Interview Nailing Your Digital Book Launch

Interview Nailing Your Digital Book Launch How To Nail Your Digital Book Launch: An interview with Mike Belsito When we chat with authors about their book launch, the same things often come up: a signing in a book store, a few giveaways to reviewers/journalists and an email to the mailing list. Authors rarely think about leveraging â€Å"existing platforms† to put their book in front of thousands of online readers; they’re often too shy to reach out to influencers, or are unsure about how to do it.So we decided to interview an author who decided to go for another approach. Mike Belsito carefully planned his book launch and had his book, â€Å"Startup Seed Funding for the Rest of Us†, rise to the top of Product Hunt and Amazon.He got some of the most influential people in his genre to spread the word about his launch - he didn’t know them personally before - and built a solid street team while writing the book that helped him take advantage of Amazon’s algorithms!Watch the video for a good dose of positive energy and startup creativity, or read some of the b est parts below. But more importantly, tell us about your own experience in the comments!What is the â€Å"product launch† mentality? How can it apply to books?â€Å"Well this is the first time that I’ve written a book. It has been a really interesting process, because I’ve launched several products before, but I’ve never written and launched a book. So I went about the process thinking really as if it was a product.Even in the beginning as I was writing it, I was constantly thinking: â€Å"how am I going to get the word out; how am I going to actually launch this?†. Fast-forwarding all the way to the end, the book launch was pretty successful, even though I was completely on my own (I’m an â€Å"indie author†). The book made it all the way to the top of Product Hunt, was featured on Inc Magazine and on Huffington Post. At one point, it was the #1 best selling startup book on Amazon.com, which was pretty amazing!†How did you go about creating an â€Å"insider group†?â€Å"There are a few things I did that I think ultimately really helped me. One of them was opening up the process to anybody who wanted to be part of it. I did this early on because writing this was awesome but it was also a lonely experience in that I was writing the book by myself.So I decided to create an â€Å"insider group†, for anybody who’d want to have an inside view of the process. They could literally have access to the Word file, and I’d bounce questions off the members of this group. That was incredibly helpful because it allowed me to get feedback throughout the whole writing process. It’s just like having a beta group for a product that you’re building.The good thing about this group is that when the time came to actually get the book out there, I already had a group of committed people who were all happy to spread the word!How did you communicate with this â€Å"insider group† vs other fans?I was keeping two separate lists: my insider group list, and a list of people who were interested in the book when it came out and who I signed on through my blog. Because I realized that not everybody wants to be involved in the creation process, some people just wanted to see the finished product. And I knew that there would be because in the product world, it’s the exact same thing: there’s a difference between early evangelists, early adopters and late adopters.Now the book is out there, these two lists are kind of one and the same, but should I write another book now, I’ll definitely be going back to that insider group to see if they want to sign up for the same experience.But how can this work in fiction?There’s this fiction author who I’ve met, Rebecca Howard, and she writes paranormal novels - basically ghost stories. She has the same sort of process, and it works for her because people who are generally interested in the para normal genre are often attracted to that part of the process too.She also uses a very similar process as I do to launch her books: she networks a lot with what I would call â€Å"influencers† in her genre. So maybe it works particularly well in non-fiction, but I think it can work in fiction as well.How do you actually get these â€Å"influencers† to promote your work?Well I once had a startup called eFuneral and we raised some startup capital. So I had some loose connections with some startup investors (VCs, angels, etc.), but very few would be considered â€Å"household names†. However, as I was starting to write this book - just like I had this group of beta readers - I sort of force-created another beta group of influencers.These people, whether they wanted to be or not, were in my influencer list. But I didn’t treat it like a list, I didn’t send mass emails or stuff like that. I only sent personal emails every now and then to these folks askin g for feedback: ‘Hey, I’m writing this book, it’s on a topic I’m really passionate about because of my background and I’d really love your feedback’.Throughout, some of these people did respond, and were supportive - even if just through some general encouragement. Of course, a lot of others wouldn’t even respond, but my hope was that by the time the book actually came out, some of them might be able to spread the word. This is no different to when I was raising capital and talking to angel investors and venture capitalists. Investors don’t like to invest in companies that they’ve just heard of for the first time ever. Usually, they like to meet you early on and then follow your progress. So that’s how I was trying to treat the book.About 3-4 weeks before the book launch, I sent all of them a draft of the book so they could have early access to it. And once the book was live on Amazon, I sent another email to each of them saying â€Å"hey, I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to read the book, but if so,   I would love an honest review from you and it’d be amazing if you could help me spread the word about the launch.† I made it easy for them to do that, using to just create a link that they could click to get a pre-made tweet.Sure enough, on the morning of the book launch, there were 3 or 4 major influencers who either tweeted about the book or retweeted one of my posts! These were people like Brad Feld, Mark Suster and Steve Case. They absolutely helped me move the needle.How did you keep this great momentum after your book launch?That’s really what I’m focusing on right now, and trying to see if there are things I could be doing differently. I’ve been grateful to be asked to go on all sorts of podcasts. I don’t know if that will move the needle or not, but I’ll continue to do it because I love doing it.I think a book tour could be interesting. In my case, I think I wouldn’t do a traditional book tour, but rather a series of Meetups. I could definitely see myself doing a series of Meetups in different cities on ‘raising startup seed capital’. I’d want to keep it very organic. Startup events and speaking opportunities are another thing I’ll look for.In terms of other ways, I have been asked to write for other publications (like startups.co), so that’s exciting. But I also try to think about this in different ways too: ‘what can I do that’s completely different and hasn’t been done before’?It’s really the point that I’m at, so what I’m going to do is I’m going to try out a bunch of things and I’ll let you know in a couple of months what has worked and what has not!Follow Mike and Reedsy on Twitter:  @belsito  and  @ReedsyHQHave you developed a core reading group like Mike’s â€Å"insider group†? Does it help you launch your books? Have you tried reaching out to influencers in your genre? Share your thoughts, or any question for Mike, in the comments below!

Sustainable Development - Design and Build Without Harm

Sustainable Development - Design and Build Without Harm Sustainable development is a general belief that all human endeavors should promote the longevity of the planet and its inhabitants. What architects call the built environment should not harm the Earth or deplete its resources. Builders, architects, designers, community planners, and real estate developers strive to create buildings and communities that will neither deplete natural resources nor negatively impact the Earths functioning. The goal is to meet todays needs using renewable resources so that the needs of future generations will be provided for. Sustainable development attempts to minimize greenhouse gases, reduce global warming, preserve environmental resources, and provide communities that allow people to reach their fullest potentials. In the field of Architecture, sustainable development also has been known as sustainable design, green architecture, eco-design, eco-friendly architecture, earth-friendly architecture, environmental architecture, and natural architecture. The Brundtland Report In December 1983, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, a physician and the first woman Prime Minister of Norway, was asked to chair a United Nations commission to address a global agenda for change. Brundtland has become known as the mother of sustainability since the 1987 release of the report, Our Common Future. In it, sustainable development was defined and became the basis of many global initiatives. Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs....In essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development; and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.- Our Common Future, United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 Sustainability in the Built Environment When people construct things, many processes take place to actualize the design. The goal of a sustainable building project is to use materials and processes that will have little impact on the continued functioning of the environment. For example, using local building materials and local laborers limits the pollution effects of transportation. Non-polluting construction practices and industries should have little harm on the land, sea, and air. Protecting natural habitats and remediating neglected or contaminated landscapes can reverse damages caused by previous generations. Any resources used should have a planned replacement. These are characteristics of sustainable development. Architects should specify materials that do not harm the environment at any stage of their life cycle - from first manufacturing to end-of-use recycling. Natural, bio-degradable, and recycled building materials are becoming more and more common. Developers are turning to renewable sources for water and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Green architecture and eco-friendly building practices promote sustainable development, as do walkable communities, and mixed-use communities that combine residential and commercial activities - aspects of  Smart Growth and the New Urbanism. In their Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability, the U.S. Department of the Interior suggests that historic buildings are themselves often inherently sustainable because they have lasted to stand the test of time. This does not mean that they cannot be upgraded and preserved.  Adaptive reuse of older buildings and the general use of recycled architectural salvage are also inherently sustainable processes. In architecture and design, the emphasis of sustainable development is on the conservation of environmental resources. However, the concept of sustainable development is often broadened to include the protection and development of human resources. Communities founded on principles of sustainable development may strive to provide abundant educational resources, career development opportunities, and social services. United Nations sustainable development goals are inclusive. United Nations Goals The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on September 25, 2015 that set 17 goals for all nations to strive for by 2030. In this resolution, the notion of sustainable development has been expanded far beyond what architects, designers, and urban planners have focused on - namely Goal 11 in this list.   Each of these goals have targets that encourage worldwide participation: Goal 1. End poverty; 2. End hunger; 3. Good healthy lives; 4. Quality education and lifelong learning; 5. Gender equality; 6 Clean water and sanitation; 7. Affordable clean energy; 8. Decent work; 9. Resilient infrastructure; 10. Reduce inequality; 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; 12. Responsible consumption; 13. Combat climate change and its impacts; 14. Conserve and sustainably use oceans and seas; 15. Manage forests and halt biodiversity loss; 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies; 17. Strengthen and revitalize global partnership. Even before the U.N.s Goal 13, architects realized that the urban built environment is responsible for most of the worlds fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Architecture 2030 set this challenge for architects and builders - All new buildings, developments, and major renovations shall be carbon-neutral by 2030. Examples of Sustainable Development Australian architect Glenn Murcutt is often held up as an architect who practices sustainable design. His projects are developed for and placed on sites that have been studied for their natural elements of rain, wind, sun, and earth. For example, the roof of the Magney House was designed specifically to capture rainwater for use within the structure. The Villages of Loreto Bay in Loreto Bay, Mexico was promoted as a model of sustainable development. The community claimed to produce more energy than it consumed and more water than it used. However, critics charged that developers claims were overstated. The community eventually suffered financial setbacks. Other communities with good intentions, such as Playa Vista in Los Angeles, have had similar struggles. More successful residential projects are the grassroots Ecovillages being built all over the world. The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) defines an ecovillage as an intentional or traditional community using local participatory processes to holistically integrate ecological, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of sustainability in order to regenerate social and natural environments. One of the most famous is EcoVillage Ithaca, co-founded by Liz Walker. Finally, one of the most famous success stories is the transformation of a neglected area of London into the Olympic Park for the London 2012 summer Olympic Games. From 2006 until 2012 the Olympic Delivery Authority created by British Parliament oversaw the government mandated sustainability project. Sustainable development is most successful when governments work with the private sector to make things happen. With support from the public sector, private energy companies like Solarpark Rodens will be more likely to put their renewable energy photovoltaic panels where sheep may safely graze  - existing together on the land. Sources Our Common Future (The Brundtland Report), 1987, un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf [accessed May 30, 2016]What is an Ecovillage? The Global Ecovillage Network, http://gen.ecovillage.org/en/article/what-ecovillage [accessed May 30, 2016]Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, The Division for Sustainable Development (DSD), United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld [accessed November 19, 2017]Architecture 2030, http://architecture2030.org/ [accessed November 19, 2017]