Street Teams: Your Book Launch Secret Weapon

With Guest Misty Beller

Street Team, Launch Team, Fan Club—the name varies, but the idea is still a great one!

What am I talking about, you ask?

A launch team is basically a group of readers who are ready and willing (and eager!) to get the word out on the street about an author’s books. When I think of my launch team, I think of my first readers, my inside circle, my front lines, my most enthusiastic fans.

What does a launch team do?

Members are given ARC copies and asked to read the book before release. From there, the role may vary depending on the author and team members, but the common theme and single most important job of a launch team member is to post reviews—on Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else the book is available! Reviews help jump-start both Amazon’s algorithms and reader confidence in a book, so I work hard to help my books gain at least twenty-five reviews within the first few weeks.

Beyond reviews, some ideas for the launch team are to:

·       Talk about the books on social media sites.

·       Blog about the books.

·       Direct people to author’s website.

·       Write a review for their local newspaper.

·       Purchase copies to give away as Christmas and birthday gifts.

·       Pin the cover and book memes to Pinterest.

·       Share favorite quotes from the book on social media.

·       Suggest the book on reading forums, like those on Goodreads.

·       Like and share the book trailer on YouTube or Vimeo.

·       Donate a copy to a local library or church library.

·       Suggest the author’s latest book to a book club.

·       And the list can go on!

Who makes a great launch team member?

Readers who have read and are excited about the author’s books, and want to share that excitement within their sphere of influence. Enthusiasm trumps all. Time availability is important, too!

Often, authors tend to lean toward asking other authors to be on their launch team. After all, only a compatriot would understand the importance of the role, right? In my experience, though, readers tend to be more enthusiastic launch team members, eagerly reading the book and posting reviews as soon as possible. While it’s certainly fine to have both, when I open my launch team to new members, I try to post the memo where my readers will see it.

So how does an author find launch team members?

I recommend having a form on your website that asks basic questions, such as what genres the potential candidate likes to read, and whether they’ve read any of your books already. You could also go one step further and ask for the link to one of the reviews they’ve posted for your books. How much or how little is your choice!

You can see an example form at my website.  When I was actively seeking to grow my team, this page was front and center on my site menu. Now, I have it tucked in as part of the ‘About’ page so it can be found by readers who are really interested.

Once you have that form in place, you can direct people there from a variety of places:

·       Call-out on social media.

·       Post the request on your blog.

·       Send an email to your list. (Another advantage of growing your reader list! Just make sure you screen respondents to find those who really want to help with your launches, not just receive free books.)

·       A note in the back of your eBooks, if you’re feeling ambitious!

What should you give your launch team in return for their help?

Free ARCs (advance reader copies) are a given.

For traditionally published authors, your publisher probably already has a standard format for distributing ARCs. Some larger publishers send paperback copies directly to those on your launch team, and only need you to provide names and addresses for each person.

Other publishers will provide you with a PDF or eBook files to distribute to your team. Still others use services like NetGalley to send out ARCs. Make sure you know what your publisher is planning and what they need from you, BEFORE you contact your launch team about a new release.

For indie authors, there are great FREE programs out there to help authors convert and distribute ARC files in formats that make it easy for your launch team members to read. Calibre is a useful (free) software to convert a Word document to mobi files (for Kindles) and epub files (for iBooks, Nook, and most other ereaders).

BookFunnel.com is a helpful resource to distribute the ereader files to your team. It makes the process to download the file onto their ereader as simple as possible, and BookFunnel’s customer service is top notch.

Beyond ARCs, have fun with it! Here are some fun freebies to share with your team, if you have the opportunity and/or means:

·       Insider info, such as the first opportunity to see cover art for your upcoming releases.

·       Let them help name characters or choose settings.

·       I like to give my team the choice to receive either eBook or paperback copies (signed with a note to them).

·       Book swag created for your author brand, such as bookmarks, mugs printed with your book cover, etc.

·       Christmas ornaments engraved with your author or book name. Etsy.com has some creative options here!

·       Generally speaking, the more you connect with your team, the more they’ll want to promote your books.

A word of caution above, Amazon’s review requirements are strict about giving gifts in exchange for reviews, so you’ll want to be careful to avoid any language about ‘requiring reviews’ in exchange for any of the benefits received by being on your launch team.

Make it easy to share your book on social media

People are more likely to share your book when you make it easy for them! There are a couple of ways you can do this:

·       The simplest way is to create several Twitter and Facebook posts that people can copy and post to their respective accounts. (Make sure you include a buy link for your book!) You can simply include these in an email to your launch team, or paste them on a Word document you send out.

·       A more sophisticated method would be to create a share page on your website. Using a tool like sharelinkgenerator.com, you can create prewritten posts where people only need to click to post your message on any of the social media platforms you include. You can even add memes or other images for easy posting. People are more likely to share your message when you make it possible with only a click or two.

  Tips on Interacting with your Launch Team

·       Know your goals for the team and be clear up front about expectations. Do you want them to focus on reviews only, or is social media sharing important to you?

·       Send ARCs to your team at least 2-3 months before release, or as early as possible.

·       Include links for where to post reviews in your emails to your list. Don’t forget Goodreads!

·       Even if you haven’t made a big deal about your team sharing on social media, make it easy for those who choose to do so!

So now, I’d love to hear from you! As a reader, are you part of any author launch teams? What great ideas or best practices have you seen? Looking forward to hearing about your experiences! 😊

Giveaway:

Please let us know if you want to be entered. Winner's choice of either of the following: 

• All three ebooks of my latest series, Wyoming Mountain Tales (includes A Pony Express Romance, A Rocky Mountain Romance, and A Sweetwater River Romance)
• Signed paperback of my new book for writers, How to Market a Book Release (Continental US only, please)

Misty M. Beller writes Christian historical romance, and is a hybrid author of eleven novels, as well as a non-fiction book for authors, How to Market a Book Release.

With over ten years working in professional project management and marketing, Misty uses her experience in the corporate world to develop best practices in her writing and book marketing efforts. It is her passion to help other authors on this same journey.

Misty teaches courses and workshops at writers’ conferences around the U.S., educating authors on effective book marketing approaches and helping them apply that knowledge to their own books.

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