How to Create a Launch Sequence for Your New Books and Writing Ministry

Bless the Lord, Christian Writerpreneur,

I pray you are well.

Welcome to another Empowering Post. I am confident that today's article will give you some powerful tips to help you improve your marketing practices as a Christian Author.

If you are new to my ministry and blog, let me briefly introduce myself.

I am Felecia Killings, the Founder and CEO of FKMinistries. Our mission is to help Believers like you engage in this end-time revival and national reformation using the written and spoken word.

Since 2011, I have worked as a writing coach and ministry strategist to new, aspiring, and seasoned authors and speakers, sharing with them advanced lessons on building a powerful virtual ministry that will change the world.

In this post, I want to discuss with you what I feel is an often-neglected strategy among Christian Authors. But before I do that, I want to create a couple of scenarios for you. After reading each one, I want you to answer this question: Of the two authors, from which one would you be more willing to purchase, and why?

Here's the story.

Two authors were scheduled to release their books on the same day. They had a similar message to share with readers, focusing on a similar topic that would help their ideal audience master a skill.

For six months, both writers spent quality time constructing their masterpiece, and each one hired the best editor for their work. Everything about both writers was nearly the same, except for this one thing.

At the start of constructing her book, the first writer, Lynn, began telling people about her project. She created several blog posts while working on her manuscript, and held small webinar sessions to share her content with her ideal reader. She visited local libraries to see about hosting her launch event, in which she hoped to meet 25 of her loyal fans.

The second writer, Joyce, however, found Lynn’s efforts to be a waste of time, and certainly not something worth doing because her book needed to be finished. Plus, Joyce felt that anything extra she did would cost her more money, of which she was unwilling to invest.

Lynn, on the other hand, realizing that while she would have to invest more time and money into promoting her work before it was finished, felt that it was crucial for her book’s success.

After six months of spending countless hours on their books, both authors finally released it for mass publication.

Two Authors, Same Message, Different Results

It was the day of their book launch. After much toil, both writers eagerly awaited to see sales come in.

To Lynn's delight, the day of her launch party was a success. She sold all her books, and even had a waitlist of readers who wanted to purchase more.

When asked how she was able to have such a brilliant launch with a waitlist of buyers, she mentioned that instead of hoping people would buy her books on launch day, she created and implemented a launching process that would help her audience know more about her upcoming book before its release.

Lynn built momentum for her book, even though it required a great deal of time on her part.

But for the second writer, Joyce, the results were abysmal. To her surprise, only a handful of supporters purchased her work, and most of them were her family and friends. While she told as many people as she could about her newly published book (on the day of its launch), she did not see the results she hoped for.

So, here’s my question to you, Dear Writerpreneur: Of the two authors, which one would you be willing to purchase from and why?

If you chose Lynn, then I want you to consider why that is true.

Even though both authors created works that were similar in nature, it’s the valuable and engaging experience that Lynn offered to her audience before her book's release that created hype for her product. 

To the contrary, by refusing to engage her audience before hand, Joyce did her own authorship a disservice.

And this brings me to the purpose of this article.

I want to teach you about the significance of having a streamlined marketing process for your published works.

Your authorship is more than simply tackling the technical side of publishing, such as writing the book, editing it, and distributing it for mass sales. It involves a meticulous process that ties into your marketing strategy.

And what this process does is it positions your audience to become aware and prepared for the release of your book.

All of this happens through a pre-launch, launch, and post-launch phase of your books. 

You will find that not only does this bring clarity and consistency to your works, but it also expands your brand's reach and encourages people to follow you and your products, and eventually become your readers and consumers.

​The Launch Sequence Principles

Pre-Launching Your Books

It is never too early to begin marketing your upcoming book.

This is a principle I teach my students often, and one that I help them develop as a Christian Writerpreneur.

From the moment you decide to write a book on a specific topic, you should start sharing your book's concept with other people. There are a couple of positive reasons for this.

Firstly, this allows an audience to learn more about you as a writer and an author. You will find yourself appealing to a select group, which has the potential to become your book’s loyal fanbase.

Secondly, marketing your book before you publish it lets you know whether or not the book will sell.

If you decide to write a book about grasshoppers—don’t ask me where that example came from, just work with me—and you start telling people that you want to write this book, if people show interest, then you know that it will eventually sell.

If, on the other hand, you start talking about your future grasshopper book, and no one shares in your enthusiasm, then don’t publish the book, or at least don’t expect any sales from it.

These are simply two advantages for marketing your works early.

Pre-launching your books must be a crucial element in your marketing plan because it prepares your audience for your upcoming release. It will help you determine if your book will sell; and then it gives your audience a set date as to when they can purchase your book. There are several ways that you can accomplish this, and I will help you determine your unique strategy once you're enrolled as an LAU student.

Launching Your Books

This is always the most exciting portion of any publishing process: the day you launch or release your book. This is the moment that you and your readers have been waiting for, and you want to make sure that you make it as loud and exciting as possible. After all, if you’re not enthused about your work, neither will others be.

The Launch Phase is also something that you will want to plan well. Typically, I have seen Christian Authors do a very basic marketing promotion of their work by simply sharing their book cover with others. Quite often, you can see this in Christian Authors Groups on Facebook. But I highly encourage you to make the most out of every event you create.

Astound your audience, even if it's through a virtual setting. One of the ways I perform a launch event is to host virtual summits inside one of my many niche networks. Not only does this give me and other writing coaches a chance to work with wonderful people like you, but it also helps me establish powerful brand partnerships...another form of marketing that expands my influence.

As it is with any business, the author who can create a valuable, enjoyable experience for her audience is the author who will continue to thrive. You want to think about different ways you can make your launch as thrilling to your readers as it is to you.

The Post-Launch Phase

Too often, authors focus heavily on the launch of their book, but pay little attention to the post-launch phase. For some, they never heard of this, and thus simply continue marketing their books the old-fashioned way.

By post-launching, I am referring to a systematic process in which you continue to follow up with your readers to keep them excited about your works, even after you have published. You can also use this phase to gain new readers and fans.

To help you construct your post-launch phase, ask yourself this question: "How can I keep my audience interested in my brand, even after they buy my books?"

While this phase can be challenging to develop--I know because it was difficult for me, too--you want to work towards establishing it as a part of your marketing plan.

Put in the Work!

If there's one message I want you to receive from this post, it's this: Put in the work that is required to make your brand shine.

Don't make the assumption that so many Christian Authors make: that people will buy your books simply because you wrote them.

No one cares about that unless you give them a reason to care and a desire or need for your product.

I know this is a hard truth, but it's the truth nonetheless.

You have great potential within you, but you have to think like a Writerpreneur. You must create the kind of culture that will provide a powerful, compelling experience for your readers.

So, do like Author Lynn, and take the time to craft a launch sequence that will keep your brand and your authorship in the forefront of your readers' minds.

It's a challenge to master this skill on your own, but once you implement this plan successfully and consistently, you position yourself for greatness. And I want to help you accomplish this.

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Have you been searching high and low, trying to find the right resource to help you create the book you want?

Have you been looking for more effective marketing strategies to help you sell more books?

Do you feel like there's a business or ministry inside of you, and you want to incorporate books as your main product?

If you answered yes to any of the questions, then this resource is just for you.

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• Understanding the power of virtual ministries
• Employing effective content marketing strategies for your book
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• Knowing how to use social media the right way to promote your book and ministry
• And soooo much more!

​From A-Z of Christian Writerpreneurship takes snippets of Felecia's signature training program, LiyahAmore University, and combines the lessons into a valuable resource that will certainly help you jump start your new venture.

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