Shawn P. B. Robinson

Alright, in Part One of this series, we talked about the Benefits of a Book Launch Team and Goals and stuff. In Part Two of this series on Book Launch Teams (BLTs), we talking about content and focus in terms of Online or Face to Face Book Launch Teams.

Today, I want to look at some of the details in terms of target audience, numbers and venue.

Here we go!

Target audience for your BLT

Right off the bat, you need to know your target audience. This isn’t rocket science; it’s actually quite simple to figure out. Your target audience for your Book Launch Team (BLT) is made up of the same people you expect will read and enjoy your book.

This is important. When you’re in the Alpha/Beta reader stage, you should get all sorts of people to read your book–those who are likely to enjoy it as well as those who wouldn’t normally read your type of book. This will give you a broader view of how people will react/respond. However, when you come to the Book Launch stage (which happens just before you launch your book), focus in on your intended audience.

My books are children/middle-grade novels (geared at readers around 10-14 years). They are funny, adventurous and have a fantasy kind of theme to it. I set up the groups along those lines.

Here’s how I did it:

I didn’t open the group up to people outside the age group of my intended readers, and I asked that the readers who signed up have a sense of humor. I mean… seriously… is it a good idea to ask a child with no sense of humor to read a funny book and give you feedback? There are people without a sense of humor… they will not enjoy my book. Since I was hoping they would leave reviews for the book, I really didn’t want grumpy kids who don’t like anything funny leaving reviews. 🙂

It’s the same with your book. If it’s a book on cats, don’t encourage people who hate cats to join in. They will likely hate every word on every page. 🙂

I had intended to only run two groups. I have some health limitations and, as such, didn’t want to take on too much, but circumstances resulted in three separate groups.

I have some good connections at my local library, and I ended up having one group there. This group filled up within less than a day after the BLT was posted. One of the ladies at the library sent out a notice and we reached our maximum within no time. Unfortunately, I had two step out the day of the book launch so the group ended up smaller than I had hoped. I only knew one of the Book Launch Team (BLT) members in that group.

The second group was at another library in the area. This one filled up a little slower, and I had one who didn’t show up. At this group, I knew two of the BLT members beforehand.

The third group was at a local public school. They advertised it among the grade 7 & 8 students and six of them signed up. We met over their lunch period. I knew one of the BLT members in this group (but just by sight). The dynamic at this group was very different because all the BLT members knew each other. They were… energetic.

Numbers

How many people you have in your BLT will depend on you, your plan and your budget. You may find that you can only interact with a small group, or you may find you can interact with a large group. However, let me caution you about setting up too large of a group. Large groups can sometimes get a little awkward because many people are not comfortable speaking  up in a large group. As a result, you will find only one or two people will actually speak (which means you have a BLT of one or two people) and the rest will sit silently.  You may find you eventually lose them.

How well you can interact with and lead a group will also make a big difference on the size of BLT you can handle. When I write “BLT,” is anyone else thinking about food? Anyway, forget that. If you have never led a large group of people in a setting like this, it takes practice and effort and skill to lead a large group well.

I’ve had a lot of experience leading/teaching large groups of people.  With large groups or small groups, you often have those members who wish to dominate all conversation, you have those who need to be drawn out and encouraged to share and you have those who just like to disrupt.  Be prepared.

Finally, your budget is important. Here’s something people who haven’t written a book do not always understand: giving away free books (all your BLT members should receive one) is not free to the author, just the reader. 🙂

If you have a book launch team of fifty people, that’s great. Just… do the math. Can you afford to print and hand out that many copies? Can you afford it in light of all the other publishing expenses (editing, cover art, marketing, etc.)?

You can also hand out ebooks or pdf files. That’s certainly cheaper, but keep a few things in mind. First, a lot of people do not work as well with ebooks (and many simply do not like reading digital books).  Second, ebooks are sometimes more difficult to save a spot in the book for quick review (something you want from them). Third, most people today aren’t too concerned about sharing copyrighted material around. The idea of it being theft simply doesn’t cross their minds. Fifty free digital copies of your book can turn into a lot of free copies of your book spread around. 🙁

If you do want to go with digital copies, check out something like www.bookfunnel.com

I decided to go with seven readers in each of the library groups and six in the school group. The cost wasn’t small, but at the same time it wasn’t burdensome.

The Venue

If you’re meeting in person, you need a location. This could be anyplace from your home to at a community center. If you run your BLT in your home, you need to keep in mind that strangers will feel uncomfortable walking into your home. If you’re running it out of your home, you might want to consider limiting the group to people you know.

For a location, consider your local library. Remember that they are kind of in the business of encouraging people to read. Talk to them about using a room at the library for your book launch. I wouldn’t expect they would charge you for this kind of thing. Again, they WANT people to read, right?

Two of my BLTs were at a public library (actually, the third was in a school library). I used the program room in each library, and there was no charge.

Okay, that’s enough for now. Make sure you check out Parts One and Two. Part Four will be posted soon.

Here are the blogs:

Blog # 1: Benefits of a Book Launch Team, Goals for a Book Launch Team and The Give and Take of a Book Launch Team (what I offered them, what I asked of them).

Blog # 2: Content and Focus of the Book Launch Team

Blog # 3: Target Audience, Setting Limits on Your Numbers, Different Kinds of Book Launch Teams and Choosing your Venue

Blog # 4: Interaction and Responses with your Book Launch Team

Blog # 5: Steps to Run an Effective Book Launch Team (not part of the original four-part plan)

Comment below with your BLT experiences!

Shawn