Copywriting ·
Marketing communications plan — How High We Go in the Dark
Targets, audience and a competitive read of the shelf it would sit on, costed into a campaign with numbers attached to every goal.
The campaign plan for How High We Go in the Dark, Sequoia Nagamatsu's speculative debut, published in hardback on 18 January 2022.
It opens with goals that can be checked afterwards: sell over 1,700 copies in year one, three press articles about the bookstore displays, a Guardian bestseller listing, a Twitter trend during release week. A competitive assessment then reads the shelf the book would sit on — Dune, The Future Within, The Book of Sand — scoring each for strengths and weaknesses, down to what a search for the title actually returns.
The tactics are costed into a £2,000 budget, from artist labour for the displays to postage, and a dated schedule assigns every deadline to a channel: social media, print, online.
- For the How High We Go in the Dark campaign
- Plan the launch of a speculative debut publishing 18 January 2022
- 856 words · goals, competitor assessment, tactics, budget, schedule
- A £2,000 budget costed against a 1,700-copy first-year sales target
Marketing Communications Plan
Subject/Genre
Speculative fiction based on the pandemic and climate crisis
Goals:
Sell over 1,700 books by the end of Year 1.
Have 3 articles in local or national newspapers about the bookstore displays by the end of the campaign.
Be featured in The Guardian Bestsellers list at least once in the first year.
Be a trending topic on twitter during release week
Competitive Market Assessment:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Published by Hodder & Stoughton in July 2015 (Hodder imprint)
RRP: Hardback £12.99 - £25, Paperback £9.99
Genre (tags): Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
Sci-fi about an inhospitable planet and the fight to control its resources.
Strengths:
Book-based major motion picture released October 2021 (UK). There are formidable upcoming actors which will entice people into the cinemas and thus into bookstores to pick up a copy.
Incoming release of second film October 2023 (UK). The excitement of a new film will keep the momentum going.
Reputable author and story (originally released in 1965)
Weaknesses
There were no re-releases of the book cover (paperback or hardback)
Price is high (mostly)
The book is part of a series which may be too much of a commitment for consumers
The Future Within by Bronwen Orme
Published by Austin Macauley 31st January 2022
RRP: Hardback £11.99, Paperback £8.99
Genre (tags): Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
Rhuannedd and her husband uncover an underground bunker that draws military attention.
Strengths:
Cheaper than HHDWGITD
Weaknesses:
Small publisher
There is a popular song of the same title
When searched, the first result is the publisher’s website, not a bookstore.
The Book of Sand by Theo Clare (Mo Hayder)
Published by Cornerstone on 6th January 2022
RRP: Hardback £12.99, Paperback £8.99
Genre (tags): Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror, Modern & Contemporary fiction
The blurb is unclear. An alien world and a human world?
Strengths:
Reputable author
Has good reviews
Not a debut novel
Weaknesses
The blurb is unclear and uninviting
Small publisher
Exclusive to Waterstones
Target Market
Teenagers/ Young Adults Ages 14 – 28, Sci-fi/Fantasy Fiction readers, All genders
Should be stocked in all major bookselling chains (Waterstones, WH Smiths, The Works, Blackwell’s)
Also, in supermarkets (Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s etc.)
Independent bookstores owned by POC (New Beacon Books, Jacaranda Books, Round Table Books, etc.)
Market Position
A speculative fiction based on the pandemic and climate crisis. Sci-fi/Apocalypse
Communication Tactics
Social Media Plan
Marketing communications design
Author/ editor interviews with newspapers/ book reviewers/ podcasts /radio
Bookstore Window display: Made of recycled (otherwise waste) materials with a blank wall for people to fill with answers and entries to the question ‘What do you think will happen if we don’t make a change?’. People can write answers (for example, Zombies, Apocalypse, Ice Age) and put it up in the window display. The movement in the store will attract attention and people will be curious to see what is happening/ want to come interact. Post about the interactive display on social media and have a website where people can upload ideas and drawings. Have the book displayed in the middle of the window with people having to walk around it to reach the wall.
Give staff badges with different survival categories i.e., ‘first to die’, ‘leader’, ‘scaredy cat’, ‘smart one’, ‘scavenger’ to independent bookstores so that the staff get involved and excited about the sale of the book
Send press releases to major book content creators and bookstore owners.
Marketing Budget - £2,000
Artist Labour for Displays: £750 (Save on material costs by using recycling to build displays)
Pins and Labels: £250
Postage: £175
Staff Hours: £825
Key Performance Indicators
Reaching/exceeding Year 1 target sales
Being featured in newspapers for creating a fuss in bookstores
Be recommended on a best-seller list or major book blog/review platform
Schedule
Deadline
Social Media
Online Media
18/11/21
First Announcement
(to be prepared beforehand but posted day-of)
Create Goodreads profile (include in press release)
See Social Media Plan above for details
Send out press release to relevant parties
Secure space in December issue of The Bookseller/ PW
Have booked at least:
One podcast
One newspaper interview
One radio/ TV appearance
One book blog/review website interview
(These should all be scheduled for end of December or the beginning of January)
November/December
Sporadic posts to keep followers updated and book in forefront of their minds
Include pre-order date
See Social Media Plan above for details
Ensure book is available to order (by booksellers) in the latest catalogue
Create a post/banner that booksellers can put on their websites to tease the interactive display
18/12/21
Open pre-orders
Video interviews with the author
Countdown posts
See Social Media Plan above for details
Release Article in The Bookseller/ PW
Begin sending out display materials. Instructions on how to construct the display
Ask bookstores to upload the post/banner
11/01/22
Countdown posts
Begin more frequent posts
See Social Media Plan above for details
(Copies are sent to the bookstores)
18/01/22
Upload ‘release day’ posts
#HHWGITD
Post about bookstore displays
See Social Media Plan above for details
Bookstore displays go up
19-25/01/22
Maintain frequent posting timeline
Interact with customers online (retweet, comment, share)
See Social Media Plan
Book further interviews
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