In this piece, we're going to focus on simultaneous release strategies. When it comes to reaching every audience with your book launch strategies, a simultaneous book release is the way to go. Let's look at why that is.

Simultaneous Book Release

So, what exactly do we mean when we talk about simultaneous book launch strategies? Let's look at it this way: There are three common formats for releasing your book:

Print Book
Ebook
Audiobook

Sometimes, authors and publishers choose to release their book in just one of these formats initially before releasing it in another format. Authors may eventually release the same work in all three of these formats.

In a simultaneous book release, rather than waiting to publish the book in these three different formats at different times, the author will publish their work in all three formats at once. Simultaneous release strategies often prove effective when it comes to reaching every audience.

Simultaneous Release Strategies

Why Simultaneous Book Releases Work

One of the benefits of a simultaneous book release is that you can essentially do one big book launch instead of a few smaller ones. Doing a book launch takes time and effort. It is when your book is first released that it has the most momentum. So, simultaneous release strategies allow you to capitalize on this momentum by ensuring your book is available in all formats.

Stagnated book launch strategies (releasing different formats at different times) can result in your book reaching less of your target audience because the momentum you have built around your book launch will disappear. Your readers will be excited when your book comes out and will want to read it right away. So, in order to reach every audience, you need to ensure that every format for your book is available.

Simultaneous Release Strategies

Here are three things you should include in your book launch strategy for a simultaneous book release.

Prep Work

Book launches take a lot of prep work. First and foremost, you have to ensure your book is fully complete and ready to go in each format.

For a print book, the book needs to be, well, printed! This means that you actually have physical copies of your book available. All of the formatting, editing, and cover design should be done well in advance of the launch of the physical books produced to industry standards.

For ebooks, they should be submitted to whatever online outlet they are being sold through. Different online outlets have different criteria for formatting, so you should ensure in advance that your book meets these criteria.

For audiobooks, the audio files should be fully edited to industry standards. Every file should have been reviewed, with any rerecording necessary already done. Once the audiobook is uploaded, it is too late to do any editing, so you need to be sure it is produced to industry standards.

Promotion

Promoting the book in advance of its launch is important. Otherwise, how would people find out about your work? For your book launch strategy, some ways to consider promoting are:

Social media is a really effective way of promoting your book, with TikTok, in particular, being a great tool for authors. You can even pay for ads on social media platforms so your book is put in front of more people.
Going on podcasts is a great way to promote your book. Being interviewed on a podcast works well because you can tell some of your stories and show off your personality.
Sending out a press release will help you get word of your book to local news outlets. There are self-publishing companies that offer press release services.

Make Your Book Discoverable

If you want to reach every audience with your book, people have to be able to find it.

For online retailers, you need to ensure your book descriptions are well-written. You also need to ensure that you have all the correct metadata in place (this includes things like your book title, your pen name, and the genre of your book).

It is worth considering having an author website as a hub for all your work. By doing this, you can clearly signpost where people can purchase your book in any format (eventually, you could even sell directly from your website). Having a website works well because when people search for your name, they will land on your home page, where you can grab their attention with your book. It helps to have your website optimized for search engines so it is easier to find online.

Simultaneous Release Strategies

Reaching Every Audience

Simultaneous book releases ensure you reach every audience, whereas stuttering your book releases means you could easily miss part of your fan base.

Some people prefer print books, some prefer ebooks, and some prefer audiobooks. Generally, people will wait until you release their preferred format to consume books before purchasing your work. So, delaying the release of certain formats could mean readers who prefer other formats may lose interest.

Let's take audiobook listeners, for example. You may have done a ton of work launching your print book or ebook but decided to hold off on the launch of your masterpiece in audiobook format. So when your target audience sees you have yet to release your audiobook, they will probably hold out and wait until you do. However, the danger is that by the time you finally do release your audiobook version of your work, these fans may have moved on to other audiobooks and already filled up their reading list for the near future.

The same can be said for people who prefer ebooks or print books. Research has shown that while digital book readership is on the rise, most readers still prefer print books. So, if you only release your work as an ebook, you are missing out on print book readers. And it's not like readers aren't going to move on to other books within the genre you are writing in. While they may eventually pick up their preferred format of your book when it's released, they may have moved on and lost interest in it.

Following simultaneous book release strategies ensures you reach all of your readers, regardless of their preferred format. So, by releasing your masterpiece in all formats at the same time, you are more likely to see the book you worked so hard to write become a bestseller.