You may remember the story of how Michael Drew and his team boosted Ivan Misner’s book, Masters of Success, to the number one-spot on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.
Here’s a recap: Michael and his team staged simultaneous book-signing events in multiple cities. They used Ivan’s marketing platform to ensure attendance at these events, and they generated significant PR to promote and report on the simultaneous book signings.
The result was that a lot of people purchased Ivan Misner’s book on the same day. Not only was this enough for Ivan’s book to beat the competition for the top spot that week, but also as a result of his book placing so high so quickly on bestseller lists, Ivan was able to generate even more attention for Masters of Success. If Ivan had been satisfied to have his fans purchase his book slowly in the months after its publication, it is unlikely he would have had such a notable success. The book may have done well, but the bestseller helped cement his reputation and strengthen his reputation as a master of networking.
So, just as you will enjoy yourself more on a vacation if you have prepared for the trip well in advance, if you plan the promotion of your book well before its publication you should be able to make it into a success, secure in the confidence and knowledge of a well-thought-out marketing plan.
But how long before publication should you plan? Your marketing campaign should begin six months before the publication of your book, and it should last for up to six months after your book is published.
That is a very long journey. For over a year, all your energy should be focused on promoting your book. You need to postpone that annual vacation, suspend all other projects and give your attention to working for the success of your book. Think of it as a trek across the Himalayas, for which you prepare with great dedication, rather than weekend getaway that you take when it suits you. You need to be prepared.
In our next post, we’ll look at pre-publication promotion.