Planning a Virtual Book Launch Party

I’ve had several authors ask me for tips on hosting a virtual book launch party, so I decided to put together a post with what I did. There’s no wrong way to host your launch party. Below is what I found worked for me. A good thing to do before you plan your virtual party is hop around the blog-sphere to see what others do. Make a list of what you like and what might work for your launch. The main thing to remember is to have fun.

Give yourself plenty of time to plan your party. I like to have at least two months to plan and get organized. Things to think about: 

• When will your party be? I hosted mine on my book’s release date.
• What will the theme of your party be? My MC hated change, so embracing change became the theme of my party.
• Will you have prizes?
• Do you want to invite bloggers to your party? (I highly recommend having guests. What’s a party without guests and bloggers are always happy to support each other.)
• Do you want to include guest posts?
• Create a badge to include on your blog and that others can grab to add to their blogs.

A month before your party, invite others to join in the fun. 

• Create a blog post announcing your book launch party.
• Tell readers about your book. (This is a great place for your cover and synopsis).
• Include a link to GoodReads so readers can add your book to their TBR list.
• Share a story about you that relates to your theme.
• Invite people to celebrate with you. Provide different ways they can join in the fun. (i.e.: share a story from their lives that relates to the theme of your party, include a post simply mentioning your book and the launch, or invite them to hop around the virtual party and just hang out.
• Provide an easy way for people to RSVP. (I used Google docs to create a form.)
• Add your party badge and include the html code for others to grab and add to their blogs.

(Click here if you'd like to see an example of what I did.)

In the weeks leading up to your party, have some fun posts. Include favorite quotes and teasers from your book. 

A week before the party, remember to send an email to your party guests thanking them for being a part of the celebration and providing them with any information you’d like them to include in their post. (Book cover, synopsis, links, prizes or a link back to your blog to sign up to win, etc.)  

Launch day, things to include in your party post: 

• Book cover and synopsis
• Links to GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sites readers can purchase your book.
• Prizes
• Ways to enter to win (Rafflecopter is great for this.)
• List of participating blogs
• Author info (links to your website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

(Click here if you'd like to view my launch post)

Remember to have fun! Hope this helps and congratulation on your new novel!