What is a launch team?

A successful book launch is people-driven.
The more people who know about the book, the more successful the launch is likely to be. A Launch Team are the people who will help you spread the word about your book.

Friends and family are a great place to start when recruiting. It may feel a little daunting or embarrassing asking those close to you to review your work and campaign for you. Just remember though – they want you to succeed!
Online communities and groups of like-minded people can be another place to go, as well as of course your social media platforms.

Key responsibilities of the launch team include building hype and creating social proof. The launch team can build awareness by sharing the news of the book launch with friends, family, colleagues, their social media following or anyone they know who the book may interest.

Providing social proof is a key component of a successful launch and can be given in the way of reviews. Reviews show potential buyers that the book is legitimate, liked, and worth purchasing. Amazon is the place to focus on, being the largest marketplace worldwide but it is important to be aware that their review guidelines are quite strict. It is essential that the launch team are aware of this too, as Amazon will remove any reviews showing personal bias – so there should be no mention that they are a friend or family member of the author within their review.

The best chance of reviews staying active on the Amazon book listing is if the review is also posted by a “Verified Purchaser”, someone who has ‘bought’ the book or ebook. This includes downloading a free copy, so if you are enrolling your book in the Kindle Unlimited program, you can make use of the free book promo during your launch to set your Launch Team up with a free copy of the book that’ll counted by Amazon as a “Verified Purchase”.

I am currently recruiting for the Lizzy is Busy Launch Team.
I’m looking for people who can help spread the word, can read a free copy of the book, and can post a review on launch day – or soon after. If this is something you want to be part of, please click here to join the Lizzy is Busy launch team!