Is a Virtual Business Book Launch needed?

The global launch your book deserves

In the past when authors would release a book they would go on a book tour. This would mean going from city to city doing talks and book signings. Media was as important as it is today and the author would be a guest on television and radio stations and appear in newspapers and magazines.

So two things have happened to disrupt this — the world has gone digital and of course Covid.

In-person events didn’t happen for close on two years and are only now starting to take place again. The digital world has become increasingly important and now a book tour has been replaced, or supplemented, by a virtual book tour.

What is a virtual book tour? It means that the publicist that you hire will arrange for you to have interviews that will feature on popular websites and arrange podcast interviews. My podcast — The Business Bookshelf podcast — as an example is sent authors to interview by publicists around the world.

Interestingly I don’t often see that a Virtual Book Launch event is included as part of a virtual book tour.

Why have a virtual book launch?

• They cost less (no room hire, catering, video and audio equipment hire).
• You can invite as many people as you like and it (mostly) won’t cost you any more money.
• You can have a global audience.
• Launch event engagement is more interactive.
• Post event engagement is way easier.
• They’re more environmentally friendly.
• You can interview key people who have endorsed your book no matter where they are.

Purpose?

There are two main purposes of the virtual book launch:

• Promote your book to the widest audience possible in order to sell or get pre-orders and so get onto bestseller lists.
• Promote yourself and your business. You are going to come across as an expert in your fields and you will have invited people who will see you in action and use your services.

Questions around holding a virtual book launch

• When should you have the book launch?

Just like a physical event, plan your book launch 4–6 weeks in advance. Hopefully the people you would like to attend the event will be available with that much notice.

• Should I use an event platform like Eventbrite for my event?

First, what is your level of technological expertise? If this is your first time at hosting an event then using Zoom and placing your event on Eventbrite is a great idea.

I would like to suggest an alternative. I am assuming that you are writing and launching a business book? Wouldn’t it make sense then to host your event on Linkedin using Linkedin Events and Linkedin Live. It makes inviting people really easy and you can send reminder emails to them as well.

You will need to apply to be able to use Linkedin Live. If you have a business page with more than 300 followers then there should be no problem here.

• What technology should you use?

If you are going the Linkedin Live and Linkedin Events route then here is my suggestion. Look at using Streamyard. This gives a television style feel to your event and it allows you to broadcast not only on Linkedin Live — but also Facebook Live and Youtube Live as well!

Streamyard will take a bit of setting up as you will need to create background, a ticker tape and an overlay screen. This will take you a day or two to get to know.

It is also vital that you do at least two or three dry-runs before the big day of your book launch.

• Do I need an Emcee?

Absolutely — you can’t do this on your own. You will need to find an emcee who has interviewing experience and who has an understanding of your industry.

You will need to book the date with the emcee as soon as possible and schedule two or three sessions to do preparation. Unless the emcee is your friend you will also need to pay for their time.

• Should I get guests or people to endorse the book to join me for the event?

That is a very good idea! 2 or 3 guests will add interest and variety to your event. If you event is 60 minutes you could have the first guest in the first 30 minutes and another in the last 30 minutes.

These guests though will need to have a call with each guest to let them know the expectations and prepare questions in advance.

• Should I include prizes and giveaways?

As an author you are fortunate to have something of value to use as prizes — your book! As a business author there is a very good chance you also have other services that you can offer that would also help advertise your company e.g. a free workshop, talk etc.

Prizes will give your audience a reason to engage with you which might lead to them asking questions and being interactive.

Here is a rough action plan for you:

• Prepare the images you will need for advertising the event. This might be different for the different social media platforms — Linkedin, Facebook, Instragram and Twitter.
• Create your invitation and how to register. If you are using Linkedin this is easier because you can invite your Linkedin connections directly from the Linkedin event.
• Identify and contact your emcee of choice as well as your guests You will need to set up with them before the event.
• Send reminders to those attending the event — 1 week and then 1 day before the event.
• Have a successful event.
• Edit the recording of the event — including snippets that you can use to share and promote your book.
• If you have a podcast then you can use the audio from the event for your next podcast.

Use The Business Bookshelf to manage your virtual book launch event?

It is possible to arrange your own virtual book launch but why would you? You are a very busy business person and author — do you have time to make it as professional as you would expect?

We have the expertise to do this for you! Lance Peppler — your emcee — has a wide range of business knowledge and insight gained from interviewing over 170 business authors about their books. We also have the technical knowledge to remove this burden from you.

Visit www.businessbookshelfpodcast.com or email lance@businessbookshelfpodcast.com and we will put together the book launch event that your book deserves.