Book marketing has three distinct phases, each with a different goal: pre-launch is about building anticipation and groundwork, launch week is about visibility and momentum, and post-launch is about sustaining sales and reviews long after the initial push fades. Treating all of marketing as a single launch-week event is one of the most common mistakes self-published authors make.
This is part of the Complete Guide to Book Marketing.
The goal before publication is groundwork: nothing you do here directly sells books yet, since the book isn't for sale, but it determines how strong your launch will be. Build or grow your author platform, website and newsletter, well before you have a book to promote (see Building an Author Platform), and line up ARC readers, bloggers, journalists, and librarians, giving them time to read before publication (see What Is an ARC?). Order a professional review early, since standard turnaround takes weeks (see Book Reviews 101), and write and start distributing your press release, timed to land around your release date (see How to Write a Book Press Release). Set up pre-order listings if you're using them, build anticipation through your platform, and finalize your marketing plan and budget for launch week and beyond (see How to Write a Book Marketing Plan).
The goal during launch week is concentrated visibility, since early sales and reviews can affect how retailers' algorithms treat your book going forward. Announce across your platform, newsletter, social media, and website, and ask ARC readers to post their reviews now that the book is live. If it's part of your plan, run any giveaway timed for launch (see Book Giveaways: How to Run One That Actually Works), and consider a small, tracked advertising push if your listing is ready to convert the traffic (see Amazon Ads and Online Advertising for Authors). Ask your existing network directly to check out the book now that it's available, and monitor what's working so you can adjust your remaining launch-week activities based on early results.
This is the phase most authors underinvest in, and it's often where long-term sales actually come from. The goal shifts from a single spike in visibility to steady, ongoing presence. Keep the review request visible in your back matter, newsletter, and website indefinitely, not just during launch week, and continue ARC outreach for future opportunities, keeping relationships with bloggers and reviewers who responded well. Maintain your newsletter and social presence at a sustainable, consistent rhythm, and revisit your marketing plan periodically, dropping what isn't working and reinforcing what is. Look for seasonal or topical opportunities that connect to your book, even well after release, an anniversary, a relevant holiday, a tie-in to current events, and use the reviews and momentum from this book to support your next one, since your platform and reader relationships compound over time.
Launch week visibility fades quickly, often within days, especially for a first-time author without an existing platform. Books that continue selling well past launch typically do so because the author kept marketing consistently rather than stopping once the initial push ended. This is also where an author platform pays for itself: a newsletter and website built before launch keep working long after any launch-week spike has passed.
| Phase | Primary goal | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-launch | Build platform, line up reviews and press, prepare listing | Weeks to months before publication |
| Launch | Concentrated visibility and momentum | The first one to two weeks after publication |
| Post-launch | Sustain sales, reviews, and platform growth | Ongoing, indefinitely |
Plan Your Marketing Across All Three Phases
Entrada Publishing can help build a marketing plan that covers pre-launch groundwork, launch-week visibility, and post-launch momentum, not just a single push.
Well before publication. Pre-launch groundwork, an author platform, ARC outreach, a press release, takes weeks or months and directly affects how strong your launch will be.
Concentrated visibility: announcing across your platform, activating any ARC reviews and giveaways you've prepared, and monitoring what's working so you can adjust in real time.
Because launch-week visibility fades quickly, and books that sustain sales over time typically do so through continued reviews, platform growth, and ongoing outreach, not a single initial push.
Treating marketing as a single launch-week event rather than three distinct phases, especially skipping pre-launch groundwork and post-launch follow-through.