Marketing · 7 min read

The Book Launch Marketing Checklist

Release day sales are mostly decided before release day arrives. By the time your book goes live, the reviews, the mailing list and the retailer algorithm signals should already be working in your favour. Here's the timeline that makes that happen.

90 days out

Finalise your back-cover copy, categories and keywords — these drive discoverability from day one
Start building or growing an email list of readers interested in your genre
Line up 10–15 advance reader copy (ARC) readers for early reviews
Set up your author website and social profiles if you haven't already

30 days out

Send ARCs to your review list with a clear, specific request: post on release day
Schedule a content calendar covering the four weeks around launch
Reach out to podcasts, newsletters or bloggers in your genre for release-week features
Confirm your retailer listings are live and formatted correctly ahead of time

7 days out

Remind your email list and ARC readers that launch day is approaching
Prepare your launch-day social posts in advance so nothing is written last-minute
Double-check pre-order links and pricing across every platform

Reviews posted in the first 48 hours matter more to retailer algorithms than reviews that trickle in over months. Front-load them.

Release day

Send your launch email and post across every social channel
Ask your ARC readers and early supporters to post their reviews today, not "sometime this week"
Monitor your listing for formatting or metadata issues and fix immediately

The first 30 days after launch

Momentum doesn't stop after week one. Keep posting reader reviews and quotes, consider a short-term ad push on the retailer your book is performing best on, and start reaching out for longer-form press or podcast coverage now that you have a published book — not just a manuscript — to talk about.

None of this requires a huge budget. It requires a plan you actually follow, starting well before release day rather than scrambling the week of.