7 Keys to Writing Great Ezine Copy for Your Book Launch
By
Campaign manager Lynn Serafinn shares a simple formula to give power to your words
If you are planning an Amazon campaign for your book launch, you will need the help of a great network of personal and professional friends to help you. But something you might not have thought about is the fact that you will need to provide some “ezine copy” for them to use to help promote your book. That’s right: YOU will have to provide the article or articles your “joint venture partners” (JVPs) will send out to their lists.
The reason for this is two-fold. First of all, your JVPs are probably pretty busy, and if you ask them to write an article for you, it is less likely they will have it ready in time to meet your timetable. Secondly, YOU are the person who knows best what you want to say about your book. Those are the two most important reasons why you should write the “copy” (article) for your JVPs’ newsletters when they offer to promote you. And you’ll need to write several over the course of the campaign, in order to speak to the different audiences your partners represent.
I know this might sound a little daunting to some of you, especially those of you who don’t like the idea of “selling” (which covers just about 99.9% of the mind-body-spirit authors I know), so I thought I would give you a little formula to get you started, so you could see it is not so much about selling at all, as it is about connecting and inspiring the reader. It’s a stripped-down part of a lesson I teach in Module 4 (Your Book Campaign – Designing and Delivering) on the Spirit Authors site.
When you write your copy, make sure it meets the following criteria:
- It is between 400-700 words.
- It is written casually in the 3rd person as if the JVP is writing about you.
- It arouses curiosity in the title and opening line.
- It inspires the reader by sharing something meaningful about you and your book.
- It has a specific place where the JVP can (and should) personalise it.
- It’s NOT a sales letter but…
- It has a short, clear call to action at the end (i.e., it tells people when, where and why to get your book).
How to keep it real
The key thing to remember when you create your copy is that the primary purpose of it is to arouse curiosity, and not to “sell” your book (yes, I thought you’d be happy to know that!).
The other thing to remember is to write it in the third person about you, as if your JVPs were writing the article. There is tremendous power in your partners’ saying, “I found this book to be inspiring.” Make sure your partners can personalise it at key points in the article to make it more their own. And if “keeping it real” means that you need to send copies of your book to your partners, do so (or at least a pdf version of it). It will help them say (nice) things about you in a much more authentic way.
And most of all, don’t make your ezine copy just about the book. Make it about YOU. Audiences like to know the person behind the book. Talk about how the book came to be. Bring the reader on a personal journey. Let them into your world. If you only talk about the book, a vital human connection will be missing.
I hope you found this article useful as you prepare for your book launch. If you have any questions or comments, I would be happy to reply to them below.
The key thing to remember when you create your copy is that the primary purpose of it is to arouse curiosity, and not to “sell” your book (I thought you’d be happy to know that!). The other thing to remember is to write it in the third person about you, as if your JVPs were writing it. There is tremendous power in your partners’ saying, “I found this book to be inspiring.” Make sure they can personalise it at key points in the article to make it more their own. And if “keeping it real” means you need to give advance copies of your book to your partners, BE GENEROUS and do so. At the very least, send them a pdf of the galley print.
See an example of this in action
If you want to see an example of this in action, have a look at the article I wrote called “How to Have a Life Well Lived” on my “Cosmic Universe” blog. I was the campaign manager for Patrick Ryan’s book campaign, so I made this copy (and several others) for the JVPs on his Amazon campaign. If you analyse it carefully, you will see 7 key elements I mention above.
It must have worked, because his book went to #1 in spirituality in Canada and #2 in the US on the day of his launch in April 2010. 
Want to learn more?
Come along to Spirit Authors and take a 14-day “Test Drive” for only $1. You can test drive Module 4 (about Amazon launch campaigns) or another learning module to suit your needs on your writing journey. To find out which module is the “write” one for you, go to http://spiritauthors.com and answer the short self-assessment on that page.
AND… if you are seeking a manager for your mind-body-spirit campaign, fill in a contact form at http://spiritauthors.com/contact and tell me about your book project. Please note I only accept a limited amount of clients per year. Please allot 4-6 months for your launch.
Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
Transformation Coach, Book Promotion Coach, Author, radio host
Creator of Spirit Authors
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Radio
Lynn recently came onto my radar while I was working with Allison Maslan. I was immediately drawn to her and wanted to promote her on Girlfriend Mentors. In our conversation to set up an interview with her I shared that I was using my blog danceofabeautifulwoman.com as a way to create and write my book.
I have been very stop and go with this as I am involved in so many other projects, but within minutes of mentioning it to her, I realized I was now in a coaching session! Lynn is such a natural coach that the conversation turned so easily to what I needed in order to make my book a reality. I feel so empowered to move forward and see it happen and she created a space for me to commit a date for the first draft.
When we were finished I told her two things: "I feel like I need to write a check!" and that she is "NEATO!" I've decided she is actually SUPER DUPER NEATO! Thanks Lynn - it was nuch more than I asked for!
I've known Lynn for a few years now, and recently had the opportunity to join her in the book launch campaign for Patrick Ryan's "Awakened Wisdom: A Guide To Reclaiming Your Brilliance".
Lynn is amazing! She makes it all seem easy and effortless, and I'm sure there are voluminous amounts of work necessary behind the scenes to bring all of the book launch elements into being.
And, Lynn makes it incredibly easy to join in the fun! She provides the marketing copy, pre-written tweets, blog posts, as well as setting up a network for launch participants. All you have to do is plug yourself in!
Building relationships through networking and marketing should be fun and enjoyable! If it's not, I suggest you try working with Lynn. It will open your eyes to new possibilities!
Lynn was hired for the Amazon book launch of my book 
