Anatomy of a Launch

by Mike O’Mary

NoteProject 72 dpi 200x93For much of the past year, I’ve been laying the groundwork for something called the Note Project. It officially “launches” on April 18, but for all practical purposes, it’s up and running now. If you haven’t already visited the Note Project website at http://NoteProject.com, please take a minute to do so. There are a couple of good reasons for you to take a look if you are a writer.

The first reason is that the Note Project involves writing. In this case, it’s about writing notes of appreciation. It’s a project that was inspired by a note I received from my youngest sister, thanking me for something I did years ago. My goal is to encourage and inspire other people to share notes of appreciation. There’s no cost to participate, so if you want to help the cause (and make someone in your life feel appreciated), please take a moment to pledge to send a note. Your pledge will count toward our goal of 1 million notes, which we believe will “make the world a million times better.” And if you really like the idea of the Note Project, you can support us by purchasing an optional “Note Project Starter eKit” for $1. You’ll get a lot of helpful tips and inspiration for your dollar, and a share of the proceeds will be donated to support literacy projects around the world. You can also donate directly to the literacy projects if you’re not interested in an eKit.

The second reason I recommend that writers check out the Note Project is that this project has much in common with a book launch. In fact, the person who is managing the launch of the Note Project specializes in campaigns aimed at getting new books onto Amazon bestseller lists. The Note Project isn’t a book launch (although the main component of the aforementioned Note Project Starter eKit is an e-book), but after watching a couple of authors climb Amazon bestseller lists, I decided the same sort of campaign would make sense for the launch of the Note Project.

The launch campaign consists of a combination of things…a media tour (20 radio interviews scheduled to date), a blog tour (a dozen and growing), use of social media (particularly Twitter), a big “event” (in this case, a three-day Note Project Telesummit featuring bestselling authors and other experts – please join us on April 18, 19 or 20, it’s free!), “joint venture partners” who give away free bonus gifts to promote their books/projects/websites while also helping to spread the word about your book/project/website, and much more.

As I said, all of this has been in the works for about a year, with particularly intensive effort over the last 3-4 months. It has become my third job – after my “day” job, which still pays the bills, and after my “night” job, which is my 1-1/2 year old publishing company.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because if you are a writer, and if you are thinking of writing a book, it’s important for you to understand that getting your book published is only half the battle. Maybe less than half. The kind of campaign I’m doing around the Note Project is the same kind of campaign that many authors are doing around newly released books. It’s a lot of work, but the good news is that it’s kind of fun, and I’ve met a lot of great people along the way. And if the Note Project is a success, it will more than make up for the late nights and lack of sleep over the past year!

Mike O’Mary is founder of the Note Project and owner of book publisher Dream of Things.

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