LAUNCH PAD

LAUNCH PAD

LAUNCH PAD Find and Celebrate Your Next Book with Us!

Are you in a reading rut? Are you interested in finding a new author, experiencing a new genre, or looking for book club recommendations? WELL READ MAGAZINE provides all that, so you are already in the right place. The wide-spread effectiveness of this platform is why Mary and I wanted to share our exciting news about “LAUNCH PAD” with this audience. Just last month, a new collaborative effort between Bookish Road Trip and Authors on the Air Global Radio Network was created. This radio show and author marketing experience has met with great reviews. LAUNCH PAD provides an opportunity for authors to participate in an on-air interview and gain marketing support. The premier episode, and early data results, were very strong and supportive. One special part of the reviews points to the show’s impact on listeners. Many of the comments suggested that LAUNCH PAD is going to be a place where listeners fall in love with their next author.

I’m always interested in how things like this come about. How do humans create something from nothing - be it

book, art, music, or, in this case, a radio show and marketing experience that results in a win-win for authors and listeners alike.

On the 19th of March this year I couldn’t sleep. That’s not unusual, authors frequently have ideas, themes, and characters running around in their heads in the wee hours of the morning. This time, however, I had other people’s characters and their books, as well as a snippet of a conversation with Mary Helen Sheriff, distracting me from the Land of Nod. You see, I’m an entrepreneur at heart. I love creating companies, four of them to be exact. Each of them has had a focus on lifting others up, building community, and collaboration. The conversation with Mary was around her new business venture as an Author Marketing Coach. My brain went to - Mary is supporting authors; I love talking to authors on my radio show The Storytellers – especially if they are launching their book; I’m an entrepreneur.

TADA! LAUNCH PAD

I wrote to Mary the next morning with a rough sketch: I would host a 30-minute show featuring up to four authors at a time. It would air across three Facebook pages and also on Authors on the Air Global Radio Network where the show would be heard in 153 countries. What made this thinking unique was that guest authors would agree to

cross promote each other – leveraging the exposure they receive. In addition, each author would engage with Mary in a one-on-one coaching session. Two days later, we had agreed that LAUNCH PAD fit into our schema and ethos of how to continue to connect with, and support, the author community. I love when an idea works! If you know Mary, she is focused, data-driven, and well, driven. I like that about her. We did some quick market research to see if the “influencers” we knew thought the idea was viable, helpful, and unique. The resounding response was yes! We went to work. Logo development (thank you, Julie Valerie), website development, format development, forms – lots of forms, and very little marketing. Prior to the first episode this past August, we had a fully booked roster of guest authors who pay a nominal hosting fee in exchange for the show, the marketing support, and a minimum, we estimate, of 20 posts that call attention to their book. In addition, we’ve inked a deal to bring a three-book “LAUNCH PAD the countdown to writing, publishing, and marketing your book” series to press over the next ten months.

Phew! We need a nap, but we are too excited to sleep.

Listen to LAUNCH PAD live at the schedule provided and on Authors on the Air Global Radio Network and on www.LaunchPadRadio.com. We have THIRTY-SIX amazing stories that are being told between our August premier and the end of the year. We start booking for Season 2 in November, after we do some market research on what is working best for authors and listeners.

Interested authors can make an inquiry about being a guest here: https://bit.ly/LAUNCH_PAD_FORM

Celebrate books with us!

For more information on: LAUNCH PAD visit www.LaunchPadRadio.com

Grace Sammon: www.gracesammon.net and via email at gmsammon@gmail.com

Mary Sheriff, Author Marketing Coach:maryhelensheriff.com and via email at maryhelensheriff@ gmail.com