Hi friend!
Have I mentioned that raising pre-orders as a debut is HARD? 😅
Behind the scenes I’ve been working with my launch team and self promoting the heck out of my board books to raise the pre-order goal ($8,000 in 20 days). Soaring Kite Books and I were able to met the goal in 18 days (this past Friday) and OMG I felt like I could finally rest and breathe (lol) once I saw we reached the finish line.
That being said, the last 24 hours to get the special edition boxed set ends soon (ends Tuesday, April 11 at 9am PST/12pm EST). Here is your last chance to order this special edition (3 books in a hardcover boxed set +coloring page+vinyl sticker+read aloud+FREE shipping) here: 123bailabooks.com
While this special edition won’t be available after April 11, you can still pre-order the books anywhere books are sold (Pub date of Sept 5, 2023 but anyone who pre-orders gets them in August 😉).
I also unboxed the books on an Instagram live and it was so much fun to share the excitement and hold the books for the first time! Watch the replay here.
Some marketing tips that worked for me:
Have a launch team that will help share the word during your campaign
Have an incentive for people who pre-order early on (maybe it’s a giveaway, maybe the first 50 people get X, or on my end for 48 hours everyone got a $5 discount on the set)
Think of something that will pair well with your book (maybe it’s a bookmark, art print, sticker, or in my case we tried to use something teachers might use: a free read aloud with purchase)
Map out how you will market your book daily, weekly, or in a timeframe that works for you using a mix of media (real photos, graphics, videos, etc)
Get creative! My books were on dance so I did a few videos dancing, unboxing the books, book-stack video on Latine board books, why pre-orders matter, 2023 releases with my titles, & even a side by side dance with a young dancer
Share a variety of graphics: I included real photographs, sneak peaks of in inside pages, Canva graphics with the books, and cross posted these across my different social media outlets
Tell a friend! I was texting friends, DM’ing family on facebook, posting about my books in different FB groups, and actively sharing how close we were getting to our goal
Share your “why” I shared mine here
Have the publisher repost your material and also post on their end. My publisher shared the word via their social media and newsletter too
Okay I could go on and on about marketing and what worked on my end. Let me know if this should be a series 😁. To be transparent, I did not pay anything for this campaign, it was set up by the publisher. I did spend a lot of time marketing behind the scenes to reach the goal. Note: This is also me being type A and a little too ambitious so please don’t think you have to do all of this.
Some book events I’ll be attending:
LA Book Festival: April 23, 3:00-5:00PM at the SCBWI Booth #826
YallWest (as an attendee) to get my books signed by other authors. April 29
Multicultural Children's Book Fair: May 6 at CALSTATE Los Angeles
Latino Book & Family Festival 2023: June 10 in Oceanside, Ca (San Diego)
Looking for diverse books? Check out my AMAZON or BOOKSHOP store front. Using my affiliate links helps support my work at no extra cost to you. Looking for a specific book? Send me a message for the book link.
Check out more of my work here. Thank you for tuning in!
P.S. Excuse the typos, I promise there’s a human behind the screen and not a 🤖
-Delia Ruiz @Aventuras.En.ESL
Excited for you!!!!
So happy for you!