HOW TO BUILD YOUR LAUNCH TEAM

by Janine Mick Wills

Build a Launch Team

  So, you want to form a Launch Team but aren’t sure where to find the people to join? I used the following ideas to successfully gather and maintain my Cassandra and the Cowboy Facebook Launch Team (Please note: Building a Team is easier if you already have an online/social media presence. But it’s NEVER too late to start!).  
  • Facebook Friends and Family – I use Pixabay and Canva to create exciting and engaging memes to invite people to join my Team (Create this FB page beforehand) or to ask questions and request additional info. You can ask to join my latest Launch Team and follow my process at JUANITA AND THE OUTLAW LAUNCH TEAM.
  • Friends and Families of your Facebook Friends and Family – Ask your FB friends and families to share you memes, videos, posts, etc. with their friends and families, who will then hopefully share it with their friends and families!
  • Promote on Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Instagram, and Other Social Media Platforms – Right now, I only dabble on Twitter, Pinterest, and Linkedin, but I still use them to let people know I’m building a Launch Team. Be careful not to spread yourself too thin with too many platforms, or you’ll struggle with ALL of them, not get the results you desire, and not find time to write!!! Also, BE CAREFUL not to break any rules of engagement and thereby hinder your chance of making contacts and/or be booted out of a group.
  • Talk to “Real” People – Make and hand out business cards and tell anyone you come into contact with about your Team. People are intrigued by authors and might like to find out how you write and promote your book.
  • Ask Those Who Visit Your Author Website to Join Your Launch Team – You do have an author website, right? If not, create one post haste. Add a pop-up form with a great incentive to anyone who joins (The first chapter of your book, a free copy of a previous book, a copy of your new one when it’s released, etc.) You can see the pop-up form I used, or you’re reading this because you already saw it at janinemickwills.com.
  • Offer Freebies to Those Who Join Your Launch Team (See above point for suggestions) – People love free things and will join a group/team to get them. After that, it’s up to YOU to keep those Team members!
  • Encourage Your Email Subscribers to Join Your Launch Team – You do have an email list, right? If not, like your author website, start one of them right away. These folks are already invested in you and will be more apt to join your Team.
  • Ask Fellow Authors ad Bloggers to Promote Your Launch Team on Their Social Media Platforms and Blogs –  Then return the favor and promote them. We’re all in this together!

FOUR IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN BUILDING YOUR LAUNCH TEAM

How to Build a Launch Team

  1. People want things!
  2. People want things others don’t have. Promote your Team as exclusive and your Launch Team page as one only members can access.
  3. People don’t want to invest much time and effort into getting things. So make it easy for them to join your Launch Team. 
  4. Not everyone is going to participate in your Launch Team and leave reviews for your book. I suggest asking four times as many people to join your Team as you’d want. You’ll probably find only 1/2 of them will join, and of those, only 1/2 will participate. For example: You want a team of 25 people. Ask 100 people to join. Hope for 50 to respond, and then expect 25 to actively participate.
You are building a Launch Team team because YOU want something (Members to read your ARC, help promote your book before, during, and after its release, and also leave those all-important reviews). So, don’t forget to offer them something in return and make it as easy as possible for them to comply after they join. Yes, it will initially take members time and effort to read your book but after that, make sure your Launch Team can find your posts, links, info and respond to your requests as quickly and easily as possible. This will encourage them to become active participants and not just spectators. Good luck building your Launch Team. I’m here to help. You can CONTACT ME HERE or catch up with me on Facebook at WRITING TIPS BY AUTHOR JANINE MICK WILLS-AUTHOR.    
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