Book Launch on Your Blog

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How to Throw a Pawsome Book Launch on Your Blog By Sparkle the Cat


Since I am an indoor-only cat and am rather shy around humans I don't know, I could not have an in-person book launch. I could have sent my human off to do one, but considering that I wrote a cat-to-cat advice book, not cat-to-human advice, it wouldn't have been in the spirit of my topic. I do, however, have a very active blog with lots of readers and am part of a lively community of blogging cats (there are at least a couple hundred of us and we all support each other), so it only made sense to have my book launch online. It was very successful! I sold enough books that weekend to get up to #5 on Amazon's Books > Entertainment > Humor > Cats, Dogs & Animals category (there is actually some pretty stiff competition there), engaged my readers, and raised money for a cause I was passionate about. Let me tell you a little bit about how I put it together.

• I have a blog that I update regularly and am part of an online community.


Yes, I mentioned that already, but it bears repeating. Instead of trying to drum up book launch attendees out of thin air, they should already be there. Be involved in online communities in your topic or genre, and run a regularly updated blog that others enjoy visiting for information and/ or entertainment. You don't have to update every day, but you should have new posts a few times a week. You want to have lots of blog readers for your book launch.

• Mention the book launch a few times in the weeks prior to having it, but do not make an official announcement blog post until a few days, no more than a week beforehand.


Memories on the internet tend to be short, and if you announce your book launch too far in advance, your readers will forget about it. I made my official announcement three days ahead of time, on a day when my blog typically got a lot of visitors. I also made announcements and reminders on my Facebook fan page and Twitter accounts. You do have those, right? If not, you should!

• Make it an event!


Write a post for your book launch day that is pertinent to your book, but also fun and festive. This IS a party, after all. We blogging cats throw parties on our blogs for birthdays, adoption anniversaries and such and we usually "cater" them by finding mouth-watering photos of chicken, shrimp and ham, and offer "niptinis" and playful activities. So think of ways to make this day's visit to your blog extra fun.

• Feature giveaways.


I had lots of them at my book launch. Everyone who commented on my book launch post got a bookmark from me if they requested one (I had really nice bookmarks made up - two-sided on extra-heavy, glossy cardboard). The ones who bought books also got a paw-tographed book plate from me to put in their books. I also gave away a prize, which was a Furminator (a special kind of de-shedding brush - I was given an extra from the company that makes them). I'm sure you can think of something that your audience would want. You can either buy it yourself or see if the company may want to comp you one for the publicity.

• Do NOT give away your book.


Since it is a book launch, you want readers to buy a copy of the book, not wait to see if they won one. I did have book giveaways at other times of the year.

• Make it a benefit.


In addition to the giveaway, I donated money to one of the cat rescues that I like. I actually gave a dollar for every book purchased by my readers that weekend - they just had to let me know they bought it. You can do it that way, or if you have an Author's Central account with Amazon, you can keep track of book sales there and offer to donate, say, a quarter for each book purchased the week you have your book launch. If you sell your book yourself, it is even easier for you to track sales. Or you can offer to donate a set amount for each comment your book launch post receives, such as a quarter or fifty cents per comment. This is a great way to give back to your community, or promote a cause you care about in addition to promoting your book. I also ran a "ChipIn" widget on my blog for the cat rescue I featured for a whole month, so people could donate directly to the rescue any time they wanted.

• Give it a beginning and an end.


This is especially important if you are doing giveaways and/ or holding a benefit. You need to give it an ending date so that you can tally up your results, and so that readers can't comment on your book launch post three months later and expect a free bookmark!

With a little imagination, a small budget and an eye for fun, I'm sure you can come up with a great book launch for your blog! Of course, you can have an in-person book launch too... but I bet if you put some effort into an online book launch, you can kick up even more sales - and on a more widespread level!

About Sparkle

Sparkle is an award-winning author, blogger, advice columnist and supermodel. She is also a cat – a ruddy Somali of champion lineage, in fact, whose father, GC Tajhara’s Miles Davis, was twice on the cover of Cat Fancy. Sparkle’s first book, Dear Sparkle: Advice from One Cat to Another, won the Wild Card category at the 2007 Hollywood Book Festival and honorable mentions in several other contests. She also recently came home with the Pettie Award — the pet blogging equivalent of an Oscar — for Best Cat Blog. Sparkle lives in Los Angeles with two humans, two feline roommates (both rescue cats), and (unfortunately) a dog.

Dear Sparkle: Cat-to-Cat Advice from the World’s Foremost Feline Columnist (Adams Media) is her second book.

You can visit Sparkle’s blog at http://www.sparklecat.com.

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