Virtual book launch is for self-publishing authors who have less time and budget but wish to widen their audience. Through Facebook, readers will have a chance to peek at your book’s plot and characters online without you doing the heavy work. With Facebook as today’s number one social site, your marketing plan for a successful book launch will reach its maximum potential.

 

 

Improve Your Book Launch in Facebook to Reach More Readers

Facebook, with its user-friendly interface and growing active users, is a great medium to launch a book. It’s a convenient and compelling gateway to introduce your manuscript to a wide reader. If you want to build a buzz, then you have to attract readers, critics, and agents first. Here are the tips you need for a pre and post– Facebook book launch.

 

 

Before the event

 

Set the best timing

Once you have a book, it’s always an advantage to promote your book release virtual party in the best season. Plan ahead and see if your book is fitting in that season of the month. May to August are best months for fiction, while horror genres in November. From January to April, romantic books set the mood of spring, while December to January is great for cookery in time for Christmas feast and New Year’s Eve dinner.

 

Invite and promote

Think before you send invitations to avoid losing potential buyers and friends online. Check their profiles first. Never assume they will automatically accept your invitation—you have to gradually build trust and confidence. Invite your family and friends. They are the best guests you can have, because they know you and you know them. Then invite bloggers and experts, and send a short overview of your profile and book. Connect with other people kindly, and they will help you promote your book release with others too.

 

Making the event

Before the book launch, create the event Facebook banner with the time, date, and important details of the book launch—also include your schedule and programs. Write your welcoming and closing posts beforehand. Make an enticing Facebook banner, and write an overview of your book and the event itself.  Remember to match the banner with the theme of your book.

 

 

During the Event

 

Post photos and links

Before the book launch, you already have prepared what  you’ll posts and how to do it orderly, so during the event, you can post without panicking while keeping the social interaction smooth flowing. Here’s a recommendation you can post in interval to keep your guests thrilled and active:

 

1. Interesting and related photos with an excerpt of your book
2. Links for them to share, like Amazon, Goodreads, or Barnes&Noble
3. The location and characters of the book
4. Book cover design and the story behind it
5. Description of your event with banner.

 

Offer giveaways
There’s nothing better than giveaways. Your guests will get excited and will participate more if you have incentives. During the book launch, give rewards at random. Then after launching your book, send prizes, either e-books or signed copies of your book, to their emails.

 

Encourage your guests to share your links to different social media sites, but don’t forget to have fun while meeting new friends.

                                                                                       

After the Event

 

Greet and thank them

Don’t forget to thank all the participants for their time and shared thoughts. Send individual messages, or to save time, you can just post it on the event for everyone to read.

 

 

Close or update the page

After launching a successful book release, you can still continue by providing a link on your website to keep them updated. Let the guests know that you are still present so they will be more sharers who will visit your event page.

 

P.S For authors who run into book promotion problems, here’s a quick guide.