Book Launch Marketing Checklist: The 90 Day Plan That Actually Works
By Abdul Moeed
A book launch plan that works runs 90 days, and this checklist from Nova Publishers lays out each stage. Most book launches fail on day three. The author sent a launch email, posted on social, sold 80 copies in week one, sold 12 copies in week two, sold 4 copies in week three, and the book quietly disappeared. The launch ended too fast. Real launches run 90 days: the 60 days before launch, launch week and the 30 days after.
Days minus 60 to minus 31: build the launch list
The single highest-return action you can take before launch is build a list of 50 to 200 people committed to buying in launch week and leaving a review in launch week. Email subscribers, beta readers, social followers who said they would read it, friends who legitimately read in your genre, plus any author cross promotion you can arrange.
Specific actions in this window: open ARC signups (50 to 100 readers who get a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review), send a private pre order page to your existing email list, set up the book on Amazon and Apple Books for pre order, and start posting weekly progress on social to build anticipation among existing followers. Most importantly: do not yet announce the launch publicly. The bigger announcement comes later.
Days minus 30 to minus 15: ARC distribution and reviewer outreach
Send the ARC files to your reader list. ePub for ebook readers, paperback proofs through your printer if budget allows for the high value reviewers (BookTok creators, Goodreads top reviewers in your genre, podcasters who have your audience). Pitch 30 to 50 podcasts in your niche. Maybe 5 will book you. Pitch 20 to 30 review blogs. Maybe 5 will cover the book. The yields are low. The total reach matters.
While ARC distribution runs, set up your Amazon Author Central page, finalize your seven keyword strings (see the keyword research guide), and prepare your launch week email sequence. Three emails: one announcing pre order is open, one on launch day, one three days after launch reminding the list that early reviews would help.
Days minus 14 to minus 1: the public announcement window
Now go public. Social posts every 2 to 3 days. Email your list with a soft "the book is almost here" note. Get the launch press release into the inboxes of any local press, niche publications, and any reviewer who confirmed interest. Run a small Amazon ad campaign on the Kindle pre order to drive early sales velocity (which Amazon's algorithm rewards once the book goes live).
One specific action many authors miss: schedule social posts and email blasts in advance for launch week itself, because launch week is too busy to handle in real time. Pre schedule means you respond to what is actually happening, not scrambling to write content while the launch is live.
Days 0 to 7: launch week
Day 0 (launch day): book goes live, launch email goes out, pre scheduled social posts fire, ARC reviewers post their reviews. By end of day 0 you should have 20 to 50 reviews on Amazon if your ARC team is doing its job. The first 72 hours of reviews drive Amazon's algorithm for the next 90 days; this is the single highest-return stretch of your launch.
Day 1 to 3: respond to every comment, every review (read only, do not reply directly to reviews), every podcast episode that aired in the last week. Continue Amazon ad spend. Push through any social channels you have not yet hit. Day 4 to 7: send a follow up email asking the list for reviews from anyone who has read it, run a launch week countdown promo if you have one, do any podcast bookings that landed in launch week, and start collecting any organic reader photos for social proof.
Days 8 to 30: the second wave
This is where launches die. The author thinks the launch is over. The launch is not over. Days 8 to 30 are when Amazon's also bought algorithm starts placing your book on real reader pages, and that visibility is gold IF you keep selling. Run Amazon ads, run a BookBub Featured Deal if you can land one (BookBub features are competitive but a Featured Deal sells thousands of copies overnight), email your list once more about ratings and reviews, and start pitching the next round of podcasts. Many podcasters will book a slot 60 days out, so keep pitching for sustained coverage.
Days 31 to 90: long term traction
If your book is still selling 5 to 20 copies a day at day 31, it has real traction. Keep paid ads running with optimized keywords. Submit to genre awards. Get the audiobook live if it was not at launch. List the book in promo sites in your genre (BookBub, Bargain Booksy, Robin Reads for fiction; specific niche sites for nonfiction). If your book is selling 1 to 4 copies a day at day 31, it needs intervention. Refresh the cover, refresh the blurb, run a new round of Amazon ad copy. Most books that look dead at day 31 are recoverable with the right tweak.
The metrics that matter
Sales rank. Reviews. Email list growth. Specific tracking: average daily sales rank in your three Amazon categories (target top 50 in launch week, top 200 by day 30, top 1000 by day 90). Number of reviews (target 25 in launch week, 50 by day 30, 75 by day 90). Email list size growth (your existing readers are the launch team for book two, three, and four; treat list growth as the most important long term asset of every launch).
What the launches that work have in common
The launches that work share three things: a list of 100+ launch buyers, professional production (cover, editing, formatting), and 90 days of consistent attention. The launches that fail almost always skipped the list building before launch and stopped paying attention after week one.
Nova Publishers' Launch Pro package includes a launch marketing plan, a press release and 30 days of post-launch support. Signature adds a podcast booking campaign and three months of Amazon Ads management, and Elite adds extended marketing with a $500 ad credit. See package details.