Aubree Munro Watson: A Blueprint for Author Social Media Success
Looking for a real-world example of how to make social media marketing work for your book launch? Look no further than Aubree Munro Watson, author of Born Ready. Aubree has been doing a stellar job, achieving one of the most successful pre-order sales seen in a long time by leaning into her authenticity on social media. Her strategy is a model for authors looking to make a splash and break onto bestseller lists.
The Goal: Achieving Bestseller Status
Aubree's campaign was designed with an ambitious goal: to sell 1,000 or more books in a week to secure a spot on notable bestseller lists. To accomplish this, the strategy focuses on coordinated visibility and leveraging an existing, engaged network.
Key Strategic Takeaways
Mobilize Your "A Team": A core component of the launch involves building an "A team" of roughly 25 "ride or die" supporters who will definitely help promote the book in exchange for a free, personalized copy. Aubree strategically secured high-profile endorsements from notable figures like Jenny Finch (who has half a million Instagram followers) and Bill Loy (with over 120,000 Instagram followers).
Apply the Rule of Three: Remember that people need to see marketing communications at least three times minimum before they move into a purchasing mindset, and this includes friends and family.
Warm Up the Audience: Rather than making a sudden announcement, the strategy emphasizes gradually teasing out the book’s message and building excitement with a focused plan.
Maintain Post-Launch Momentum: After the launch, the focus shifts to sharing success stories—like hitting number one on Amazon in several categories or reaching the top 100 of all books—to encourage continued engagement.
Social Media Focus and Examples
While Aubree has a strong presence across platforms, including 51.3k followers on Instagram, 12.3k on X, and 1.8k on Facebook, Instagram has been her "sweet spot" for connecting with her audience. When considering your time investment, Cejih advised Aubree against actively focusing on creating content for TikTok and instead suggested connecting with book review influencers on that platform as a more efficient use of her time.
Cejih recommends that authors try to mimic or create their own version of these three key post types, all demonstrated effectively by Aubree:
Cover Reveal/Unboxing:
Getting ready for Launch Day:
Launch Day:
