Gill Fernley

Launch parties aren’t just a fun way to celebrate your new book release; these events can also be a great way to gain new readers, grow your business, and boost your earnings. And they don’t always need a venue or complex setup.

Authors can host virtual launch parties via a series of scheduled posts in a Facebook Group, similar to an author takeover event on social media; a livestream on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook; or a hosted call on Zoom or similar software. There’s no great secret here. Virtual launch parties are simply the online version of an in-person launch party, and they can be just as successful as in-person events while still being tailor made to suit you and your audience.

Why Run a Virtual Launch Party?

There are many benefits to holding a launch party online.

On the practical side, if you’re on a budget, an online party will cost you far less than an in-person party, both in terms of money and time. There’ll be no need to rent a venue or pay for food and drinks. You won’t need to order many physical copies of your book unless you’re planning on offering signed copies for sale during the launch party. You’ll have less physical setup to do, and you and your guests will save on travel costs.

You can also often host a larger event with a virtual party because your guests really can be from anywhere. The only thing to consider is what time of day to have your event, so it’s not too early or too late for some attendees.

On the business side, virtual parties can give you the chance to network with other authors in the process of setting up your party and marketing it. Reach out to other authors in your genre to see if they will join your party, offer prizes, or help promote it. You can offer to do the same in return for them. Working together will let you get to know more authors in your genre and find opportunities for further cross-promotion. You’ll also reach wider audiences and potentially find new readers.

With a launch party, you’ll also get the chance to build your author brand. Place your branding on everything you post leading up to and during your party. This will give a professional look to the whole thing and add to your online reputation.

Your launch party is a great place to promote your backlist. Just because you’re running a launch party for a new book doesn’t mean you can’t talk about other books. Share about related books in the same series or with the same tropes and themes that you want to point people to—just don’t overdo it.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Launch parties aren’t difficult to organize. You just need some time and a checklist to work your way through.

Start by choosing a date that works for your guests and that’s as near to your book launch date as you can. You can do a poll or a quick survey to check the best date to hold your party.

Next, think about what you want to get out of your launch party. How many sales would you like to make? How many new newsletter subscribers do you want? What else do you want to achieve? Your answers to these questions should affect the activities you have planned and the way you set up the event—for example, whether you require someone to be signed up for your newsletter to receive an invitation.

Make a list of people you want to invite. Yes, you want mainly readers, but other authors can add a lot to a launch party. They’re not your competition, and if they write in the same genre as you, you could pick up some of their audience through the event as they may yours. Consider inviting some influencers and reviewers too, who may do a write-up of your party or a review of your book. Just provide them with a free copy of your book in plenty of time.

Send out your invites in plenty of time so you aren’t scrambling for guests or attendees at the last minute. Begin promotion of your event at least a few weeks beforehand. Think about what you can share in your newsletter and on social media to entice people to come. Talk about the other authors who are attending. Run a giveaway for attendees to win a copy of your book and perhaps some swag, and promote that too. When your copies of your book arrive, do an unboxing video and talk about your launch party. What else can you do to promote your event and get people excited about it? Get your ideas down now to give yourself time to implement them.

The Order of Events

Now that you have your guest list, what should your party include? The lineup is really up to you, but here are a few general ideas:

an introduction to you and your new book;
a reading of a couple of enticing excerpts, preferably ending on a cliffhanger;
a couple of competitions or games to be played during the event, or even a giveaway;
if your launch party includes a series of posts in a Facebook Group, any appropriate, related memes you can find, or any you make on your own; or
an author Q&A.

Whatever you’re doing, have everything created and ready to go before the event, so you aren’t scrambling for what’s next. During your party, take your time so you aren’t galloping through the event, but don’t have too many gaps with nothing happening. It’s a balancing act, and you will get better with practice.

Further Success Tips

Could you join up with a bookstore in your local area to run a joint event? If bookstores can order your books, the bookstore could buy stock in advance, and you could run your virtual party from their store. This could provide endless opportunities for you as you’ll have a better chance of getting future books into that store if your event goes well, and you’ll have new contacts in the book world.

Practice! Run through the launch party order and check everything is working, that the order flows, and there aren’t any awkward pauses. If you’re going to do book readings, practice those too, and make sure you’re comfortable with the passages and confident reading them aloud.

Get everything set up in plenty of time so you aren’t panicking and rushing at the last minute. Check your internet connection, check your microphones and lights are plugged in and working, and make sure you know what’s visible behind you if you’re going live. Check your speaking volume and ensure people can hear you.

If you have the budget, consider getting an author banner with your author photo, the launch date, and your book cover. You could even set a stall behind or next to you with physical copies of your books, just like you would if you went to an in-person author event.

Pro Tip: Save money by creating a general, dateless banner featuring more books rather than a specific one just for this book launch. You’ll then be able to use it again for other events.

If you can’t afford a printed banner, go to town with themed items and props to add atmosphere to your party. For a Regency Romance, you might display a fan and an eye mask from a masked ball, or for a Noir Thriller, you could top your stack of books with a trilby and a magnifying glass.

When you’ve set the scene, take some photos of your setup and have someone take some of you with your books, background, and props. These will make great promotional images for your newsletter and social posts after the event.

If things go wrong during the event, just roll with it. Most of the time, no one else will notice what should have happened because only you know the running order. Keep calm, don’t panic, and you’ll still pull off a great launch party.

How to Measure Your Results

A few days after your event, revisit the goals you set earlier and see how you did. Add up how much the event cost you in terms of promotion and setup. You can then look at your royalties and see whether you covered your costs, or even if you outdid yourself and made quite the profit.

Launch parties are about more than just income, however. Look at statistics like engagement, book sales, KU page reads, new newsletter subscribers and social followers, or new members of your Facebook Group. These new subscribers and followers are available to market to whenever you like.

Send out a short survey a few days after the event to see what people thought and get feedback on how you can improve. You might gain suggestions for other launch parties, feedback on what worked and what didn’t, and ways to make your next online launch party an even bigger success.

After all that, pour yourself a glass of something delicious, and celebrate your new book being out in the world. After all, that’s what a launch party is about!