Proper Lead Time is Essential for a Successful Book Launch

Many authors make two common mistakes when it comes to marketing their books. One, they don't do any marketing. They seem to think the book will sell itself.

Two, they don't give enough lead time for marketing before the book is published. A week or two to prepare for a book launch is hardly sufficient.

There are dozens upon dozens of ways to market your book. You can do offline and online marketing. I have done both and I find online to be an incredible vehicle to gain massive visibility for a book.

The best part with online marketing is you can achieve great results with little cost other than time. If time is a limitation then you will need money to hire someone to do your online book marketing.

Whichever choice you make you MUST market. In addition, you have to give enough lead time to do it right.

Two excellent choices for online book marketing are article marketing and blogging. There are many more but this is a great place to start.

Article marketing is one of the most effective book marketing strategies you use. Afterall, you are a writer. When you write interesting articles you will build a fan base.

In order to keep in touch with your potential book buyers offer something of high value that encourages the article readers to opt into your subscriber list. You do this through the resource box at the end of the article.

Building a substantial and responsive opt in subscriber list takes time. It doesn't happen overnight.

With blogging you need time to establish yourself with potential book purchasers.

Blog on a regular basis for good SEO and to generate interest from readers. Be sure to use keywords specific to what your potential buyers will search on.

With a recent campaign we began seven months before our big launch day to lay the marketing foundation. Most people would never guess how much time went into creating high visibility for the book and the 40 co-authors. It was a strategic, time intensive process and one that definitely paid off.

The book made it to number one in four Amazon categories on the day of the launch. This happened as a direct result of marketing and appropriate lead time.

Take this advice to heart. It can determine the difference between a lukewarm result and stellar campaign.