Should You Offer Advance Reader Copies?
We ran an Instagram Live today on our profile. The question posed by Lucie was ‘What is the most important element to launch a new book?’
Reviews are still number one along with PR. That’s obvious though. We wanted to give Lucie tangible and actionable evidence. So the data was analysed.
Reviewing the last 50 most recent campaigns one key statistic caught our attention. That key differentiating factor was ARC’s (Advanced Reader Copies).
We are often approached by authors who are nervous about sending out ARC’s. They worry about sending out something that is not 100% complete.
As long as you make the reviewers, bloggers or journalists aware then they won’t penalise you for this. As far as book marketing tactics it is absolutely key. We always felt it produced a better result. The data has now proven this for us.
We compared campaigns that offered ARC’s to those where the book was already released. The difference?
Authors offering ARC’s received on average 131% more PR opportunities and reviews.
Don’t despair if you have already released your book. You will still secure PR of course. You just need to hit a wider number of targets.
The data can easily be explained. As humans we like to receive something exclusive. Something that not everyone has access to. That is exactly the feeling readers, reviewers, bloggers and journalists enjoy when they receive an ARC.
So if you are waiting till your book is perfect and 100% percent before pitching for PR opportunities. You have waited to long.
