**INSTAGRAM (10 posts)**

**Post 1**
- POST TYPE: Hook
- VISUAL NOTE: Split-screen image: left side shows dusty book on shelf, right side shows bestseller list with glowing reviews
- CAPTION: Your book isn't failing because the story is weak.

It's failing because the right readers don't know it exists yet.

We audited 200+ book campaigns last quarter. The manuscripts that "flopped"? 89% had 4.5+ star ratings from the 12 people who read them.

Visibility isn't luck. It's architecture.

Stop rewriting Chapter 3. Start building your bridge.

#BookMarketing #IndieAuthors #PublishingTips #AuthorLife #BookLaunch #CrimsonLeafMarketing
- CTA: Comment BRIDGE below and we'll send you our Audience Mapping Template (no email required).

**Post 2**
- POST TYPE: Story
- VISUAL NOTE: Carousel of before/after screenshots: empty Amazon dashboard → 1,000+ sales spike, with calendar dates showing the 6-week transformation
- CAPTION: Six weeks ago, Maya was ready to unpublish her debut.

"I'd rather write fan fiction for free than watch this die," she told us.

Her book? A literary thriller with a 4.8 average on Goodreads. Her problem? She was marketing to "thriller readers" instead of "domestic suspense fans who binge-watch true crime documentaries."

We narrowed her audience by 70%. Sales tripled in 14 days.

Precision beats volume. Every time.

Swipe to see the pivot that changed everything →

#AuthorSuccess #BookSales #MarketingStrategy #WriterCommunity #Publishing
- CTA: Save this post for your next pivot moment.

**Post 3**
- POST TYPE: Behind-the-Scenes
- VISUAL NOTE: Overhead shot of a creative team huddled around a table with printed book covers, color swatches, and sticky notes mapping reader personas
- CAPTION: This is what "judging a book by its cover" actually looks like.

We're not picking pretty fonts. We're reverse-engineering psychological triggers.

That thriller cover with the red spine? It signals "danger" to the lizard brain before the conscious mind processes the title.

The minimalist literary fiction aesthetic? It's a permission slip that says "this is for smart people."

Every pixel is a conversation with your ideal reader.

#CoverDesign #BookDesign #MarketingPsychology #BehindTheScenes #CreativeProcess
- CTA: Drop your cover in the comments for a 3-word first-impression audit (first 20 only).

**Post 4**
- POST TYPE: Quote
- VISUAL NOTE: Black background with gold serif typography: "Marketing is just storytelling with a different protagonist: the reader."
- CAPTION: The best book marketers aren't salespeople.

They're matchmakers.

Your job isn't to convince everyone to buy. It's to whisper to the one person who has been waiting for exactly this story.

Stop shouting into the void. Start writing love letters to your specific someone.

#AuthorQuotes #WritingCommunity #BookWisdom #MarketingMindset #CreativeBusiness
- CTA: Tag an author who needs to hear this today.

**Post 5**
- POST TYPE: CTA
- VISUAL NOTE: Clean graphic showing a checklist titled "The 48-Hour Launch Checklist" with checkboxes and a coffee ring stain for authenticity
- CAPTION: 72% of book sales happen in the first 48 hours of a launch.

Most authors spend 3 years writing and 3 minutes planning those 48 hours.

We built the checklist we use for six-figure launches. It covers:
→ The pre-order email sequence that actually converts
→ Amazon category hacking (ethical, but aggressive)
→ The "social proof" sprint that triggers the algorithm

It's yours. Free. Because watching good books die breaks our hearts.

#BookLaunch #LaunchStrategy #IndiePublishing #AuthorResources #FreeResource
- CTA: Link in bio. Download it before midnight tonight.

**Post 6**
- POST TYPE: Review Amplification
- VISUAL NOTE: Screenshot of a glowing review with the text highlighted, overlaid on a soft-focus image of the book being held in sunlight
- CAPTION: "I stayed up until 3am on a Tuesday. I have a meeting at 8. Worth it." — Amazon Reviewer

This is why we do the work.

Not for the bestseller lists (though those are nice). Not for the revenue (though that pays the bills).

For the 3am readers. For the "just one more chapter" lie we all tell ourselves.

When the marketing is precise, the book finds its people. And the people find their new favorite author.

#BookReviews #ReaderLove #AuthorGoals #BookCommunity #MarketingThatMatters
- CTA: Share this with an author whose book kept you up too late.

**Post 7**
- POST TYPE: Hook
- VISUAL NOTE: Three book covers side-by-side with big red X's through them, text overlay: "These covers cost $50,000 in lost sales"
- CAPTION: We tested these covers with 500 target readers. All three bombed.

Cover A: Too literary for thriller fans, too thriller-y for literary readers. The dreaded "tweener."
Cover B: Beautiful typography, zero genre signals. Readers couldn't tell if it was romance or horror.
Cover C: Followed every trend from 2019. Looked dated on arrival.

The fix for each cost under $300. The revenue recovery? Six figures combined.

Your cover isn't art direction. It's category signaling.

Swipe for the redesigns →

#CoverFail #BookDesign #PublishingMistakes #MarketingLessons #AuthorTips
- CTA: Comment FIX and we'll share our 5-Second Genre Test.

**Post 8**
- POST TYPE: Behind-the-Scenes
- VISUAL NOTE: Blurred laptop screen showing analytics dashboard with upward-trending lines, hands typing, coffee cup in foreground
- CAPTION: 9:47 AM. We're watching the real-time data from a launch that went live 17 minutes ago.

The click-through rate on Amazon ads just jumped 4%. That means the cover is working.

The "Look Inside" conversion is holding steady. That means the hook is working.

One metric is lagging: Add-to-Cart. That means we need to adjust the price positioning in the next hour.

This is book marketing in 2024. Real-time. Responsive. Ruthless.

#DataDriven #BookMarketing #Analytics #LaunchDay #DigitalMarketing
- CTA: Follow for more real-time launch breakdowns.

**Post 9**
- POST TYPE: Story
- VISUAL NOTE: Series of text messages between an author and marketer: "Should I quit?" → "Check your email." → Screenshot of 1,000 pre-orders
- CAPTION: "I think I'm going to take the book down," the text read at 11:03 PM.

At 11:04, we pulled the pre-order data she hadn't checked.

1,247 units. Three weeks before launch.

She'd been measuring success by social media engagement (crickets) instead of wallet votes (silence, but with credit cards).

Your readers don't always announce themselves. Sometimes they just buy.

#AuthorAnxiety #PublishingJourney #WriterMotivation #BookLaunch #KeepGoing
- CTA: Save this for your 3 AM doubt spiral.

**Post 10**
- POST TYPE: CTA
- VISUAL NOTE: Flat lay of launch week essentials: planner, laptop, book mockup, champagne flute, and a sticky note that says "Day 1"
- CAPTION: Launch week isn't about you. It's about your reader's transformation.

They're not buying paper and ink. They're buying the person they'll be when they finish the last page.

Your job this week? Remove every friction point between them and that transformation.

→ Is your Amazon page optimized for mobile (70% of buyers)?
→ Does your email subject line promise value, not just "My book is out"?
→ Have you pre-written your thank-you response to early reviewers?

The book is written. Now be the guide.

#LaunchWeek #BookLaunch #AuthorStrategy #PublishingDay #BookRelease
- CTA: Drop a 🚀 if you're launching in the next 30 days.

---

**TIKTOK / REELS (5 concepts)**

**Concept 1**
- HOOK (first 3 seconds): [On-screen text: "POV: You finally stopped marketing to 'everyone'"] + [Audio: Record scratch]
- VIDEO CONCEPT: Split-screen transition. Left: Author frantically waving book at crowded street (people walking past). Right: Same author calmly handing book to one specific person who lights up, hugs them, and immediately opens to page one. Text overlays show "Before: 0.3% conversion" → "After: 12% conversion."
- CTA: "Comment your genre and I'll tell you the exact sub-niche to target."

**Concept 2**
- HOOK (first 3 seconds): [Spoken: "Your book cover is lying to people"] + [Visual: Hand slapping three "bad" covers off a table]
- VIDEO CONCEPT: Rapid-fire montage of cover redesigns. Show original cover (confused face emoji) → genre analysis (magnifying glass on Amazon categories) → redesigned cover (chef's kiss). Use trending "Oh no" audio but cut to "Oh YES" on the reveal. End with side-by-side sales graphs.
- CTA: "Follow for the 5-second cover test that saves launches."

**Concept 3**
- HOOK (first 3 seconds): [On-screen text: "Day 47 of trying to make this book go viral"] + [Visual: Author staring dead-eyed at camera while holding book]
- VIDEO CONCEPT: "What I actually do as a book marketer" trend. Morning: analyzing Amazon keywords with intense focus. Afternoon: staging "casual" book photos in perfect golden hour light. Evening: refreshing sales dashboard while eating cold pizza. 3 AM: Writing a newsletter subject line, deleting it, rewriting it, deleting it. Relatable chaos with professional results.
- CTA: "Link in bio for the strategy behind the chaos."

**Concept 4**
- HOOK (first 3 seconds): [Spoken: "Stop telling people your book is good"] + [Visual: Finger to lips "shhh" gesture]
- VIDEO CONCEPT: "Show, don't tell" applied to marketing. Instead of saying "This thriller is gripping," show a reader missing their subway stop because they're reading. Instead of "Romantic and heartfelt," show someone screenshotting a passage and sending it to their best friend with crying emojis. Quick cuts, trending sound, text overlays showing the weak vs. strong copy.
- CTA: "Save this and rewrite your Amazon description today."

**Concept 5**
- HOOK (first 3 seconds): [On-screen text: "The algorithm just picked up your book"] + [Visual: Notification bell going crazy with red numbers]
- VIDEO CONCEPT: Slow-motion celebration sequence. Author refreshing Amazon (numbers climbing), checking phone (Twitter blowing up), looking at Goodreads (reviews pouring in). Cut to reality: It's 2 AM, they're in pajamas, silently screaming into a pillow so they don't wake the kids. Emotional release montage set to triumphant orchestral music.
- CTA: "Follow + comment MANIFEST and I'll share the pre-launch ritual that makes this happen."

---

**LINKEDIN (5 posts)**

**Post 1**
- HEADLINE: I analyzed 47 book launches this year. Only 3 hit six figures. Here's what they had in common.
- BODY: The publishing industry is obsessed with "platform." Newsletter size. Social following. Ad budget.

But I just finished auditing the highest-performing launches of Q3, and the data tells a different story.

The three books that broke $100K in 90 days had:
→ Micro-audiences under 5,000 (not massive platforms)
→ Category positioning that was surgically specific (not "fiction" but "cozy mysteries for knitters")
→ Pre-launch ARC strategies that generated 50+ reviews in 48 hours

The common thread? They treated launch week like a product release, not a birthday party.

Most authors celebrate publication day. These authors engineered momentum curves.

The "platform" myth is costing authors their livelihoods. Precision is the new scale.
- CTA: Comment PRECISION and I'll share our Audience Narrowing Framework (used by 3 of this year's breakout indie hits).

**Post 2**
- HEADLINE: The "Bestseller" sticker is lying to you. And it's killing your marketing strategy.
- BODY: I see it in every consultation. Authors aiming for the orange banner on Amazon, thinking it equals credibility. It doesn't. It equals velocity in a specific category during a specific hour.

Last Tuesday, a cookbook hit #1 in "Hot New Releases > 90-Minute Short Reads > Seafood." It sold 47 copies.

Meanwhile, a business book sitting at #4,847 in the overall store was generating $12K daily in revenue.

The bestseller game is vanity metrics dressed as strategy. The revenue game is understanding lifetime reader value, backlist monetization, and email capture rates.

If your marketing plan starts with "get the sticker," you're building a house on sand. Start with: "Who needs this book so badly they'll buy it at full price, tell three friends, and join my newsletter for the next one?"

That's the algorithm you want to feed.
- CTA: Connect with me if you're ready to trade vanity metrics for revenue engineering.

**Post 3**
- HEADLINE: Your book trailer got 12 views because you made it for yourself, not your reader.
- BODY: I watched 30 author-produced book trailers this week. Beautiful cinematography. Haunting music. Atmospheric shots of pens on paper.

And zero conversions.

Here's why: They answered "What is my book about?" instead of "What problem does my reader have?"

The trailer that worked? It started with a woman staring at her phone at 2 AM, looking stressed. No book in sight. Just the text: "When the silence is louder than the scream..."

Then the cover reveal. Then the tagline. Then the call to action.

It sold the emotion, not the plot. The transformation, not the table of contents.

In book marketing, we don't move products. We move people. Start there.
- CTA: Share this with an author who's planning their launch assets for next quarter.

**Post 4**
- HEADLINE: The 90-day window most authors waste (and how the top 1% use it).
- BODY: Between "final manuscript" and "publication day," most authors panic-post on social media, beg for pre-orders from their family, and refresh their Amazon page 400 times.

The strategic authors? They're running a three-phase operation.

Days 90-60: Category research and keyword optimization. They're reverse-engineering Amazon's algorithm, not guessing.

Days 60-30: ARC distribution with specific review triggers. They're not hoping for reviews; they're architecting social proof.

Days 30-0: The "soft launch" to warm audiences only. They're testing conversion copy, fixing funnel leaks, and building momentum in private before the public launch.

By publication day, the book already has velocity. The algorithm is already watching. The reviews are already live.

The public thinks launch day is the starting line. Professionals know it's the finish line.
- CTA: What phase are you in? Let's discuss strategy in the comments.

**Post 5**
- HEADLINE: Traditional publishing vs. Indie marketing: The gap is closing, but not how you think.
- BODY: Five years ago, traditional publishers held the keys to distribution. Indie authors held the keys to data.

Now? The trad authors are learning Facebook Ads and newsletter segmentation. The indie authors are hiring PR firms and pursuing foreign rights.

But the real shift isn't tactical. It's philosophical.

Traditional marketing asks: "How do we get this book in front of the most people?"

Direct-response marketing asks: "How do we get the right people to pull out their credit cards today?"

The authors winning in 2024 are bilingual. They speak "brand" and "conversion." They respect the long game of readership building while optimizing for the daily revenue needle.

You don't need a publisher to get into airports. You need a funnel that converts at 4% and an ad budget that scales.

The playing field isn't just leveling. It's being redrawn entirely.
- CTA: If you're an author pivoting from traditional to direct-response marketing (or vice versa), I'd love to hear about your challenges below.

---

**TWITTER/X THREAD (1 thread, 8 tweets)**

**Tweet 1:**
Most books don't fail because they're bad.

They fail because of the Invisible Launch—the 72 hours where the algorithm decides if you exist or not.

Here's why your book disappeared without a sound (and how to fix it):

**Tweet 2:**
Mistake #1: The Pre-Launch Ghost Town

Authors spend 3 years writing, then announce the book 3 days before release.

Amazon's algorithm needs 10-14 days of consistent sales velocity to trigger "also bought" recommendations.

You need pre-orders. Not for the money. For the data.

**Tweet 3:**
Mistake #2: Category Confusion

If your thriller is categorized in "General Fiction" because you think it has "crossover appeal," you've just been shelved next to literary classics with 10,000 reviews.

Niche down to dominate.

"Domestic Thriller > Psychological > Amnesia" beats "Fiction" every time.

**Tweet 4:**
Mistake #3: The Naked Launch

Launching with zero reviews is like opening a restaurant with no customers inside. Everyone assumes the food is bad.

You need 15-20 reviews live at hour one.

How? ARC teams. Not your mom. Not your writing group. Strangers who actually buy books in your genre.

**Tweet 5:**
Mistake #4: Social Media Theater

Authors post "It's launch day!" graphics to Twitter followers who are mostly other authors.

Your launch team shouldn't be writers. It should be readers.

Find them in Facebook groups, BookTok comment sections, and Goodreads lists. Not #WritingCommunity.

**Tweet 6:**
Mistake #5: The Price Panic

Dropping your ebook to $0.99 for launch week trains the algorithm to find bargain hunters, not full-price readers.

Your launch price should be $4.99-$5.99.

Signal value. The discount comes later for series read-through, not for book one.

**Tweet 7:**
The Fix:

→ 90 days out: Lock your categories and keywords
→ 60 days out: Send ARCs with a specific "review by" date
→ 30 days out: Soft launch to email list only (test conversion)
→ Launch day: All channels fire simultaneously (ads, email, social)
→ Day 2-3: Retargeting ads to anyone who clicked but didn't buy

**Tweet 8:**
The Invisible Launch isn't invisible to you.

It's invisible to everyone else because the algorithm never showed them your book.

Control the first 72 hours, and you control the first 90 days.

I built a checklist for this. Want it?

Reply "INVISIBLE" and I'll DM it to you (must be following).