As I said in our last post, there is just too much information to squeeze into one blog post from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear book campaign.
In part two of our four-part series, we are going to continue exploring the elements that made the campaign so successful. Specifically, we will be diving into how Gilbert was able to generate excitement for her book long before it hit the shelves, and how you can, too.
Keep people interested in a book that isn’t even out
So you’ve followed Step one and decided to announce your book well in advance of its release. The next few months require a lot of planning to keep people talking about and interested in your book up until its release date.
Here are three things to keep in mind when making a pre-release plan inspired by Big Magic’s campaign.
1. Don’t forget the basics
After Elizabeth Gilbert announced Big Magic, she launched a redesigned website inspired by the book’s cover and made her new book a prominent part of the site’s home page.
As soon as you announce your upcoming book, update all aspects of your online presence with the news. This includes your social media background images, social media profile description, author bio and website. If you’re an expert in your field that has written pieces for other websites, you can even reach out to the editors there and ask that your bio be updated to include a line about your upcoming book.
2. Keep talking
At least once a month from the announcement to the release of Big Magic, Gilbert provided new information to keep her audience interested. During the campaign, Gilbert produced and released a podcast series related to the content of the book, ran a giveaway for readers who pre-ordered the book before June and did a creativity-themed Instagram countdown the last ten days before the release.
Don’t let the conversation die down once you’ve made your announcement. Make sure that you have a content plan ready and stick to that plan to keep your audience engaged with you and your book.
3. Get your audience involved
One of the best ways to keep your audience invested in your publicity is to keep them involved. Gilbert decided to give away five advance review copies of Big Magic in April (five months before the release). Getting an exclusive look into the book would be any super fan’s dream! The campaign also included a forum for ideas and requests for the upcoming podcast series and exclusive postcards with quotes from the book for readers who pre-ordered the book before June.
Providing tangible benefits for your audience who engage with your publicity efforts will keep your book at the top of their minds.
