiction authors, for example, might create relevant images for social media that include a short, but compelling, excerpt of dialog between characters. Non-fiction authors, on the other hand, might create a short video explaining a concept from their book.
Step 3: Develop a content calendar to help you keep track of publishing dates. Be sure to keep other launch activities in mind so that you have content ready to go when you need it. You’ll also want to consider days and times to publish to ensure maximum interaction with your content.
Step 4: List the tools and resources you’ll use to create your content. You’ll probably be able to create most of the content on your own, but there’s a chance you’ll need to outsource certain pieces or get an expert to help you create something truly stellar.
Step 5: Outline how you plan to promote your content. For example, you can promote a new blog post by emailing your list, as well as posting a link to your social media feeds.
Step 6: Establish how you will track the success of your content. Will you measure vanity metrics like social media “likes”, shares, and comments or do you need to track something a little more complicated like search rankings?
One of the most effective and cost-effective ways to attract new readers, engage fans, generate anticipation for your book launch, build relationships, and keep your brand and book visible is through a well-structured content marketing strategy. Any time you share something, you’re potentially growing your community, so be sure to brainstorm ways to surprise and delight your audience before, during, and after launch day.
Have you seen any fun and interesting content ideas from authors during their book launch campaign? Share them with us below. Also, subscribe to our blog if you’re keen to learn more about book launches. You can also grab a free copy of our ultimate launch checklist by clicking the image below.
