Launch Party - It's a big deal

Hello hello my dear audience!

Today, I'd like to talk about launch parties. Parties can be awesome, but they can also suck. You do not want to throw a party for your book that sucks.

Step One

Canvas the area. Find where it is that you want to host said party. Your home can be an acceptable place, but in truth, if you can find somewhere else with foot traffic that is not part of your devoted following, do that. Here are some good places to look into:

• Public Library.
  I know... the library... but it's typically free to host here, and you'll get a lot of foot traffic that likes books! So, double win.
• Book Stores.
  They will charge you. It will suck. But it will be your target audience and you can gain a lot of new fans here.
• Depending on your genre, Game Stores.
  In my area, I have quite a few game stores that are super open to hosting for games, movies, books, artists, etc. Try to find a place that hosts game night, that can be good traffic.
• Smalltime Restaurants and Breweries.
  I know, I live in Colorado so smalltime breweries are pretty common for me, but if you look hard enough, you can find one. Restaurants are wary to host you for loss of revenue, but you can find the ones that will be willing to get your extra foot traffic in exchange.
• Hotels...
  This is like your last resort. Hotels are definitely not the best place to host for a book launch, but they do have the space. You will likely not get any additionally traffic here.

Step Two

1. Blast your event on social media.
   Make sure everyone knows. Tag all your friends. Get dirty with it, because you'll have to.
2. Order postcards for the even to leave in places around the happening of the event. 
   If you're doing it in a library, leave them in nearby restaurants, banks if you can, and even gas stations. Gas stations are probably pretty low probability of getting you traffic, but it's an option.
3. Get "table tents" or banners.
   This one is optional because banners can be expensive. If you're doing this in a restaurant and bar/brewery, get the table tents and make sure you can set them up and leave them up for a week or two. Put some QR codes on that bitch too.
4. Reach out to the places nearby to promote you.
   Give them a copy of the book even, and drop off some promotional items like pens/tiny collectibles that can be given away with your website/blog on it.

I'm not to step three yet... so I'll have to let you know how that goes later. I've picked a brewery for my location, and they're going to let me set up for free, so that's awesome for me, hooray! I've ordered my postcards for leaving around places, and the table tents for leaving on unsuspecting victims tables...

Well, cross your fingers for me. I'll be having my launch party on October 23rd. Stop by if you're interested ^_^ Dry Dock, South Dock: 15120 E Hampden Ave, Aurora, CO 80014

Night Night kiddies.