In the last few years, I have been using a new metaphor for book launches.
I really like the idea of visualizing a rocket on a launch pad. This is a photo of a Space X rocket sitting on the pad.
I know that imagery probably seems obvious, but there is some nuance to the stages of a rocket launch.
Right now, 30 days out from the launch of When Everyone Leads, we are finishing up the first stage of the launch: gathering and loading fuel for our book launch.
This is THE most important stage of a launch. The amount of fuel we have will dictate how far we can go.
What is the fuel?
Well, when you launch a rocket, the first objective is altitude. So, we need fuel that will get the rocket off the pad and into the air.
When you launch a book, the first objective is awareness. The book is built. You designed the cover, created a table of contents, and wrote tens of thousands of words to help a reader solve a problem. Your next problem is those readers knowing the book exists.
There are countless ways to create awareness for your book. You can send an email to contacts in your database. You can take pre-orders for your book. You can pitch podcasts to have you on as a guest. You can book speaking engagements. You can buy a billboard (yes, that has been done). You can ask for endorsements, which creates awareness with important people in your network and creates social proof for other readers. Your publisher can placements and promotions with retailers.
All of those activities are fuel for your book launch. Think of these as types of potential energy that you are gathering and storing for the launch. During the launch week/window, you want to convert as much of that potential energy into kinetic energy as possible. You want people to be aware and compelled to purchase your book. And, those early readers provide even more fuel for building awareness for your newly launched book.
In coming posts, I am going to talk through different activities that we have engaged in to gather potential energy for When Everyone Leads. In some cases, you’ll see we started over eighteen months ago building the potential for our January 31st launch.
